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 pelicans and pied cormorants and possibly some red-necked avocets plus cattle from the stations. The cattle apparently are taken to the adjacent Stony Desert when the water levels get too high.

We took a tour of the rest of Maree and found the Lake Eyre Yacht Club where we had a good chat with the guy who started it and he told us about conducting races on pools adjacent to Lake Eyre south. He expects water to remain in Lake Eyre for 4 years.

We came home to find that our diesel heater in the van wouldn’t work and Nic spent a long time trying to fix it. We ate at the Hotel.





Marree Man







Green along Coopers Creek
Flooded Birdsville track
Birdsville Hotel
Our Arid Air 12 seater plane





Channel country


Lake Eyre Yacht Club


















































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