About the Site

Ross River Resort is located on Eastern Arrernte country and has been home to Wide Open Space since 2009. The site is open year-round to the public and consists of the Homestead bar and restaurant, cabins, camp site, swimming pool, amenities blocks, bunkhouse and function centre.

During the festival the site is accessible only to WOS ticket holders

Showers

Water in the outback is precious. Ross River is no exception. While there are showers onsite, these will only available during limited times each day. We ask everyone to do their part to conserve water in the desert by taking short showers while on site.

Drinking Water

There are taps around site with drinking water available.

Food

WOS has plenty of food stalls to keep you feed over the weekend. But it’s always important to be self-sufficient in the desert so be sure to bring some snacks!

Alcohol

WOS is a licensed venue and operates a bar for the duration of the event. There is no BYO alcohol at Wide Open Space. Any alcohol discovered onsite will be confiscated and disposed of.

Waste & Sustainability

Wide Open Space is a Leave No Trace festival. For those who are new to Leave Not Trace that means yes, cleaning up after yourself, but also making sure to take everything you brought back with you - including your rubbish. Pack it In, Pack it Out.

Ross River Resort does not have council bin collection and all waste generated on site must be brought to Mparntwe/Alice Springs for disposal. Please do your part to help keep this beautiful landscape pristine and take your rubbish home with you.

WOS operates a reusable cup system for the bar and vendors are required to use compostable items for food service, but patrons are also encouraged to bring their own plates, bowls, cups and cutlery to cut down on waste produced during the event.

All food waste is feed to pigs at a local Mparntwe farm.

Getting There

WOS is held in the Central Desert at Ross River Resort, 80kms east of Mparntwe/Alice Springs via the Ross Highway.

Access & Road Conditions

While the Ross Highway is a sealed road, be careful when driving to and from site. The road narrows in parts to only one lane, and is used by locals, tourists, caravans, cyclists, road trains and lots of cows!! Go slow, give way, stay alert, and seriously… go slow.

WOS advises it patrons against driving to or from site outside in the dark, due to livestock and road conditions.

Vehicle checks will be conducted by security for all cars entering site. Prohibited items will be confiscated and can be collected from the information space at the end of the festival. Illegal items will not be returned and may result in Ticket Holders being refused entry to site or the involvement to NT Police. A list of prohibited items can be found below.

Gates are open between the following hours during the festival. Please do not arrive outside of these hours as you will not be admitted to site.

Fri 28^th April: 12pm – 10pm

Sat 29^th April: 8am – 10pm

Sun 30^th April: 8am – 8pm

There is no public transport from Alice Springs Airport to the CBD. Uber does not operate in Alice Springs, and we recommend pre-booking taxis. Mparntwe/Alice Springs has a number of car hire companies (some based at the airport) and private charter bus companies. There is also no public transport from Mparntwe to the WOS site. Carpooling to WOS is encourage, follow Wide Open Space social media channels to keep up to date with the WOS community.

Wide Open Space runs a private bus from Alice Springs Airport to the CBD (with a hour stop) and onto site. Tickets for the bus can be purchased via the Humanitix website.