MARREE

As we returned to Marree from our scenic flight over Lake Eyre I mused at the thought of our next excursion, which was a tour of the town of Marree. I didn't think it would take long to see this tiny outback town surrounded by desert.

Marree

After lunch at the hotel we were taken to the outskirts of town where there was an old cemetary. There were three sections. A muslim area, an aboriginal area and a European area.

While we were reading the interesting head stones a willy-willy started up right near us. That is where the hot temperatre of the ground rises up and causes a strong wind in a circular motoin, similar to a mini tornado. It lifts up the sand and loose vegetation and scoots across the ground. (above) Ann is getting stung by the sand being whipped into her legs. If you look really hard you can see the the willy-willy just right of the righthand grave. You can see the grass clumps whirling in the air. After this shot I hid my camera under my shirt, hung onto my hat and shut my eyes.

In the muslim section there were some very big graves. We were told that the tradition in the early days of the muslim cameleers was that when the cameleer died his lead camel was buried with him. The grave above is a big one. Afghan and Indian  cameleers were brought to Australia in the 1800's to run the caravans delivering goods throughout the interior of Australia.

This is a replica of the very first mosque built in Australia last century.

The disused railway station at Maree. The reason so many of these towns are dying is that the north south rail link between Adelaide and Darwin was moved to the west. The reason Maree is still operating is mostly due to tourism connected with Lake Eyre and the Birdsville track, which starts here.  

We saw this old truck, which was supposed to have belonged to the famous mailman, Tom Kruse.(not the actor) He delivered mail on the Birdsville Track between 1936 -57. The track was very difficult to navigate in those days. It would take him between 2 weeks and 7 weeks to travel the 500km due to getting bogged in sand dunes, floods and breakdowns. He was an amazing man and a film was made about him in the 50's where he played himself. It is called "Back of beyond" His last truck which he abandoned in the desert was retrieved in 1993 and restored to working order and it is in a museum in Adelaide. So I'm not sure what truck is in the middle of this town, maybe an earlier one.

Then we returned to our cool air conditioned donga at the back of the "Great Northern Hotel" to cool off from the 40c heat and a rest before dinner.

Poor Birthday Bear didn't have a bed so she just had to hang around in Ann and George's donga. (a metal type cabin). This was what was provided as a cupboard for your clothes...one hook and one hanger. I guess we were in the desert in the middle of Australia miles and miles from civilisation.

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.

A WALK IN THE DESERT

After the flight over Lake Eyre we flew further north to Cowarie Station (Ranch). We were now in Central Australia where 3 deserts meet: the Simpson Desert, the Tirari Desert and Sturt Stony Desert.

The airstrip is on the station, which is as big as a small country. This year with all the rain the cattle have had so much feed available that they are getting too fat too fast and the owners are having trouble rounding them up fast enough to get them to the markets. We were supposed to go on a tour of the station homestead but that was dropped from our itinerary. However, another coach picked us up from the airstrip and drove us through part of Cowarie Station to the adjoining property, which was the Kalamurina Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a million acre conservation area.

A ranger took us for a short guided walk through the desert to the banks of the Warburton Creek. Even though it was the end of the wild flower season there were still some about.

It was about 40C/105F so there weren't many animals out and about but we saw their trails and burrows. The feral camels, which have become a pest in Australia, have been eradicated from this area giving back the habitat to our native animals.

There are a million camels covering a third of the continent. They were introduced in the 1800's to aide exploration and later to haul freight to the inland. During the early 20th century, when motor vehicles began replacing camels, they were turned loose and the feral population began.

The rangers and cattlemen are excited to see water in the creek as it is often a dry creek bed.

It is a harsh but captivating landscape. We headed back to the plane for our return flight over the flooded Cooper Creek.

SCENIC FLIGHT OVER LAKE EYRE

We jumped out of bed early as we were in the first group to go on the scenic flight over Lake Eyre. After breakfast, the coach took us the short distance to Marree airport, where we boarded the small plane. There were 13 passengers but one sat next to the pilot. Bill volunteered.

We all hoped that he read the instructions.

After an hour of flying over multi coloured, flat desert we arrived at the edge of the lake, it was quite breathtaking.

Lake Eyre with its salt pan edges and pink tinge caused by a bacteria living in the water.

The colours were unreal.

