We arrived at Mt Isa yesterday afternoon and have decided to have a day of rest here to catch up on washing and restock the food and water before heading on. Apart from the rain on the first night we have had a dream run. The patrol and camper have now been hauled over about 600km of dirt and there have been no problems at all.
Next day was on to Winton where we were sure to get the mandatory photos of Matilda in front of the Banjo Patterson monument, and then onto Cloncurry and Isa. The road from Cloncurry to Isa is really scenic with beautiful mountain ranges and the surprising thing about Mt Isa is that the mine (assuming you already know it's a mining town is right at the end of the main street and it is the focal point if the town in every way. About 75% of the people you see here are wearing fluro work shirts and you can tell the shift change times by the traffic heading to and from the caravan park we're staying in.
Anyway that's about it for now. We're fully stocked again now and ready to head to Lawn Hill National Park tomorrow. See you next time we get mobile coverage.
After our first rainy night at Warra we made it to Augethella for night 2. We decided that we wanted to take the kids to see the dinosaur stampeed footprints at Larks Quarry so we took some back roads and stayed at a little town called Stonehenge for night 3. Stonehenge boasts a shitload of galahs and some really friendly locals. Burger night at the pub meant that we got to meet the newly elected local member as well as the newly rejected candidate (bet that doesn't happen too often in the `burbs) as well as a few other locals.
One of the kids at the local school offered to show us their school the next morning, so at 830 next day Jess and Matilda got a tour of a school that currently has 6 students. You'd be surprised at how good the facilities are.
After saying our goodbyes we continued on via "the back way" to Larks Quarry. On the way we saw Wedge Tail Eagles, a shield snake and clipped an Emu! (no permanent damage to the emu or the patrol luckily).
At Larks Quarry we did the tourist thing and had a squiz at the dino footprints which are really quite amazing. Daz took the "tourist thing" to a whole new level by dropping the lense cap of the camera over the edge of the walking platform onto the footprints just after Bill the tour guide finished telling us how fragile they are! :-( To get the lense cap back we had to lower Jessica in bare feet over the edge to fetch it....so now she can say she has walked in dinosaur steps....and that her father is an eco-vandal!
Some travellers gave us a hot tip about Bladensburg National Park, so we took thier advice and camped the night there. The camp area was lovely and shady next to a creek.....and wonderfully quiet.
Next day was on to Winton where we were sure to get the mandatory photos of Matilda in front of the Banjo Patterson monument, and then onto Cloncurry and Isa. The road from Cloncurry to Isa is really scenic with beautiful mountain ranges and the surprising thing about Mt Isa is that the mine (assuming you already know it's a mining town is right at the end of the main street and it is the focal point if the town in every way. About 75% of the people you see here are wearing fluro work shirts and you can tell the shift change times by the traffic heading to and from the caravan park we're staying in.
Anyway that's about it for now. We're fully stocked again now and ready to head to Lawn Hill National Park tomorrow. See you next time we get mobile coverage.
