Detour #244: Outback Bashing on the Birdsville Track, Australia
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the ultimate outback adventure crosses no less than Four deserts in 300 miles.
Every country has them. Iconic roads that call out to the automotive adventurer. Bucket list drives that have to be tackled for no other reason than because they are there.
Australia’s Birdsville Track is a prime example. Once an important stock route the track is now trafficked not by cattle and camels, but by 4x4s. People take on the adversity of the desert, not out of necessity, but for the challenge.
That challenge begins in Maree, South Australia, a small town that supports nearby mines and cattle stations and provides an opportunity to stock up for the journey ahead. You’ll definitely want to fuel your vehicle and bring along food and water for at least a couple of days. A two-way radio, GPS and an old-school paper map to back it up are also advisable.
Over the next 300 miles you’ll travel over the dirt and gibber rocks that locals consider a highway, which, perhaps compared to minor Outback routes, it is. For the uninitiated expect a loose surface that’s sometimes stony, sometimes sandy, and alway requires your full attention. Even with all-wheel-drive you’ll struggle for traction under acceleration or braking, so you need to be extra vigilant, switching focus between the distant vanishing point ahead and the rocks and ruts that could easily send you off course. Should you encounter another vehicle you’ll also need to be wary of the impenetrable rooster tails of dust kicked and keep your distance.
Around 30 miles into the trip you may already be ready for some respite from the dunes of the Strzelecki Desert and salt lakes of the Tirari. Happily that’s readily available at Clayton Bore and its natural springs. A further 70 miles north are the Mulka Ruins, or to give them their proper, unpronounceable name Mulkaundracooracooratarraninna. Here you’ll find a general store that dates back to 1925, while at the half-way point theres’s the still-in-service Mungerannie Hotel, which offers clean, air-conditioned rooms, space for camping and, a surprisingly wide menu. There’s fuel, too if you’ve guzzled more than you bargained for.
As you head north you’ll pass through both Simpson and Sturt Stony Deserts en-route to Clifton Hills Station, which claims to be the second-biggest cattle station on the planet. Pass Lake Uloowaranie and you’ll soon cross into Queensland and arrive in Birdsville.
Sink a schooner at the Birdsville Hotel, which has been serving travellers since 1884, pay a visit to the billabong, or, if you haven’t had enough of the desert yet, then you could check out the Big Red sand dune on the edge of the Simpson Desert 20 miles outside of town. Visit in July and you could take in the tunes at the annual Big Red Bash music festival, or wait until September for the spectacular Birdsville Races. Don’t leave it any later in the year though, as the intense desert heat can turn an already challenging trip into a battle for survival for both car and driver.
Words Nik Berg Twitter/X | Instagram
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