Birdsville Races 2012

[joshman]

Excellent idea Tony! I love the idea of getting our own place if we can. Would need an idea of likely numbers beforehand no doubt. But I'm more than happy to throw in some money for it!

I'm a self-sufficient free camper by nature, so anywhere I can get the vehicle and throw out my swag will be good enough for me!

I'd also be looking at maybe going out a few days beforehand and having a play on big red and in the desert.

 

[Bosshog]

I've updated the first post with a link to the Birdsville Caravan Park. They only have 52 powered sites, so booking early would be a bonus, particularly if we wanted to be in a group.

Having stayed there I can confirm that is not too bad. Don't expect any grass though - just bare red soil. There is heaps of ground to pitch tents etc on but they are overfull during the races so book early.

Oh, the amenities are excellent too given its Birdsville. Just shower at 3am as they run out of hot water when the races are on.

 

[Old.Tony]

Glad we have our own shower then!

I thought I'd seek some help. I've been looking at "Stop C" on the Google Map of the trip from Newcastle and can't determine where the rest area is. It looks like there's a road heading off to the left (click here to see what I mean) but in the overhead view (first link) the rest area looks like it's on the other side of Ward River which seems to have a path heading off as can be seen here.

The thing is, we're going to be a very long rig and I don't want to be trying to turn around on a narrow road, and especially if we're in convoy.

Does anyone know which side of the bridge the rest area is? It's not signposted, yet it's supposed to exist. If anyone's been up that way and used the Ward River Rest Area, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

All of the other areas are fine, it's just this one - if we go past the thing, turning around is possible but difficult and I'd like to avoid that.

 

[terryc]

Having walked the road by the photos, it looks to have more area on the southern side.

My 2c is that the area is either side of the road and that both sides have tracks going off. i suspect that you could go anywhere and that people probably do go along the bank a bit to camp, fish(?0, swim, etc.

From the very coarse aerial photographs, the southern/left side looked to have a big loop or two. and i would be more inclinded to drive in their first.

However, I went to whereis.com and their aerial photograph is worse, but it does show that the road to the north/right actually runs along the river for some time.

Hmm, perhaps someone could go ahead and look whilst the rest are tardy in Charleville and then radio back their suggestion?

Lol, it is the same crappy aerial photograph on nearmap.com (Jan 2004).

 

[Old.Tony]

I've just grabbed the raw image taken Feb 11, 2009 from the satellite and it's not showing much better either. I'll keep searching.

 

[terryc]

Satellite is probably the problem. You just will not get the resolution. The urban stuff looks nice because it is actually aerial photographs from a plane, but outside urban areas, there just isn't the demand for aerial photographs to justify the regular flights.

 

[Bosshog]

I haven't looked but try Near Map - its free to sign up. Their photo maps may be better.

 

[Old.Tony]

I signed up to nearmap.com - they have surprisingly detailed maps of city areas and not much coverage in the country. Google Earth is better by miles for overall coverage. I'm guessing that nearmap.com makes its money from businesses and they're only interested in the cities.

It means the convoy stops on the road at the first entry while I get out my folding bike (which I'll probably buy @ Aldi this Thursday) and go check it out.

 

[Old.Tony]

Having had some conversations with people about this trip there are some changes to be made to make it a truly memorable event!

First the bad stuff ...

The route we NEED to take (there's a link to it in the first post) is a popular route and camping/overnight spots on the way up are generally quite busy. We might find it difficult, and may need to just get as far off the main road as possible each night.

Now for the good stuff ...

On the Tuesday night before the Birdsville Races start, there's an event in Charleville that we "must see". I don't recall what it was, hopefully someone will remind me with a suitably heavy object before we go.

On Wednesday night in Windorah they hold yabby races with proceeds going to the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Apparently they auction off the yabbies and then race 'em. It's supposed to be a LOT of fun and I'd like to try and be there for that. The only down side is that everyone else is likely to be doing the same thing, so we'd hav to arrive in Windorah, refuel then park somewhere before everyone else arrives (if we could be that lucky).

