Bool Lagoon Game Reserve and Hacks Lagoon Conservation Park is situated approximately 25 kilometres south of Naracoorte, South Australia. The main entrance is via Lindsay Hood Road. Enter 50 Lindsay Hood Road into your GPS. Be sure to organise your park fee online at www.environment.sa.gov.au before venturing out there. Fees are $10 per vehicle with an $8 concession fee (current at January 2019). Overnight camping is available at $20 per vehicle. The park is open everyday with the exception of Total Fire Ban days. An annual permit can be obtained giving access to the Park as often as desired during the year.

Bool Lagoon is one of the largest wetlands in Southern Australia. It relies on good winter rainfall for its water supply which comes in through Mosquito Creek from the East. Mosquito Creek flows into Hacks Lagoon which then overflows into Bool Lagoon. This wetland area has been known to go dry if there are too many successive dry seasons. 2016 was the last time that I was out there when the wetlands were overflowing. In 2018 Bool Lagoon was near full but when I was out there early September none of the overflow gates had been opened.

There are several board walks, the main one being the Tea Tree Boardwalk of 500 metres which takes you through an area of Tea Tree and into the main bird hide. This is the best spot to be if you want to see the birds coming in to roost after a day out feeding. Just be aware that there have been bees present in this bird hide at different times.

The Gunawar Walk takes you across the waterways between Hacks Lagoon and Bool Lagoon and across to Snake Island. This boardwalk has recently been re-built and is now a ‘floating’ boardwalk. Snakes can be present on this island; however, in several visits that I have made I haven’t actually seen any. This island has a lookout, giving you a higher up view of both lagoons. This is also a good vantage point for photographing sunsets.

The park is home to some 150 species of wildlife, including some rare and endangered bird species. When the water levels are good plenty of frogs can be heard and sometimes seen.

But water birds and frogs aren’t the only creatures to be seen using the boardwalks. On the drive around to Big Hill kangaroos and wallaby’s can often be seen grazing in the surrounding paddocks. From Big Hill you can look north west across Little Bool Lagoon.

For a different route back to Naracoorte turn right onto the Bool Lagoon road as you leave and then take Moyhall Road back into town. The drive will take you over the overflow drain which is worth checking out when the water levels are high. Note that not all of this road is bituminised but it has been considerably upgraded in recent years.

Photos and text by

David