Birdsville
The town, what's in it, where to stay and how to get out to Bashville. Everything Birdsville, on one page.
A hundred people,
then ten thousand
Birdsville sits on the banks of the Diamantina River, between the red dunes of the Simpson Desert and the stony gibber plains of the Sturt Stony Desert. It has been a meeting place for Aboriginal people for a very long time, and European settlement began in the late 1870s. For most of the year about a hundred people live here. For one week in July, that becomes about ten thousand.
Population 115, give or take seven thousand. Photo: Birdsville Hotel
The dune behind the stage
Big Red, or Nappanerica, is the largest and best known dune in the Simpson Desert, about 40 metres high. It was named by Simpson Desert traveller Dennis Bartell, and it is the backdrop to the whole festival.
The Simpson Desert covers around 176,500 square kilometres across Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory. It's Australia's fourth largest desert and the largest sand dune desert in the world.
A sea of sand
The Simpson is an erg — a sand sea of long, parallel dunes running north to south, held in place by the vegetation growing on them. They're about 3 metres high in the west and climb to 30 metres in the east.
Annual rainfall is around 160mm, almost all of it in summer. September is usually the driest month of the year.
What July feels like
What's in town
Fuel
Two service stations. Expect queues during Bash week, and see the note below on how to make them move faster.
Food and supplies
The Birdsville Bakery and a general store. Both get very busy — do your big shop before you arrive.
Visitor Information Centre
The Wirrarri Visitors Information Centre, which is also the library and the internet access point.
Medical and police
A medical clinic, police and emergency services.
Showers
Public showers opposite the Birdsville Sports Centre, run by the PCYC for a $5 donation per person, daylight hours during Bash week.
Post Office
In town, for anything that has to go in the mail.
Gallery and tours
An art gallery in town, and guided tours of the area.
Airport
A sealed 1700m runway and an unsealed cross-strip.
Water, cash and fuel
Three things that catch people out every year. None of them are hard, but all three are much easier to sort out before you arrive than after.
Water
Drinking water is available at the Town Common only, from the taps running parallel to the road. That is the only approved place to fill up in town. Bring your own water as well — don't arrive planning to find some.
Cash
There are no ATMs in Birdsville. EFTPOS works, but it can be slow when the town is full. Cash is gold out here — bring some as a backup before you leave the last big town.
Fuel
Two service stations for ten thousand people. Unhitch your caravan before you pull up to the bowser, pay inside, then move your vehicle forward. Fill up along your route rather than relying on Birdsville.
Fill up along your route, bring drinking water and groceries, carry cash, and give the vehicle and the caravan a proper check. Birdsville is a long way from a spare part.
Photo: Birdsville Hotel
Staying in town
Accommodation in Birdsville is limited and it sells out quickly — not just for the Bash itself but for the days either side. If you're planning to stay in town rather than camp at Bashville, book well ahead.
The pub on the corner is the Birdsville Hotel, standing there since 1884. It's the first thing most people photograph when they roll into town — and there are no rooms in it during the Bash.
Birdsville Caravan Park
Powered and unpowered sites. It books out, often a long way ahead, so this is the one to sort first. Push bikes and kayaks can be hired from the park.
The Town Common
Free camping, south of town between the first cattle grid and the Diamantina River bridge. There are no facilities at all, so you need to be fully self-contained. The drinking water taps are here.
There is no hotel or cabin accommodation available in Birdsville during the Bash. Bring camping gear, a caravan, or a self-contained setup — don't travel out here assuming you'll find a room.
The Caravan Park or the Town Common. Nowhere else. There's no unauthorised camping within town limits, and the land around Birdsville is private station country. Camping on it damages station roads, disrupts dams and disturbs livestock — people live and work out here.
Birdsville to Bashville
Driving yourself
Collect first. Before you leave town, swap your e-ticket for your vehicle pass and wristbands at the Ticketing Office — see ticket collection for where and when.
Then head west on Adelaide Street. It becomes the Birdsville Simpson Desert National Park Road. Stay on it for about 35km. Marshals meet you on the main road and direct you into the Bashville site from there.
The transfer bus
Transfer buses run on concert days between Birdsville and Bashville, for people staying in town who'd rather not drive out and back each day.
The 2027 timetable goes up closer to the event. Times can shift with weather, road conditions or how the day is running, so the billboards at the Birdsville and Bashville bus stops carry the current daily schedule. Check them rather than a time you wrote down in March.
Allow extra time at peak, have your festival wristband ready when you board, bring a torch for the trip back after dark, and dress for a cold evening — it drops fast once the sun goes.
Where everything is
Tap the map to open it full size. Map: Diamantina Shire Council
How far is everything
Worth knowing
The map marks the water taps, the dump points, the camping areas, the airport, the police station, the health service and the walking tracks, along with the road west to Big Red.
For anything else about the town itself, the Wirrarri Visitors Information Centre is the place to ask — it's on the map, in the middle of town.