Tennant Creek to Mt Isa

Bustard at Avon Downs

Hope the Police Have a Faster Vehicle Inside!

After leaving Tenant Creek we headed east along the Barkly Highway towards Queensland.  Must admit this was the most boring stretch of road that we’ve travelled so far.  The land is extremely flat, only a few gentle rises throughout the whole stretch of highway.  At present the Barkly is a mosaic of black and green – the burnt and the yet to be burnt patches of land.  We stopped at wayside stops for morning tea and lunch and although the rest stop at Avon Downs was well appointed (with a police station opposite) we decided to cross the border and travel into Queensland.  The Avon Downs Police Station was a large complex and is only 60km from the NT/Qld Border.  Don't know that they'd have police volunteering for this isolated duty.

We're Now in Queensland!

Campsite at Camooweal Billabong

Paul and Monique Prior travelled this way recently and recommended a freestay at the Camooweal Billabong.  This is a wonderful campspot right on the banks of the Georgina River, which at present is just a series of billabongs. 

Billabong

 We stayed at this campsite for two nights and enjoyed watching the variety of bird life in this area. Eagles, brolgas, ducks, egrets, shags, night heron, kites and many other unidentified birds have made their home at these billabongs.  The cattle from the neighbouring station also wander down to the waterside at times to eat the green grass and drink the water.

Brolgas at Billabong

Kite

Mark and I rode our bikes into the township of Camooweal.  It was a Sunday morning and the only places open for business were the three roadhouses.  I tried to buy a paper, but will have to wait for the grocery shop/newsagent/post office  to open the following morning.  The largest building in town is of course, the pub.  We have TV reception along our billabong, so we'll watch the World Cup Final here this afternoon.

Camooweal Pub

Mural in Camooweal

Lake Moondarra

From Camooweal we headed to Mt Isa, stopping along the way at Lake Moondarra which supplies water to the Mt Isa Region.  This weekend at Lake Moondarra there is a Fishing & Camping Expo including a barra fishing competition.   The lake is a popular recreation site for Mt Isa residents and the council have provided numerous shaded tables & benches and free gas BBQ's which are dotted all around the dam forsehore.

Mark Checking Out the Carnage!

The road into the lake (although bitumen) was quite rough and just as we approached the lake itself....DISASTER!!!  CARNAGE!!!  Our bike carrier supports fractured and our bikes were dragged a fair way until we could pull up.  The bad news is that three of the four wheels were damaged beyond repair; the good news is that the bike frames appear as though the might be salvageable.  We bought a new bike carrier and will take the remnants back with us to Brissie.  Not Happy Jan - Not Happy!

View of CBD and Mine from Lookout

For those who have not been to Mt Isa, the town is dominated by the mine.  Xstrata Mount Isa Mine is but one block from the CBD.  The chimneys of the Copper Smelter and Lead Smelter tower over the town.

While in ‘The Isa’ we visited the Underground Hospital.  Miners dug tunnels to create a hospital that could be used if Mt Isa was ever under air attack during World War II.  Luckily it was never needed, but it has now been restored as a historic site to display medical equipment, etc .  We found it quite interesting. 

Mining Statue

While playing tourist, we also did an Underground Mine Tour which was very informative, but we thought rather overpriced.  We learnt that miners work very hard in a tough environment even today - but more so in the early days of this mine.  We were amazed that another city exists underneath the Mt Isa township itself and in spite of the air shafts, the heat in the tunnels was quite unbearable and we weren't employed to bore holes into the rock faces and to cart the ore up to the surface.  As they say, the miners might be paid a lot of money - but they sure earn every cent of it!

Some of the Students

Property and Brand Names

While here we also visited the Mt Isa School of the Air.  It was fascinating to sit in on a live audio lesson, while the teacher engaged four year two students and taught them about map scale and introduced area.  The 170 students enrolled in this school come from properties extending over an area half the size of Queensland. Schooling, including the telephones and headsets (Satellite phones if necessary) is free if the student lives more than 16km from their nearest school.  They teach classes from Prep to Year 10, although many students leave for boarding schools from about year 6 up.  Each student has a 30min audio lesson each day and booklets of work to complete weekly (under the guidance of a tutor - usually parent or governess).  Mark and I had to smile because whenever the teacher asked a question of the class, the first to reply was always Laura and the other students had to be encouraged to have a turn.   They also organise minischools, sporting carnivals and sports lessons as well as camps for years 4 to 10.  Teachers also do home visits which can involve a great deal of travelling.  We enjoyed seeing the photos of students in their home surroundings.  They shared very different experiences than city kids do, eg. mum carrying a gun as she was on snake patrol; year 5 student who hit a brumby while driving his car around the property etc.  For those educators interested, the students do as well or better than the state standard in national testing and the testing is done in the Isa itself.

 At Mt Isa we are staying with David and Zintra Cheyne who have made us very welcome.  David is an old TAFE mate of Marks, and they have shared old times over dinner and a red wine or three. We visited a lookout during the day and returned in the evening.  The difference was quite amazing.  What was interesting viewing during the day, transformed into a Christmas tree at night!  It was quite spectacular!

View over Mine at Night

With David & Zintra at Lookout

We now plan to snake our way down through Cloncurry, Longreach, etc and eventually we'll head towards Tara, Meeandara, Surat,etc just to experience what country Qld has to offer.  We are aiming to be back in Brissie by mid November.

At this stage we travelled over 25,500 klms towing the van and we are still averaging 16 litres per hundred kilometres.