Lake Eyre’s biggest flood in nearly 50 years | 7.30

The waters that devastated northern Queensland earlier this year are resurrecting the country’s parched central deserts, notably the Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre basin.
It’s being called a ‘special flood’, possibly the biggest to make its way through Lake Eyre in nearly half a century.
Environmentalists say the Lake Eyre Basin is becoming a last refuge for wildlife as irrigation, dams and diversions choke the life out of the once mighty Murray Darling.
Regional correspondent Dominique Schwartz and cameraman Ben Deacon travelled through the heart of Australia for this special report.
Read more here: www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-0...
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[@robinhodgkinson]

As a young bloke back in the early 70’s ( close on 50 years so probably the last time it flooded like this ) I drove north from Port Augusta to Alice Springs. It had rained heavily off and on for a week or two previous and getting through by road was dodgy. At one point I remember stopping and standing by the road side on a rise in the undulating landscape and looking out to the horizon. I could barely believe what I was looking at. The few trees stood in contrast, black and leafless from a previous fire, with green grass and spinifex blanketing the ground from horizon to horizon without a break. Like someone had just laid bright green carpet over the world. Totally totally surreal. Without a doubt the most amazing landscape I have ever seen anywhere.

[@z7olliez7518]

Thanks for sharing your memory! :)

[@brienking5549]

Thank you.

[@TukozAki]

I feel your emotion back then. Also green Australia breathing with life is a real pleasure to see for once, men. Good job - from Normandie, France.

[@peepeetrain8755]

1974? heard that was the wettest year for Australia apart from 2011. Major floods and rain across Australia that year. Thank god for la niña

[@melissalove2463]

Robin Hodgkinson We truly live in a beautiful country hey Robin ! 💞🇦🇺💞

[@kestrel09]

My Country The love of field and coppice, Of green and shaded lanes. Of ordered woods and gardens Is running in your veins, Strong love of grey-blue distance Brown streams and soft dim skies I know but cannot share it, My love is otherwise. I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains. I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea, Her beauty and her terror - The wide brown land for me! A stark white ring-barked forest All tragic to the moon, The sapphire-misted mountains, The hot gold hush of noon. Green tangle of the brushes, Where lithe lianas coil, And orchids deck the tree-tops And ferns the warm dark soil. Core of my heart, my country! Her pitiless blue sky, When sick at heart, around us, We see the cattle die - But then the grey clouds gather, And we can bless again The drumming of an army, The steady, soaking rain. Core of my heart, my country! Land of the Rainbow Gold, For flood and fire and famine, She pays us back threefold - Over the thirsty paddocks, Watch, after many days, The filmy veil of greenness That thickens as we gaze. An opal-hearted country, A wilful, lavish land - All you who have not loved her, You will not understand - Though earth holds many splendours, Wherever I may die, I know to what brown country My homing thoughts will fly. -- Dorothea Mackellar

[@WendyJoseph-ww8ws]

Love this area. Not been there for 20 years, but once experienced - never forgotten. Those little fish only come out after a big rain. The eggs lie dormant for 10 years or so, then they hatch, breed, lay their eggs and die, all very quickly. To stand in the desert with the water thigh deep and thousands of little minnows swimming about your feet is simply awe inspiring.

[@robertyw2842]

When the flows in the creeks and rivers slow down enough and all the sediment settled, that's the magic time to visit these places. I and my mate were lucky enough to have arrived at Innamincka (approx. 200 km NE of lake Eyre) at such a perfect time during a 4x4 outback adventure in 2003; it was pure luck! Had we arrived 2-3 weeks earlier, the Copper Creek would still have been a fast torrent with muddy water. There was still a slow steady flow When we arrived, but the water, my gosh, it was crystal clear, amazing stuff! I thought at the time one can not get any water cleaner than this. We camped along the Creek for a few days, caught quite a few Yabby and many Yellow Belly (Callop); grilled and washed them down with a couple bottle of Elderton 1998 cab sav; heavenly. It was near dusk, overhead there was flight calls of migrating birds from and to Lake Eyre, given the remoteness and isolation of the place; at the time I thought that we were back to Eden! Yep, it was indeed a trip I wouldn't forget anytime soon.

