Tom Kruse and Flying over the lakes

Marree is home to Tom Kruise - yah nah,  not the one most of you know, but an extraordinary Aussie who was the mailman and delivery driver for this remote region for many years. For most people living in this area of Australia contact with the outside world was hard and sporadic. Tom Kruse was their connection to the outside world. From 1936 to 1957 he drove his Leyland Badger truck from Marree to Birdsville in far western Queensland some 523 kms away. Each trip took two weeks and Tom had to deal with breakdowns, floods and getting bogged down in the desert dunes. In our hotel there was a Tom Kruse Room full of photos and memorabilia. His life was made into a documentary in 1954 "The Back of Beyond" by John Heyer. There is a book called The Mailman of the Birdsville Track by Kristin Weidenbach. 

And before we knew it we were heading to Birdsville ourselves, only this time in a small airplane. The distances are so large that it took us a good two and a half hours to fly from Marree to Birdsville. It seemed odd to be reentering Queensland again but only just on that western tip. The lake is a mere 9,500 kms square !!

Map by Kmusser. 

We were flying over Lake Eyre South Kati Thanda and Lake Eyre North. This is a massive inland lake and is below sea level and on the rare occasions it fills with water it is the largest lake in Australia. When we flew over the South lake it was largely salt pans and there under us was Marree Man. Apparently he is visible from space - but who put him there is still a mystery...

 The north lake is filled by river systems in the wet season filtering through to the lake. The rivers are the Diamantina, the Warburton and the Neal rivers. Every few years the rivers pump enough water into the lake for it to flood. This is the third year of la Nina so we knew there would be water in the lake. 

Flying further north we could make out the river courses and the green vegetation by the banks, flocks of birds and the amazing formations of the waterways that criss cross this massive basin. 

Just to show you how small we are - 

The areas around the lake were unusually green from the recent rain.

We arrived in Birdsville on the western tip of Queensland, famous for its races and festivals. 

Perhaps the most surprising place was this - unbelievably they manage to hold regattas every few years.

Tomorrow more on Birdsville and the Simpson desert.