It was a relatively short drive to
Birdsville. We set up camp at a billabong just out of town and then went into
Birdsville to explore. Our first stop was the Bakery which sold pies with
fillings such as curried camel and kangaroo claret! They also had a load of
historical photos and articals about local birdsville history and events as
well as some about colourful local people!
We saw the old hospital, the Burk and Wills
Tree (Number 81) and of course the Birdsville Hotel where we had to have a
beer! We also visited the Visitors Centre to ask about track conditions for the
Birdsviile Track. They had a local history exhibition there that was great to
see.
Tree number 81 - The Burke & Wills Tree. You can still clearly see the number 81 carved into the tree.
I have loads of layers on - including my thermals as I was so cold. This was lunchtime so I am dreading the desert cold as I am so cold already!
We spent the rest of the day doing school
work and making plans for the next day. We had been having second thoughts
about crossing the Simpson Desert so we thought that we would drive out to Big
Red (the last sand dune before Birdsville on the Simpson Desert). We tried
Little Red and then Big Red minus the trailer and with the trailer. I have to say that with a name
like ‘Big Red’ both Ed and I expected it to be bigger than it was. We got over
it in high range with a small run up. Ed just dropped the tyre pressure down
and it was easy. This gave us hope that it would be ok crossing the Simpson.
There were heaps of cars coming across both ways – it was like a hwy! We went
to the caravan park for the night to wash clothes and have showers so that we
were ready to hit the Birdsville Track the next day.
Climbing Little Red - note all the water at the base. The road is diverted around it as there is so much water.
At the top of Big Red!
No comments:
Post a Comment