April 16th: We decided to walk the 5km Acacia Ridge trail, albeit at the hottest time of the day! Doug the licensee at Arkaroola Village took us to the start of the trail in our Prado, driving it back to the village for us whilst we took to the ridge and walked back to the village. The walk was uphill with a gentle gradient till we reached the ridge top with spectacular views from the top! It took us about 2 1/4 hours and it was plenty long enough for us! We were revived with a tonic and bitters at the village and are spending a quiet afternoon in the van with windows open and fan going. We will have Barramundi and Chips at the Village tonight and head to Farina tomorrow night followed by 2 nights at Coward Springs over Easter.
July 31st: Awoke to a clear sky and we set off on our Lake Eyre flight, which was actually 5 hours of flying with a stopover at Birdsville for lunch. Seeing Lake Eyre North filled with water was one thing, but travelling over the Channel country where the Diamantina River and Coopers Creek, both in flood break up into a myriad of channels such that there is water from one horizon to the other, was truly spectacular! Coopers Creek has only just reached Lake Eyre. There is only local rain causing a little bit of filling only for south Lake Eyre, but there is no water yet going through the Goyder channel connecting the two halves of the Lake.We ate at the Birdsville Hotel then went to Birddvisitors centre to learn more about the Lake Eyre Basin. On the way back we saw Goyder lagoon which was a huge area of water. We also saw the Birdsville track flooded and it was easy to see way it is closed and will be for some time. We didn’t see as many birds as I thought we might. We saw pelican...




Hi Suzanne and Nic Read with considerable interest of your early travel days. Glad you saw emus crossing the highway. We saw a flock? off to the side of the highway after Hay but just the once. Loved the photos and especially those of the Acacia trail but wondered if you should have gone out in the heat of the day. Your photos capture the dry vast Australian landscapes. Great to hear you are both travelling well and with all the extra precautions such as new chains. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThanks Geoff. We’ve reached Curtin Springs, around 100km from Uluru as I write. Seen some more emus, which I have skilfully avoided of course. The outback is never boring to me and much more heavily wooded with hardy coolabahs, acacias and lots more. Seen a few little eagles though bird life less than I expected. I suspect many have gone to where the action is, among the floodwaters descending towards Lake Eyre from Queensland.
DeleteWonderful photos Suzanne and Nic.
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