That gives us Thursday and Friday to make the trek from Windorah to Birdsville, about 400km and since the road SHOULD be recently graded, it ought to be a good trip. Rain will turn it into a nightmare and those of us with recovery gear might find our samaritan gene tested to its limit. I would recommend that we have AT tyres at least - anyone with roadies will find the journey interesting to say the least.

If you ARE going and you ARE using road tyres, PLEASE mount some recovery points front and rear and bring an equalisation strap with you.

With the announcement of the actual dates on the birdsville.com website, we now have firm dates for the trip - we leave Maitland on Monday 27th August 2012 and follow the aforementioned route with stops at each of the listed waypoints.

 

[joshman]

looks good tony., i don't know what happening next year, so this is up in the air, but i plan to come along to this, will have to meet the convoy in charleville most likely. however my plan is to take 2 weeks, and either go out to poeppel corner or down to the Flinders Ranges then make my way back home.

i can tell you no the trek from windorah to birdsville is pretty easy, if the roads are graded and dry, the road tyres will have no dramas at all, if they are graded and wet (depends HOW wet) then the road tyres will have some problems, i know there are few gullys that have fist-sized gibber rocks in the bottom and a steep-ish exit on them, would make towing a caravan in the very wet an interesting experience.

i definitely second that everyone planning this should have a minimum of A/T tyres and recovery points front and rear. i would suggest that everyone brings a minimum of:
- their own recovery gear (compressor, snatch straps, equalization straps, bow shackles, shovel, etc...)
- A/T tyres with tread left on them
- At least one spare with the same tyre as the rest of them.

i fully intend on going out and playing on big red and having some fun while there.

 

[BravoBrad]

Road Report

Just back from a quick run out to Quilpie.(2300km + work in < 2 days) On the way out I went from St George to Cunnamulla, then to Quilpie, (Directions available if required) Tar road, single lane for a portion, and a nice drive. The road is in excellent condition at the moment. I actually had better phone coverage than the main road this way, but it is still limited. This is my preferred way to get to Quilpie.

Came back from Quilpie via Charleville and via Bolon Rd back to St George. Its about 180k's of dirt that is about 7 lanes wide (I kid you not, you could line up all the navaras that were at the muster across it). Its in reasonable condition, with limited soft or corrugated sections. I did this at night, and whilst there was a massive amount of wildlife, actually achieved a reasonable time. It is quicker to go either via the road above, or via Mitchell (you can go direct from Mitchell to St George without going through Roma)

The road from St George to Moree (via Mungindi) is in fairly good nick at the moment.

I've never driven the Quilpie to Birdsville road, so can't offer much help on that one.

FYI, I typically get fuel at St George and Quilpie from the Mobil Depot, They have 24hr eftpos so you can just throw your card in the machine, and fill up, and as a lot of trucks fill up there, it turns over the diesel..(No old stale crap fuel) I was talking to a Nissan mechanic from Charleville last night, and he said they get heaps of Navaras in with fuel contamination.

 

[Old.Tony]

If Charleville is seeing lots of contaminated fuel, where's it coming from? Charleville itself or one of the surrounding places?

Sounds like you had fun at least. The wildlife would have put me on the side of the road, it's not that I fear damage to my car, it's more that I don't like killing things - or worse, maiming them.

 

[BravoBrad]

I would suspect they are getting contaminated fuel all from the whole area. I always buy my fuel where the trucks do, as the volume going through the tanks, helps insure its "fresh". The trick is finding out where the trucks are stopping (hence my suggested fuel stops). I actually carry fuel, to ensure I can get between my planned stops as much as possible in remote areas. For instance I would get fuel on the coast before you leave, then as you get inland I would get it at the BP Truck stop at Bellata (Between Moree, and Narrabri), then as per the previous post. I would carry fuel from Quilpie, but also fill up at Birdsville, which will have enough fuel going through their bowsers during the races, so it should be all good.

Drive to the conditions. i.e Don't try and do the "ton" when on dirt in a high animal population area. I drive with the animals all the time, I haven’t taken any out for many years. Really good lights help…and remember, Don’t trust the Emus.. They are the worst for not having any road sense

 

[Old.Tony]

I'd never have looked at Bellata for fuel, since the Google Street View of the place shows the truck stop to be a "Independent Fuel Bellata" selling "Mobil Products" - the Google Street View is obviously a couple of years old, with prices like 129.9 for diesel! If it's a BP now then it's definitely one to consider refuelling at.