[@hcr32slider]

Sounds like an awesome trip

[@robertyw2842]

@@hcr32slider The difficult thing is to get the timing right; most of the time, it is either small pools dotted along the river bed in the drought season or fast muddy torrents in flood season; there is a small window where the water is just perfectly clear. We were just lucky! We told some of our mates who were die hard outback enthusiast on our way back, some were heading out as we were coming in! They just didn't want to miss out. you can ring some of the locals to inquire about the conditions though. I actually had a dip & swim in the Cooper Creek, I still remember as I was swimming in the middle of creek, suddenly, there was this strong fear just coming out of no where, given its remoteness, I think I realized at the time that I may well be the first person who ever swam in that location; it was the fear of the unknown, some thing may just come up and grab me, a Bunyip or some other under water creatures or it could well be my sixth sense telling me that I should not be there at all & should get the hell out! All superstitions aside, In fact, it was never a good idea to swim there as there may be some strong under current and submerged tree logs of which their moving branches are like claws of under water creature that can pull you under. Youthful enthusiasm & ignorance I suppose.

[@Kinghassz]

Robert Y W Hi im from Sydney and im planning to move to Melbourne God willing, How can someone like me travel to places like lake Eyre if im jobless and broke, is that possible?

[@Uvevwevwevwe]

@@Kinghassz Why you moving to Melbourne? Syndey's better.

[@Kinghassz]

Uvuvwevwevwe Onyetenyevwe Ugwemubwem Ossas I have to move because of family problems

[@jozzas]

Please upload in HD, this story and the beautiful cinematography deserves better.

[@binozia-old-2031]

it is HD you just have to wait for a few hours after it’s uploaded

[@jozzas]

@@binozia-old-2031 nah they're upscaling it. Looks like it's a standard definition source to me.

[@andrewford80]

@@jozzas Yeah this is definitely not native HD

[@tedsmith6137]

Travelled through there in 1976, when the Lake was starting to recede from its flood peak. The birdlife was both amazing and deafening!

[@valiaudet3415]

Bird watching paradise

[@WendyJoseph-ww8ws]

Oh yes!

[@TheOriginalDeckBoy]

There's some smart local's who know how to manage the land... well done...

[@ElisPalace]

By manage you mean leave it alone and don't interfere with nature

[@reallife7375]

@@ElisPalace kn oaf they get 2000 iq!!!!

[@gg4u481]

Is this the runoff from qld floods in January?

[@kitkat7523]

It doesn't need 'managing' by anyone, nature created and manages. So arrogant to think humans need to manage!!!

[@tortron]

@@kitkat7523 it does when you want to run a cattle ranch on it (which seems bizzare to me but if it's been going 80 years it must be possible) poor management would be to take most of that water at the cost of down stream ecosystems

[@leecrotty658]

“Life’s not all beer and skittles.”

[@shazmosushi]

Thought it would be somebody being interviewed saying that, but it was the reporter haha

[@kurtisburtis]

skittles is another name for an old-fashioned bowling game

[@Deepthought-42]

This needs a counter program to show the damage done by water extraction on the Murray Darling.

[@internethardcase]

The ABC would never upset their liberal bosses and cover that lol.

[@quokka7555]

Four corners have done investigations into the Murray darling...

[@scoldingwhisper]

Mr Murdoch would never allow that on any of his networks

[@belphy205]

As a South Australian i agree.

[@mrchestwell]

You are correct, but don’t call me darling

[@eufemiabuono9195]

We really must learn to appreciate everything we do have because we usually take all for granted.

[@bipolatelly9806]

Eufemia Buono I don't.

[@eufemiabuono9195]

@@bipolatelly9806 well most of us do

[@bipolatelly9806]

Eufemia Buono Most people have been brainwashed into believing pseudoscience. Sadly....

[@bipolatelly9806]

Voice of Reason yes.... Anyway.... The Sun drives the weather.

[@juttagalbory6659]

Like the lakes that will likely be destroyed by Adani mine...with no gains for anyone except a foreign billionaire and some local politicians...

