2 0 TO U R IN G H O T S PO TS
WORDS CATHERINE LAWSON PICS DAVID BRISTOW
A D VE N T U R E S
Lake Ballard, WA
An intriguing art installation adds to the striking beauty of this
isolated part of WA’s Goldfields region.
FASTFACTS
GETTING THERE
Menzies is located 190km north of Kalgoorlie.
You’ll find Lake Ballard signposted 51km northwest of town.
ACTIVITIES
Wander among the 51 spirit-like sculptures
on Lake Ballard’s saltpans, watch the landscape
transform at sunset.
STAY
Lake Ballard bush camp.
MORE INFORMATION
www.lakeballard.com
12
ADVENTURES
C
runching across shimmering salt
flats, over gypsum dunes and up
isolated ironstone ridges, a series of
surprising outback vistas tempts us
into a remarkable region on the Goldfields’
northern fringe. This little-travelled route,
which links adventurers with Uluru across
the Great Victoria Desert, provides passage
to an unusual collection of outback
wonders around the tiny town of Menzies.
At one of these, campers can experience
a sunset like no other, gazing across a
seascape of solitary, spirit-like figures
stationed across Lake Ballard.
It’s the pairing of intriguing artwork
and a strikingly beautiful landscape that
lures travellers 51km west of Menzies to
the site of artist Antony Gormley’s worldfamous installation ‘Inside Australia’. Lake
Ballard’s vast saltpan provides an inspiring
outback canvas for Gormley’s 51 life-size
figures that stand sentry over a massive
10sq km portion of Lake Ballard and
beckon walkers onto the flats to crunch
along salt-crusted trails.
You can spend hours exploring the
installation, crisscrossing the lake from one
figure to the next. Above, windswept islands
of rocky ironstone provide stellar views and
it takes only minutes to climb the closest
knoll to count the figures within view.
Gormley’s mysterious figures are based
on real-life Menzies locals who were laser
scanned for the project. The figures were
then cast from a stainless steel alloy that
resembles volcanic rock and contains iron,
chromium, nickel and trace elements of
titanium oxide and vanadium taken from
Lake Ballard itself.
Stretched along the lake’s gypsum
dune and shaded by mulga woodland, a
free bush camp provides travellers with
excellent facilities for such a remote spot.
At a shelter in a camping area 300m from
the lake’s entrance, interpretive signs
explain what makes this place fascinating.
Wildflowers bloom around Lake Ballard
after seasonal rains and you might spot
large goannas on the dunes, emus and
dingoes around camp and, overhead,
rainbow bee-eaters and kites gliding on the
updraft. This camp has gained notoriety
for its unusual outdoor art, but it pays to
remember that it exists in an unusually
fragile environment. If you plan a campfire,
gather wood before arriving at the sparsely
vegetated lake. Nearby Menzies is a good
spot for topping up with fuel and supplies.