Lake Eyre

Our one-hour flight from William Creek to see Lake Eyre was great. the young man who piloted out plane was very nice and good at keeping his end of the conversation going.

Shortly after taking off, we could see a stretch of the Oodnadatta Tack stretching off into the distance.



We flew over the southern section of the lake. It is so large that to see the northern portion, you need a two-hour flight. The lake is mostly empty. there were a few spot of water from the recent rain, but not much. In fact, a major rain event is required to fill it with only a few centimeters of water. This happens every 10-15 years. Water flows from the West MacDonnell ranges and Queensland to fill this, the lowest spot in Australia.

When this happens, birds seems to smell it and literally flock in from thousands of kilometers away to feed and breed. The plants and animals go crazy with this much water. And the humans do to. The population of William Creek explodes as people come by the busloads to fly over the lake. More planes/pilots are brought in. The roadhouse staff grows and the campground is overflowing.

Our visit was not during one of these times. We and the pilot were on the only people we saw sitting at the airstrip before boarding.

This spot in the lake appears to be a place where someone went hooning.

I found the abstract shapes and colors to be fascinating.

From our altitude of 1200-1500 km, we could see quite a ways along the shore of the lake.

There are places where evidence of water flowing can be seen.

And in other places the salt that is left from the evaporation (all the white you see in all photos) looks more like the sea washing the shore of the ocean.

If the photos of the roads I have shown you from the Great Central Road and the Oodnadatta Track look empty and desolate, they cannot hold a candle to the desolation and hostility of this view of the lake.

it is hard to imagine that this is all part of a cattle ranch.

There are places where the textures and colors make poetry on the ground.

And places that simply look inhospitable. Yet, you will notice that in the lower center of the photograph below, there are several small structures and a road. What to stop for a visit. Even at William Creek, the salty air dried our lips quickly. Imagine spending a few days at this spot.

In other places it looked more like snow covered mountains.

The dark green of vegetation here contrasts the salty shoreline.

Our return to the "civilization" of William Creek is shown by a photo divided by the airplane propeller. On the left is the aitstrip and on the right is the roadhouse...ie. town.

Next time to consider just pitching it in and getting away from it all, think of this place. A few minutes of contemplation on the true emptiness of this place might help reset your need for getting away and help you find a new angle of repose.