On leaving Karumba I was at a bit of a loss to think of where I wanted to go, I knew Mt Isa was on the cards but didnt really want to head straight there, so I decided to go back to Leichhardt Lagoon and do a spot of free camping for a while. I booked in initially for a week but in the end I stayed for three weeks. So quiet and peaceful with an abundance of birdlife and wallabies. I saw some snake trails but thankfully none were keen to make my acquaintance. The only thing lacking there was any phone/internet reception, having to drive 20+kms to Normanton for a signal was not ideal and became a bit of a chore, so only did it a couple of times a week.
All the water at the lagoon is bore water and to say it is not of good quality would be very polite, it comes out with a decidedly yellow tinge, but it was okay for the dogs. I was at the tap filling my 20ltr water container when a chap came up to me and said, “You know that’s bore water and not suitable for drinking” yes says I, I use this container for water for my dogs. Wow he says that’s quite a lot of water for dogs, well I replied getting a bit miffed at him, they dont actually drink it all at once. I think he got the message then and carried on wherever he was walking to.
I am constantly surprised by the price of everyday items in the Outback, I know they have freight costs which they claw back from their customers, but boy there must be a better way. Taking Normanton as an example, there is no industry there at all, just a few outlying cattle stations, so most of their revenue for the shops comes from passing tourists and travellers. I would say the populace is about 1000 to 1500 max and I would imagine a majority of them are on minimum wage if they are lucky enough to have a job at all. So for these people food shopping must be very difficult and require careful budgeting. I stocked up with a few staples and bits and bobs, came to just about 2 carrier bags worth and I was looking at a bill of over $140. Fuel prices weren’t too bad probably between 10 and 15cents a litre more than the large towns (except Burke and Wills roadhouse, more on that later). I just feel that there must be a way that the governments both State and Federal could subsidise them a bit to help them out, even more so in these troubling times when there aren’t the travellers on the roads like there normally would be.
Whilst at the Lagoon I got to see the Gulflander train come through the area. This now is mainly a tourist train as to when it was built in 1950 as a link between Normanton and Croydon. Now it travels just twice a week on Wednesday from Normanton to Croydon and returning on Thursday. Its a trip of 154kms and takes just over 5 hours, so as you can do the maths its no intercity express. Mind you when you see the state of the track in some places its no wonder it doesn’t exactly zip along. It stops at a few places of interest on both legs of the trip and also takes the mail for residents of the cattle stations it passes.
It also came to pass while I was at the Lagoon that the borders were shut again due to NSW having a couple of hotspots of the virus flare up again, and poor old Victoria getting absolutely hammered by Covid19. Very concerned for my sister and her family in Bendigo, but touch wood all seems well with them at the moment. Stay very safe.
So finally after 3 weeks it was time to move on and start the trip to Mt Isa, so I turned South and was making my first stop at Burke and Wills roadhouse, which as you may well recall was where I got turned around back in early April. A very uneventful drive down of about 200kms with a few stops for the dogs to stretch their legs and have a sniff around, I did notice that there were quite a few people heading North but not so many going my way, and this was borne out when I got to the Roadhouse. It took the best part of an hour to top up with diesel as the place was mobbed, mainly fellow caravaners and a good handful or more of roadtrains. As I was one of the very few Southbounders I had to join the Northbound queue to get fuel as they were using both sides of the pump. As is the problem when you are towing although there are two pumps effectively you can only use one at a time as the tow blocks the other one. So after queueing for the fuel I then had to join the queue to pay. I was planning on staying here for the night and driving down to Cloncurry the next day (about another 200kms), but even the parking area was very busy, so I bit the bullet and phoned ahead and booked a spot in Cloncurry for the next few days. And further to my fuel prices whinge earlier Burke and Will Roadhouse were still charging $174 a litre same as back in April, and between 40 and 50cents a litre more. With the amount of vehicles stopping for fuel they must have been making up for lost time.
An easy drive down to Cloncurry again with a few stops for the rear passengers. Cloncurry is a decent size place with one major claim to fame in that it is the birthplace of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, founded by John Flynn in 1928. It started of as the Air Medical Service which was initially a one year experiment in Cloncurry and this eventually morphed into the RFDS. Nothing much else makes Cloncurry stand out from another other largish outback town. On a personal note it did stand out in another way though, in that the caravan park I stayed at (Discovery Cloncurry) the washing machines and soap powder were free to use. First time Ive come across this in NZ or Australia. And as I had 3 weeks of washing to catch up on including two loads of bedding it was most welcome. So after staying for four nights there (stay four pay for three deal) I hit the road to Mt Isa
A very rugged and scenic drive of about 120kms ensued, there looked a couple of good free camping spots I passed on the way which I may well make use of when I leave. Hopefully get some shots of the landscapes as well at the same time. I did think of my friends Mike and Di in NZ when I passed the rifle range on the way into the city as Im sure Di told me they had been here shooting, but with my memory I may well be wrong. And yes Mt Isa is classed as City and not a town and from what Ive seen so far of it I have been pleasantly impressed. Apart from the huge open cast mines right on the edge of town and the very tall chimneys attached to the mines the rest of the place is fairly modern.
Geoff1511 Travels 