I just got back from an amazing adventure through the Australian outback and was lucky enough to see the floodwaters feeding into Lake Eyre at the moment. The heavy rain in recent months that put southwest QLD underwater also left the Georgina and Diamantina rivers swelling and those waters have been flowing into the Warburton river. This river feeds into Lake Eyre and as you can see in the photos that I took from the air, the normally dry and salty lake has taken on a striking shade of blue! This rare pulse of water has enticed hundreds of pelicans and aquatic life to the region.
But there's more water on the way- and it's not just the floodwaters that are still continuing to flow into the salty lake. A northwest cloudband across central Australia right now is expected to deliver widespread falls of 25mm or more across SA's pastoral districts over the next 48 hours. So as well as capitalising on inflows from QLD's floods, Lake Eyre is set to receive around 25-50mm of its own rain. This will provide bird and aquatic life with even more incentive to trek all the way out to the driest part of our country, not to mention travellers eager to see outback come to life during this uncommon flooding and rain event.
Anna Creek Station, which is located to the western side of Lake Eyre, has also benefited from recent rains. The drought-stricken cattle station now boasts full dams and veins of thick green vegetation where rivers and and streams have been running. Half the size of Tasmania, Anna Creek Station is the largest cattle station in the world.
And it doesn't stop there- rain and storms across Alice Springs may lead to localised flooding, sending the Todd river flowing once again.
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