[@KCarver]

How bloody lucky are we to live in this magnificent country.

[@TimeSurfer206]

You are blessed, Mate, and this Yank is jelly. But, I do live in the Maritime Northwest of the US, so, there is that. And I'm glad to see some of you are trying to protect what you have.

[@alexh1355]

@@TimeSurfer206 We have just as much natural beauty! Just not nearly enough people who think to protect it

[@tcmtech7515]

I hear your government is working hard on fixing that now.

[@KrazyMitchAdventures]

Living in British Columbia, Canada. I just can't fathom not always having endless fresh water..

[@derekborkent2899]

Isn't it amazing how all these great lakes are drying up, and according to predictions they'll be dry not too long from now. Just like the ice free Seas around the arctic. Astounding how clever those expert climatologists are and their followers, our government leaders. Bloody dumb f*cks.

[@KrazyMitchAdventures]

@@derekborkent2899 You must not know where BC is, in relation to the Great Lakes.. Ever heard of "Google Maps" try using it sometime..

[@bingus9984]

@@derekborkent2899 The great lakes are not drying up. I don't know where you're getting that

[@derekborkent2899]

@@KrazyMitchAdventuresI do know where BC is but I was referring to all the large significant lakes everywhere in general and trying to show the idiocy of the climate alarmists' predictions. But that was probably over your head.

[@derekborkent2899]

@@bingus9984 I bloody know that but you try and tell that to the climate change alarmists. I was being facetious.

[@bobthedj6992]

Nice to see these people really care about their land, good people like this really make our country

[@charlibrown870]

Bobthedj you mean Stole that land you are British boy don't forget that

[@razorback1sf1]

@@charlibrown870 no, they merely settled, the british army did that, the settlers wanted to co exist [Similar to israel and palestine]

[@terrysadlier8456]

@@charlibrown870 the Irish are not British, they were kidnapped and sent there as indentured slaves and "criminals" in the eyes of the crown. I don't blame the British because if the shoe was on the other foot we would have done the same to them maybe even worse, I'd like to think we wouldn't but we have always have been a warrior nation fighting at the time the biggest Empire the world had ever seen literally on our doorstep for 800 years only for our own politicians to sell us out to the EUSSR

[@deanpd3402]

The big mistake we make in any rain event of any kind is not to use the techniques of Peter Andrews and slow down the journey of all this water as it travels along creeks and rivers. The water will still make it to Lake Eyre but slow it down along the way. If you think that is not natural then you fail to understand how river systems always functioned before we cleared them of debris. The Murray river being a prime example of that back in the 19th century.

[@superspooky4580]

Mmmmm I think 115 degree and evaporation would very much disagree with you. Almost like the longer you give water to evaporate the more that will.

[@CHRISSSJ8]

Murray Darling authorities would do well to follow this example!

[@stivi739]

haha goodone..all they think of is the money they can leech out of the last few drops

[@gondwanaland3238]

I was born near the Darling river. It's shocking to see the state of it now. My protest:- I never buy Australian cotton or Australian rice, two crops that I believe should never be grown in our desert areas. Is my protest noticed, probably not but I urge people to do the same.

[@mikemoore2791]

Yeah those idiots should disband and leave nature alone

[@internethardcase]

Too much actual corruption for that to happen. And the ABC would never cover it.

[@xmj6830]

When we do the right things toward nature, it pays back...

[@ivanoffw]

It's great to see a video about a flood, that is not about destruction, but of how the water improves the area.

[@ebl36]

seeing Aussies so excited by a flood makes me grateful that we get rain regularly

[@mangiblotarinawabag4964]

Haven't you heard? Our dams will never fill again past 2020, we'll all die of thurst. Spend billions on some airy fairy crap that does nothing for the environment.

[@theradioactiveplayer3461]

This news coverage is the most wonderfully surreal thing in the world - the reporter's mild accent makes it seem almost like a BBC broadcast, until you get broadsided by a turn of phrase as quaint as " life's not all beer and skittles"

[@jaffamanchang]

It's a long time between drinks

[@andylimb]

As I have lived in deserts most of my life I love the thought of keeping these areas wild. The greening of deserts is something everyone should see once in their lives, you discover just how abundant life is out in the dry patches of the planet.

