Home Our Trip South Australia 55-The Birdsville Track.
55-The Birdsville Track.

3rd April 2009.

Suddenly we're back in Queensland and driving into Birdsville and just couldn't believe how green and lush it was.  We're in the middle of the outback surrounded by deserts and it's green and lush, what's going on??  What we didn't know, was that most of the roads into town were closed a few weeks ago due to flooding, so all the countryside around town is looking good.

Birdsville:

Another very small outback town with lots of history. The Birdsville Hotel (built in 1864) is the hub of the town and is packed every night. As we arrived quite late in the afternoon, decided to treat ourselves and the huge fillet steak was awesome. Not much to see or do in the town itself, it's main claim to fame is the start of the Birdsville Track. I always check the tyres every day, and as you can see from the photos, we sustained an injury. One of the lugs has been cut off from those sharp rocks on the way. I'm surprised it lasted the rest of the trip in without blowing.

Simpson Desert:

We had planned to do some of the drives out into the Simpson Desert, but due to the swollen rivers flowing into Lake Eyre, access into the Simpson desert has been closed indefinitely. Bugger all this way and can't get in and we're advised there's no way to see the water in Lake Eyre from here either, so a big disappointment. Big Red is still accessable, so gotta see that.

Big Red:

Just 38kms west of Birdsville on the way to the Simpson Desert, "Big Red" stands approximately 40 metres above sea level and is a unique wonder of the outback. It is the first and highest of 1100 dunes in the Simpson Desert, which run north-south for hundreds of kilometres. So off we go and suddenly the road comes to an end coz it is blocked by a huge sand dune, and it's a good drive up with some challenging sections, but we soon realize it's not big red as we've seen photos and this isn't it. As we drive back down the dune, we see a side track and follow that. After a while of following the dune, we see Big Red and up we go as far as we can drive to the flat section, about three quarters of the way up. So for those looking for big red, as you approach the big sand dune that ends the track, turn right and head north for approx 10kms and you can't miss it.

The Birdsville Track:

Birdsville to Marree 515kms.
The Birdsville Track is an Australian Outback Adventure and links Birdsville in Queensland to Marree in the mid north of South Australia. The track passes through some of Australia's most beautiful and challenging country, including the Simpson and Sturt Desert, Lake Eyre Catchment areas, Wetlands, Sand dunes and the huge Gibber Plains, so off we go.

The track is quite rocky with those dreaded sharp stones for the first part and eventually smoothes out. We come across the turnoff to the Warburton Crossing so take the left turn. First obstacle is a sand dune blocking the road a few kms in, so have to circum navigate that, then suddenly it starts to feel very soft and soggy below, so stop to check it out. Bugger, we're in really soft mud so reverse out as quick as we can before we get bogged. We're still 4kms from the crossing, but there's no way we're going to be able to get through coz after walking around the corner for a look, it's totally flooded, so gotta give it a miss. We had originally planned to head into the campsite at Kalamarina then down to Lake Eyre, but had since been told that it had been taken over by the Wildlife Conservancy, the campsite had been closed and the previous cattle station had been de-stocked.

So we continued onto Mungerannie Pub, approximately the half way mark down the Birdsville Track for lunch and any further information we could get on how to see the water in Lake Eyre. Mungerannie Pub is an experience in itself with all the Aussie hats etc stapled to the ceiling and the landlords Phil and Pam who are a wealth of information on the area. "No way you can get to see the water from here mate, gotta fly in from William Creek on the Oodnadatta Track". Bugger, so continue south and suddenly see a turn off to "The Wetlands", so  gotta see this. Sure enough, it's like an oasis with water, greenery and birdlife in the middle of the desert, a pleasant surprise. Continuing south and the road is pretty good now and all of a sudden see a hill in the distance with some tracks heading out there, so gotta investigate. A welcome detour that takes us nowhere, but the track and hill climb is interesting and the views are awesome.

Life on the Road:

Allowing for the Simpson Desert and the trip to Lake Eyre etc which we couldn't do, Marlene had planned for over a week of camping and I kept her thinking that way. By now I'm thinking that she knows all these outback towns are small and look the same so she wouldn't know where we are. As we pulled into Lyndhurst (where we left the caravan) after only 3 days, she says "there's a Jayco like ours". Now I know why Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. I thought getting her back to the luxury of the caravan would be a pleasant and welcomed surprise and I'd earn some brownie points :), but all I got was a fat slap for leading her on.  Just can't win can we guys?

 

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