Marree Man Geoglyph | Outback Mystery Near Lake Eyre | Gekko Safari

Every so often a guest asks me, a bit sheepishly, whether the giant man in the desert is real. It is. In June 1998 a charter pilot flying over the country west of Marree spotted an enormous outline of a figure etched into the ground, holding what looks like a throwing stick. Nobody in the district had seen anyone build it. It was just there.

The figure is huge, roughly four kilometres from head to foot, which is why you really only appreciate it from the air. Standing next to the lines on the ground, you’d struggle to make sense of the shape at all. It sits on country that’s part of the Finniss Springs area, and for years the mystery of who made it, and how they marked out something that size without anyone noticing, kept the story alive.

What’s actually known

• It appeared sometime around 1998 and was reported to the public later that year
• The maker was a mystery for a long time, and the question of who was responsible has been argued over since
• Wind and rain have been wearing the lines away, so it’s faded over the years
• It sits on private and Aboriginal-held land, so access is controlled, check before you go

I’ll be straight with you: the Marree Man isn’t a headline stop on most Lake Eyre itineraries, and the best view is from a scenic flight. But it’s a cracking story to tell on the drive up through Marree, and it’s one of those things that reminds you how big and strange this part of the country is.