24th May: set off from El Questro to start the Gibb River Road with first stop Home Valley. We went to Emma Gorge to do the Emma Gorge Walk involving only a small amount of back tracking. The walk was 3.8km return grade 4 over a lot of rocks so I didn’t bother with my poles. The swim at the gorge in the end was wonderful! Cold and deep and yet with warm patches from thermal activity including one very warm rock pall! The gorge had a waterfall, water dripping over 3 sides plus a magnificent vertical garden of ferns. We returned more quickly than we went. We joined Gibb River road, crossing the Pentecostal river and we waited for Jill & Craig whilst they crossed it. It wasn’t more than 0.4 meters deep- just wide- only reached to our running boards, but not the caravan steps. We arrived at Home Valley and took an unpowered site under the trees. We had barramundi and roast potatoes and salad for dinner at their restaurant. I went for a walk with my binoculars but birds were hard to identify at dusk.
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...













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