WHEN MORE THAN 400mm of unseasonal rain was dumped on the northern end of South Australia's Flinders Ranges in February 2022, it wasn't only local graziers who welcomed it. The deluge meant a huge ephemeral inland water body-Lake Boocaltaninna - formed on a tributary of Strzelecki Creek, part of the Lake Eyre Basin. Quick to realise the potential this presented for adventure sailing in the desert was Bob Backway, commodore of the Lake Eyre Yachting Club (LEYC), perched on the gravelly corner at the start to the Oodnadatta Track. I'd been waiting a decade for something like this and the photographic opportunity it presented. So when I heard Bob had put out a call to club members for an organised adventure sail on Boocaltaninna, I was already packing for the 4000km odyssey from my home in Sydney's Blue Mountains to join the world-renowned inland yachting club to document the event.
I ENTER LEYC'S gate as Bob emerges, wiping some oily solution or diesel from his hands with a rag. I first met Bob in 2012 when I joined 139 sailors and 43 yachts west of the Strzelecki Desert for a regatta on the 7m-deep Lake Killalpaninna, another ephemeral water body, which periodically fills with water from Queensland's Channel Country. Numbers for this 2022 event aren't expected to be as high because of COVID restrictions and upward-spiralling fuel prices. But a few outback adventurers are here already. Bob takes me to a campsite and introduces long-term friends and previous desert sailors Peter and Heather Bullen.
Esta historia es de la edición Australian Geographic #173 de Australian Geographic Magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición Australian Geographic #173 de Australian Geographic Magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Loveday Internment Camp, SA A
DURING WORLD WAR II, civilians n Australia deemed \"enemy aliens\" - mostly those of German, Italian and Japanese descent were housed in internment camps.
THE STORYTELLERS OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
More than 100 dedicated Master Reef Guides are sharing the GBR's most important stories with visitors in a bid to inspire its greater protection.
A BEAUTIFUL DISASTER
Does last summer's mass coral bleaching event sound a death knell for Australia's beloved Great Barrier Reef? \"Not on my watch!\" is the message coming from he army of heartbroken, but resolute, marine scientists who've responded to the crisis by doubling down on their research.
AROUND AUSTRALIA IN 44 DAYS
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first aerial circumnavigation of Australia. Aviator Michael Smith retraces the flight in his unique amphibious flying boat, Southern Sun, starting and finishing at RAAF Base Point Cook, on Melbourne's Port Phillip, taking in 15,000km of vast, diverse and stunning coastline in between.
CLEAR-CUTTING KOALA COUNTRY
More than 3000sq.km of forests on NSW's Mid North Coast have been earmarked for the Great Koala National Park. But there's still work to be done before this proposed reserve becomes the safe haven koalas desperately need.
MORE THAN QUOKKAS
Sure, you can't avoid those cute little marsupials that made Rottnest Island world-famous, but there's so much more to life on this ocean-ringed jewel off the Western Australian coast.
A WILD POLO TUSSLE
It's an event reminiscent of a Banjo Paterson poem. For 35 years, in the High Country 200km east of Melbourne, city polo players have gathered annually at Cobungra, Victoria's largest cattle station, to vie with a rural team for the Dinner Plain Polo Cup.
Ancient know-how meets a modern challenge
Contemporary marine park management is infused with traditional knowledge to tackle new threats on the Great Barrier Reef.
LOOKING FOR TJAKURA
The search is on across Australia's deserts for a culturally important vulnerable lizard.
RESCUING THE CHUDITCH
After intensive planning, recovery for this endangered marsupial species is being stepped up to secure its future.