So the call rang out in Facebook land. “Who’s coming to the Birdsville Races?” Yes…I think I will. So after all the drama outlined in my blog, we found ourselves heading off towards Birdsville on the Sunday morning. Just ourselves and my uncle and aunty. The original organizers pulled out in the end. With 5 days to get there, we had an itinerary that only required us to travel 300 to 400k’s per day. We planned backroads and dirt roads. We stopped at an old relative’s farm on the first night, then Blackall, Karaka and Windorah before arriving at Birdsville on Thursday afternoon. Karaka was a great little place. Not much there but the pub has a dirt camping area behind with good amenities and a pool. Here we were greeted by the local emu’s searching for a feed. The pub runs a local history tour out to a local lookout and they also provide a great feed. The next night at Windorah was a little disappointing. The international Yabby Races were on. The town was packed with people camping everywhere. We found a spot on the school oval. The amenities were few, but everyone was allowed access to the caravan park showers so the line ups were short. The townspeople were great, but the event was a letdown. To participate in the races, you had to buy a yabby. They started at $500 and the average would be about $800. We couldn’t see the action due to the crowd, so after a cold and tasteless chicken chow Mein, we went back to camp for a couple of beers before bed. We hit the dirt the next day, and there was a lot of it. The road was better than we expected but very dusty. After stopping at Betoota and a couple of lookouts, we arrived in Birdsville. We were surprised at the green. The floods earlier in the year provided the town with allot of water and the surrounds loved it. I really was an oasis. We found a spot on the river flats and set up. It was bush camping all round and there was plenty of room. They even had taps plumbed with drinking water every 100m or so along the road. Due to the cars weight, I decided to buy beer on the way. It was $80 for a carton of light cans and $98 for a one litre bottle of Bundy. Although at $8.80 per can and $12.50 per UDL over the bar, these prices seemed acceptable. The river was a great place to camp as the weekend progressed and the wind started. 50k/h +. Spent the Friday rolling up awning and holding down tents. The greenery around us suppressed the dust though. A look towards the town, and to the track, revealed dust clouds that drove everyone mad for 2 days. Anyway, after missing the races on Friday while trying to stop the camp from blowing away, we went up to the town for the evening. There was a great carnival atmosphere and plenty of food outlets. We purchased dinner, bought some souvenirs then stopped the pub to watch some live music.  After $60 for 4 beers and 2 rums, we caught the bus back to the camp. It went down hill from there. Recon I got food poisoning from my chicken burger. So after 3 hours of hurling and 36 hours in bed, I came good and we packed and left for Bedourie. I never got to the races after all that, but apparently it was very dusty and $40 per person to get in. The Bedourie Races were planned for the following weekend, so we found a spot to camp on the way at Cuttaburra Crossing on the Eyre Creek. What a great spot. Plenty of water and the birdlife was everywhere. Was very easy sitting in the shade and watching the activities. A couple of days later we drove into Bedourie and were surprised at the little town. Great amenities, history and people. I recon we’ll be back for sure. We’ll have to check out the Diamantina National Park. The Bedourie race day was more of a local affair. Not many tourists at all. Plenty of room. Plenty of chairs, and reasonable prices. $20 to get in and $6 a drink. This pretty much brought the trip to an end and it was just the getting home. We stopped at a pub in the middle of nowhere at Middleton, then Longreach and Emerald. My tips? Take a second spare tyre and fly screen for you head.