Birdsville

Birdsville sits at the end of the Birdsville Track on the Diamantina River, with a permanent population of around a hundred, and it functions as the last stop before the Simpson Desert. The Birdsville Hotel, built in 1884, is one of the best-known pubs in Australia, and each September the Birdsville Races bring several thousand people, aircraft parked in rows on the airstrip, in an event that has run since 1882 and raises money for the flying doctor. A bore sunk in 1962 brings up water at nearly a hundred degrees, cooled through a channel and used to generate power. Big Red, the desert's tallest dune at around forty metres, lies thirty-five kilometres west.

What you actually see

• The Birdsville Hotel - the 1884 pub at the end of the track.
• The September races - thousands of people and aircraft filling the town.
• Big Red - the tallest dune of the Simpson Desert, west of town.
• The artesian bore - near-boiling water used for power and cooled for supply.

When to go

May to September; summer temperatures pass fifty degrees and desert travel is genuinely dangerous. The races fall in early September and fill every bed and campsite for a hundred kilometres. Roads can close for weeks after rain.

Honest expectations

Access roads are long and partly unsealed, and close after rain with heavy fines for driving on closed roads. Fuel is expensive and supplies limited. During race week nothing is available without booking a year ahead. Desert crossing requires permits and preparation.

Nearby

Big Red and the Simpson Desert lie west; the Birdsville Track runs south to Marree.