Lake Eyre National Park
If you'd like to see a landscape like nothing you've seen before, visit Lake Eyre National Park.
Lake Eyre is an extensive 'salt sink' which derives its mineralisation from the evaporation of floodwaters over countless years. During the past forty years or so the lake has seen many floods of varying sizes. The lake has only filled to capacity three times in the past 150 years. It can harbour water nine times as salty as the sea.
When Lake Eyre does fill, it becomes the biggest lake in Australia. The massive Lake Eyre system covers an area of 9,690 square kilometres, or roughly the size of Holland. Nearly one-sixth of Australia's landmass drains into Lake Eyre, but it has filled to capacity only three times in the past 150 years.
When water flows in to part-fill the lake via great inland rivers including the Diamantina, Cooper Creek and the Warburton, the spectacle is breathtaking.
Seasonal rainfall attract waterbirds such as Australian Pelicans, Silver Gulls, Red-necked Avocets, Banded Stilts and Gull-billed Terns. Driven by instinct, thousands of pelicans, banded stilts and gulls flock in from as far away as north Queensland to breed and feed on the teeming fish. There are many theories, but no-one is quite sure how birds as far as 2000 kilometres away instinctively know that the lake is full. Their antics above the pink waters of Lake Eyre make for an awesome sight.
Lake Eyre National Park is also home to interesting reptiles such as the Lake Eyre Dragon and (after rain) tiny forms of aquatic life such as Brine and Shield Shrimp.
More often than not though, the lake is dry - even then it's a sight to behold.
The brilliant white salt crust is 460mm thick in some places, and estimated to weigh 400 million tonnes. With salt flats as far as the eye can see, it's not hard to imagine British speed ace Donald Campbell setting a land speed record of 403.1 miles per hour on the lake in 1964.
Perhaps the best and safest way to take a look at Lake Eyre is from the air on a charter plane out of William Creek, Marree or Coober Pedy, although you can access the lake margin (in 4WD vehicles only) from Muloorina Station near Marree or a turn-off near William Creek.
This park can be accessed only by four-wheel-drive vehicles.
More information on Lake Eyre
Read about visiting Lake Eyre National Park, and how to obtain a Desert Parks Pass, at the Department of Environment and Heritage's Lake Eyre website.
