Lake Eyre Day Trip
Departing Adelaide

At Aviation Tours we only use multi-engine, pressurised aircraft for safety and comfort, with a guaranteed window seat for everyone and 2 crew for your peace of mind.

After departing Adelaide, we head north over the Flinders Ranges. Continuing north-west we land in the small outback town of Marree, once a fascinating historic watering hole and railway town on the edge of the vast desert area of Central Australia. To the north lies the Tirari Desert, to the northeast is the Strzelecki Desert, and to the northwest lies the vast saltpan, Lake Eyre. Marree is a true desert settlement, receiving an average annual rainfall of only 125 mm.

After Morning Tea at the Marree Hotel, we continue our tour with an amazing aerial view of the Marree Man. This feature ‘stands’ at 4.2 kilometres tall, measures 28 kilometres around its perimeter, and depicts a hunter with a stick. To this day, there is still no credible information known about the individual responsible for creating the world’s second largest geoglyph, located just on the outer banks of Kati Thanda – Lake Eyre.

Leaving the Marree Man, we get our first glimpse of Lake Eyre South. This area is often dry and only fills with water during significant rainfall, a rare occurrence.

As we continue our Lake Eyre scenic flight, we pass over the well-known Belt Bay. The southernmost part of Lake Eyre North is where an abundance of wildlife thrives in the salt-rich shores. It holds most of the lake’s annual rainfall, and its deepest part has been recorded at 15 metres below sea level.

Arriving in William Creek, population 15, you have the option (March – October only), to fly on a local flight, to Anna Creek Painted Hills after lunch at the William Creek Hotel. (This is an optional extra, and is $490- per person). This is a rocky outcrop of large and small hills, which emerge out of a flat, desert landscape. The hills are approximately 20km by 18km in size. Flying back to William Creek for lunch, you will be amazed by the history of the (once) boarding house.

The William Creek Hotel began its life back in 1887, providing a place to eat and sleep for the labourers on the Old Ghan Railway. For those not taking up the option to fly to Anna Creek, Morning Tea will be at the William Creek Hotel followed by a self-guided tour of this tiny outback town. Late afternoon we take our final flight to see more of the incredible Lake Eyre North. This spectacular vantage point will allow you to gaze down on the lake’s wildlife and perhaps even spot the waters changing colours by the salt-loving algae. We divide our flights over Lake Eyre to ensure you have the best visibility in different lighting conditions. We also fly low over the Goyder Channel which is the entry point for the water to flow from Lake Eyre North to South.

As we depart the Lake Eyre region we fly over Lake Torrens with Wilpena Pound in the distance to the left and Port Augusta on our right. A late afternoon arrival back into Adelaide will have you home in time for dinner with lasting memories of all that Lake Eyre in flood, had to offer.