Lake Beeac
Lake Beeac lies just west of the township of Beeac, 19km northeast of Colac, on the road to Cressy and Ballarat. The lake covers an area of about 560 hectares (1400 acres).
An important wetland water-bird habitat, Lake Beeac is a State Wildlife Reserve and is also part of the Ramsar Lakes which have international protection for migratory waterbirds. Despite the lake being hyper-saline, which can give it a ghostly milky whitish hue, the brine shrimps that thrive in its waters provide a food source for the banded stilt and red-necked avocet. Flocks of many thousands of these birds and banded stilts have been recorded as well as large flocks of several other species, such as the hoary-headed grebe and the whiskered tern. Some birds are known to travel from the Northern Hemisphere to feed on Lake Beeac's shrimp.
The salt lakes of the Ondit district, which includes Beeac, encouraged the establishment of salt factories on the margins of the lakes in the late nineteenth century, including Lake Beeac. In the 1868 a salt works was also set up on nearby Lake Cundare by a Mr H. Berry of Melbourne, and for some years an immense trade flourished.
A catchment management plan for Lake Beeac is being prepared to establish strategies for the improved protection of environmental values.
Lake Beeac, completely dry in early 2007, reveals an expanse of salt. |
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Facilities
Picnic area with barbecues and tables. Turn off to the left in Beeac. Public toilets are beside the lake as well as in the Main Street of Beeac.