TRIP REPORTS
Simon Trease - Lake Eyre
Thursday 4th.
Day 4.
The road into Marree had been sealed about
a week before we arrived, so it was a pleasant
arrival at the small town compared to vision I
had viewed only a couple of weeks earlier of a
rougher road. We arrived at Drovers Run
Caravan Park about 2pm. No sites were
particularly better than others, they all came
with dirt and stones. After camp set up we
relaxed around the communal camp fire and
enjoyed some damper made by the owners.
Friday 5th.
Day 5.
I was up at 6:15am and headed off into the
scrub not far from camp in search of the
airfield as I was to enjoy a scenic flight over
Lake Eyre. Six of us squeezed into a very small
airplane for a two hour flight. We flew over
the Marree man before heading north to first
cover Lake Eyre South, which although dry,
still provided a unique landscape. The North
Lake at this stage was 40% full with 60%
ground coverage. The surface was very flat
and reflected the clouds so perfectly that it
was very hard to pick out the horizon. You
can understand why some planes crash under
these conditions. As we flew further north
there was more bird life, mainly pelicans and
more scrub around The Warburton Groove
that feeds Lake Eyre. For an area that hasn’t
seen rain for quite some time and is very dry,
it is remarkable to see so much water.
View over Lake Eyre
After landing safely, downing some breakfast,
we headed down the Oodnadatta track then
turned north towards Mulpoorina station.
Here there was a great open bush camping
ground dotted with trees and even a flush
toilet. The trees surrounded a thermal spring
which we followed up stream to find the
source. Small fish were present along with
birdlife, a dug out hole which would act like a
spa, but without bubbles, a bird watching
shelter and even a large giant slingshot. That
was very random, but good fun as we
launched rocks into the creek.
Thermal Spring at Mulpoorina Station.
We then headed further north for another
50km of now very corrugated and rough road.
We arrived at the southern part of Madigan’s
Gulf near Level Post Bay where the North Lake
joins the South. It was dry, but still
spectacular.