Think Pink

Tereza Nováková

Water is blue - isn't it? Well Mother Nature likes to play with us and sometimes the colour of water isn't blue or green - it's bubblegum.

Australia is known for some pretty bizarre animals and unusual places but its pink lakes are in a category of their own. On Middle Island off the southern coast of Western Australia sits Lake Hillier, one of Australia's most famous pink lakes.

For years, scientist were clueless with pink water but recent research is changing that. People always speculated that the color could be caused by high salt content or by microalgae. Scientists collected water samples and found 10 species of salt-loving bacteria, several species of Dunaliella algae and Salinibacter ruber - all of which are some shade of pink and red.

Despite bacteria being the reason for the strawberry milk color, Lake Hillier is totally safe to swim in. In fact, the lake's high salt content likely makes the water so dense that you'd float incredibly easily- the same way you would in the Dead Sea.

But with that being the case, you're probably wondering why you don't see more Instagram posts of people swimming in the cotton-candy water. Unfortunately, traveling to Lake Hillier is extremely difficult because it's on a tiny island that can be reached only by boat or helicopter. But if you can get there, dive into that pool of pink immediately!