As it stands, Bellata is 415km from Maitland where we'll be starting. Even towing on a normal tank size we'd make that (provided there were no headwinds). We'll have our long range tank fitted by then, and will carry at least a can of diesel if not 2 as well.

St George is only 292km further on. There's a BP on the corner of Scott St and Carnarvon Hwy but it's not a truck stop and doesn't look comfortable to get half a dozen cars into at once especially towing. There's a Mobil Products outlet on the way into town from the south side and it looks to have plenty of room for us to line up - is that the one you mean?

It's 394km from St George to Charleville via Bolon Rd, which is again achievable on a single standard tank when towing as long as there's no headwind. Do you get fuel in Charleville? Quilpie is another couple of hundred km out, and guys with standard tanks may not make it there. At least now, though, we've got a couple of tried and tested fuel stops for the route - I can't thank you enough for that!

As for night driving, we don't plan to. My route and timetable allows us to leave at a reasonable time after breakfast and stop before dark so we can set up the campers and have dinner before the boogeyman does his rounds. The emus could still be a worry - we'll have to make sure everyone has radios for the trip I guess.

 

[Old.Tony]

I've just updated the first post with a new map showing fuel stops as well as the overnight stops. I need more information:

* What is the location of the fuel depot in Quilpie?
* How do we get into the rest area at Wards River 20km west of Charleville?
* What is the road surface between Windorah and Birdsville made from, is it clay?
* What is the event in Charleville that we want to go to on the Tuesday night?
* Does anyone know what the fuel in Windorah is like - is it any good?
* If the fuel at Windorah is no good, how many of us can carry fuel for the Quilpie-Birdsville leg (about 500km)?

Discussions I've had with several people about the area make me believe that we'll need to have recovery gear with us and the greatest delays will be made by us stopping to help people who are bogged/trapped on the road west of Windorah. To this end I've put some recommendations on the bottom of the first post about vehicle equipment. A lot of us have AT tyres anyway. If that road gets wet though, road tyres are supposed to be disastrous on it - let's play it safe. If you have road tyres and have been wanting to change to ATs, here's your excuse.

 

[BravoBrad]

There's a Mobil Products outlet on the way into town from the south side and it looks to have plenty of room for us to line up - is that the one you mean?

Yep. Thats the one.

It's 394km from St George to Charleville via Bolon Rd, which is again achievable on a single standard tank when towing as long as there's no headwind. Do you get fuel in Charleville? Quilpie is another couple of hundred km out, and guys with standard tanks may not make it there. At least now, though, we've got a couple of tried and tested fuel stops for the route - I can't thank you enough for that!

I do the St George to Quilpie on a tank. I do carry spare fuel but never need it as 600km isn't an issue for me. If you are going to get fuel in Charliville, I would go to the BP. Its in town, turn left at the shell, and go down a block.


Yes, watch outfor the boogeyman

 

[BravoBrad]

I've just updated the first post with a new map showing fuel stops as well as the overnight stops. I need more information:

* What is the location of the fuel depot in Quilpie?.

On the right as you exit Quilpie heading west. Just before the airport. Much like St George, Enough room for trucks etc

 

[Old.Tony]

On the right as you exit Quilpie heading west. Just before the airport. Much like St George, Enough room for trucks etc

Thanks, it blended in well with the background that's why I missed it. If we need fuel in Quilpie that's not bad, couple of u-turns and we're done. Is that a metal cow in the median strip? It's a country town, that'd scare the dickens out of people who weren't expecting it!

 

[Old.Tony]

I do the St George to Quilpie on a tank. I do carry spare fuel but never need it as 600km isn't an issue for me. If you are going to get fuel in Charliville, I would go to the BP. Its in town, turn left at the shell, and go down a block.


Yes, watch outfor the boogeyman

I have to cater for people who may only get 400-450km per tank (standard tank size, towing) - so I'd like to have fuel stops about 400km apart at the most, just to be safe.

Boogeyman? Is there something we should know about?

 

[LLadnar]

So what day will we be leaving Tony and when are you looking at getting back? Have too put in for leave.