Hattah lakes watering

Last week I spent three glorious nights camping at the Hattah Lakes national park, just south of Mildura in Victoria's Mallee country.

We enjoyed a riot of birdlife by day and star filled skies at night.

The shallow freshwater lakes are an oasis in the midst of an arid landscape of red sand dunes, river red gums, black box trees in full bloom and endangered buloke woodlands. The 230 species of birds, I discovered later, include many rare and internationally protected species.

The area is bursting with new life after environmental flooding earlier this year by the Mallee Catchment Management Authority. Its an environmental success story by the CMA, the Murray Darling Basin Authority, the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries and Parks Victoria.

We'll be going back next autumn.