Discovering the Wild Beauty of Murray-Sunset National Park, Victoria

Murray-Sunset Desert Track

Deep in the far northwest corner of Victoria lies one of Australia’s most striking and least explored natural wonders—Murray-Sunset National Park. Covering over 600,000 hectares, it's one of the largest national parks in Victoria, yet still feels like a well-kept secret. This vast expanse of semi-arid wilderness is a place where silence stretches for miles, the skies turn golden at dusk, and the land tells stories older than memory. For those who seek nature in its rawest form, the Murray-Sunset delivers a truly Australian outback experience.

One of the most iconic features of the park is its famous pink salt lakes. At certain times of year, particularly in late summer and early autumn, the lakes—such as Lake Crosbie, Lake Becking and Lake Kenyon—transform into vivid shades of pink due to the presence of algae and high salt concentrations. It’s an eerie, otherworldly sight, especially when the midday sun reflects off the dry salt crust, giving the illusion of a landscape caught between water and sky. Photographers flock here for the surreal visuals, and walkers are drawn to the tranquillity of the trails that wind around these brilliant expanses.

But Murray-Sunset isn’t just about eye-catching colour. The park is rich in biodiversity and has become a haven for both wildlife and those seeking to witness it. With over 600 plant species, including a number of rare orchids and desert wildflowers, the landscape changes dramatically with the seasons. After winter rains, the park bursts into life, with splashes of yellow, white and purple across the scrublands. Birdwatchers can spot a wide variety of species including parrots, emus, honeyeaters, and the elusive malleefowl, while lucky visitors might glimpse red kangaroos bounding through the open mallee or catch sight of a wedge-tailed eagle soaring overhead.

Murray-Sunset also carries a deep cultural history. The traditional custodians of the land, the Latji Latji, Nyeri Nyeri, and Ngintait peoples, have walked these lands for thousands of years. Their stories and spiritual connections are deeply embedded in the park’s landscape. Evidence of early pastoral settlements and the once-thriving salt industry still linger, with old salt works near Lake Crosbie serving as a tangible reminder of European activity in this rugged environment.

For those adventurous enough to explore the park fully, a four-wheel drive opens up a network of sandy tracks that lead deeper into its untouched heart. The Sunset Track, one of the best-known routes, carves through wind-sculpted dunes and expansive bush, eventually arriving at the aptly named Mt Crozier, where panoramic views stretch endlessly toward the horizon. Bush camping is permitted throughout the park, and nothing quite compares to watching the sun slip below the endless Mallee skyline with no sound but the wind in the trees and the distant cry of a curlew.

Despite its remote location, Murray-Sunset National Park is accessible from towns like Mildura and Ouyen, and makes for an unforgettable detour for those travelling through the region. It’s not a place of polished experiences or guided tours. Rather, it offers a raw, immersive connection with land and sky—a place where you can unplug, slow down, and remember what it feels like to simply be in the wild.

Whether you’re an off-road enthusiast, a nature photographer, a hiker, or simply someone yearning for wide open space and the hush of the bush, Murray-Sunset National Park is an unforgettable chapter in any journey across Victoria. It may not have the fame of the Great Ocean Road or the Grampians, but for those who make the effort, it offers something even rarer: the chance to truly feel like you’ve discovered a hidden part of the world, untouched and utterly Australian.