Mt Isa to Birdsville

The last 100 kms into Mt Isa went swiftly, although we did witness a burnt out wreck and police and ambulance attending the scene. We weren’t quite sure what accommodation would be available in Mt Isa, as the rodeo had commenced and campsites would be at a premium. We were informed by the Tourist Info Centre that the Irish Club had an area nearby that campers could use and once we had registered at the club, we were only a couple of streets away. Well, guess what? It was a paddock of red dirt but at least we were in town. We discovered that the facilities were quite basic – ladies’ and gents’ toilets but the ladies’ had no showers and the showers in the gents’ were cold. Despite this, we were so desperate for a shower that we gals opted for cold ones while Ian and Geoff kept watch outside. Then it was off to the club for a beer, naturally it had to be a Guiness, before ordering a meal from the buffet. We then decided to check out the rodeo venue and caught the courtesy bus from the club.

We were in time to see some of the Official opening including the line up of some of the cowboys, and events such as the bull ride, bareback bronc ride and saddle bronc ride. All in all, it was an exciting start to the rodeo which is touted as being the biggest and richest event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. It attracts 20,000 visitors over a 3 day weekend.

Next day we were back for more of the same including team roping, steer wrestling, the ladies barrel race and the QR Silver Spike heats. This is Queensland Rail’s best track layers competing to lay 13 metres of track in the safest and fastest time. They lay sleepers, the track and nail in 160 dog spikes before racing a pump car along the track to the stop block. I’m going to try and include a couple of little video clips.

Although the van has come through the rough roads relatively unscathed, there has been a bit of red dust that has found its way into some parts, so I spent a couple of days cleaning and washing to get rid of it. The bike copped a fair bit too but once I’d cleaned it, I was able to get out on the road early one morning.

Over the next couple of days I caught up with friends Jane and Klaus, went out walking around Mt Isa, drove out to picturesque Lake Moondarra, checked out the lookout above the town and stocked up on provisions for the trip to Birdsville and the races. I’d spoken to several people about the condition of the roads before making up my mind about the trip so I was happy to be going out to Birdsville. (And I still had the option to divert to Winton via Boulia, if I so desired.)

Seeing such a vast expanse of water at the man-made Lake Moondarra was hard to believe in the middle of the outback. But it’s such a tranquil place. The mine, by contrast, which is set right in the middle of the town with its 270m exhaust stack from the lead smelter, has plenty of activity. It is Australia’s deepest mine and is the world’s largest single producer of copper, silver, lead and zinc.

The road to Dajarra, while only a single sealed lane, was good to drive on and there were enough places for vehicles to overtake. Not a lot to see at Dajarra except a hotel, a school and a museum but the sunsets were quite lovely. Had 2 nights there and set off for Boulia. It was Sunday morning and it was an interesting drive especially as I had Ian McNamara to listen to while driving along the almost deserted road. Single lane sealed road again with flat plains, dry grass along the roadside, cattle munching away, blue skies and an enormous snake, which I had to wait for, crossing the road. I truly was in the outback. The other motorists that I passed were most courteous and pulled off to the side which made it less precarious on the dirt.

I arrived in Boulia and at decided to book into the caravan park. Boulia is at the junction of the Diamantina and Kennedy Developmental Roads and is best know for its association with the Min Min Light. And of course the first Europeans to pass through the area were Burke and Wills. Burke gave his name to the river which the town stands beside. It also became an important resting place on the stock route between Camooweal and Windorah.

 A friendly camper came over to warn us about the bush rats which invade the campsites and advised us to leave  our cars with the bonnets up and spray the cables and wiring with WD40, which I lost no time in doing, and so did many other campers. By sunset several of the little blighters were on the move, scurrying around the campsite.

Fortunately, there was no evidence of any visitors during the night when I checked the engine the next morning. I went into town to do the MinMin Encounter, which is quite a unique theatrical experience incorporating lots of high tech wizardry. It’s based around the accounts by people and their experiences with the famed Min Min Light phenomenon. The show runs for 45 minutes and introduces various characters who claim to have seen the mysterious light. Talking afterwards to one of the attendants, she remarked that the most recent sighting was only about 6 weeks ago. Unfortunately none of the 10 people thought to take any photos or video footage. Spooooooky stuff!

