Lake Eyre Adventure 2010

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Lake Eyre Adventure 2010 - Day 3

Friday, 30 July 2010 12:20

Day Three... today we see Lake Eyre.

Still in William Creek, we had planned to get up early to try for a sunrise flight over the Painted Hills, SA. These are natural hills a few hundred feet high with amazing white, gold, orange, red and pink coloured sand. I was hoping they would be blazing in the morning sunshine. As I left the accommodation cabin I bumped (almost literally) into one of my photographers. Bleary eyed we looked at the cloudy sky in dismay, and it didn't take long to postpone the sunrise flight and advise the others.

However, not wanting to waste all the effort it took to get out of bed before sunrise, I trundled off to the airstrip with the camera and tripod, where a small crowd was gathering.

WOW ! WASN'T I REWARDED! Check out these photos!

Following that amazing display that lasted for over half an hour, we agreed to have breakfast before our flight to the Painted Hills. These were about 25 mins away to the SW. The sky was still a little murky, but small patches of sunshine rewarded us with some great colours. It was worth the trip, and if you're in the area on a sunny day, it's a must. Flight time 1.3 hours return.

After returning to William Creek I refuelled the aircraft and we loaded the luggage. This next flight would take us out to Lake Eyre North and finish in Birdsville. Fuel upload was 201 litres at $2.60 per litre, but hey, where else was I going to get fuel! No complaints though, ‘cos that's aviation. And we're were all in great spirits as today was the day to see Lake Eyre - the main reason for being here - and the weather was improving. No more than two knots variable and clearing skies.

Our departure took us east to the southern end of Lake Eyre North. Here the waters were plentiful from the months of rain that had been flowing in. Rivers were flowing from north, south, east and west into Lake Eyre. The blue sky was patched with white cloud - both being reflected in the still-water below, and the pink colours on the bottom of the Lake were showing through. The view was contrasted brilliantly by the Lake's dark edges, all together making spectacular scenery almost never to be found elsewhere on this scale. It was here that my wife took was I consider her best photo of the trip... below.

The bottom end of Lake Eyre North is about 60 nm wide and we travelled it's width from west to east, before turning northbound to Cooper Creek. I looked north and saw Lake Eyre broad on the horizon as far as I could see. Gee this Lake is massive!

Cooper Creek comes all the way from Queensland, and was now a river rather than a creek, and the rare part was that it virtually never flows into Lake Eyre (below).

We were being rewarded again and again. Midway northbound we turned back again to cross Lake Eyre from east to west. We passed Warburton Groove that runs down the middle of the Lake. This too was spectacular as it went for miles. This middle section of the Lake is about 40 nm wide and took us to Neales River that also feeds Lake Eyre. We continued north some more and found Warbuton River, feeding from the north. There were significantly more bird breeding areas seen here than further south, so being mindful of low-level flying we circled above and let the telephoto lenses do the work.

From here navigation was a case of following the river for the photographers to photograph, take the first river-fork to the right and straight on until Birdsville. Easier said than done as the rivers were flooded and there were countless new lagoons and creeks and waterways that simply aren't on the map. But for now I wasn't worried too much about navigation - the scenery was outstanding, and far too hard to describe. What can I say about the Diamantina River? With the rain and flooding over the past months, let these next photos tell the story. (The grey opaque colour is water.)

Getting back to navigation.... Birdsville was easy to find and a great strip. If you touchdown early on runway 14 be prepared to spend a few minutes at half power to get off the runway at the far end to the apron! Parking bays were full so I found a spot behind the double yellow line.

PILOTS BE WARNED!!! On the parking apron DO NOT PARK behind the double yellow line WITH THE RED LINE between, ie "yellow-red-yellow". This is a clearance limit and aircraft will be reported if parked here. Parking behind the double yellow line WITHOUT the red line is allowed, and is where two of us tied down for the night.

So, the flight time was 3.3 hrs from William Creek to Birdsville, but we took the scenic route and circled a fair bit for photos.

Accommodation at the Birdsville Caravan Park was very pleasant. We chose the cabins without ensuite, and the shower/toilet block was clean and tidy. Dinner at the Birdsville Hotel presented us with massive plates of food - the ribs are recommended if you're not into veges! Tony from the Hotel is a top bloke and very helpful.

The highlights:

William Creek is a really interesting fly-in destination for a night. I recommend it, but just one night should be enough.
The Painted Hills are a must, especially if the weather is sunny. Lat Long is: 29 35 S 135 49 E
Lake Eyre never failed to impress - it is huge. The soft colours and delicate contrast made for amazing scenery. Flight altitude of between 500' and 1000' gives great reflections on the water and lets you see details on the lake bed.
Warburton River, Goyder Lagoon and Diamantina River - you have to see it to believe it, but hurry before the water dries out!

Fuel per litre:

William Creek: $2.60

Airfields:

William Creek: 1000m gravel/dirt. Contact Wright's Air - details online. Don't park on the RFDS pad (doubles as a run-up bay), like some other inconsiderate pilots did.
Birdsville - see ERSA. Note parking warning above.

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