Travellers stranded at outback pub granted exemption to use rain sodden Birdsville Track

About 100 travellers stranded at an outback pub by rain have been given the all clear to try their luck on the muddy track to Birdsville’s Bed Red Bash festival.

South Australian outback adventurers and music fans are partying with their interstate cousins after getting last-minute permission to drive on the muddy Birdsville Track.

Recent heavy rains in the state’s north saw the iconic track closed with around 40 vehicles and 100 punters stranded at the Mungerannie Hotel, just a few hours’ drive short of their destination of the Big Red Bash.

This year’s festival, now in its tenth year, saw acts like Icehouse, Hoodoo Gurus, Pete Murray and Kate Ceberano converge on the isolated Simpson Desert township.

Mungerannie Hotel publican Andrew Norman said the stranded drivers were given the all clear to traverse the track on the weekend, with drivers travelling in a convoy to make sure nobody got stranded in the boggy conditions.

“The Birdsville coppers took everyone’s registration and let them all go through,” Mr Norman said.

“The road is still closed but they got everyone out of here. Everyone went together as a convoy, and everyone managed to get through.”

Four-wheel-drives waiting out the rain at Mungerannie Hotel last week. Picture: Facebook

Thousands arrive at the Big Red Bash. Picture: Supplied, Big Red Bash

Mr Norman said the travellers came up with unique ways to keep busy during their six-day enforced stay in Mungerannie, including a giant Nutbush linedance.

“The kids all got together and came up with that as a fun thing to do,” he said.

“They put up a notice on the pub door and everyone got together.

“It was good having so many people around. It’s a bit like a morgue now with the roads still closed and nobody coming through.”

Mr Norman said the drinking water situation did get a little perilous, with the pub usually trucking water in following the breakdown of a bore-sharing relationship with a neighbouring station.

“Another couple of days and we would have been in trouble,” he said.

“We would have had 100 people and no water. It was down to the wire a bit.”

He said he hoped the Birdsville Track would be fully reopened for travellers later this week.

“Hopefully the road from Birdsville to Maree reopens and they can call in on the way back,” he said.

“Especially for people from Adelaide. It adds about 1000km to the trip otherwise.”

Big Red Bash punters make a map of Australia to raise money for diabetes research. Picture: Supplied, Big Red Bash

Big Red Bash spokeswoman Kylie Edwards said the last of travellers stranded by various outback road closures were rolling in on Wednesday.

“We were anticipating a crowd of 11,000 and I know that we have over 10,000 here, so that’s a pretty good effort considering what’s happened beforehand,” Ms Edwards said.

She said the sun was now shining and the crowds were soaking up the music on offer.

“Furnace and the Fundamentals were so much fun, The Waifs were awesome and had a really good time, and Iva Davies has just done the most incredible sound check for tonight. We can’t wait.”

This year’s bash saw five=and-a-half thousand Bashers break the world record for “the largest human image of a country”, raising more than $75,000 for type one diabetes research foundation JDRF Australia.