Was Visiting Lake Eyre Worth It? Yes.

I loved my visit in August, and I didn’t expect to visit Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre in 2025. In fact, it may not have been on my travel shortlist until I started hearing about the unusual water levels expected this year.

The lake is normally dry and the current water levels are some of the highest in decades, which prompted me to organise a fairly spontaneous two-week road trip from NSW to outback SA to see the lake, also taking the opportunity to explore the Flinders Ranges.

The water is the lake is wonderful for the region and beautiful to see, but it is also a reminder of the preceding floods that devastated other regions, particularly Queensland.

Having researched access to the lake I knew the only way to really see the lake would be by air and I'd booked a sightseeing flight from William Creek with Wrightsair. It was a busy time for visitors and our plane was full, with many like me wanting to see the lake while it had water. Thankfully for us, it was a beautiful sunny morning on the day of our flight.

Flying early August our pilot said the lake was over 80% full and that they would know soon if it would get to 100% or not. He told us that every day approximately the equivalent of all the water used by Adelaide in a day was flowing into the lake, but approximately the same volume was evaporating.

South Australia's National Parks and Wildlife Service confirms Lake Eyre is Australia’s largest salt lake and the continent’s low­est point at 15.2 metres below sea lev­el. In the last 160 years it has only filled to capac­i­ty three times.

Even from the sky it felt impossible to really get a sense of the lake’s size. According to Wikipedia the Lake Eyre Basin is a drainage basin that covers almost one-sixth of all Australia, and is approximately the size of France, Germany, and Italy combined!

The water coverage is very wide, but often very shallow, so it can be hard to where the land stops and lake starts. In so many places the colours of the soil appeared to blend into the colours of the water and sky.

For those wanting to visit I'd recommend going between now and the end of November, and keep an eye on the latest water level reports as the water is expected to evaporate over spring and summer.

During my visit I saw pelicans but the large flocks of birds expected had not arrived yet, so later travellers may be lucky enough to see lots of wildlife. as well as the natural beauty of the lake and outback South Australia. 💚

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