I also went on to see the Stone House Museum which has become one of Boulia’s most treasured tourist attractions and houses many artefacts.  The museum is also home to a fantastic fossil exhibit and this is when you realise that Boulia, over 100 million years ago, was part of an inland sea. The curator, Dick Suter says that there are new discoveries of fossils regularly. An interesting man to talk to but beware, once he has you there, he’s very hard to get away from, once he starts talking to you about his life’s adventures.

I found a nice camping spot beside the river and near the racecourse, so I decided to stay for the next 2 nights. There were other campers there, so once I’d set up camp, I had happy hour with them and even sat around the campfire later in the evening. The wildlife at sunset was fantastic, kites, an emu and kangaroo, green parrot, ibis and others. I wish I knew all the names.  The campfire was a great way to finish the day.

The second night I was not so lucky, as the rats had had a bit of a party in my engine, chewing through some of the  black  hose on the windscreen washers and some of the protective rubber around  hoses in a couple of other areas. No major damage but enough to put the wind up me about staying another night. A fellow camper kindly snipped off some of the hose, reversed it and clipped it back on. I decided that I would have it checked out in town by a mechanic, if there was one available. Now I was really undecided about Birdsville so back in town I refuelled, while chatting to several people about the rat situation.

1pm found me heading out on the road to Winton and Birdsville.  I decided to take the Birdsville road and I was soon on my way past flat, stony, treeless plains, but along a brilliant sealed road. This was a good omen I thought.  It was about a 3 hour trip to Bedourie (191 kms) as I wasn’t rushing, and I had several stops along the way to take photos.

The next day I was most relieved to see that the rats had not visited during the night, so I went for a walk around town taking a few pictures along the way. Bedourie is referred to as an “Oasis in the Desert” for it dates back to the 1880’s when the area was a major watering and rest stop for drovers moving cattle from the Northern Territory and Northwest Queensland to the collection point at Birdsville and onto the South Australian markets. The Royal Hotel took 4 years to complete and was constructed of sun-dried mud bricks and a thatched roof. The roof was replaced by tin some years later. It has continued to trade continuously. The town has excellent facilities including hotels and motels, school, police station and the administration centre for the Diamantina Shire. It’s also the home of the famous Bedourie Camp Oven which was invented in the droving camps along the Georgina and Diamantina Rivers, until in 1921, when a blacksmith started turning out hundreds of these professionally made ovens. 

Then I decided to venture over to the Artesian Spa and Pool for a relaxing swim. I was there all by myself – how wonderful.

After 2 nights there, I was on the road again and headed for Birdsville. I arrived about midday on Friday, a week before the races were due to start.  It’s a small town situated on the edge of the sands of the Simpson  Desert, the gibber plains of Sturt’s Stony Desert and the rich channel country. The town is only 12 kms from the SA border. But it’s quite a modern community with many services. One of the attractions near Birdsville is “Big Red”, the tallest of the sand dunes of the Simpson Desert, which I’m hoping to see on Monday.   

Anyway, I soon met up with some fellow travellers I’d met back along the track and, once I’d booked in to the caravan park, I lost no time going for a walk around town, visiting the famous Birdsville bakery to sample a - wait for it – a curried camel pie!  The meat was a little bit stringy but quite delicious. The Bakery by the way, boasts award winning pies, cakes and croissants. Then it was off to the iconic Birdsville Pub to take a couple of photos, but decided that a beer could wait for a while.

Next day I decided to ‘bite the bullet’ and pay for a scenic flight over Lake Eyre. WOW what an experience, simply breathtaking! We followed the Diamantina to Goyders Lagoon, crossing the outside and inside Birdsville Tracks and followed Warburton Creek to see it carry fresh water to north Lake Eyre. Then we tracked across the lake before heading north to ‘Big Red’ and back to Birdsville.

The Channel Country is a rich tapestry of vast gibber and grass plains stretching to the distant horizon, undulating red sand dunes and billabongs. Flying over the area, one soon appreciates the isolation and  hardships that confronted the early pioneers and settlers. The Diamantina covers over 94,000 square kms, yet is only home to 11 stations and 300 residents.  Despite this, there are many travellers to this area. We’re about to experience an influx of some 5500 in the next couple of days, during the race weekend.

Next blog, the Birdsville Races. Cheers, I’ll have a drink for you.