flying over lake eyre ....

One of the highlights of the trip was having a two hour flight over Lake Eyre and the Painted Hills from where we camped at William Creek - I say camped quite loosely here as we were actually in cabins for sleeping, rather than unpack all our gear from the rooftop again!

There is no water in Lake Eyre at present though in 2009, 2010 and 2011 Lake Eyre was flooded and people flocked to the centre to view what is quite a rare occurrence.  For me though, the fact that it was empty meant salt pans and patterns and that was an absolute treat.  A day before we flew there had been quite a wind storm which was grand as it meant the wind blew the sand around up over land making it look like waves washing the shoreline.  The colours were rich and glorious - not really easy to show through glass windows.  

I found much to enjoy in the patterns and marks, not just across the lake, but also in the Painted Hills.  I was in the back seat of the plane on my own which meant I could scamper from one side to the other - an exercise in itself when one is in seat belts and wearing headphones!  This meant many of my photographs were taken into the sun and the results are quite different from the other side of the plane. After two hours and about five hundred photographs I was exhausted.  Almost comatose with effort and delight.  I am not sure the photographs do this justice - photographing through an open door would have been much better but alas, not possible.

I think the world is its most exquisite from a birds eye view.....