The Pink Lake journey

Nedefinované

Strawberry milk? A pink lake? Mother Nature is showing off her feminine side!

Senegal
In Lake Rebta, in Senegal, the pink coloring of the water is caused by algae that produces red pigment when exposed to sun light. Want to take dip? Don’t worry, the water is high in salt content allowing you to float easily. Though, you still might encounter another problem of not being able to see underwater.
Nestled between white sand dunes and the Atlantic Ocean, this unique body of water was once the finishing point of the off-road car race, the Dakar Rally.
The three square kilometer fuchsia lake has been a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage status since 2005 and is fast becoming one of Senegal's most popular tourist destinations.
While the rally may have shifted to South America five years ago, men and women from West Africa continue to come here for an entirely different reason - to harvest salt.
The longer you stay inside the lake, the larger the salty water makes your wounds.

The salt content of Lake Retba or Lac Rose, as it's locally known, rivals that of the Dead Sea exceeding 40% salinity in some parts and it is a combination of the sun and a salt-loving micro-algae, dunaliella salina, which has turned the water a brilliant shade of strawberry pink.

Australia
Lake Hillier is a bubble-gum-pink lake right on the edge of Recherché Archipelago’s largest island in Australia. It’s literally just a few steps away from a “normal” coloured Southern Ocean, but despite the pressure from its neighbour it refuses to compromise its pink colour. Scientists cannot figure out why Lake Hillier is pink, speculating that it’s caused by a reaction of sea salt and sodium bicarbonate (which you know as baking soda), or caused by red halophilic bacteria in the salt crusts. But, it is equally likely that there is a giant underwater strawberry farm.

Farm or not, you’re probably just wondering whether or not you can swim in Lake Hillier. Well, good news: as any Aussie will attest, it’s really just a salt lake; really salty, but perfectly safe to swim in.

Would you like to visit Senegal or Australia? Contact us for your tailor made itinerary!