Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is a massive lake surrounded by desert in central Australia. The lake is usually dry in most areas, but during the first half of 2019, an influx of water into the basin brought new life to the area. Huge downpours of rain from two weather systems resulted in devastating floods for parts of northern Queensland and Northern Territory in early 2019. This water made a slow and tortuous journey filling the Georgina, Diamantina and Warburton rivers while flooding desert towns. In late February, Birdsville experienced a sudden inflow of water, temporarily isolating the town.
A second rain system in late March brought even more water, extending across vast flood plains and eventually flowing into Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, many weeks after the rain first fell. So the water we see down below us has travelled maybe 1000 kilometres. Sometimes at a slow walk, sometimes perhaps at a slow jog depending on how narrow the channels are.
And a massive lake surrounded by tens of thousands of kilometres of desert. Just a big area of water in the middle of Australia. So it’s a huge basin that all this water is draining into. About 17% of the total size of Australia, the water is just draining down into this lowest part of the continent. It's just gone bang and it's growing like crazy.
We've increased our employment, we've increased the number of aircraft, and what we're seeing is a 600-fold increase in the number of four-wheel drives coming through, and actually experiencing Lake Eyre on their way up to the rock.
Beautiful, absolutely stunning. It's amazing, how big it is. You can just see forever. It's also the Simpson Desert and the lake just right next to each other, is pretty amazing.
So this is fantastic news for the graziers, for the wildlife and even for the river itself, for the fish and the bird life that rely on that flow.
We were looking at destocking, starting to destock, and we just sort of started, when that rain fell up north. And as bad as it was, it was good for us, you know.
Every flood is different hey, and that’s what them old fellas said when I first come into this country, 'every flood is different'. How it flows, where they spread out you know, how much feed they grow. And takes a fair while to get down here, like it's only walking pace. You've got to wait for it to come, you've got to wait for it to rise, you've got to wait for it to drop, you've got to wait for the feed to grow. So it is a fair waiting game. Like floods do us good, more than bad, you know?
This is the Warburton River. You can see the way it tracks in a very snake like fashion, though the desert county. Very dry everywhere else, but the Warburton still has water in it. The Warburton River is one of the rivers which goes into Lake Eyre, not always water in the Warburton River, but certainly brings life back to this region when the water does flow. So you can see there's trees, and right at the moment there's bird life, pelicans, and certainly fish in the river at the moment as well. Quite deep here, you can see how the river has carved out channels in the desert country basically. So you look to the horizon, and there is nothing as far as the eye can see except some small shrubs, bushes and dune country. With this oasis I guess of trees and life in the Warburton River.
The lake is incredible, having gone out there 100's of times, I think it's something all Australians should come out here and experience, it's like looking at an inland ocean.
In this year 2019, about 80% of northern Kati-Thanda filled. But that water should also last right though winter, and into spring. By the time we get into summer, there is probably not going to be a whole lot of water left.
Usually when we think about floods, we associate them with destruction and devastation. But for the Channel country, flooding brings life to the outback helping vegetation and wildlife flourish. We haven't seen this amount of water since 2011. With it comes a wave of tourists and an economic boost to towns and communities.
A second rain system in late March brought even more water, extending across vast flood plains and eventually flowing into Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre, many weeks after the rain first fell. So the water we see down below us has travelled maybe 1000 kilometres. Sometimes at a slow walk, sometimes perhaps at a slow jog depending on how narrow the channels are.
And a massive lake surrounded by tens of thousands of kilometres of desert. Just a big area of water in the middle of Australia. So it’s a huge basin that all this water is draining into. About 17% of the total size of Australia, the water is just draining down into this lowest part of the continent. It's just gone bang and it's growing like crazy.
We've increased our employment, we've increased the number of aircraft, and what we're seeing is a 600-fold increase in the number of four-wheel drives coming through, and actually experiencing Lake Eyre on their way up to the rock.
Beautiful, absolutely stunning. It's amazing, how big it is. You can just see forever. It's also the Simpson Desert and the lake just right next to each other, is pretty amazing.
So this is fantastic news for the graziers, for the wildlife and even for the river itself, for the fish and the bird life that rely on that flow.
We were looking at destocking, starting to destock, and we just sort of started, when that rain fell up north. And as bad as it was, it was good for us, you know.
Every flood is different hey, and that’s what them old fellas said when I first come into this country, 'every flood is different'. How it flows, where they spread out you know, how much feed they grow. And takes a fair while to get down here, like it's only walking pace. You've got to wait for it to come, you've got to wait for it to rise, you've got to wait for it to drop, you've got to wait for the feed to grow. So it is a fair waiting game. Like floods do us good, more than bad, you know?
This is the Warburton River. You can see the way it tracks in a very snake like fashion, though the desert county. Very dry everywhere else, but the Warburton still has water in it. The Warburton River is one of the rivers which goes into Lake Eyre, not always water in the Warburton River, but certainly brings life back to this region when the water does flow. So you can see there's trees, and right at the moment there's bird life, pelicans, and certainly fish in the river at the moment as well. Quite deep here, you can see how the river has carved out channels in the desert country basically. So you look to the horizon, and there is nothing as far as the eye can see except some small shrubs, bushes and dune country. With this oasis I guess of trees and life in the Warburton River.
The lake is incredible, having gone out there 100's of times, I think it's something all Australians should come out here and experience, it's like looking at an inland ocean.
In this year 2019, about 80% of northern Kati-Thanda filled. But that water should also last right though winter, and into spring. By the time we get into summer, there is probably not going to be a whole lot of water left.
Usually when we think about floods, we associate them with destruction and devastation. But for the Channel country, flooding brings life to the outback helping vegetation and wildlife flourish. We haven't seen this amount of water since 2011. With it comes a wave of tourists and an economic boost to towns and communities.