Latest news with #ChannelCountry
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Stunning photograph captures 'once-in-a-lifetime' transformation in Australian outback
Stunning photographs have captured Queensland 's dusty outback burst alive with wildlife following months of major flooding. Channel Country, in the state's south-west, has turned into a green wonderland with locals calling it a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' for tourists to experience. The region suffered months of flooding following ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in February and Tropical Cyclone Dianne in March. Some parts of Queensland's interior received more than double their average annual rainfall in March alone. Floodwaters are expected to flow through the Channel Country's intermittent waterways to reach the Lake Eyre basin in June. Images from the air showed rivers and streams crossing the land, surrounded by bright green grass. Pelicans were spotted flying over the inland region, thousands of kilometres from the sea. Locals said the natural spectacle was an extraordinary sight that should not be missed. 'Mother Nature has put on this great show for us,' Quilpie Shire Mayor Ben Hall told 7News. 'The country looks absolutely amazing. It is something to behold,' Murweh Shire Mayor Shaun Radnedge said. He said it was a 'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity to see the region cloaked in green. Tourists have already begun travelling to the region, and interest in flights over the area is surging. Outback Queensland Tourism has urged visitors to see nature's display while it lasts. 'The outback's open. the roads are ready. The towns are waiting. And Mother Nature is putting on the show of a lifetime,' CEO Denise Brown said. The region's event calendar is packed over the next few weeks with opera in Winton and Longreach, fishing competitions, and dozens of race meets. Ms Brown said some of the events had been postponed during the wet period, but none had been cancelled. In March, more than 13 councils spanning more than 500,000sq kilometres across Queensland had flood warnings or watches in place. Many areas were evacuated by land and helicopter as floodwaters surrounded entire towns. Much of the region was cut from power and internet connection. Locals and business owners shared images of roads completely submerged, with residents walking in water up to their knees.
ABC News
13-05-2025
- ABC News
Channel Country transforms after record-breaking flooding in outback Queensland
In the land of boom and bust, an ancient landscape of sand dunes and river channels is transforming. Record-breaking floods has parts of the Channel Country in south-west Queensland springing to life, a haven for flora and fauna across thousands of kilometres of inland waterways. It's a silver lining of devastating flooding across the outback where it's estimated 13 million hectares of country went underwater. It was only last year the terrain underwent a similar metamorphosis when water from ex-tropical cyclone Kirrily snaked south through the Channel Country to Lake Eyre. But the scale of flooding this year was much more extreme. Desert Channels Queensland, a community-based natural resources group, said 20 to 40 centimetres of top soil has been lost from significant areas of country. "That will take a fair while to recover," operations manager Geoff Penton said. Ecologist professor Daryl Jones from Griffith University expects there to be more pelicans than ever seen before in outback Queensland. "This water will lead to unbelievable amounts of reproduction in plants and there will be some spectacular numbers of baby birds," Professor Jones said. While pelicans are usually associated with the ocean, some head to inland lakes to breed. They respond to floods, although Professor Jones said it was a mystery how they know which lakes are full and teeming with life. "They have something that tells them 'let's go and fly across vast areas of land, from horizon to horizon, thousands of kilometres, to get to this mysterious place'," he said. In outback Queensland, Lake Machattie and the old Diamantina Crossing at Birdsville are well known hotspots for squadrons of pelicans. Across the border in South Australia thousands of pelicans will flock to Lake Eyre when it is full too. Roads are reopening to isolated towns like Birdsville that had been cut off by floodwater for six weeks, but the Simpson Desert remains closed to visitors. Park ranger and Elder of the Wangkangurru and Yarluyandi people from Munga-Thirri, Don Rowlands, said the blooming flora and fauna was spectacular. "It's the best condition you can ever see it — the green grass, flowers, birds that are nesting and flying around everywhere," he said. "How this country transforms just by adding water is beautiful. Even more so than last year after ex-tropical cyclone Kirrily, he said. "We've had a lot more rain this time and a lot more places that got watered. So I think the spread of green and flowers will be much wider," he said. Photographer Ingrid Hendriksen recently flew over the Channel Country. "It's like watching the land breathe again," Melbourne-based Ms Hendriksen said. "I've photographed it before but this time it felt different. More dramatic. "The contrast between parched earth and the large amount of flowing floodwaters was spectacular." From the aircraft, she said the juxtaposition of how water brings life —yet isolation, stress and huge challenges — to the outback was confronting. "This is the reality of life in the outback. It's raw beautiful, and at times, incredible tough," she said.
