Hattah-Kulkyne National Park: what are the best walks?

The best walks in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park include mallee, kangaroos and emus at Lake Konardin on the Mournpall Lake Loop. Other highlights of this Victorian national park include sunset viewing at the Warepil Lookout Walk and the interpretive signs on the Hattah Nature Walk.

Hattah-Kulkyne National Park is not one of Australia’s most famous. In the north-western corner of Victoria, near the Murray River city of Mildura, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park shows off typical mallee country, native pine woodland and a series of freshwater lakes. It also has a few worthwhile walking trails if you happen to be in the area.

dry lake in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park — The Hattah Lakes, such as Lake Konardin, are not always full of water. They can be explored on a walk in the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park near Mildura, Victoria. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

The major walk in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park is the Mournpall Lake Loop. This is a 9.5km circuit, starting at the Lake Mournpall camping area. The Mournpall Lake Loop should take around three hours. The trail goes along the northern edge of Lake Mournpall, before diverting north around Lake Konardin.

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Book a half day visit to the Trentham Estate Winery and Mildura Wetlands…
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Hattah-Kulkyne National Park: Nature at Lake Konardin

The Lake Konardin lake bed has grown high with Australian hollyhocks. It is green, and verdant. Lines on the trees show how high the water got to during the 2016 floods, but it’s evidence of how much the river red gums love water. Some of the biggest trees are around 300 to 400 years old – they grow about one centimetre a year.

Lake Konardin in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park offers a glorious scene of open woodland. Kangaroos bound out from all angles – there are so many here that they have to be culled. You’re also highly likely to see mother emus and their chicks flitting through the hollyhock.

As the walk continues through river red gum flood plains and mallee dunes, there’s some good birdwatching on offer. The most impressive bird species that live in the area include wedge-tailed eagles, whitebellied sea eagles and whistling kites.

Short walks in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park

Shorter walks in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park are available, too. The Woodlands Walk stretches for 2.5km from the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park Visitor Centre. It should take around an hour one-way.

For something more educational, try Hattah Nature Walk. This is an easy-going trail from the carpark near the Hattah-Robinvale Road park entrance. There are plenty of interpretive signs explaining how the mallee ecosystem works.

For great views, aim for the lookout tower on the Warepil Lookout Walk. This is a 30 minute return stroll from the Old Calder Highway car park. It’s particular impressive at sunset, when you can look out over the mallee scrub towards the Murray Sunset National Park to the northwest.

Hattah-Kulkyne National Park can be tackled as part of a Murray River road trip. It’s 74km south of the Victorian city of Mildura. If coming from Melbourne, it’s found off the Calder Highway after Ouyen on the Bendigo to Mildura drive. The national park is about 450km from the Victorian state capital. Tours of the Hattah Lakes are also available from hub town Mildura.