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Desert and water


The flight starts over dune country.  They don't look like much from up here but some are very high  and run for hundreds of kilometers.




The we found the water.  The flood water comes down from Queensland through what we call the channel country.  It doesn’t flow neatly down a river bed but rather fans out all over the place giving the desert which might have had no rain at all a refreshing drink.  It takes months to get down this far and is an amazing sight.

Below is an image of the punt where Cooper Creek crosses the Birdsville Track. This punt was put into operation in the 1960s and this is only the fourth time is has had to be used (showing how infrequent these big water events are).  It is 20 years since the punt was last needed and it is expected to be in use for at least 6 months.


Comments

  1. diane bOctober 10, 2010 at 8:47 AM

    Unbelievable. Hope it is still like that next month.

    ReplyDelete
  2. JulieOctober 10, 2010 at 9:31 AM

    Okay ... me being me .. I am going to start here and work back to the 18th Sept ... but need coffee first.

    ReplyDelete
  3. WinamOctober 10, 2010 at 2:21 PM

    Truly incredible sights. Look at how much water there is!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Joan ElizabethOctober 10, 2010 at 5:41 PM

    Diane, I looked it up and Cooper Creek is still running and the water coverage is still 60-70% so it will still be looking much like this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. MartinaOctober 10, 2010 at 8:32 PM

    Really fascinating!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Red Nomad OZOctober 10, 2010 at 9:50 PM

    Amazing shots! Makes us realise why channel country is actually called channel country - usually it's not that obvious!

    Happy travels!
    <a href="http://rednomadoz.blogspot.com>Adventures in Australia</a>

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownOctober 11, 2010 at 5:35 AM

    Fantastic views from above!

    ReplyDelete
  8. SusanOctober 11, 2010 at 9:22 AM

    These are just great to see!

    ReplyDelete

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