The journey from Katherine to Cairns was 30 odd hours, but this included a break at a mining town in the middle of no-where called Mount Isa. Apparently, Mount Isa is the largest city in the world in terms of area, covering some 41,000 km2. I tried for a place on a tour of the town, but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) it was fully booked. That came as a bit of a shock as I couldn't imagine that many people would bother going this far out of the way to look round a mining town. Rather than let that stop me, I found an underground museum and the Mining Corporation Exhibition Centre, and I learnt all about copper, zinc and lead mining and the contribution they make to the Australian economy.
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