[@gardensofthegods]

And everyone should listen to Tangerine Dream's Green Desert just once in their lifetime because it is a great song ... a little bit Pink Floyd and very magical

[@brucestorey3400]

Then it all dries up and the birds and fish die. What about a dam to capture and store flood water and bring sustainable life to our beautiful outback?

[@mariegamble3053]

Yes yes yes, please please please leave that part of Australia how it is. We need it.

[@gegangen2008]

Trevor is a great pilot, did the trip in 2016 and was on two od his flights thought it was quite green then. Not so much when compared to this yr.

[@braydonkanjira9520]

The Finke River rolls into Lake Eyre as well from the west Central Australia, The Finke is 3hundred million years in history but it doesn't flow all the time ,but when it floods you're in trouble.

[@zettie555]

Breathtakingly beautiful landscape Australia! 😍😍😍

[@johnbiggins4864]

There is no glamour or pleasure in dry dirt and dust...only the tough can see thru the harsh seasons..........hope those communities feel renewed and can smile for the blessings..

[@white6776]

Let it be and stay wonderful again. Please! 💚🤟🏼

[@willtricks9432]

Stunning, what a change, you lucky buggers. Cheers from the UK

[@stivi739]

our only fear is our gov will sell this bit to indian and chinese mining interests

[@taitai67]

@@stivi739 You don't have to worry about that at all. Your gov prefers selling the rights to your local billionaires who will gladly line their pockets or to British/Canadian companies who would gladly blow up national heritage sites/pollute the soil/waters with no compensation. Hey, if the western companies does it, let's just not put it in local news. LOL. WA, QLD, NT, same shite different day.

[@stivi739]

@@taitai67 yes we know..every elected party do the same stupid shit every time

[@parramattaeels7928]

Awesome. I m on my way to tassie. Gonna catch spirit of Tasmania tomorrow but on the way back I will visit south Australia.

[@Crackhouts]

"Life's not all beer and skittles..." I love Australians.

[@rickwar0]

Searched for this comment. Why aren't there more people talking about this phrase. Is it a common phrase? Do they really eat skittles with their beer down under?

[@mborder8428]

@@rickwar0 Skittles is a pub game like bowling. It means “ Life isn’t all fun and games”

[@slipperysebastian]

So cool! I would love to get there!!

[@flowerpower8722]

Doesn't this system feed the artesian bore? That is crucial to everything.

[@crustaciobasurehd3114]

It's really, really amazing to see the river basin overflowing with life a true blessing, a pice of heaven on earth, a little help from a friend.

[@juttagalbory6659]

Wonderful film; great to see farmers sharing...beautiful film thanks Dominique Schwartz & Ben Deacon. Don't let this become just a reminder of "once was Australia.." need to keep it.

[@Kc_Bonfireheart]

Kati thanda in India means : extremely cold.

[@mollymuch2808]

Interesting that so much aboriginal culture can be linked to places in India

[@bigred8438]

Is the flooding of lake occurring now? Or is this a re-upload of an older story? In 2011 it had been 70 years since it had flooded as much as it had then, so for this to bigger than that is extraordinary.

[@HKspurs10]

hi guys, can anyone advise about the feasibility of sand dams and gabions to retain water in the soil and raise the water table?

[@jenhul1]

This revives some memories from 1997 when I travelled through. There was water them too and the desert was green and beautiful. I had beers in all those places. The publican at the William Creek pub complained that he couldn't pronounce my name. Can't wrap my toungue around that mate.

[@dunruden9720]

Can't spell either!

[@elcoyote9410]

Australia, you never stop amazing me. What a place!

[@christinejackson3922]

I really enjoyed it Thanks ABCNEWS

[@simonhill6267]

Rainfall is great but you can see the land is overgrazed and degraded. Plant more native trees back to help with soil erosion and slow the flow of water. Rotate cattle intensively in smaller areas. Agro-frestry and holistic management are the way forward.

