Day 4 - Marree / Lake Eyre / Coober Pedy

Today was the day for the Lake Eyre flights, the highlight of the tour.

Things started well. We boarded an aircraft and took off. However, about 20 - 30 minutes in, the pilot reported a problem with the generator and had to turn back. She said she would call around to find other pilots and planes to take us back up, but honestly I did not think she sounded hopeful.

After a long wait our tour operator took us back into town for breakfast. Bacon, eggs, bread. Was ok. I feel like I’m eating too much this trip.

While we were having breakfast in the roadhouse, some pilots wandered in and started talking to the owner (who had cooked us breakfast). Much discussion over available pilots, planes, and the tourists that needed to be taken up. This all took place in the kitchen where our breakfast was being prepared. Very casual, small town operation. Eventually the owner/chef/boss announced that “he had a plane”, presumably in some shed somewhere and this seemed to solve the problem.

The first plane we went up in had 10 passengers, the second one had 4. I sat in the co-pilot seat, and presumably would be required to take over in the event the actual pilot was incapacitated or decided to bail out.

Our pilot, Lockey, took us up and over Lake Eyre. Such Incredible views of the lake. So much water, it really is an inland sea. The sun glints off the water beautifully, and we had perfect weather. Pelicans, somehow drawn inland, had started nesting on the islands in the middle of the lake, as there they are safe from predators.

The plane’s propellers are invisible to the human eye but appear in the photos. Is this science or magic? No-one knows.

After the incredible flight around the lake, we turned sound and observed the Marree Man. Kind of hard to see at first but, like a magic eye, once you see it then it is easy. It is also evident that it has been touched up recently, as the grading lines(?) from the machinery are easily identifiable.

Once we touched down, it was time to go. The kerfuffle with the planes that morning meant that we finished much later than anticipated - not sure what activity was cut the day due to that. There was talk of stopping at an earlier hotel for the night, but the group voted to press onto Coober Pedy.

I should mention that the land continues to be incredibly flat and seemingly just goes on forever. So much empty land out here.

Stopped did stop at a Lake Eyre lookout. Apparently, you are no longer allowed to walk out to it and touch the water now??? When will this nonsense end?

We then pulled into a place that farms dates. Like Farina, this is a hotspot for caravans to stay overnight. Mum had a hot chocolate AND an ice cream, and stood smugly eating it right in front of me.

How do dates fruit? Do they grow on the trunk? Looking at one I think they are like bananas where they will have a branch shoot off and sprout a lot of fruit from it.

We then pushed toward Cobber Pedy for approximately 2.5 hours, most of it in the dark. We entered the largest cattle station in the world, Anna Creek station. It is approximately 6 million acres, and seven times larger than the largest ranch in the USA. Saw a few cows and calves during the ride.

Finally we entered Coober Pedy at around 8PM. It is a desert town, various mining infrastructure everywhere. Some signs of problems with crime - high walls surrounding businesses that are topped with coils of razor wire, roller shutters and metal grills over windows, etc.

Thankfully the kitchen in the restaurant was still open. Had a porter house with chips. Yum. The lady next to me wanted potato mash but they didn’t have any, but were able to substitute with chips. Can they not just mash up the chips???

Stayed at the Mud Hut Hotel that night.Read more