Day Seven
Today we decided to leave the Jayco at Cloncurry and take the mighty Prado solo to Mt Isa for the day. This made sense as our next leg to Lawn Hill National Park was over very rough unmade road and we were told the route via Cloncurry was far better than via Mt Isa. It was amazing after having towed the van for so long to have the freedom of the car solo. No need to plan when you wanted to turn, reversing is easy and you can accelerate as you like. The road to Isa was interesting with a mix of fascinating landscapes and road trains bringing the various materials from the mines. We went to the Outback at Isa exhibition which gave a great overview of the history and the present operations at Mt Isa. It was very well done and the kids were very interested in he activities in the town. After this, we went to the central lookout which gives a insightful vista of the whole Mt Isa area including mines, residential, commercial and power generation. We then drove around the town to get a feel for the place which although dry and dusty seemed welcoming and friendly. We ended up out of town at the man made Lake Moondarra which is a great recreational facility for the town and is fully stocked with Barra (no time for fishing yet Ren). We then rushed back to our camp grounds as we were told of a musical show that was put on every night at 6pm. Yes you guessed it, they were doing both types of music.... Country and Western and even included a Johny Cash tribute. Well what a great night, apart from the fact that we had to share the campfire with a number of sour, grumpy grey nomads. The singers were a husband and wife team called Barry K and Lin. They sang and played guitar for 1.5 hours by the campfire as the road trains from Mt Isa rumbled by. This was an amazing experience and I felt like I was part of some outback commercial, you know “In the outback you can have country and western, campfire and roadtrains without leaving your camping ground”. The kids had a great time, particularly Lucy who insisted we buy the CD which we gladly did. Lin spoke to our children with great attention and answered everyone one of Harry’s many questions... thanks Lin.