[@droceretik]

You visited this region? How did you come to the conclusion it was overgrazed? Did you consult with the indigenous custodians such as the head ranger?

[@simonhill6267]

@@droceretik seeing the amount of topsoil in the river systems (erosion), and comparing visually with other properties both good and bad

[@kitkat7523]

No cattle there!!!

[@choppaa22]

I traveled throught the simpsons west to east through birdsville and some parts from mt dare to the east side of birdsville are that over grazed that there is no trees or shrubs or any kind of flora for as far as the eye can see. Yes the floods support regeneration of the flora but it usually grazed away with in 6 to 12 months its a tough cycle out there with limited water

[@SkandiaAUS]

It blows my mind the scale of this. It rains in Qld so much that it can flow for thousand of KMs and still fill up a vast space.

[@paulburns1333]

Australia could be the world's Garden of Eden if they could manage to channel all of that water inland.

[@equinoxproject2284]

You'd think that after drought after drought people would understand that the land can't support sustained large mammal agriculture. Other than stubbornness what's the point.

[@seaweed1992]

Might be why a certain billionaire is building the world's largest solar electricity farm on a former giant cattle ranch in NT to sell to Singapore. Agree it must be stubbornness.

[@conornorris6815]

it actually can it you just have to simulate migration, until the humans wiped them out Australia had giant kangaroos about the size of cows that essentially filled the same role. the grasses just need time to regenerate. we have the same problem out in the west USA where people don't rotate their herds and they end up destroying all the grass by free ranging them without management

[@equinoxproject2284]

@@conornorris6815 That is a good point. I should have specified modern agricultural practices.

[@briangarrow448]

I love the story my sister told me a few years ago when she vacationed in Australia. She was in Alice Springs, wearing a Washington State University shirt and a handsome young ranch hand walked up to her in the pub she was in with her friends and he stopped and exclaimed, “Bloody hell! Here’s a queen of the Palouse right here in my backyard!” She was totally shocked by his knowledge of the area where the college is located and then told her he had attended uni at WSU as an agricultural sciences student. The world is truly smaller than we realize.

[@AlloffroadAu]

great video, will be heading out there next week again

[@johnl4469]

Thanks Auntie. You've no idea how much I appreciate the ongoing education I get from your channel.

[@lachiefilms90]

How long does the flooding usually last for?

[@BradGryphonn]

I worked all through the Diamantina Lakes area and beyond as a seismic oil search crew member in the late 70s (pre-National Park). We worked the area in an unusual wet season and spent a lot of time pulling vehicles out of bogs...and saving mud-stuck sheep on the Thompson.

[@AsTheWheelsTurn]

something about Australians I just love. I would love to visit one day and spend a month or two just touring around to see the sights and meet people.More so than any place on Earth. Think I'll start saving my pennies so I can go before I get old and and cant .I live in Arizona so there are some strong similarities as far as climate and flora but it looks like an amazing place.

[@OVTraveller]

Why are you waiting? Get vaccinated and our borders cannot stay closed indefinitely. So do it now or regret it for ever. The same for my fellow Aussies. Get off your bums and explore your own country whilst our international borders are closed. Forget about crazy state premiers, just go!

[@omnipotentdwarf571]

I pray you get all the rain you need, where and when you need it.

[@trinaholman4083]

What an awesome country we live in. =o)

[@white6776]

Yes we do! Wish some people would appreciate it like others do. 💚

[@wandasteeves5239]

Except ur builders r con artists, be careful.. ❤️👉🏻🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦☮️

[@trinaholman4083]

@@wandasteeves5239 Not all of them, ffs. Please don't tar everyone with the same brush. Every country, every type of business has it's bad apples.

