Day 20 - Birdsville - 31/10/2105
Biirrrrdsssvillleee….. It’s a unique place in Australia, generally holding a moment or spot in the minds of people who have a look outside the coast and think about what’s more than 500 kilometres inside Australia. It’s the races, it’s the place to aim for on the Variety club bash type event, it’s the place to go if you want to ride postie bikes in the bush, it’s the races, it’s the eastern end of the Simpson Desert tracks, it’s the races, it’s the pub, it’s the races, it’s the pub. We are in Birdsville for a day, a Saturday, and we are staying at the pub. It should be exciting…
Well, no, not really. It’s been 40 degrees or over for the last month. The tourists have pretty much dried up except for hard core people like us or the mad Irish blokes (G’day Paddy and Leon) who pulled in the next day having traversed the Simpson on Quad Bikes with three weeks planning. If you go skiing and understand how Mt Hotham (why ski in a creek if you can ski on a mountain) or Mt Buller works, or if you understand the dynamics of Lorne, then you understand how Birdsville runs. As Joc describes our visit to Birdsville: “It cost us two and a half grand, reasonable beers (Coopers Pale Ale) are $8, there is no competition, no discount for a group of ten”. The pub, although iconic in the eyes of most Australians, is a representation of what an outback pub is (refer to subsequent discussions or look up Tibooburra, Hungerford or Noccundra Pubs).
So with an eye on the pragmatic and using some of the principles that we operate by, is the fact that we think that Birdsville operates on a seasonal tourism model a bad thing? A brief consultation with a small committee of TTT members (Hector and Carl) comes up with the opinion: “no, not really. If that’s what they do or someone does for a crust then go you good thing.” The place serves a purpose for us this weekend, even if some of the steaks on Saturday are overcooked and the barman keeps playing loud AC/DC music instead of Slim Dusty. It is what it is, but it probably isn’t us.
Enough philosophy, what did we do? A bit the same as Alice really. We unpacked stuff, cleaned it, chucked out the broken stuff, cleaned ourselves, washed our clothes and quite a few of us had a nap. Fatigue is really setting in as the cumulative effects of several days hard riding in the hot sun is starting to beat us hard. We still have five days to go to get to Byron Bay and achieve our goal. We need to concentrate hard to get through this next stage.
To finish the night we had tea in the pub again, paying $38 for a steak that wasn’t really well cooked, but that is what you pay. We made our own entertainment with the Irish boys, led by a fantastic recital by Hector on the bagpipes. He is a legend.
Biirrrrdsssvillleee….. It’s a unique place in Australia, generally holding a moment or spot in the minds of people who have a look outside the coast and think about what’s more than 500 kilometres inside Australia. It’s the races, it’s the place to aim for on the Variety club bash type event, it’s the place to go if you want to ride postie bikes in the bush, it’s the races, it’s the eastern end of the Simpson Desert tracks, it’s the races, it’s the pub, it’s the races, it’s the pub. We are in Birdsville for a day, a Saturday, and we are staying at the pub. It should be exciting…
Well, no, not really. It’s been 40 degrees or over for the last month. The tourists have pretty much dried up except for hard core people like us or the mad Irish blokes (G’day Paddy and Leon) who pulled in the next day having traversed the Simpson on Quad Bikes with three weeks planning. If you go skiing and understand how Mt Hotham (why ski in a creek if you can ski on a mountain) or Mt Buller works, or if you understand the dynamics of Lorne, then you understand how Birdsville runs. As Joc describes our visit to Birdsville: “It cost us two and a half grand, reasonable beers (Coopers Pale Ale) are $8, there is no competition, no discount for a group of ten”. The pub, although iconic in the eyes of most Australians, is a representation of what an outback pub is (refer to subsequent discussions or look up Tibooburra, Hungerford or Noccundra Pubs).
So with an eye on the pragmatic and using some of the principles that we operate by, is the fact that we think that Birdsville operates on a seasonal tourism model a bad thing? A brief consultation with a small committee of TTT members (Hector and Carl) comes up with the opinion: “no, not really. If that’s what they do or someone does for a crust then go you good thing.” The place serves a purpose for us this weekend, even if some of the steaks on Saturday are overcooked and the barman keeps playing loud AC/DC music instead of Slim Dusty. It is what it is, but it probably isn’t us.
Enough philosophy, what did we do? A bit the same as Alice really. We unpacked stuff, cleaned it, chucked out the broken stuff, cleaned ourselves, washed our clothes and quite a few of us had a nap. Fatigue is really setting in as the cumulative effects of several days hard riding in the hot sun is starting to beat us hard. We still have five days to go to get to Byron Bay and achieve our goal. We need to concentrate hard to get through this next stage.
To finish the night we had tea in the pub again, paying $38 for a steak that wasn’t really well cooked, but that is what you pay. We made our own entertainment with the Irish boys, led by a fantastic recital by Hector on the bagpipes. He is a legend.