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Birdsville, QLD TRAVEL
familiesandGreyNomads.And,withall
roadsaccessiblebytwowheeldrivevehicles,
thereisnoreasonwhyanyonecouldn’tbe
planninga Birdsvilleroadtrip.
“Birdsvilleisthelaunchinggroundfor
manyvisitors,whethertheyarevisitingthe
desert,ortakinga triptoLakeEyreora
shortcutuptoAliceSprings,”shesays.“It
isa landofextremesandthereisnoother
placequitelikeit.Itreallyisquitealiento
visitorsthatcomeheretoexperienceour
desertlifestyle.”
TheWangkangurru-Yarluyandipeopleare
thecustodiansoftheland,andEuropean
visitorsarrivedaround1844.BurkeandWills
evensetupcampherein1860.
Whatbeganasa tollpointfordrovers
ofcattleandproductsbetweenthestates
beforeFederationhasmorphedintoa
thrivingtownshipandcommunity.It’sthe
beatingheartoftheimmenseDiamantina
Shirewhichis95,000squarekilometres—
twicethesizeofDenmark.Thereareonly
320 peoplewithinitsboundaries,with
about 120 ofthemcallingBirdsvillehome,
butit boasts 14 cattlestationswithstock
survivingongrasslandsandsaltbush.These
arefedbytheregion’sthreemainrivers:the
Diamantina,GeorginaandCooper,which
giveit thename‘ChannelCountry’.
Rainsfromthenorthnourishthese
systems— sometimesa littletoomuchasis
thecaserightnow.Butthat’sgreatnewsfor
touristsbecauseoncethewaterrecedes,the
drylandwillbloomina seaofgreenasthe
waterflowsdowntofillSouthAustralia's
famedsaltybasinthatisLakeEyre,inwhatT
here’s an undeniable mystique about
Australia’s desert heartland. Sitting in
the far western corner of Queensland
near the South Australian border
and on the edge of the magnificent
Simpson Desert, the town of Birdsville
embodies this outback ideal. Remote,
weather-beaten yet determined to survive,
it’s an Aussie traveller’s rite of passage.
“Birdsville itself as a tourist destination
is like one of the last frontiers,” says Ben
Fullager, Manager of the iconic Birdsville
Hotel. “It is still a very long way from
anything and when you arrive here you feel
like you have achieved something.”
Adventure enthusiasts and RV travellers
have gravitated to Birdsville over the years,
and it’s now easier than ever with only about
60km of dirt road to cross if traveling via
Bedourie, although many offroaders prefer
the bragging rights of landing via the rugged
Birdsville Track up through South Australia.
Jessica Greenaway, Tourism and Event
Manager with Diamantina Shire Council,
says the town attracts adventure tourists in
4WD vehicles with caravans, motorhomes,CLOCKWISE FROM MAIN The iconic Big Red
Dune; an aerial view of the township; the channel
country surrounding Birdsville nourishes its
namesakes; desert wildflower blooms