This was the fun part: Ian decided that keeping low most of the time was more interesting (check the elevations recorded in the big pictures!). We saw a good deal, and Ian told us all about the place (he's a fifth-generation pastoralist, and owns much of what we flew over). The flight took around four and a half hours in all, including a refuelling stop, and we covered a lot of ground. We took quite a few movies, too: you can see them at the end of the pictures.
 Mustering a few cattle (that's why we flew so low: sort of) |
 Red dirt, green vegetation: the outback has never looked so alive! |
 The Ediacara Range |
 Lake Eyre! (as far as the eyes can see) |
 Our Cessna 172 was a little worn |
 Lake Eyre's Junction Gully off Jackboot Bay (looking north-east) |
 The tip of Hunt Peninsula, in the Elliot Price Conservation Park |
 Inspecting the shoreline for 'emergency landings' (we had to get low for a reason...) |
 Although the altimeter read '0', we were just above the ground at the time (and below sea level) |
 The water in the lake had a real pink hue |
 Still 'looking for emergency landing strips'! |
 The white dot in the middle (left) is the remains of a Cessna that flew too close to the water |
 We dropped into Muloorina Homestead to refuel and stretch legs |
 Looking down the Frome River towards Marree |
 Magnificent scenery! |
 A close-up as we flew past |
 Looking back along the old Ghan Railway to junction of Oodnadatta and Birdsville tracks (at Marree) |
 More of the old Ghan (now relocated to the west) |
 Illusion Plains: many commercials are filmed here |
 Close-up of the strange geography |
 The Witchelina Hills |
 Lake Eyre South in the distance |
 The Ochre Cliffs, used by aboriginals for thousands of years (they traded ochre) |
 Lyndhurst, junction of Strzelecki Track and track to Marree |
 The only segment of sealed road on the Strzelecki Track, near Lyndhurst |
 The 'old' Leigh Creek coal mine |
 Another view of the old mine |
 A small part of the new mine: the yellow dots are huge mining trucks |
 The white area is marked for further mining (Leigh Creek) |
 It's really, really BIG! |
 Where they store Leigh Creek's water |
 And the Leigh Creek mining village, with trees! |
 We had to fly for a while with the windows open |
 Gammon Range in the far north |
 Ubiquitous 4WD and trailer, and roadside ruin |
 Back at hotel (not sure about the reindeer) |