Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara

Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara National Park (formerly Lake Mason National Park) is a remote protected area in the Murchison-Gascoyne transition zone of inland WA, protecting an important lake system and surrounding mulga and sandplain habitat. The park was renamed with its Martu language name as part of formal recognition of Aboriginal traditional connections to the landscape. Lake Mason is a large salt lake that provides critical habitat for migratory waterbirds during periods when it fills with water after above-average rainfall. The broader park protects semi-arid mulga woodland and spinifex grassland characteristic of the interior.

The salt lake system is the park's primary wildlife attraction. When flooded after good rainfall, Lake Mason attracts tens of thousands of waterbirds including banded stilts, red-necked avocets, silver gulls, and various tern species. Banded stilts breed opportunistically on the lake margins when water is present. The surrounding mulga woodland supports malleefowl, various cockatoos, and arid zone mammals. Red kangaroos and euros range across the landscape. The park provides important refuge habitat in an area of significant pastoral development.

Mulga (Acacia aneura) woodland dominates the inland portions of the park, with saltlake vegetation around the lake margins including samphire (Sarcocornia) and halophytic grasses. The sandplain areas support spinifex grassland and various arid zone shrubs. After significant rainfall, ephemeral annual wildflowers briefly transform the landscape. The vegetation reflects the transitional character of the park between the more productive Murchison country and the drier interior.

The park sits on the ancient Yilgarn Craton, with the lake occupying a large topographic depression in the gently undulating granite terrain. Salt lakes in this region are endorheic (with no outlet to the sea), where evaporation concentrates salts derived from weathering of the underlying granite. The lake bed contains lacustrine sediments deposited over thousands of years.

Hot, semi-arid continental climate with highly variable rainfall (250–350 mm annually). Extreme summer heat (40–45°C+). Best visited April–September. The lake fills unpredictably after above-average rainfall.

Within the country of Martu people, who have deep connections to the lake system and surrounding landscape. The lake provided water and food resources in the semi-arid interior.

Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara was previously Lake Mason National Park, renamed to reflect Martu traditional connections. Management involves collaboration with Martu communities.

Waterbird watching when the lake is flooded after good rainfall. Remote desert landscape experience. Night skies in this unpolluted location.

Remote location accessible by four-wheel drive from Meekatharra area. No visitor facilities. Complete self-sufficiency required. Best visited April–September.

Managing invasive buffel grass from adjacent pastoral areas and maintaining the lake system's ecological function are primary conservation priorities.