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Published: June 19th 2009
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14/6/09
Well back through the narrow road to Bourke & Wills , Still no Gas, so put some fuel in it, enough to get us to Cloncurry. I had a nap - first time on the trip, I have done well. We reached Cloncurry, filled up with fuel & had lunch & decided to go 60k’s to Fountain Springs Rest Area, no 304 QLD in the book. We got there about 2.30 & were surprised it was full. There must have been 30 vans in there, we squeezed into a spot then someone put up a tent under our window, but never mind it was a good night & a great happy hour & we saw a lot of familiar faces from other free camps. Some people had been there 4 nights & most were off to Mt Isa in the morning. We had Apricot Chicken for tea & went to bed early. We did 380k’s today
15/6/09 The landscape around Mt Isa is very mountainous & not what you would expect . You think of the outback as flat & dry, but Mt Isa is surrounded by mountains & trees. It is a big mining town & is full
of history. They mine Copper, Lead, Silver & Zinc which keeps a lot of people in work. We decided to stay in the AAOK Moondarra Caravan Park till Thursday . It is a bit out of town but is quieter. Did the washing & cleaned the van ( still have not found my maid ) went & did some shopping & had to get a new battery for the car fridge &Den booked in for a Hard Time Mine tour for tomorrow morning. We came home & Ben arrived ( Ron & Lorraine’s Son who is working here) & we had a great chat with him, he is doing really well. We are having tea with him tomorrow night. We did a big 60k’s today
16/6/09 Den went off to do the mine tour, which he enjoyed, he came back & picked me up & we went to see the Isa Museum & the Fossil Museum which were interesting. We went to tea with Ben at the Townies Leagues Club & had a nice meal. Ben is flying home tomorrow to Townsville. It was great catching up with him.
17/6/09 This morning Den washed half the van as
it was very dusty & dirty, we then went off to see the underground hospital, it was very interesting , we then went to see the Tent House that people used to live in when the mines first opened. We then bought lunch & went to Lake Moondarra which is a beautiful lake 13k’s out of town. We decided to come back tomorrow & put the kayak in & do some fishing. Back to the caravan Park & Den finished washing the Van & I got tea. We are going to stay till Friday now as we are finding things to do .Watched TV & went to bed.
18/6/09 Up early to do our chores (yes we still have them ) & then went to the Dam to do some fishing in the Kayak. We launched it & peddled to the middle & we tried tying the kayak to the trees but the wind was too strong we kept drifting into shore. Since Den lost the anchor it was a bit hard ( I am sure he wanted to use me as one, it must have crossed his mind ) We ended up just drifting & peddling back to
where we wanted to fish. Well what do you know , Den nearly s--t himself he caught a fish - we think it was a cat fish, it had whiskers, then we realised we had not bought a rag or towel to get the fish off the hook, so yes my jacket was the next best thing ( I wont tell you what it smelled like at the end of the day though ) Trying to get the fish in Den accidentally tipped the topped shelf of our tackle box overboard, then we had to peddle & retrieve anything floating, we were laughing. We threw the fish back as we did not know if you could eat it. Next I got a snag & poor Den had to put a new hook & sinker on it, then he got a snag & lost his. We moved again & we cast out & Den caught his finger with the hook, ( we were having fun ) then all my line twisted & he spent 15 mins fixing that - by then I thought I would have cement shoes Ha! Ha! But then Den caught a bigger cat fish & my jacket
got used again, we still threw him back. But all in all we had a great few hours , we cant wait to go again, with gloves & a bucket this time. Back for lunch & then Den dropped me off to do the groceries & he went to wash our brown car at the car wash. We had a baked Pork dinner for tea ( Yummy ) & packed up & ready to do the trip to Camooweal tomorrow.
19/6/09 The landscape between Mt Isa & Camooweal was from mountains to scrub. It is a very diverse country. We travelled to Camooweal & ended up staying at a freeby just over the bridge, the river is full of bird life & very peaceful, we set up & went for a walk & I thought I would be smart & see what the water was like. I swear the edge is like black soil, I just sank ( never did get to feel the water) I could not stop laughing , my thongs were full of mud & I had to get a bucket to clean my feet ( they feel very soft now - I don’t think I
will try it on my face though ) . We like the spot so much I think we will stay at least another day, We had tea & watched the footy, thanks to the generator & I want to sleep in tomorrow ( what’s the bet I wake up early ). The girls want go in the water but I think they will sink. Jessie has been very good & has watched the birds as close as a meter away & not barked or had a go at them. Annie does not care I think she is a bit stressed. Well off to bed. We will explore Camooweal tomorrow, but it does not look like a lot to do so we might have to relax. ( Shock Horror ). We did 188k's today . It was 27 deg at 6.30pm. Just to piss you southerners off ( Dens words not mine )
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marg
non-member comment
hi guys
Hi , looks like you two are having a ball, and your kayaka has been a excellant addition to your trip. Well have to say your giving your brother the travel bug again with all the pictures , as he said we didnt have the time that you have and we missed so much, then we got a postcard from karleen and athol they are up the top end at cape york , so that didnt help .haha Its a real adventure that you are having and glad that you are really enjoying it . Good to see car and van are travelling well, keep up the photos great to see . love to you both marg and warwick