Aug 25 ... Mt Isa

The last two days have been mostly about driving but we have seen some very interesting places and things, and we have been in camp before 3pm each day so it has been enjoyable. Today was only a short drive of 200kms and we were here by 11.30.

After leaving Mataranka, we drove a few hundred kilometres and stopped at Daly Waters. This was quite a whimsical place with real character. The pub contained a series of donations that had been grouped into “collections”... there were caps; bras; underpants; tee shirts; and many many more. Each collection had hundreds of pieces and many of them had been signed or had messages written on them. It was all a bit overwhelming really, but it was obviously a tourist attraction as the pub was huge and set up to cater for buses.

Shop at Daly Waters

The Daly Waters Pub

 Daly Waters is also important historically. It was named by Stuart when he camped here on the 28th May 1862 on his 6^th, and final, expedition to reach the gulf. There is even a tree in which he carved his initial “S” but you have to look hard to see it these days. Originallythe town was a supply depot for drovers.

Engraved by Stuart 23rd May 1862

As well, there is an airstrip and hanger that were both used extensively by the Flying Doctor; the Americans during WW2; and as Australia's first International Airport back in the very early days of flying. Much of it is overgrown now but because of its significance, there are plans for it to be restored by the National Trust.

Further along the road was a Memorial to Charles Todd. He was the guy in charge of the erection of the Overland Telegraph and he was quite an amazing and resourceful man. The plaque was beside three remaining poles of the original telegraph and I was thrilled to see them. The line was actually joined just a few kms from here at Frews Pond and on the 22^nd of Aug 1872, Todd asked them to wait until he was sitting on Mt Sturt (named by Stuart in respect for his mentor Charles Sturt) which Stuart had believed was the centre of Australia. Todd was a friend of Stuart’s and he had used his journals to establish the route for the telegraph, so he did this to honour his friend. 

Moving on from there we travelled further south through some small towns to Banka Banka where we planned to spend the night. The drive was quite lovely as there was a lot of greenery and flowering trees and wildflowers about. There were also some really big trucks on the road and most of the plentiful road trains have the max four trailers.

After we settled in at Banka Banka Station, we went for a walk to a waterhole that was really peaceful out in the bush. We had been hoping to see some birds there but it was quiet today, perhaps because it was fairly windy. There was also a nice lookout just near the station. The sky out here is a really strong blue during the day, fading to soft pinks in the evening, and the nights are crammed with stars ... quite stunning.

Banka Banka Station Waterhole

The Lookout at Banka Banka

The sky at dusk

The next morning we were on the road again reasonably early and our first stop was at the Stuart Memorial at Attack Creek. This was where illness and hostile natives had forced McDouall to turn back on his 5^th expedition. How devastating it must have been for him. 

The long road east.

Stopping only at a few roadhouses for very expensive fuel we took our first break at Frewena ...a chain of lagoons that were alive with birds. There were hundreds of ducks but lots of wading birds as well and we had plenty to look at while we had our coffee.

Frewena lagoons

We were now traversing the area known as the Barkley Tablelands which I had read about many times as being some of the best grazing land in the country. Certainly some of the more famous stations were established here ... Avon Downs; Alexandria; Lake Nash; and Austral Downs to name a few. It was beautiful country with grasslands extending to the horizons. This area is also serviced by some major rivers including the Georgina which feeds into Lake Eyre.

The grasslands of the Barkley Tablelands

We enjoyed our drive very much but we were only a little sorry to be leaving the Northern Territory. Mostly we will miss the reliably sunny hot days where you could count on blue sky and 33 degrees EVERY day. We will also miss the warm nights where you could sit outside in the still of the evening and have no problem with mosquitoes or bugs. We have been fortunate to have had such a pleasant experience to add to our long list on this trip so far.

We were then back in QLD and in our usual time zone. It felt almost familiar but in reality, we were in Camoweal which is quite a ways from anywhere. The highlight here was the series of large ponds that are the "Dry" leftovers of the Georgina River. There were dozens of birds using them as a feeding ground and we happily sat and watched for some hours.

Also there we caught up with the Jacksons again and we all had tea at the pub last night. It was good to talk about what we had each been doing and we will possibly travel in the same direction for a while so their company will be enjoyable.

Camoweal Lagoons

Dinner !

Up very early this morning to send Jae an email for his 28th Birthday. Llew has his Family Album to give him and I hope he values it for the future. Otherwise he got the usual money gift which he  appreciates.

We had an early morning coffee with the Jacksons out at the lagoon before heading east to Mt Isa. Unfortunately, the brolgas were being elusive again but Andrew said we had only been gone 10 mins when they appeared!
It was another lovely drive, despite the big chip we got in the windscreen, but The Isa has been a bit disappointing so far. It has no real beauty about the township and the mine is right in town with its smoke stack wafting across the whole place. We were not overly impressed with the caravan park, the shopping centre or the tourist office. Then, just to cap things off, a light came on on our dashboard indicating a problem. After a major run around and finding out we were not covered by RACQ or anything else, we finally tracked down a service dept prepared to run a computerized generic diagnostic test. There is no VW dealership here and worse case scenario was a tow to Townsville ... 900kms away, at our expense!

At the moment we are feeling positive as the car is still driving normally but no doubt we will have to abandon our plans to go north to Normanton. Depending on what the test indicates tomorrow, we could wait a week to have the problem fixed here, or we could drive it to Townsville, or we could have to get a carrier to take it and we will travel with the Jacksons. At least we are fortunate to have them with us and willing to offer their support. So, after a pretty ordinary day we have decided to enjoy a quiet afternoon and see what tomorrow brings!