Lake Eyre scenic flights: South Australia salt lake tours from William Creek

Lake Eyre scenic flights are available with Wrightsair. Flights over Australia’s biggest salt lake depart from the William Creek airstrip in the South Australian outback.

Lake Eyre is in many ways the epitome of the Australian outback. At first glance it is a simple place – Australia’s largest salt lake is just a giant salt pan covering a vast area of South Australia.

However, as with much in the Australian outback, Lake Eyre is much more complicated than it appears. For a start, the biggest salt lake in Australia is actually two separate lakes. According to the National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia, North Lake Eyre covers a region 144km long and 77km wide. Then the relative tiddler by its side, South Lake Eyre, stretches 64km in one direction and 24km in another. Lake Eyre is also the lowest point in Australia, at 15.2 metres below sea level in parts.

Lake Eyre salt lake in South Australia — Lake Eyre is the biggest salt lake in Australia. But the drive to Lake Eyre is a tough undertaking.

Lake Eyre scenic flights: Lake Eyre in flood

Sometimes known by its Aboriginal name of Kati Thanda, Lake Eyre isn’t a true salt lake. Every eight years or so, when there’s particularly heavy rain in northern Australia, flood water pours into the lake. Most of the time, the view across Lake Eyre is one of barren, white desolation across the horizon. Yet strike that right moment, and the lake teems with life. Thousands of waterbirds arrive – avocets, pelicans, terns, gulls – for a feeding frenzy.

It is very difficult to drive to Lake Eyre, even in a 4WD vehicle. Hence most tours that visit Lake Eyre take a scenic flight from William Creek on the Oodnadatta Track.

There are multi day tours that visit Lake Eyre from Adelaide via South Australian crossroads town Port Augusta. But these are very, very expensive and use the same scenic flights you can just book on to yourself.

Flight over Lake Eyre from William Creek

The main operator of Lake Eyre scenic flights is Wrightsair. The closest airstrip to Lake Eyre is at William Creek, 823km or nine hours’ drive north of Adelaide, although Wrightsair also operates from Marree, Coober Pedy and Wilpena Pound. The classic Lake Eyre scenic flight from William Creek lasts one hour and costs $300. These flights include full commentary via headsets as you fly over Australia’s lowest point at Belt Bay, and the prehistoric river systems that mark Lake Eyre like scars.

If you’re just wanting to see a big salt lake, try Lake Hart. This lake is easily accessible from the Stuart Highway near Woomera.