Australia So Much to See
William Creek, Kati Thanda (Lake Eyre)
William Creek is a remote and interesting tiny town, boasting a population of only twelve in peak tourist season, and down to three during summer. There is little more than a hotel which is also the fuel outlet, Wrights Air office, airfield, camping area, and a few houses.
There is Optus mobile reception at both William Creek and Oodnadatta, but not Telstra. I purchased
a pre-paid USB modem for Optus when in Coober Pedy ready for this.
Funded jointly by the Federal Government and the South Australian Government, the new sealed airfield was opened in 2011 by Stuart Nunn, an outback identity and former manager of Anna Creek Station (above right). The old unsealed airstrip lying idle across the road near the campground.
We wait in line for our turn on the busy runway (right).
Once airborne, we rose above these small cliffs on the edge of
a small claypan to the east William Creek townsite (below right).
Our flight over Lake Eyre with Wrights Air was booked before we left home and it did not disappoint. An ideal time, with water
still flowing in through the Warburton River Intake, yet the high rate of evaporation has seen the eastern side of the lake reducing
rapidly. Bird life was still evident. A perfect time to see all three phases at once.
We choose a two hour
flight over the regular one hour flight over Lake Eyre. This encompassed the interest of the Warburton Intake and the adjoining
desert. A smaller plane with less passengers gave us a more personal view. There were only four passengers and our pilot
squeezed into this small Cessna 210. We flew at varying heights between 500 feet and 2,500 feet.
Lake Eyre North was at 50 - 55% capacity when we saw it at the end of July, having peaked at 65 – 70% in June 2019. The depth of water when the lake is full is a maximum of six metres deep, and last filled to this level in 1974. Lake Eyre is 15.2 metres below sea level.
The 2019 waters came from the north of Queensland, following rains that gave them devastating floods in January and
February, followed by Cyclone Trevor in March. The flood waters reached Lake Eyre in mid March. The slow flow south was
predicted to give peak levels in Lake Eyre in June, at around 75% of the lake’s capacity. This was nearly reached. Reference:Environment SA
Lake Eyre catchment covers 1.2 million square kilometres, being 15% of mainland Australia. The lake
bed covers 8,430 square kilometres, and rarely fills to this level. Lake Eyre is the largest salt lake in Australia, and the
thirteenth largest in the world. The salt crust can be up to 50 millimetres thick.
Turning
due north, we were flying over a vast inland sea (above right).
Dulhunty Island is a permanent island in the lake