Quilpie via Adavale

After our brief stop at Blackall, we headed towards Quilpie. This road passes through Adavale, 220 km south of Blackall.

 

It's one of those roads I've always wanted to take and had planned to do so last year, but for reasons beyond our control, we were unable to go.

 

The Adavale road conditions, posted at Blackall for 'caution', had us wondering if there might have been damage from the recent rains, so we were unsure of what we might encounter.

The first 15 km are bitumen, with the rest of the road being dirt. Our progress was halted about 5 km outside Blackall, where cattle were being fed while walking along the sides of the road.

We were accompanied by Glenda and Steve in their Bushtracker. Once we reached the dirt, we could see that the graders had been working on the road, and we did, in fact, come across the grader a further 20 km down the road.
 
The road conditions continued to be better than we had expected, and we maintained a comfortable speed of 70 km/h for the first 120 km.  

One or two of the creeks we passed by still held water from the recent rains, and this spot would have made a lovely campsite.

The road conditions changed just over 100 km north of Adavale and started to turn stony as we passed through a series of hills.

The remainder of the trip into Adavale consisted of a hard-baked, clay-like surface that was quite rough in places. It was also a welcome sight to see wildflowers on the sides of the road from the recent rains.

Our plan was to spend the evening camped in Adavale after lunch at the pub, which consisted of a cold beer and a steak sandwich. 

The publican suggested we camp along Blackwater Creek, but neither of the areas we checked out was very appealing, so we carried on for another 100 km to camp just outside Quilpie.
 
We have camped at Lake Houdraman before, but back then, camping was free, and there were no facilities. Now it's known as 'The Lake,' and it costs $15 per night, regardless of whether you use your own facilities or theirs. There are also six powered sites near the office.
 
We decided to camp right on the lake’s edge and just use our own facilities, as we always do.

Heading east towards Yaraka

Just like in the past, we again took Hammond Downs Road, 25 km south of Windorah. It saves a considerable distance compared to taking the Jundah to Quilpie Road.
This road runs roughly parallel to Cooper Creek and its many channels, and can only be driven when there has been no rain. It offers a lovely drive through station properties and ends at the property known as Retreat. The road north of this station also provides access to Welford National Park, where we have previously stayed. From here to Yaraka, the road is a mix of bitumen and dirt sections.
We continued along the Yaraka Road to spend the next two evenings camping behind the Yaraka Pub. This is our fourth visit here, and we have timed our trip to coincide with pizza night, held on Friday evenings.

Camping fees are $3 per night, which includes all amenities. However, we have our own, so we park away from those who require power and water.
 
Sunrises here are always very special, and this morning did not disappoint.

Mount Slowcombe rises 350 metres above the surrounding plains, located near Yaraka. It offers panoramic views of the Yangyang Ranges and the small settlement of Yaraka, situated far below.

After the Bash

We left 'Big Red' shortly after 9:00 a.m. on Friday, 19th of July, well after most had already gone. Then, we enjoyed a smooth drive into Birdsville.
Like last year, we stayed on the town common for another three days, catching up on laundry and tidying up.
But more importantly, it meant most vehicles had already left, allowing us to take our time without being overtaken or showered with stones by hurried travellers eager to get home.

Another lovely meal at the Birdsville Hotel with Glenda and Steve on one of our evenings.

This year, we travelled east 168 km to Betoota.

Our plan was to spend two days camping by the waterhole below the pub, but sadly, we were disappointed to find there was far less water than last year.

The hotel, built in the 1800s and now the only building here, closed many years ago but has recently been renovated. Although the renovation is complete and the liquor licence is in place, there are still building regulations that prevent it from being used as a hotel.

Most of this road is dirt, with occasional patches of bitumen. The road's condition was expected, given the traffic over recent weeks. Describing it as rough and corrugated would be an understatement.
 
Thankfully, our significantly lower tyre pressures and slow speed were gentle enough on our 4WD, van, and ourselves to cope with these conditions. The 168 km to Betoota was mainly spent driving through bulldust outside the road markers.
After one night, we moved further east towards Windorah. We were surprised to find the remaining 102 km of dirt in better condition than the previous day.
The lady at the fuel outlet in Windorah mentioned that during the Bash period, she had pumped 70,000 litres of diesel.

Big Red Bash 2019

We headed into town on Saturday morning, July 13th, after spending the past nine days camping on the town common, just south of the town. Here, we joined the large queue of people all patiently waiting to collect their wristbands and early entry car stickers. Without these, access to the Bash site is impossible.

