Birdsville and Big Red Bash Bound

We arrived in Birdsville on Monday, 19 June, after leaving home on Sunday, 4 June. We always camp on the Town Common, situated south-east of the town, where there are no facilities apart from water taps every hundred metres. 

The Common is quite far from the town and can comfortably hold several thousand vans without feeling crowded, similar to a caravan park. The water comes from the Great Artesian Basin system, which extends 2032 km in length and 1450 km in width. The bore is 1292 metres deep, with a surface temperature of 98 degrees Celsius. The water is cooled in ponds before being pumped 20 metres into the air from a 45,000-litre tank, then supplied to the town for drinking and household purposes, including the taps on the Town Common.

When we first arrived, there were at most twenty vans, so we had plenty of choice in where to set up. We picked an area with a gravel base just over one kilometre from town and close to the bitumen road, which would spare us from being covered in dust from passing traffic—something that seems to happen more often when most people are not concerned about disturbing others.
 
We enjoyed our daily walks and, on average, covered about five kilometres. Vans have been arriving gradually over the past week, but by Tuesday, the 27th, the arrivals had become steady. The Birdsville Track has been closed due to a rain event originating from Western Australia and moving into Central Australia. Vans already on the track before the closure were allowed to continue to Birdsville, and they were all covered in thick mud from top to bottom.
 
The rain eventually reached us, with the weather bureau forecasting over 13 mm. Fortunately, we only received just over 5 mm, but this was enough to turn the ground into a muddy expanse. It was interesting to see some of the four-wheel drives towing vans struggling to find any patch of ground to camp on without becoming bogged. The forecast predicted more rain in the coming days, so our two-day early entry on Sunday, June 2nd, was moved to Friday, July 30th. After collecting the wristbands we wore for the concert, we stopped at the Birdsville Hotel for lunch and a beer. Ros enjoyed her chicken burger, and I had my steak sandwich.

We left Birdsville at 6:10 the following morning to travel to Big Red for the Bash, aiming to be closer to the main arena and all the food vendors. However, we later discovered that people had camped on the access road the previous night, so we ended up camping five rows back from the main area.

Our first four days involved walking, on average, just over six kilometres each day, inspecting the rigs and making a daily ascent up Big Red, which stands over forty metres tall.

We enjoyed breakfast in the van, but most days we bought lunch and dinner from food vendors, which, at $70 per day, quickly added up. Our favourites included wood-fired pizzas, brisket and pork belly burgers, and pies baked daily in ovens on board a semi-trailer. Another favourite was soft-serve ice cream with fruit blended through and served in a waffle cone.

Our main reason for attending this year was to see Icehouse, Human Nature, Ross Wilson, and Goanna, whom we had never seen in concert before, and we weren't disappointed.

Well, the predicted rain finally arrived, and overnight, we received 8mm, turning the whole area into a large muddy patch, which made conditions a bit difficult, but then we all just got on with it.

Our front awning strut was making a noise and kept us awake at night, which we attributed to the strong winds we had experienced. The next day, we tried to retract our electric awning but without success. Thankfully, I had subscribed to Starlink and was able to contact Bushtracker initially by phone, then via FaceTime, to learn the steps needed to resolve our issue. 

It involved removing the awning motor, manually pushing the awning arms against the van, securing them with cable ties, and then reinstalling the motor. Additionally, the awning fabric was manually rolled back onto the roller. 

The fabric became loose again, so we repeated the process, but this time, we added extra duct tape to the front of the awning fabric, which we hope will prolong its effectiveness. I have contacted Bushtracker once more, and we are heading to their factory on the Sunshine Coast to have them fix the problem and fit a new strut.

Aside from music, there are other ways to donate money to various charities. Every day, three events take place before the music begins, including the Nutbush City Limits Dance, which raises funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Participants pay $15, and Guinness World Records officials are present to ensure dancers follow the moves correctly; otherwise, they are disqualified. This year, another world record was broken with 5838 people successfully completing the Nutbush.

Also supporting the Royal Flying Doctors is the Drag Race, where men pay to run alongside Big Red and into the arena wearing their finest attire.

A new event this year to raise funds for Type 1 diabetes involved people buying blue wigs and standing on a map of Australia drawn on the ground.

