Birdsville
Channel Country
Birdsville is a small (around 120 residents) but important regional centre and home to the Birdsville Races and the famous Birdsville Hotel. The 1870s saw the town's start as a depot and customs port under the name of Diamantina Crossing - it was later changed to Birdsville by one of the station owners in homage to the varied birdlife of the area. Some 1,600kms west of Brisbane, Queensland's capital, Birdsville is located in the channel country on the edge of two deserts - the Simpson Desert and the Sturts Stony Desert.
Birdsville Attractions
Birdsville Working Museum
Take a trip into the past with a visit to the Working Museum where you can see old wagons and coaches and a wheelwright and blacksmith shop. The museum is open 7 days a week and there are demonstrations and tours on offer.
Telephone: +61 7 4656 3259
Birdsville Working Museum
Birdsville Races
First run in 1882, the Birdsville Races is the best known outback horse races in Australia. Run each year on the first Saturday of September, visitors from around Australia and around the world come together over two days for racing, fashions, whip cracking, live music and much more. No trip to the Birdsville races would be complete without a beer at the famous Birdsville Hotel.
Birdsville Track
The Birdsville Track is one of the loneliest tracks in Australia. It was originally a stock route that took about a month to travel and provided a link to the outside for the residents of the remote cattle stations. Between 1930 and 1960, outback legend Tom Kruse was the mailman who braved floods and searing heat to travel the track every fortnight to deliver mail and supplies to the settlements.
Today you can make the trip in a 2wd car for most of the year. Driving the track you will pass salt lakes, the ruins of old homesteads like Lake Harry Homestead - an old date plantation, hot water bore holes from the Great Artesian Basin, deserts and rivers.
As Birdsville is just over the Queensland border, most of the track is in South Australia and begins in Marree 517kms away. There are two ways you can drive the Birdsville Track. If you don't have a 4wd, take the Inner Route, which is the most common used. The Outer Route is 4wd only.
If you are looking for a map of the Birdsville Track, then have a look at this map from our friends from The Outback Travellers Track Guide. They get out onto the Australian Tracks themselves and create these fantastic maps. Click on the image above to jump to their website.
Simpson Desert National Park - Big Red Sand Dune
With striking landscapes and colours, the Simpson Desert covers over 200,000 square kilometres of the Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia.
You can buy this photo at AllPosters.com
Bird Watching
As the name of the town would suggest, Birdsville offers great bird watching opportunities. The Diamantina River provides a permanent source of water and a number of seasonal water holes that attracts a rich and colourful array of birds. Pelican Point offers access to the billabong and in addition to bird watching is a great place for a swim.
Wildflowers
From August to October the wildflowers that bloom after the winter rains are at their most spectacular. You can see the flowers from the road and at the many water holes in the area and include species like the yellow Billy Button, Australian Hollyhock and the pretty purple blooms of the Small-leaf Swainsona.
Birdsville Region Weather - Average Temperatures and Rainfall
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Avg. Max (°C) | 38.8 | 38.4 | 36.2 | 32.5 | 26.8 | 22.6 | 23.3 | 25.5 | 30.8 | 34.1 | 36.3 | 38.4 |
| Avg. Min (°C) | 25.1 | 24.5 | 21.7 | 17.4 | 11.7 | 8.2 | 7.6 | 9.1 | 14.4 | 17.9 | 20.9 | 23.5 |
| Avg. Rain (mm) | 33.4 | 35.9 | 17.6 | 10.1 | 11.6 | 10.0 | 10.3 | 7.2 | 6.3 | 14.1 | 16.2 | 16.2 |
| Avg. Rain Days | 2.8 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.4 |