Things to do in Birdsville

To chat face-to-face to a local about all the best things to see and do in Birdsville, step into a Visitor Information Centre. 

For a town of just over 100 people, Birdsville has a big backyard to share - 176,500km2 of the Simpson Desert (Munga-Thirri National Park) to be precise. A four-wheel drive and sense of adventure are all you need to discover the red, windswept hills that make Birdsville so famous.  

As far as outback adventures go, nothing's more iconic than catching the sunset on top of the Simpson Desert’s first and famous Big Red sand dune. 

Watch the daily light show as the sun hangs paused over the wide-open landscape, before slipping beyond the endless horizon.  

If you don’t mind crowds, time your visit for July or September when this Outback town hosts two major events on the Queensland event calendar – Birdsville Big Red Bash and the Birdsville Races.

Each year the town swells from its 100-strong population to nearly hundred times its size for these iconic events. For the rest of the year, its population gathers around its iconic Birdsville Hotel, a pub which has been quenching outback travellers’ thirst since 1884.

Beyond Birdsville, the far west towns of Windorah, Bedourie, and Boulia promise red dirt and ancient history of their own.