Rare Australian Sight: Lake Eyre With Water

Recent storms in Australia, which closed some roads and flooded rivers, have also brought a rare sight: The Outback’s Lake Eyre has filled with water for only the fifth time in a century.

Normally dry except for occasional puddling, Australia’s largest salt lake and lowest point (52 feet below sea level), located in South Australia, is about 80% covered with shallow water, park officials said last week. Thousands of banded stilts, a comparatively rare bird, are already nesting in the lake’s north end. Tour operators, too, are flocking to the area.

To gauge the magnitude of the event: The 3,600-square-mile lake could eventually hold 10 to 15 times as much water as Sydney Harbor, said Brenton Arnold, a regional manager at Australia’s Department for Environment and Heritage, which oversees Lake Eyre National Park. He expects the flow into the lake to peak in the next few weeks, and the lake may remain filled for a year or so. The last time it flooded was in 1989.

Australia-based Banksia Adventures was sending its first tour group to the lake today. Participants in the one-day trip fly from Adelaide, land at a bush airstrip for tea, overfly the lake, then stop for lunch before returning to Adelaide. Banksia also offers a four-day, four-wheel-drive camping trip to the lake. Both trips cost about $590 per person. Contact a travel agent or Banksia, telephone 011-61-8- 8236-9222, Internet https://www .banksia-adventures.com.au.

The storms also have pushed desert wildflowers, which normally bloom August through October, into a second bloom cycle, officials said; they expect the best wildflower season in years. Information: Australian Tourist Commission, (800) 333-4305, or National Parks and Wildlife Service in Adelaide, tel. 011-61-8-8204-1910.