[@theknowall2232]

Don't be indoctrinated HardWarUK. There is negligible AGM (Anthropogenic Global Warming) and there has always been 'climate change'. The weather was warmer a thousand years ago during the MWP (Medieval Warm Period). There are a large number of genuine scientists trying to tell you the facts, eg the video, *'The Sun Also Warms: Dr. Willie Soon Shows the Sun-Climate Connection'.*

[@theknowall2232]

At the moment we live in a time when the Earths climate is remarkably stable and good for life. 'Anthropogenic global warming', is the correct term and AGW is a myth created by globalists. The AGW alarmists use 'climate change' instead of AGW because they know that AGW is not significant. Humans have put back into the atmosphere a small fraction of the CO2 that nature has taken out. Plants are prospering because of this. The CO2 levels need to be higher. The people I listen too are the experienced climate scientists who have spent most of their lives on studying and researching climate. Scientists who are honest enough to give us their truthful opinion and who have an in-depth understanding of the Earth's climate. Most of these scientists are retired, have no further interest in gaining money and have not accepted money. They are genuine in their expressed beliefs and want to expose the lies. There are many videos of older highly acclaimed scientists exposing the alarmists. Eg , Dr Don Easterbrook, Murry Salby, Prof Ian Plimer, Prof Bob Carter, Prof Fred Singer, Prof Freeman Dyson, Prof Patrick Michaels, Prof Garth Paltridge, Dr Richard Siegmund Lindzen, Dr Patrick J Michaels etc. Older scientists can more easily speak their mind because they have nothing to lose w.r.t. career prospects. For the politically aware, view the channel *RockingMrE* . One of his videos is titled, *The Globalist Agenda Explained.*

[@carlbennett2417]

Great work, ABC. These are things the commercial networks don't cover at all.

[@LureThosePixels]

Thankfully that grazier has the sense to not try and take more of the water than what comes naturally

[@vice.nor.virtue]

I live in Europe, so I wish there was a little more explanation on how this vast amount of rainfall happened in the first place.

[@cjryan88]

it comes from the north ,the tropis

[@rey_nemaattori]

Northern Australia is tropical rainforest, if a cyclone goes a bit off course, it'll just dump all that water over the forest in the Queenland area(akin to what happened in Texas a few years back with Harvey). The region colored in green in this vid is basically one big valley, on a big downslope to the south so it all flows to the lake, swelling it to monstrous size but also providing water for plants along the way. These seeds can lay dormant for decades, waiting for water. There's just no guarantee this'll happen every season, so sometimes the region is arid for years, sometimes it's lush and magnificent like last year. As an European myself, Dutch even, I can't fathom living in an area devoid of water most of the time...I'm happy if it _doesn't_ rain for a few days xD

[@Gehenna71]

@@rey_nemaattori We want rain! We want rain! ;) Our houses on clay soil are sinking in the ground due to drought (Brabant België) The soil is sinking and so are the foundations. On the allotment rests of old fences are now above ground. Nobody has ever seen them. Even the older man on the plots did not know there have been fences. Our house has many cracks and keeps cracking. BUT! Of course there is a but, this is Belgium ... They keep pumping up ground water straight in the gutter to keep underground parkings dry. They build on old swamp area and keep pumping ground water straight in the drain. Belgian solution: Forbid the population to use water from their well. Tax-tax-tax people. Even the use of rainwater will be taxed now rainwater collectors are mandatory by law. That is the only way people will take care of their water use. Meanwhile ground water is pumped straight in the drain.

[@seaweed1992]

La niña?

[@kevinzhu8441]

Good resource for improving my English.

[@x1achilles99]

A very interesting and fascinating look at this unique place. A born and raised Californian I would love to visit. But it does look very flat. I am used to 4000m mountains! Is Lake Eyre below sea level?

[@peewii4326]

50 feet below sea level

[@sardarakram2665]

Hi it's time by logging into the system if Development services on it very difficult but definitely it is in three different parts like One for Water second for trees like jangles next for delivering Land's for forming in my opinion it's beautiful places in photographic evidence lovely

[@mygeneratedcontent]

Few months back was a different story, dusty & dry. Now I am so happy to see life jump back. Water is so good to see.

[@jimjakosh2506]

Do any of the folks in the basin have hovercrafts? They could get in and out of Bedourie during the high water season with them. Cheers, Jim Jakosh from Hoverclub of America

[@Pertusetian]

Between 50° and 60°C in 'Straya for 5 weeks straight? Somebody call Guinness, that's a new record.

