Where’s Jayne gunna keep her new pet? It just followed her home.
Awwwwh, can I keep him?
Fossils hundreds of millions of years old galore. Australia is very old in parts. It’s a shame the current tenants are not looking after it as well as would be expected…
We’re nearing the end of our travels on the historic Overlander’s Way. Once a sandy rocky track, it’s now 2 lanes of road that stretches from Townsville to Tennant Creek. Fortunately, these days, it’s a sealed road, all the way.
It’s been a busy couple of days catching up on washing, shopping and looking around Mount Isa.
More fossil tours at the Mount Isa information centre.
Boxes of fossilised bones
More fossils to be cataloged & classified
The fossil lab used to be a working laboratory but it lost funding about 10 years ago & has just sat their ever since. One of the older miners (who also found & worked on some of the fossils on display in the centre) has just started taking people thru the lab to look at the old workings and see how fossils are processed.
The lab is all laid out as if the paleontologist (scientist who studies fossils) left one day & just didn’t come back.
Another activity on our list was the Hard Times Mine tour.
We could have both fitted in my overalls
With the assistance of the Mount Isa Mine & a lot of volunteer work they have built a very respectable example of an underground mine complete with some working older & newer equipment. Our guide was a retired miner from the 1970s. It was very entertaining, informative & confirms that I never ever wanted to work in an underground mine.
Some Mount Isa mines are over 2km down
Sunset overlooking Mount Isa Mine
Looking out over the lookers looking out at Mount Isa Lookout
Mount Isa was built with the help of people from all over the world. One very diverse community way ahead of its time with a tight sense of community and acceptance of any race or creed. One group were the Irish & there’s a very large Irish Club on the Mine side of town. We had a night out and a meal (that was fairly disappointing) but a really good Guinness.
Our diet of no meat, no gluten, little dairy and really good wine is a bit of a challenge in the outback. We are finding it easier and more enjoyable to eat in the van than out at restaurants as meals outback are very expensive and to date, very ordinary and disappointing.
Further on down the road we camped by a billabong just outside Camooweal.
Camped by a Billabong
Sky is just a bit blue
Bit tired after a long drive
All by our lonesome, almost.
More out here than in town
We counted about 20 camping nomads near our billabong. There’s one other billabong, closer to the road, that’s even more popular.
Lots of water lilies, birds & maybe a Croc or two
Land of the Lovely Sunset
Land of the Lovely Sunrise
Overnight, outside the town of Camooweal, was very quiet with masses of stars in a clear sky. Other than a host of brilliant bird calls on dusk our only disturbance in the middle of the night was a few wild squealing pigs on the other side of the billabong.
Up early and back on the road heading West into the Northern Territory. The ground just gets more red and the sky just gets more blue the further West you go.
We’re now camped at Barkly Homestead for the night. The shadows are getting longer and the galahs and black cockatoos are making a racket to announce the end of another hot day as a cool breeze settles over the homestead. It must be happy hour! Tomorrow we head to Tennant Creek via Three Ways. Lucky we have the Sat Nav or we’d get lost.
Mount Isa to Three Ways
Are we there yet?
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