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Published: September 12th 2006
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Slag pour Mt Isa
This is quite spectacular at night. We arrived in Mt Isa on Thursday August 17th booked into the Argylla Caravan Park and first impressions of the Isa were not all that good. Spent our first day here inspecting all the other caravan parks and found ours (a Big 4) was the best. Were trying to find a park that had more than 2 TV stations so John could see the golf and footy and also had a bit of grass. Once we got over the dryness we settled in. All the parks had a large number of permanents caused by a huge lack of accommodation as in every other mining town we have been to. We stayed here 5 nights because the car was due for a service and no other reason really. The mine dominates the town and because of OH & S regulations you can no longer do a tour. They have instead dug a tourist mine right next to the tourist info and we went down this mine. Once again very interesting and an ex-miner was our guide so were given heaps of facts and figures as well as a lot of anecdotal stuff that was really interesting. Overall impressions were that it is
Road Trains
Some of the road trains stopped at Burke and Wills roadhouse a hot, smelly, loud, uncomfortable and very dangerous job and all miners deserve every cent they are paid. There is a great museum here as well and we spent 2 afternoons reading about the history of Mt Isa. Visited the underground hospital, which was set up after the bombing of Darwin. The locals at the time understandably thought they would be next because of the lead mining that was going on. It has only been reconstructed in the last 5 years or so as a tourist attraction after having been let go since the war. It never had to be used for its intended purpose but quite a testament to the fears held at the time and also the ingenuity of the locals.
Wayne and Jill had arrived on the Sunday so along with another couple we had all met along the way, Phil and Bev, we dined at the Irish club that night having been picked up and delivered home by the club bus free of charge. There are a lot of clubs in MI, most offering this great service. On the Monday, John got in 9 holes of golf with a new friend from the CP. Rose
Now that's a wide load.
This wide load is the tray for one of those big mining trucks. has been in MI for a while on her way around Australia with her partner. Had worked at the Argylla and now works at the sulphur plant as a gardener. Plays off a handicap of 9 so along with Phil they had a great couple of hours on the course. Rose was an absolute character, probably mid 40’s and a very funny lady. Took us on a night trip to the boundary of the mine so we could see a slag pour (the waste product of the smelters) which is quite sensational in the dark. Rose lives in the CP and is an unofficial ambassador, getting everyone together for afternoon tea most afternoons and along with other staff members, creating a great atmosphere for all concerned. After our initial trepidation about the park we had great fun here and were almost sorry to leave on Wed 23rd as we headed for Normanton and the Gulf of Carpentaria in convoy with Wayne and Jill.
The road from Cloncurry to Normanton is called a “Developmental Road”, which means it has a very narrow strip of bitumen and a drop of up to 5” onto the gravel shoulder. This means that every
The big crocodile
This is statue is true to life size they tell us. time a vehicle comes towards you, you each take the passenger side off the bitumen which can be fun for the passenger, or if the oncoming vehicle happens to be a road train you get totally off the bitumen and hope for the best. Finding a good spot to get back onto the bitumen was a feat in itself and then a minute or two later you would have to do it all over again. It was comforting travelling with Wayne and Jill and we used the CB constantly often getting feedback from the truckies as well. At one stage we were in front and told W & J that we had just passed a 3 bogey road train when the driver informed us that there were another 6 on the way!! Time for coffee I think and we were able to avoid the other 6 by stopping at Burke and Wills Roadhouse for a break and watched as 7 more road trains pulled up to wait for a wide load coming through behind us. The photos will show you the size of the load it was carrying to one of the mines. Thinking back, the Qld govt should be
Undara lava tube
it's a bit hard to take a shot of these but you may get the idea of how huge they are. ashamed of themselves. The state of this really busy road was a disgrace and you can probably understand John’s trepidation about this leg of our journey. Anyway we pulled up about 110 k’s short of Normanton at a truck stop that proved a great overnight free camp where there were even flushing toilets!! Had a great evening here playing Scrabble and chatting to a road train driver who pulled up for his sleep but couldn’t turn the motor off because he had no starter motor!!! He seemed to be out of his tree a little to say the least and reckoned he had another couple of days left in him before he needed a long sleep. Oh really???? This guy was pulling a road train with three trailers full of cattle which was a little concerning to say the least and considering the state of the road, downright dangerous I would say.
We reached Normanton safely and were pleasantly surprised to find a neat and tidy town much improved since I came through 25 years ago. We only stopped to get milk and bread etc. and continued north to Karumba, right on the Gulf. Stopped here 2 nights and
Ravenshoe
The wind farms look really graceful, but let me tell you, opinion is really divided. enjoyed lovely sunsets, warm days and cool nights. The first night the town was full of the Qld Variety Club Bash cars (about 100 of them) who were on their way from Cairns to Birdsville (finishing at the races). Vehicles of all shapes and sizes and interesting outfits - they looked like they were having a great time and so were we as watched the sunset with a bottle of champagne. Caught up again with Phil and Bev next day for lunch at the pub right on the water under huge trees - ah this is the life! Bought frozen green prawns for $10 per kilo for consumption further down the track and were given frozen salmon by our neighbours in the park, Tom and Judith, who had been there for 5 months, fishing and enjoying the warmer weather. They come up from Adelaide, and have been doing so for 13 years, he drives the Winnebago and she drives the Land Cruiser towing the boat. It came up in conversation that they used to be on the land - owned a station called Roxby Downs and sold out to some mining company????? The people you meet on the road.
Atherton
One of the many waterfalls on the tablelands. From Karumba we headed back to Normanton and did the tourist thing. Check out the size of the crocodile in the main street. A woman shot the real thing - what a girl!! Missed the train ride to Croydon much to Jilly’s disappointment but had a lovely visit at the station and the Burns Philp building and that was about it for Normanton. Drove through Croydon and Georgetown, free camped for the night before hitting Undara Resort to see the Lava Tubes. These tubes look like huge railway tunnels and were formed by lava flowing after a volcano eruption. The outer layer cools forming a crust and the lava continues to flow under that crust forming a tunnel when the lava stops. Anyway it is fascinating to walk through and if you were into geology you would be in heaven. Undara was very nice but still very dusty and dry so we were pining for some grass and I could almost smell the coast. We thought the drive from Undara to Ravenshoe would be easy but unfortunately it is also a Development Road and by far the most dangerous road we have been on to date. We had a couple
With the Feeberys
Taken at their campsite at Lake Tinaroo. of close calls with trucks coming towards us who obviously knew the road well and had no patience with anyone else on the road. We were very glad to finally get to Ravenshoe and green, green grass and rolling hills and wind farms. Incredibly picturesque after the country we had been in for ages. There was no caravan park here so we headed to Atherton and I will leave it there until next time.
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John and Sylvia
John Wallace & Sylvia Bowman Wallace
Not happy to be home
Glad you are still enjoying yourselves. Sylvia and I are now back home in Budgewoi and my blog is seriously behind but we felt the same about Mt Isa as you did - miserable place. After two months on the road, it is difficult settling back into "real" life, although the rain has been so bad over the last week that I am glad we are not still camping.