[@WorldSacred]

Would the water running to Lake Eyre lead to next summer experiencing more rainfall for NSW?

[@WorldSacred]

@@Banana_Split_Cream_Buns Because the Lake Eyre region is saline, the water that has accumulated there would evaporate quicker. Therefore, the winter season would see more rainfall in addition to the usual southern rainfall?

[@WorldSacred]

@@Banana_Split_Cream_Buns Salt water evaporates quicker than fresh water.

[@WorldSacred]

@@Banana_Split_Cream_Buns Moisture from the south rarely has any impact considerably far north of a southern hemisphere location. A rain band in Perth regions might have an impact as far north as Cairns, as it moves eastwards across the continent. But any evaporation from Lake Eyre would only impact the Sth Australia/NSW/Victoria region. Heat travels towards cooler regions.

[@wayneballintine9532]

@@WorldSacred usually if lake ayer is full we will get rain across in new south wales but when the water in lake ayre evaporates its a big salt pan and thousands of chineses tourists go out there take there selfie photos i saw a story of it on t v a while back

[@wayneballintine9532]

It could happen lets hope theres good rain in new south wales before next summer some parts have had recent good rain but we need a lot more to break the drought and a lot of rain over the irrigation dams up in the snowy mountains like burrinjuck dam and blowering dam

[@justten3243]

0:25 what are those?

[@freshimpactco.8698]

What a fantastic news item, its reassuring to know that there are so many people in the outback who still hold the prescious values of nature and the cycle of life at heart. 😀😄 I really love how they want things to remain natural and untouched without the interfering hands of progress messing it all up. I am just speechless, these people must have heavenly angels on their shoulders

[@c.bsmith5086]

I wonder what they fill in the holes left behind from oil platforms. And the ones on the land too

[@111jkjk]

Wish more things like this on the news

[@wizardofoz1390]

Australia is so naturally unique and fragile

[@TheVellaterra]

What a Country. So diverse.

[@deanfirnatine7814]

Those cattle were near starving, you sell your cattle before you let them starve man. I come from a cattle ranching family and it pissed me off to see the condition of those cattle.

[@hulkgqnissanpatrol6121]

Do you use your ears. They just got out of a heatwave of 50-60c that lasted 5 weeks AND they were in drought. The reason those cattle had to be transported to the food and water. You type of people have no comprehension of an Australian drought. You think weeks but it's literally years sometimes. Get a damn brain.

[@eddie5z518]

Yea I have never been to Australia but I know even the biggest droughts in the United States which are in California only last like half a year. The effect of droughts in California over 20 years hails in comparison to the effect of droughts in Australia over a 1 year period.

[@dennyshawyer1993]

Can we dig a river to the sea from lake eyre? Its is under sea level so it would allwase be full?

[@mrsdoyle6828]

Of sea water? Why would you do that?

[@dennyshawyer1993]

@@mrsdoyle6828 its a salt lake. Water evaporates witch would create rain in theory.

[@margarethewende4187]

TREES ARE SO IMPORTANT, WE NEED MORE AND THE UNDERSTORY THAT GOES AL;ONG WITH IT.

[@MrMrremmington]

I couldn’t live there. However it is teeming with life and absolutely beautiful and nobody’s going to bother you, what a wonderful way to live. It is vitally important that no government or developer Corrupts that natural water system

[@AHD2105]

I love Australia!! It's such a cool country! (I still love South Island NZ though).

[@brucestorey3400]

Wonderful pictures and images of our beautiful inland. Not so wonderful is the inherently contradictory narration that on one hand celebrates the return of sufficient water to make bird and fish life viable, and allows boating on usually dry river beds, yet "celebrates" the inevitable big dry that causes their elimination once the waters recede and the rivers/lakes dry up. Would it be a bad thing if dams were built to capture these rare flood occasions and allow some continuity in the joy of life coming to Lake Eyre and its surrounds?

[@dickdastardly5534]

What an incredible place 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@notyou1877]

Are you saying this is one place where humans will not do what they do best: regulate water flow? The only two species that do that instinctively are humans and beavers.

