Lake Eyre Flights

William Creek is one of the remotest towns in outback South Australia. At least it was until February rains in this part of the country brought a deluge of tourists.

"What's brought you down here?"

"See Lake Eyre"

Scenic Tours is bussing in thousands of intrepid explorers from all over the country, and once out of the departure lounge, they're off to their outback accommodation.

"We've just got to find number eleven now"

By morning, the Lake Eyre pilgrimage is on in earnest, as we head down a bone rattling dirt track, which in the height of summer should be treated with the utmost respect. Back in December 1998, German tourist Caroline Grossmueller died in searing heat as she struggled to make her way back from the dry salt pan that was then Lake Eyre to William Creek.

Now it's a completely different scene that greets these Dutch tourists as they venture to the shoreline.

"Out there in the middle of Lake Eyre North is the lowest point in Australia - some fifteen metres below sea level, and all of this is really one massive sump fed by waters that drain from a catchment area that covers about one sixth of this entire country".

"It's strange that in the middle of no-where in the desert, you see a salt lake, because when you see water, it's always sweet water. I don't know what you call it, but here it's Salt Lake and when I walked here, it smelled like it was the sea in Holland. So it's strange to walk here and have that smell in the nose".

The water that runs into Lake Eyre from rivers like the Warburton and the Cooper, is fresh and often begins its journey further northeast in the Queensland Channel country. But when it gets here, it gathers on the salt bed of what was once an ancient inland sea. And its mystique continues to attract the young and old.

"It's too big for it"

"We were just saying, if you look out here, as far as the eye can see, you'd think it was the ocean. And it's something that's so unbelievable. People have got to come out to see it to believe it. It's one of the wonders - it's gotta be".

But the early European explorers who ventured this far north were not so captivated by this natural wonder. For Edward John Eyre, the lake which bears his name was a major disappointment, yet another salt lake blocking his progress north on the 1840 expedition.

"He couldn't see a way through and twenty years later, Stuart came through and he found a way through Lake Eyre South to this part of the lake which is Lake Eyre North and he actually discovered Lake Eyre North"

And now each day, endless flights over the Lake give these modern day adventurers a real sense of just how vast this expanse of water is.

"Lake Eyre is 144 kilometres North South, by 77 kilometres East West and the total area is just under ten thousand square kilometres".

"So it really is an inland sea"

"It really is, yer, and it's hard to believe that such a vast area is in the middle of no-where"

"What's the reaction of tourists when you bring them here?"

"A lot of them just can't get over the sheer size, when you look at it to the horizon, all you see is lake and like you said, it's like looking out to sea"

One can only imagine what explorers like Eyre and Stuart thought when they came across all of this.

"Travel through here is a lot easier now, and up here you get a real sense of what it must have been like for the early explorers as they approached what must have seemed like impenetrable barriers"

For Troy Petschel, a former mustering pilot on Anna Creek Station, what once repelled visitors is now a tourist magnet. And also a magnet for bird life, like the pelicans looking for a bit of peace and quiet on Silt Crete Island.

"They don't like the mainland or any large island, they only like the small ones"

For Troy it's an ever changing experience of which he'll never tire.

"The Lake seems to give you something every day, something new, whether it be the wind because the wind can change the waterline with a strong westerly or strong southerly and so on. And that keeps different clouds coming across with the reflections on a calm day"

"It just gives you something new each day"

A one hour flight over Lake Eyre with Wrightsair cost $130.00 per person, and a two hour flight is $250.00. Meanwhile, the William Creek General store has comfortable accommodation in ATCO huts for $40.00 per night.

For more information email: info@postcards.sa.com.au