A flight across Lake Eyre, the Marree Man, Willouran Ranges, and Marree!

Yesterday, we took on the Birdsville track, and drove nine hours from Birdsville to Marree. For lunch, we stopped at the Mungerannie Roadhouse. On the walls there was lots of stuff that people had signed and left behind, like hats and hats and money! We also used the payphone outside of the road house to call a few people. 

At about 3, we arrived in Marree. We stayed in the Marree Oasis Caravan Park. Let’s just say it wasn’t much of an oasis. Once we had set up our campers, we headed down to the pub, where we had dinner. We also gave Stephanie a little presentation for her achievement of conquering Big Red! I made a certificate for her, and we also gave her a stubby and a sticker!

This morning, we had an early start once again to go to Arid Air, so that we could go on a plane over Marree and Lake Eyre! Stephanie and Russell also joined us on the plane, and our pilot was Aaron, who showed us Marree, Lake Eyre, the Marree Man, and the Willouran Ranges. 

Every year, Lake Eyre has a peak time where it is more full than usual, and it just happens to be around now! Although it was only a quarter full, as it barely ever fills all the way, it was still huge, with water everywhere you looked.

The Marree man is the outline of an indigenous man dug out in the dirt and rocks. It is over 2.7kms long, and the perimeter is 28kms! It appeared on the 26th of June 1998, by a pilot. No one knew where it had come from, it seemed to have just appeared! The main theory is that the military created it, but no one knows for sure!

We also learnt a lot about the Willouran Ranges, which are millions of years old.

Aaron also taught us about the Marree, it’s events, and history.

Once we had landed, we headed back to the ‘oasis’ and packed up the camper. We stopped at Farina, which is a really amazing town with rich history. We went to the Farina underground bakery for lunch, which had an huge oven underground. Even though it’s extremely old, bread and cakes are still cooked in it everyday for a few months of the year!

Eventually, we made it to Wilpena Pound. The caravan park is really nice, as it is in a national park! Tonight, Cejae and I are sleeping outside in our swags, which should be really fun!