[@jamesrobertson7910]

Shame that these floods destroyed millions of dollars of infrastructure and livestock and lives

[@tepidtuna7450]

How beautiful, bringing life to overheated barren areas. Shame much of the rainfall near the coast just goes straight into the ocean, wasted. What could we achieve if we could find ways to divert some of those wasted flows back into the feed rivers for the Lake Eyre basin?

[@greatshitan7320]

Easy. Less land owners stealing water

[@HypermarketCommodity]

Let nature alone, havnt we done enough ...

[@deanpd3402]

No, we need to do more. We get plenty of rain in this country. A hell of a lot of it in the top end but even in drier regions we need to be smarter with what comes our way. No sense in having good rain if 2 weeks later we are going to complain about the 'drought'. Peter Andrews has brilliant solutions in this regards. Don't fall for the ABC's holy message of 'we need to leave nature alone'. No, what we need to do is facilitate far better water management plans that work with nature or in fact give back to nature the way it used to manage the landscape. Not so long ago, (in geological terms), the landscape would have delivered that water to Lake Eyre at a much slower pace than it does now. Climate change is not the problem, it is our failure to adapt to any climate change that is the problem. Time was, adaptation was the natural inclination of humans.

[@thomaslycke6990]

George Carlin?

[@thomaslycke6990]

Dot on. We are supposed to take of the World, and we can´t even take care of ourself. Way over 90% of the spieces has dissappered, we didn´t killed them all.@@HypermarketCommodity

[@MarquisGemini]

​@@deanpd3402 Anybody who disagrees with what youve said should do themselves a favour and research how the beaver population in America transform every ecosystem they occupy into a paradise. They retain water and keep it flowing all year round and the sediment that builds up in these dams contains nutrients and positive bio activity. Dams do the same thing, just not as well.

[@OzBloke]

Morpheus Stop populating!

[@farmerbob4554]

Oh Wow! I’d love to take a kayak and go bird watching for about a week!

[@crypto3644]

When was the flood?

[@bobouistic]

I wouldn't go near a pool of water in Australia 😂😂😂😂 I choose life hehehehe.

[@danhartigan9529]

How is the Basin, would love an update

[@smartcatcollarproject5699]

Sounds like it's a desert for a few years, until the next flood ?

[@plumbrose1]

the reality is if the water can be harvested it should be.., responsibly

[@DMSrunit]

Overtime, don’t know how long the area will change

[@bodhisativaa]

It used to be an ocean. Pretty cool

[@helenbates2510]

Fabulous, thankyou!

[@777hathor]

So happy to seethe Murry Darling looking lush.

[@dunruden9720]

This is a totally different river system. The Murray Darling exits to the ocean. These rivers flow into Lake Eyre.

[@andrees_reyes023]

I LOVE AUSTRALIA ❤

[@petertyler8075]

Stunning....its amazing we havn't expoited it yet.....

[@ciel3141]

In another words, how hard it was for first settlement to live in Australia. kind of very hard, and for some still hard.

[@AshAlmond1]

This is what Planet Mars once looked like.

[@staudtj1]

Certainly, a magical place ... and all natural!

[@stateofblitz]

It's amazing that nature can literally rise from the dead.

[@flamingfrancis]

Absolutely beautiful when the Eyre Basin and Upper Darling regions are in flood...put in on your bucket list to see once in your life. Let's hope that these works of our Makers are not destroyed by the greed of the few.

[@barrymcdougal4816]

IF THIS HAPPENED THIS YEAR WHY ARE SO MANY FARMERS IN DROUGHT.

[@BiggiN483]

First thought at seeing the tiny rapid in birdsville: oh look, that's where the birdsville rubber duck race takes place 😊

[@sarcasmo57]

Din't tell anyone, i'm watching this at 3pm.

[@annemuskee9004]

Beautiful country. Why would anyone want to travel elsewhere.

[@themask706]

I travelled nearly 2,000 miles to visit lake Eyre , only to turn back 60 miles from it as the road was littered with huge rocks ?

[@johnnyfj100]

This video is interesting enough without the annoying music.

[@jasonaus3551]

Stunning