Lake Eyre, South Australiafeatured
Lake Eyre is Australia’s largest salt about 650 km north east of Adelaide, deep in South Australian Outback. It is one the most incredible places on Earth and almost no-one goes there! You can access the lake from either Marree or William Creek, both of which are tiny regional towns with a small population and limited facilities. Having said that, Marree has a heritage listed beautiful historic The Marree Hotel built in 1883. For an Australian outback, it is quite impressive and the food is simply spectacular, all considering. We have stayed here on 2 trips as it is only 100km from Lake Eyre and unless you fancy sleeping in the tent with not a soul around for quite a distance then this is your perfect luxury base camp to explore the area.
There are actually two lakes: Lake Eyre North and Lake Eyre South. Together, both lakes are 144km long and 77km wide. Lake Eyre has the lowest point below sea level (15,2m) on the Australian mainland. Lake Eyre is of great cultural significance to Arabunna Aboriginal people and the land has high spiritual value. I really appreciated the space, the quietness and the absolute tranquility of the area. Visitors will encounter no doubt some wild life, we saw packs of wild camels, emus but mostly snakes. You will site some of the most venomous snakes in the world at Lake Eyre. You will quickly learn to stay still!
Lake Eyre, South Australia
Lake Eyre
Lake Eyre
Access
About 90km from Marree on the actual Oodnadatta track towards William Creek there is a viewing point of the Lake Eyre South. That point is accessible by any car but to get onto the actual salt lake you will need to go off-road and have a well-prepared 4WD with high clearance. You can do this from Muloorina Station 54 km from Marree via Level Post Bay Track. There are camping grounds at the station. Beyond that, it is a rough 4WD track for another 46 km to Level Post Bay for experienced outback drivers only.
Make sure you have a satellite phone and a two-way radio with you. There is no phone reception and it will take a while to get any help out there. There are large red Warning Signs of Remote Areas Ahead on the road that specify what gear you must have. You will need to be equipped for self-recovery and potentially days of waiting before any help can reach you.
Night at Lake Eyre
To see the most spectacular night sky with uninterrupted views in all directions, drive onto the lake before sunset and simply wait for a couple of hours. Bring coffee. Make sure you remember the direction you drove from as it is pitch black at night. Once you are on the lake, it is flat for miles all around you and it is impossible to work out where you came from! I was lucky enough to capture the Moon and Venus set so close to each other.
Scenic Flight
In the last 150 years, there were only a few occasions when the lake has filled with water attracting colonies of waterbirds. You can find information on the current water level here. Most of the time Lake Eyre is a vast dry flat salt expanse with some incredible scenery that is best viewed from the air. Wrightsair offers Australian Outback scenic flights and Lake Eyre is their top destination. The view is just mesmerizing, the swirls of salt around the land make fascinating shapes.
Lake Eyre
Lake Eyre
Lake Eyre
The Marree Man – The second biggest geoglyph in the World!
One of the very interesting sitings from the air is the Marree Man. It is a modern geoglyph discovered by air on 26 June 1998 that appears to depict an indigenous Australian man hunting with a boomerang stick. The figure is 4.2km tall and 28km in perimeter. The origin of it is a complete mystery. Over the years the image has corroded but most recently the locals have completely restored it to attract tourism in the area.
Marree Man, South Australia