It’s been a long, long road but the flood-ravaged Birdsville Track is finally about to fully re-open.
After six months of being forced to use the ageing Cooper Creek ferry, travellers along the iconic South Australian route will soon be keeping their wheels in their dirt.
More than 12,000 vehicles have used the ferry in the past six months but many more are believed to have been deterred from taking on the track by tales of hazardous conditions and long delays. Tourists on their way to last year’s Birdsville Races, for example, report having to queueup to 24 hours to use the ferry.
Water has now been completely pumped off the track and urgent repair work is being undertaken prior to the re-opening. However, South Australia’s Transport Department says the ferry will stay on standby as more flows are forecast from the north.
“It’s hard to know just whether it will have an effect,” the Department’s Alan Morris told the ABC. “I think the evaporation is such that it would take a considerable flow of water to come down to have any detrimental effect on the Cooper Creek and particularly around the ferry.”
Phil Gregurkie from the Mungerannie Hotel told the ABC he welcomed the news of the track’s imminent re-opening.
“I think ‘You beauty!’ Hopefully the Cooper never runs again,” he said. “It’s cost us a lot and it’s just been a disaster.”
