William Creek

Lake Eyre

After what seems like a lifetime, we finally arrived at William Creek. It’s small. It’s remote. It’s dry and dusty. It’s wonderful!

We drove into town past the airstrip, the Wrightsair Scenic Tours Office, and the pub/hotel/fuel station all on one side of town. On the opposite side was the caravan park, and that my friends, was that. The second we drove into town we both said, “I love this place!” I don’t know what it was, but it just had a really good vibe. Some small towns have it, some don’t, but William Creek (at least for us) has it in spades. During the cooler months, when people travel through to the centre, it can be quite busy. When there’s water in Lake Eyre, William Creek becomes a hive of activity, otherwise it has a permanent population of twelve.

As you can imagine there are not a lot of activities in or around town. Except one. And that was the one we had come for. A flight over Lake Eyre. We were finally going to see it from the best possible vantage point; above.

We chartered an airplane specifically for photography. Did that mean it had fancy gear, and super clear windows? Nope. In fact, there was nothing fancy about it at all. It was simply a small six seat passenger plane with one seat and one rear door removed.

How thrilling is that? I was hoping for some good photos, but even if I didn’t get any, I figured the flight itself would be amazing. And it was. I have never seen landscapes like this before, and having that door off, being able to say to the pilot, “bank left over that inlet please” then being able to shoot straight down at the ground…Wow. The whole experience was exhilarating.

Our pilot, Tony, was excellent. We spoke to him the day before the flight, told him what we wanted then relied on his knowledge of the area. After agreeing to a 0630 take off the following day, we went home feeling very excited.

I’ve never done aerial photography before, and it does come with challenges. It gets cold up there, and there is a lot of vibration, both of which impact the clarity of your photographs. Choosing the right lens, then selecting the correct settings to allow you to shoot while travelling at speeds of up to 200 kilometres per hour…all trial and error. Still, I’m happy with the shots I took, and they will give you a sense of the beauty of Lake Eyre and its surrounds, both wet and dry.

Tony suggested we fly past the Davenport Ranges (west of Lake Eyre) as sunrise was the best time to view them. He was right. The subdued shades of ochre and sand came to life as the sun touched the ranges which seemed stretch on to the horizon.

After the ranges, we just meandered our way across to the eastern side of the lake, often circling back to get a shot from a different angle, or to dive bomb a group of pelicans, (just kidding) because of our circuitous route and doubling back I lost track of our actual location. These were taken over the Neales River area, one of the three main flows that feed into Lake Eyre.

Although there are often many huge flocks of pelicans around Lake Eyre after rains and floods, there had not been many pelicans seen in recent weeks, so we were all thrilled when we saw a couple of groups of pelicans, and a large number of cormorants below us.

These next photos are without doubt my favourites. We passed two areas where these Mound Springs were evident, I could have spent the whole flight looking at them. They are formed on the surface of the lakebed as subterranean water forces its way up under pressure from the artesian basin. As it breaks through the surface, it brings with it a variety of minerals, mud and other debris. When this dries it creates a crust, and over time it can form into a mound. The overall result is visually stunning, naturally formed, intricate, unique shapes. They truly are works of art.

These next photos are just pretty. They were taken over some of the smaller tributaries and other interesting land formations. I find them pleasing to look at, but then, I am rather partial to abstract.

This last section of images proves that there is indeed water in Lake Eyre (north). Apparently, it is very difficult to accurately measure the water level in the lake. It covers and immense area, an estimated 9,500 square kilometres. It is the largest lake in Australia, but it is incredibly shallow, and according to Tony, it can move. That’s right, the water is so shallow that depending on the wind it can move across the flat lakebed and end up in an different location. You can see in some of these images just how shallow the water is.

I know I’ve been prattling on a bit, but this was an experience much worthy of prattle. We were in the air for just over two and a half hours and we both thoroughly enjoyed every second. The lake is majestic, even when not full. The landscape is breathtaking, almost ethereal with its delicate patterns and striking colours, and with tributary fingers that stretch across the surface feeding water into the salty lake. The salt deposits give an ironic feeling of snow and ice, so out of place in the centre of Australia; quite surreal. The splashes of green from the vegetation and the occasional yellow burst from the blossoming wattle trees add a touch of colour on this ecological canvas.

Only mother nature can come up with artwork like this, and I highly recommend a flight, any flight, over it, you won’t see anything like this in an art gallery. Wrightsair were great to work with, they really know the area and we haven’t spoken to anyone who has regretted taking a flight with them.

I’ve been searching for a topic for my 2023 calendar…I think that search is over. 😊

See you out there somewhere

On tow and on the go!