THE FLOODED COOPER CREEK

We returned to the plane after our walk in the desert and boarded for our flight back to Marree going over the flooded Cooper Creek, which is still emptying water into Lake Eyre. However I was a bit apprehensive when ...........

.....I saw who was piloting the plane.

We flew over the parallel sand dunes, there are thousands of them stretching from north to south and held in place by the vegetation.

Then we saw the famous Birdsville Track. Now it is an inland dirt road going through desert country for over 500 kms from Maree in South Australia to Birdsville in Queensland. It used to be a sandy, rocky track for many years needing high 4WD trucks to get through. It supplies the outback stations with mail and freight as well as cattle trucks going to the southern markets. Drivers must be well prepared with water, petrol and spare parts before traversing this difficult road.

Then we spotted Coopers Creek full of water heading for the lake.

In places the river has runneth over and spreads over the desert turning it green and attracting bird life. We saw flocks of birds flying low over the water but I couldn't get a shot of them.

The water had washed over the Birdsville track making it impossible to drive through.

However a detour road goes around the flooded area and crosses the creek by a punt. It is a novelty for the punt to work as the creek is usually dry. The plane had been flying very low so we could get a good view of the wetlands.

We left the floods and climbed higher over the colourful desert and headed back to Maree, where we would have lunch and a tour of the town.