Loading Will Your Fuel Get You There?…
Check your tank against the long stretches between fuel stops on each road into Birdsville — and see how much extra to carry.
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Birdsville sits at the end of long, lonely roads with very few places to fill up. Put in your tank size and how much fuel your vehicle uses, and this checks each way into town against its longest stretch without a fuel stop — and tells you how much extra to carry if your tank won't make it.
How much fuel your tank holds when full.
Highway figures from the handbook are optimistic out here — soft sand, corrugations and a loaded vehicle use far more. If unsure, enter a higher number.
Fuel you want to arrive with, never run down to. 20% is a sensible minimum.
The classic southern route up from Marree, South Australia. Unsealed but graded so a well-prepared 4WD or high-clearance SUV can tow a camper. Mungerannie Roadhouse, about halfway, is the only fuel between Marree and Birdsville.
Longest stretch with no fuel: Mungerannie Roadhouse → Birdsville — 315 km
Your tank should cover this stretch.
That is the maths on the figures you entered — not a promise. Always carry a reserve and check the road report before you set out.
The eastern route through the Channel Country. Part sealed, part unsealed, and regularly maintained. It passes the Betoota ghost town, where the hotel and fuel closed in 1997 — so there is no fuel for the whole stretch from Windorah.
Longest stretch with no fuel: Windorah → Birdsville — 386 km
Your tank should cover this stretch.
That is the maths on the figures you entered — not a promise. Always carry a reserve and check the road report before you set out.
The northern route down from Bedourie, with patches of bitumen but mostly dirt. Open to high-clearance 4WDs only. Bedourie has the last fuel.
Longest stretch with no fuel: Bedourie → Birdsville — 190 km
Your tank should cover this stretch.
That is the maths on the figures you entered — not a promise. Always carry a reserve and check the road report before you set out.
The hardest way in: the QAA and French Lines across the dunes from Mt Dare, South Australia. There is NO fuel for the whole crossing, soft sand uses far more fuel than the highway, and you should be fully self-sufficient. Carry well beyond what the maths shows.
Longest stretch with no fuel: Mt Dare → Birdsville — 520 km
Your tank should cover this stretch.
That is the maths on the figures you entered — not a promise. Always carry a reserve and check the road report before you set out.
The south-eastern route up from Innamincka. Unsealed and 4WD-recommended; conditions vary a lot with weather and traffic. Innamincka has the last fuel.
Longest stretch with no fuel: Innamincka → Birdsville — 424 km
Your tank should cover this stretch.
That is the maths on the figures you entered — not a promise. Always carry a reserve and check the road report before you set out.
No fuel across the Simpson Desert
Floods cut the roads, not the town
Longest stretch with no fuel: 520 km
Mt Dare → Birdsville
5 roads into town · check your tank before you go
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