AAA News
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"Spectacular" Lake Eyre draws a crowd
Thursday, 7 May 2009
"It's like a mirror — you don't know where the lake stops and the sky begins."
Reg Dodd, 69, has lived his whole life on the edge of Lake Eyre and only a few times can he recall the vast saltpan being in flood.
He is not surprised, then, by the "enormous attention" from tourists and media since water began streaming into the northern part of the lake in recent months.
At the lake's shallow southern shores in Marree, South Australia, Mr Dodd laments the lack of birdlife that appears to be flourishing in other pockets of Lake Eyre.
"The birds haven't seen any real rain, just the rivers flooding in from Queensland," he said.
"There hasn't been the weather pattern you need for mating and things like that."
The sprawling lake is divided into two sections — the 8430km/sq Lake Eyre North and the 1260km/sq Lake Eyre South. On the rare occasions that both sections are full, they comprise Australia's largest lake and the fifth largest in the world.
Air Adventure Australia's John Dyer said sudden demand has prompted his tour company to run Melbourne-to-Lake Eyre day trips for the first time in nine years.
"It needs a seriously significant amount of water to make [a trip] worthwhile … It's pretty rare," Mr Dyer said.
He tells tourists that this year's floods are spectacular but warns them to expect the best views from the air.
On land, the main floods in Lake Eyre North can only be accessed by driving long distances, often through thick mud renowned for ensnaring would-be adventurers and their vehicles.
Not everybody is suited to travelling to the lake's northern end but those who do are amply rewarded, said Bob Backway of the Lake Eyre Yacht Club.
"Sailing on Lake Eyre is completely unlike anything else," he said.
"You're floating on the desert … the people and the boats are the only manmade things for hundreds of kilometres.
"It can be a very lonely place, but it's pristine wilderness."From http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/809370/lake-eyre-floods-pull-in-tourists
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