The 'Bash' merchandise was on sale in Birdsville last year while we were collecting our wristbands and car stickers. However, this year, that has all changed, with the merchandise now only available at Big Red.
Last year, our morning temperatures made hooking up our van nearly impossible due to the cold. So, this year, I hooked up before going to bed.
The night before heading out to Big Red, three thoughtless bogans arrived and blocked off our access to the road, forcing us to go cross-country to reach the main road into Birdsville.
This year, we joined Glenda and Steve, who also own a Bushtracker. We met them last year at the 'Bash' and decided to park together at the event. We left the town at 7 am and enjoyed a clear run for the majority of the trip to Big Red.
Here, we joined the queue waiting for access to start at 8 am.

Last year, we left around the same time, but this year our site was at the front. We also parked the van in the same spot as last year, with our awning facing away from the prevailing winds.

Once we'd set up, we headed to the merchandise tent to buy T-shirts, caps, and a Big Red Bash hoodie for Ros.
 
This year's headline act was Midnight Oil, who performed on the final evening. In the past, we have never been fans, but after booking our tickets months ago, we started printing off the lyrics to their songs and downloaded some of their albums. They are just so professional, with Peter Garrett at the forefront. His onstage antics have certainly mellowed over the years. Perhaps that's due to age.
Their 2019 tour concluded at the 'Bash' after playing at nineteen other venues across Europe, Ireland, and the UK.
 
The other bands at this year's event included:

I'm sure the organisers are gradually running out of Australian acts unless they bring back some who have already performed in previous years.

 

These series of photos were taken during our stay...

Birdsville Town Common

It's almost a year to the day since we last visited Birdsville.

This will be our second year attending the Big Red Bash. As we did last year, we arrived nine days before our two-day early entry pass begins. Aside from our unplanned trip to Bedourie, our days have been spent reading, relaxing, taking walks, and checking out the new arrivals who appear each day. At first, it's just a trickle, but as the week goes on, the numbers increase.

 

Thankfully, due to recent rains, most of the camping area is now covered in grass, so hopefully, there will be less dust swirling around this year.

 

About a month ago, the entire town common was submerged underwater, reaching up to the spot where this photo was taken, just before the final grid into town.

Arriving early and leaving Birdsville three days after the event has finished ensures that we avoid the mad rush. There is no need to contend with people who are unaware or simply do not care about outback travel etiquette.

 

What do I mean by that? When passing a slower vehicle, it is generally accepted that you slow down and move to the other side of the road rather than passing at speed and showering the overtaken vehicle with stones. We have seen this far too often during our travels.

 

Whenever we visit Birdsville, we always camp on the town common, just south of the town. It is a vast area that can accommodate thousands of campsites. If you are totally self-contained like us and do not mind using your own onboard facilities, then it’s a great option with the added bonus of about a dozen water points spread throughout the area. Camping here is free, and it's an easy walk into Birdsville for a beer.

 

Birdsville's water is sourced from the Great Artesian Basin by a bore sunk to a depth of 1.2 kilometres, which pours out at 98 degrees Celsius and is cooled before it can be used.

Another advantage of arriving early is securing a good spot to camp. We always seek a site free from constant through traffic, so we're not covered in dust from passing vehicles.
 
As we age, we like to think we’re also becoming wiser. With this in mind, this year, we purchased a 110-litre water bladder that sits on the floor behind our two front seats.
 
The days of lifting a 20-litre bucket are behind us. Now, it’s simply a matter of connecting our portable 12-volt pump to the bladder to transfer water, powered by our Anderson plug on the van’s drawbar.
 
Tuesday evening marks the final buffet dinner at the Birdsville Hotel before the 'Bash', and we’ll be dining with fellow Bushtracker owners Glenda and Steve. From tomorrow evening, there will be two sittings with a set menu.

We both chose the lamb shanks, which were delicious, and the vegetables were still lovely and crunchy.

One of our daily walks took us past Pelican Point and to the billabong located on the outskirts of town, behind the caravan park.

In April 2017, the Birdsville Bakery was purchased by new owners, and we enjoyed some of their products at the bash last year. Unfortunately, due to financial reasons, the bakery closed its doors in early June.

After our walk today and using my phone app, I found that our site is 1.5 km from the hotel. The caravan park, along with the common area, is starting to fill up quite quickly.

As we walked back to our site this afternoon, a food truck had just arrived.

Our dinner last night consisted of sweet Bangalow pork cutlets that we purchased from Bellingen before leaving home, with sweet potato and apple slices.

Sunsets have been few and far between, but last night's made up for the lack of them.

This morning, we picked up our wristbands and our two-day early entry pass for the windscreen of the car.

A last run to the rubbish dump this afternoon before heading out to the 'Bash' site tomorrow with still more vans and trailers arriving this afternoon.