Mt. Isa

What an amazing journey it was to drive here. The country is absolutely breathtaking and all we can say is if you haven’t been here you have to put it on your list of “things to do before I die”. It is “eye candy” nearly all the way. Constantly we are amazed at the tenacity of the settlers who came out here and settled the land. Even now we are struck by the contrast of grazing numbers. At home you can see the cattle and sheep all through the paddocks whereas here cattle pop up in groups of ten or so and then you might go miles and miles without seeing any more, obviously the land supports a lot less per hectare, its very stony and mountainous in parts looking to be more suitable to goats than sheep and cattle. Most of the cattle are Brahman varieties which are so unique in appearance.
We knew we were getting closer to Mt. Isa when a vehicle displaying lights and long wide load signs forced us off the road. The police car was definitely ensuring we stayed on the side of the road until the mining truck on a trailer passed us travelling right down the middle of the road with not too much space to spare. They are so enormous.
After we arrived at the caravan park we went off for our usual visit to the Tourist Information centre which are usually very helpful but this one not so enthusiastic but we came out after helping ourselves to the guides with enough to fill in our day and a half.
On Monday we went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service Visitors centre which was very interesting and also to the Underground Hospital at the Mt. Isa Base Hospital. The hospital was tunnelled out of a hill during the second world war when it was feared the Japanese would bomb Mt. Isa. It was initially excavated with the help of dynamite and then finished with good old hard work. It is in an “E” shape and contained a full theatre set up and was ready to take maternity, surgical and acute patients should the need arise. Many evacuation drills took place, some patients taking the drills so seriously that they insisted on taking all their possessions with them to the underground hospital!
Interestingly the hospital was not formally occupied, except by nurses after the war looking for a quiet cool place to rest after a long shift and was seemingly forgotten. Now it has been restored and is fascinating to see.
The rest of the day we spent relaxing and enjoying the sun which was very pleasant.
Today we had a brake issue with the car resolved and visited the School of Distance Education then returned to Cloncurry for a night. After that we’re heading for the coast after a change in plans (or the “no plan”) after we discovered the Winnebago group of 30 are still following or chasing us and making haphazard bookings difficult. We’ve found out where they’re going so we’re heading off the other way! Makes sense to us.