This will be our final Bash. Although it's still a fantastic event, three times is enough for us, and furthermore, the event is increasing in size each year. Rumours suggest that over fifteen thousand people attended, and it's all getting out of hand. We spoke to a volunteer who had been in the merchandise tent, and she mentioned that over eleven million pounds had been spent during the Bash.

On The Road Again

It never ceases to amaze us, but every time we decide to head off towing our van, it almost always rains. This trip was no different, as we left home on Sunday, the 4th of June. We experienced heavy rain for about twenty minutes after departing, but thankfully, the skies cleared to reveal a lovely sunny day.
If heading towards Queensland, we prefer to camp at Cangai Bridge on the Mann River, just over 150km from home and west of Grafton. However, as we approached the turnoff, dark clouds started gathering. It looked like we might face another downpour, so we changed our plans since the campsite was along a dirt track.
We continued onto the New England Tableland through Gibraltar Range National Park, with our Chev towing us effortlessly at 1100 metres above sea level.
We paused for lunch at Beardy Waters rest area before heading through Glenn Innes and Inverell. It was just another 50 km to the small town of Ashford, and our camp for the evening was just outside town at the Severn River rest area. The site is spacious beside the river, equipped with a composting toilet and rubbish bins, and we shared it with four other groups.

Our second day involved a short 70km drive to another free site south of Queensland, near the Dumaresq River in Texas. Although the campsite was quite busy, our early arrival allowed us to find a spot without any trouble. 

To reduce travel distances, we spent our third night at The Gums Golf and Cricket Club for just $10; they provided showers and toilets, although we primarily used our own. We had read glowing reviews about Judds Lagoon just outside Yuleba on Wiki; we planned to spend two nights there, but sadly, the site didn't appeal to us. So, it was a brief stop of just one night. The lagoon was relatively small and could only accommodate two vans camping beside it.

After the disappointment at Judds Lagoon, we moved on to Neil Turner Weir at Mitchell, where we have been visiting for more years than we can remember. The camp area has been expanded, and this might be related to the increasing number of travellers soon passing through on their way to the Big Red Bash in Birdsville.

We spent three nights here, and the diesel heater certainly got a good workout with frost on the car and van each morning. We limited our drives to approximately 200 km on travel days, which was the distance to our next stop in Charleville. We camped at the CMCA park just outside town. Our van is insured with Ken Tame, and a CMCA membership is required for this insurance. As members, our two-night stay costs only $14. However, they do specify that no water can be discharged onto the ground; there is a central fire pit each evening; and they provide potable water and a dump point, which suits us perfectly. It's incredible how much money is spent in these towns; we paid $569, including fuel, groceries, a haircut for me, and lunch at the pub. Fuel was $1.899 per litre. 

Our next stop was Quilpie, where we spent three nights camping on the western side of Lake Houdraman for $15 per night, with only a rubbish bin available, but the added bonus of having the place entirely to ourselves. It was free many years ago, but the property owners have now installed showers, toilets, power, and a bar on the eastern side. We passed through Quilpie last year after completing the Strzelecki Track, and even more businesses have closed during this time, which is quite sad.

We were now heading towards Windorah after navigating the many hundred or so floodways over the single-lane bitumen. We decided to camp at the caravan park as Ros wanted to wash our sheets, and it was easier doing this there than in our washing machine. We paid $22 for an unpowered site, and fuel had now increased to $ 2.33/l.

We left Windorah on day fifteen to camp at Betoota. The single-lane bitumen stretches for 125 km, with the remaining distance mostly dirt, with the occasional stretch of bitumen near Deons Lookout and 20 km from Betoota. The gravel sections, while extremely dusty, were in good condition as we sat on 60km/h. We camped beside Browns Creek waterhole, where we had the place all to ourselves. A composting toilet has now been built at the far end of the waterhole, so it will mean the white graffiti brigade won't be leaving toilet paper blowing in the wind.

Even though the pub was bustling, we had our lunch of meat pies with sauce washed down with a Canadian Club. We sat under the trees, which were lovely and cool beside the waterhole, for the remainder of the day.

The remaining 166 km of gravel road into Birdsville was in good condition, with bitumen caps on some of the larger sand dunes. We came across a very healthy-looking dingo beside the road and wondered if he was being fed by people passing by.

Arriving at the Town Common, we set up camp just before the bridge and one kilometre from the pub.