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Lake Eyre National Park
Overview
Lake Eyre National Park is about as far away from it all as you are likely to get in Australia or, for that matter, in most other countries of the world. The 13,492 square kilometres of the park is largely inaccessible, a stark, inhospitable wilderness where a vehicle breakdown can quickly develop into a life threatening situation.
Standing on the shore of the normally dry salt lake, many people experience an emotional response, sometimes fear, sometimes wonder or a sense of personal insignificance. This is a timeless, disorientating landscape, particularly when the horizon is lost in a shimmer of heat. Despite its vast size (some 8,000 square kilometres), Lake Eyre North, which includes the Elliot Price Conservation Park, is rarely seen by visitors except from passing aircraft.
On the infrequent occasions that the lake fills with water, Lake Eyre is a breeding ground for great masses of waterbirds which fly long distances to reach the newly arrived inflow of water. Water from its three-State catchment area covers the lake about once every eight years on average, but Lake Eyre has filled to capacity only three times in the past 150 years.
To camp in the park you must be in possession of a current Desert Parks Pass or a Day (24 hour) visit permit.
History
Fifty years ago, Lake Eyre was regarded as being permanently dry. Reports of sightings of water were thought to be the result of mirages. It was also wrongly believed that, if the lake ever did fill, the climate of the whole region would change.
The smooth, flat surface of the lake and its enormous size have made it an ideal site for a number of world land speed record attempts, notably the successful bid by Sir Donald Campbell in July 1964.
In 1974, after exceptional rainfalls in inland Australia, Lake Eyre was nearly 10 metres deep at Madigan Gulf with water flowing through the Goyder Channel from Lake Eyre South to Lake Eyre North.
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Aboriginal Culture and History
Lake Eyre is a special place and, of course, it is the subject of a number of dreaming stories. Many of these stories are secrets of the local Aborigines who believe allowing them to be known by the uninitiated would threaten the land. One story of the Arabana people, explaining the creation of Lake Eyre, has many secret parts. Words and names mentioned in the accompanying songs can be used only by the initiated. You'll find the non-secret part of this story related in your Desert Parks Handbook, a detailed travel information handbook that, together with information brochures and colour travel maps, forms the information pack for the Desert Parks Pass.
Contact
Information on Lake Eyre National Park is available from the Desert Parks Information Line at Port Augusta 1800 816 078 (within Australia), the William Creek Hotel and commercial outlets at Marree.
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