Day 4 Winton to Mt Isa

Day 4 Winton to Mount Isa

We were up at the crack of dawn this morning. It had been very cold overnight after being quite hot (about 30 degrees) the day before, so we were very glad we'd showered the night before. At 6:15 we headed on foot into town to partake of the delights in the bakery we'd tried yesterday. At least we knew they had good coffee. John:  The sausage rolls must be OK - Barb had another one for breakfast.  Meat pie for breakfast is also to be recommended!

Main street Winton. Yes all the bins have big dinosaur feet

Also in the main street of Winton

So, we were able to get away early. Sadly so did a very wide load on a very large truck accompanied by a police car riding up front with lights flashing to make motorists coming in the opposite direction get completely off the road, and one behind also with flashing lights. Once we caught up with it there was simply no getting past, so we took the easy option and pulled into the servo at Kynuna to have second breakfast and let it get further ahead of us.

Kynuna is a very small town, with a pub, a servo and just a few dwellings. The servo was run by a very old couple and it was a bit run down, but served very good coffee and I suspect good wholesome food. John: For wholesome read greasy and white bread, and lots of it.

The servo at Kynuna

The township of Kynuna!

The drive from Winton to Mt Isa passed over a couple of rivers and several creeks. All of these were completely dry. The land looked very parched and was almost treeless in places.  This is the road that in January John found was closed due to flooding!

The next stop along the way was the Walkabout Creek Hotel (at McKinlay) which featured in the first Crocodile Dundee movie. They certainly play on this connection as much as possible and many people stop to take photos outside, and once inside the bar are encouraged to have some kind of refreshment. The walls of the bar are decorated with photos from the movie and ribald non-PC jokes. It was certainly characterful.

The famous Walkabout Creek Hotel frequented by Mick Dundee

Our rig outside the hotel

John in the hotel bar

Barb quenches her thirst on the front verandah

We moved on to Cloncurry to fill up with petrol, but were not inclined to stop for lunch. Instead we pushed on towards Mt Isa. The road between Cloncurry and Mt Isa is very good. Even has passing lanes in places ... oh joy! Also the scenery is beginning to improve (Barb means it wasn't flat and monotonous). There are small rocky outcrops and trees to provide interest, as well as curves in the road instead of long flat endless stretches. We were excited to see the towering smoke stacks of the mine as we drove into town. Not that they are beautiful ... just that they signalled we had reached our destination at last.

The road between Cloncurry and Mt Isa

WooHoo! It's Mt Isa at last

Setting up camp at the Discovery Park Mt Isa

What looks like a dusty road is in fact the dry bed of the Leichardt River

We erected camp fairly quickly. We had the whole thing up including the annexe and side walls and were sitting down enjoying a late lunch within 90 minutes. We actually have Vodaphone coverage here too. Hooray! Internet!

The Leichardt River which is right beside our caravan park is also completely dry. Thank goodness they have nearby Lake Moondarra to supply the city with water. We thought it might be nice to take a drive out to Lake Moondarra and watch the sun set over the lake. It's about a 25 minute drive out of town on sealed but poorly marked roads. We went up to the viewing point to take photos but reckoned it might be unwise to drive back in the dark, thus we returned to camp instead. It is very busy here at the moment. The Mt Isa Rodeo starts on Friday and everywhere is pretty much booked out. We're leaving on Thursday morning - the only reason they allowed us to sneak into the last available spot!

John at Lake Moondarra

Barb at the lake

Gorgeous lake views

The other side of the lake

John climbs to the viewing point

A recreational area for the residents

A pleasant green picnic spot by the lake

We are quite comfortable with our camp fully set up. John has done a great job setting up power and lighting which is available as soon as we plug into the mains power. We haven't had to resort to the solar panels yet, but that's available too if needed.

It's quite windy but no rain. Cold at night, but we are cosy in our bed and in the tent with the heater on.