Lake Eyre — known in the Arabana language as Kati Thanda — is the largest lake in Australia when full, and one of the most dramatic landscapes on earth when it fills with water. It sits about 55 km east of William Creek, and the usual way to see it properly is by light aircraft from William Creek Airport.
The lake fills only rarely — perhaps three times a century in a major flood — but when it does, it transforms from a white salt crust into a shallow inland sea that draws millions of waterbirds from across Australia. Even when dry, the lake has an otherworldly quality: the white salt flat stretches to the horizon in every direction, broken by strange polygonal salt patterns and, in the distance, the haze of the desert.
Flights can be arranged through the William Creek Hotel and operate subject to weather and demand. The aerial view is incomparably better than any ground-level perspective. If you are driving the Oodnadatta Track, this is one of the most compelling reasons to stop at William Creek.
story: "Donald Campbell set the land speed record at Lake Eyre in 1964, achieving 648.7 km/h in his jet-powered car Bluebird CN7 — choosing the lake specifically because its vast flat salt surface was the only place in the world large enough and smooth enough for the attempt."