Alice Springs' usually dry Todd River flowing strong thanks to rain from former tropical cyclone Ellie

Authored by abc.net.au and submitted by is0ph
image for Alice Springs' usually dry Todd River flowing strong thanks to rain from former tropical cyclone Ellie

Pools of caramel-coloured water, swampy marshes and blankets of dewy grass.

This isn't the setting of a fantasy novel.

Former tropical cyclone Ellie crossed back into the Northern Territory from Western Australia last weekend, bringing heavy rainfall to the desert region.

The Todd River in Alice Springs spilling over from floodwaters. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin. )

The normally dry Todd River has become a swampy marsh. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin )

Over the past week, parts of the central-west of the Northern Territory have received between 200 and 300 millimetres of rain, while Alice Springs Airport received 84mm in the 24 hours to 9am Monday.

Locals are used to hot, dry and dusty weather. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin )

The Todd River, which typically has zero to very low flow during most of the year, has turned into a milky rush of water and sediment.

Heavy rains have brought new life to the Todd River in Alice Springs. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin )

Frogs have been breeding in the temporary pools formed from the rain. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin )

Steve Eldridge, operations manager at the Australian Wildlife Conservancy with the Ngalurrtju Aboriginal Land Trust, said the rain had completely transformed the usually red and brown landscape.

"The place is just a sea of green," he said.

"We have had reasonable rains in the last couple of years. But before that, we had a really long, extended dry period where things were just dry and dusty — dirt everywhere, not much grass.

"It's just completely transformed the place, this last lot of rain that we've had."

The banks around the Todd River are green after flood. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin )

He said the change had injected new life into the community.

The rain has "reinvigorated" the community. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin )

The area has withstood an extended dry period. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin )

"You persist for so long with hot, dry, dusty weather," he said.

"And when you get nice rains like this, that transform the environment, it's just invigorating."

The beauty of the Red Centre is on display after floods, with the Todd River spilling over. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin )

Mr Eldridge said the rain also meant the local flora and fauna was flourishing.

"After all of this rainfall, we're going to get increases in seeds, in insects and in reptiles," he said.

"We are going to see big increases in bird populations.

"We're already starting to see budgies coming in, and some of the seed-eating birds like finches and doves."

There has also been an emergence of animals that many wouldn't expect to see in the desert.

Native wildlife is flourishing in the weather. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin )

"We've got some some really interesting frogs in this environment that spend most of their time during dry times underground, living inside this waterproof cocoon that holds water in for them to live in.

"And so they just spent years underground like that. And when you get rainfall like this that triggers them to come to the surface and breed in the temporary water pools."

He said conservationists would use this opportunity to try to bring other native species back from extinction.

"We've been able to reintroduce five or six of those species into a predator exposure that we we have out at New Haven," he said.

yodippiddy on January 11st, 2023 at 17:18 UTC »

Looks like bad news for the new max max movie production.

Dankestgoldenfries on January 11st, 2023 at 16:00 UTC »

I’m so primed for bad news that I assumed an algal bloom.

SoulSearchingRaven on January 11st, 2023 at 14:17 UTC »

That’s neat 😊