The salt and water stretched as far as we could see. It is huge and doesn't usually have water in it. At the moment it is very shallow, about 1.5 m. When it is rarely full, the max depth is 4m.

There are channels, bays, lagoons and salt mounds.

The morning sun shining on the water and salt pan looked eerie.......

....and dazzling, as we headed for the northern shores.

We flew further north towards Cowarie Station, criss crossing over the Warburton Creek, which was carrying water to the lake all the way from north Queensland. This creek is often dry and only flows when there has been more than usual rain in the north (like this year)

Birthday Bear was impressed with the views of the lake from the small plane. She looks like she might be having a bad hair day.

LAKE EYRE SOUTH

We continued on our journey through the desert from Marree to Lake Eyre South in our small 4WD coach. We detoured from the original itinerary but we were not told why. I had to erase the parts we didn't do and add the bits we did do on the map below.

Lake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia at 15m below sea level. It covers 9,500 sq km. It is mostly dry and covered in salt pan. When heavy monsoon rains fall in northern Queensland, the Diamentina and Cooper rivers flood, water spews into the desert through the channel country and finally finds its way into Lake Eyre months later. Mostly the water evaporates before it reaches the lake or it evaporates in the lake faster than it is filling. (Which is happening at the moment after heavy rains partially filled the lake this year). The lake is rarely full. It has occurred only 6 times since 1885. The last time was in 1974.  

I attached my polarising lens which makes the sky and earth look the real colour and not washed out. Sometimes there were hills and dunes and other times.....

......it was flat as far as you could see. The recent rains had made the desert green.

Finally we arrived at Lake Eyre South which is a smaller lake connected to the main Lake Eyre by a channel. I was disappointed that we stopped at a lookout not far from the main road but didn't go down to the lake edge. "Look how far away it is, but you can see the salt and if you try hard you can see the water on the horizon." Photography is deceiving. I am actually standing on a high hill and it is miles to the edge of the lake.

Thank goodness for telephoto lenses. I could see the salt and the water but no birdlife. 

Disappointed, I turned to photographing the last of the wild flowers. We were a bit late for the flower season but some were still hanging on. I think these are called Poached Egg and they are going to seed.

Birthday Bear was sad not to be able to walk on the salt pan since she had worn her walking shoes.

After a drink (it was 38 C) and reading the information boards at the lookout we headed back towards Marree where we stayed for 2 nights. We went on a scenic flight over the Lake Eyre North the next day. It was spectacular.

PT AUGUSTA TO THE DOG FENCE

We were up early for breakfast, which was better than our awful dinner the night before. The rooms were very comfortable but we were excited to be on our way to Lake Eyre.

 We  started to get closer to the desert areas, although they were quite green as there has been more rain than usual this year. We passed many ruins of old settlements that were started in the 1870's when  settlers came from Europe, especially Germany, to this area. They were encouraged to grow grain crops by the government as previous scouts had said the land was suitable for crops. However, the scouts had been there during a wet year, which doesn't happen very often. After crops failed year after year the settlements were deserted. These are the Kanyaka ruins.

Yippee! The driver drove into the old settlement for us to have a closer look. There was a huge homestead and many smaller buildings.

 We stopped for morning tea at Parachilna and once again we had to stand unless we perched ourselves on a fence. It was a long drive through desert country. It was flat all the way to the horizon and quite awe inspiring. We whizzed passed some interesting sculptures that an artist had placed along the roadside but no stop, so no photos.

We pulled into a rest stop in the town of Copley for another picnic lunch, nice wraps this time and whoo hoo we had a covered area with tables and trestles for all of us. While we were there a caravan  pulled in. "That's my blog!" After lunch we drove through more fascinating red, outback, desert to Marree for a pit stop and then on towards the lake. 

We were very happy when the driver stopped for us to get photos of the Dog Fence, sometimes called the Dingo Fence,  or the Vermin Fence.

The Dog Fence was built between 1880-1885 to keep dingos out of the fertile SE Australia and protect the sheep flocks. Thousands of sheep were being lost each year. 

It is 180cm high and extends into the ground for 30cm. It is maintained by 23 employees checking it every week.

It is the longest fence in the world stretching 5,614km across the continent.

Birthday Bear didn't have a seat on the bus so she sat on the bench between the driver and passengers. She was wishing we would hurry up and get to the lake, she wasn't interested in boring old fences and she doesn't want to meet a dingo, a wild native dog.