Tea Tree Lakes - Byron Bay - Things To Do Reviews

The Tree Lakes are somewhere in Byron Bay on the border of New South Wales and Queensland. The drive from the town in Byron to get to the Lakes is through bushland and a little walk down an overgrown rocky, bushy green path. 

Set in what looks like an old oil painting, the lakes are a fantastic example of how diverse the Great Australian Outback can be.

The water doesn't look clean enough to swim in and the first time I went in I was a little scared.  The Lakes I would say are more of a swamp than any kind of lake.  The banks are clay mud and many of the roots of the Eucalypt trees towering over you are exposed.  They make perfect little crooks for you to sit between.

The water appears completely black but its really a thick olive green colour when you hold it in your hand.  Its this colour because the resin or oil that are unique to the Eucalyptus trees are constantly seeping into the water.

The water is cool and tastes fresh and clean.  If you thought the beach was good for your skin it doesn’t have a patch on the lakes.  It feels pure and tingly and you feel all taut like you’ve had a body lift when you get out.  If there was a fountain of youth this would probably be it…

In the old days the Aboriginal women of the region used the lakes as a maternity wing.  The tea tree is natures antiseptic and the best possible environment to give birth.   So I guess in a way, it really did use to be a fountain of youth for the indigenous people! Australia being such a young country we forget that we have a rich history.  It isn't marked by buildings or wars or statues, but its there if you know how to look for it.

I would recommend jumping in the water from the banks and treading water or swimming while you're in; the bottom feels sludgy and murky and disgusting.  I’m sure if you could handle it the mud would make a wonderful mud mask… I’m a little chicken.

The Lakes are obscenely peaceful.  The ancient Eucalypts stand tall protecting you from the sun and surrounding bush. It really does give you a sense of time standing still.

The Byron Bay area is one of Australia’s most famous and greatest hippy towns so you probably shouldn’t be surprised that the Tea Tree Lakes is a nudist… well… swamp.  I’m not big on nudey beaches and the like but the atmosphere is so peaceful and utterly non-intrusive.  People sit and meditate, read their paper, play with their kids.  It truly doesn’t have the typical icky nudey beach/swamp feeling.  So if you’re thinking of finding it but feel a little put off by the fact its nudey put your reservations aside and be brave.  There are lots of trees to prop yourself against and hide behind.

The other thing I love about being at the Lakes is that there is only ever about 4 or 5 people there.  It just adds to the sensation that you have stumbled across this little lake and are discovering it for the first time.