For many adventurous grey nomads, a trip along the iconic Birdsville Track – which connects Birdsville in south-west Queensland, to Marree in far-north South Australia – is near the top of the Big Lap wish list … but it’s been pretty hard to do in recent years!
The ABC reports that the iconic route, which stretches more than 500 kilometres, has been closed for 400 days out of the past two years due to rain damage.
The track is largely unsealed so is susceptible to flooding and has always had to close periodically … but the ABC says it has never been inaccessible for this long before.
Unsurprisingly, the lack of tourist traffic is hitting some local operators hard.
Some grey nomads love to hit the dirt ... while others hate the dust, the discomfort ... and the risk of trip-wrecking rain!
Marree Roadhouse owner, Lyall Oldfield, told the ABC his business was ‘probably one third of what it normally is’.
“My family [has] been here since 1934 and it’s never ever happened that the Birdsville Track has been closed any longer than a month,” he said. “It’s just dreadful what’s happening with the roads. It’s not even a joke.”
The Mungerannie Hotel, which is about 230 kilometres north of Marree, has reportedly not opened all year, with road closures stopping the daily water deliveries it relies on.
Co-owner Andrew Norman told the ABC the closure north of Mungerannie is having the biggest impact, deterring tourists from making the trip.
“Nobody’s really coming up to Mungeranie to turn around and go back,” he said. “If they can get that road open just north of us and get the Birdsville Track open, next year should be fine … if the track is open, we’ll be open, but without a track, we’re not open.”
The SA Department for Infrastructure and Transport told the ABC it hoped to reopen the 200-kilometre section between Marree and Mungeranie soon, but the route north of Mungeranie is expected to remain closed for some time.
Regional north and outback road maintenance manager Juanita Chester said with some northern parts of the Birdsville Track still underwater, it would be “several more months before [the department] can even consider reopening”.
“When you’re thinking of over a kilometre of road that is underwater, there’s a significant amount of material that we’d have to cart in to put on that road to build it up enough to allow traffic to go through,” she told the ABC.
While many grey nomads love to get off the bitumen and on to the dirt tracks, others are wary of the potential issues and damage to their vehicles … as well as the discomfort.
After a big adventure a few years ago, veteran traveller Eric E definitely falls into the latter camp.
“We spent 10 weeks travelling to and from Cape York,” he said. “A great trip … but we are well and truly over corrugated dirt roads.”
However, Frank and Terezia V said it was a case of each to their own.
“The only serious corrugation we experienced was the full length of the Gibb River Road, on our first round Oz trip,” they said. “We drove to conditions with tyre pressures on both vehicle and caravan to suit and absolutely loved it.”
The couple said their Ranger and JB Scorpion caravan were still in perfect condition at the end of it all.
“Yes, dust is an issue even with all attempts to minimise it,” they said. “But that just comes with the adventure!”
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