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.

An unscheduled trip to Bedourie

Before arriving in Farina, we thought we could smell gas coming from the cupboard under our sink in the ensuite. Mind you, at that time, it was only a very faint smell.
 
We were still on the blacktop and had not yet hit the dirt, so we could still cook and enjoy hot showers. 
 
We aired down in Marree, as we usually do when towing the van over dirt roads. The 4WD tyres were reduced to 32 psi and the van's tyres to 25 psi, to ensure a comfortable cushion for both vehicles.
 
Our trip along the Birdsville Track wasn't particularly harsh, though the floodways and dry creek beds were quite rough and stony.
 
Upon arriving at Mungerannie, we turned on the gas to heat our shower water, but the overpowering smell of gas prompted us to turn the valve off immediately.
 
A spray bottle with soapy water indicated gas escaping from a hairline crack on the bottom nut of the tap that isolates gas to the hot water system.

We'd already planned to eat at the roadhouse that evening. As we were heading to the 'Bash', we purchased large wet wipes to use on off days, so all our requirements were met.

 

By the time we arrived in Birdsville, the crack in the nut had grown larger, with part of it broken away.

 

Oh dear, here we were in Birdsville, planning to stay for seventeen days. We would be without any cooking or hot water for the entire period. The thought of having to drive to Mt Isa for repairs, a round trip of over 1300 km, filled us with dread.

 

There was no one here in Birdsville who could help, so I rang the information centre in Boulia without success. As a last resort, I called the shire office in Bedourie. Luckily, they had a gas plumber working for them, and he would contact us.

 

Fortunately, as soon as he rang me back, we headed the 187 km to Bedourie, arriving just at lunchtime. We parked opposite the pub, and Wayne, our saviour, called about ten minutes later. He checked the damage and said he'd be back at three after finishing work.

 

While we waited, we wandered across the road to the pub for one of their $10 lunch specials and a cold beer. Neither the exterior nor the interior has been improved in a very long time.  

The saga continued from there with Wayne unable to find the right-sized nut in the council workshop. In the end, he used a drill press on a smaller nut to make it fit. All of this took just over two hours to complete.
 
When I asked him how much he wanted for his time, he said $50 would do. However, we were just so grateful that we didn't have to drive to the Isa, so we gave him $250 instead.
 
We headed south for 68 km to spend the evening camping at Cuttaburra Crossing. We have passed by here on more than one occasion, so this would be ideal for us. That evening, we enjoyed a lovely hot shower, a hot meal, and a cup of coffee, thanks to Wayne.

An early start the next morning, with just 120 km to go until we reached Birdsville.

The Birdsville Track

Today marks our second trip along the Birdsville Track. 

 

We took a relaxed start this morning, with about 240 km to travel today. 

Another surprise awaited us, as the remaining section of the road to Marree has now been upgraded to bitumen. You can now drive the 77 km from Lyndhurst to Marree in any weather conditions. We crossed it many years ago after a light shower, and it was quite an experience trying to keep ourselves and our van on the wet surface.

 

We have camped in Marree before and passed through numerous times, so today's visit is just a quick stop for a photo. Afterwards, we will spend some time reducing the tyre pressures on our 4WD and van for the upcoming 517 km journey towards Birdsville. 

The track passes through one of the driest parts of Australia and cuts across parts of the Strzelecki, Sturt Stony and the Tirari Deserts. Much of the road surface is made up of gibber stones, and although the trip is not terribly demanding, it still requires care to be taken.

A 4WD and quality all-terrain tyres with lower pressures and reduced speed can help minimise the risk of tyre punctures and potential breakdowns. 
 
We have travelled extensively across Australia and along nearly every dirt road available. Always reducing our tyre pressures, we have not experienced any tyre damage in over thirty years.
 
On our previous journey, we camped at  Mungerannie before reaching Birdsville.  Last time, we towed a camper trailer, but thankfully, now we have more creature comforts to look forward to at the end of the day.
 
We stopped to explore the Lake Harry Ruins, 31 km from Marree, where in the early years there was hope to grow date palms. The water from a bore was enough for the palms to thrive, but issues with pollination eventually ended this project.

We came across the 'Dog Fence' just 12 km later. We have seen parts of it on many of our travels around Australia. It's a 5600 km fence that was built in the 1800s to keep dingoes to the north and help protect the flocks of sheep in the south.

We passed by Clayton's Wetland Campground. It's $10 per vehicle fee includes access to facilities such as showers, toilets, and even a spa powered by a nearby bore. Of course, it was far too early in the day for a stop, and besides, why pay to camp when we have our own facilities—minus the spa, of course—so we continued on.
 
A further 90 km along the track brought us to the Cooper Creek crossing. Luckily for us, the rain in late April, which had caused the track to be closed due to significant flooding, has now dissipated. We are now confronted with a dry plain; otherwise, we could be stranded here indefinitely.

Just 15 km later, we arrived at the Mulka Ruins, where we paused briefly to take some photos and 

explore the remaining site. Most of the structure has crumbled to the ground, with only part of the fireplace still standing.

 

A store was established here in the early 1900s to serve the drovers transporting stock to Marree.

Originally, we planned to camp overnight near the ruins, but it was still relatively early in the day and there was a strong eastward gale, so we decided to head to Mungerannie instead, where we knew we could find shelter among the bushes and be protected from the constant wind. 

Mungerannie Roadhouse is nearly halfway along the track and is the only permanent establishment. Facilities include cabin accommodation, a campground with amenities, tyres, basic repairs, fuel, as well as meals and a cold beer. The current diesel fuel price is $1.95 a litre, but with our long-range tank, we can reach Birdsville without needing to top up. Campground charges are $10 per person with all facilities available, but we weren't interested in staying there. We simply visited the pub for a few beers and dinner before retiring.

The rest of our trip to Birdsville was quite uneventful, although there was a bypass installed to go around part of the track that is still under water. Water was also covering the track in other areas.

It's incredible how a little bit of rain brings the desert back to life.

We did pass the Birdsville inside track 140 km after leaving Mungerannie. Although it's a shorter distance of about 40 km, it's typically closed as part of the track crosses Warburton Creek. 

Just 58 km later, we passed by the Walkers Crossing track, which comes in from Innamincka.

Arriving in Birdsville, we set up on the town common south of town.