Lawn Hill here we come - days 10, 11 & 12

Day 10 (Sunday, 12th April 2015)

Leaving Lawn Hill, we headed east toward Gregory Downs. We needed fuel and feared running out if we took the road to the south as the next fuel stop wasn't until Mount Isa. Got our fuel then headed south again.

We'd heard there was good camping along the Gregory River so we turned off to explore. Sadly, we found a beautiful river but the campsite was ruined by the amount of rubbish and broken glass left behind by idiots. We didn't stop for long.  Continuing south, this was possibly the roughest section of road we had encountered so far and it was very slow going. Finally we reached the Barkley Highway with its wonderful smooth bitumen (we were fairly sick of corregations by this time). 

On our approach to Mount Isa, Brett pulled into the George Fisher mine camp to show us as much as he could from the road (this is where he stays when he's working). We arrived in Mount Isa, got some more supplies before settling into the Discovery Argylla caravan park.

Day 11 (Monday, 13th April 2015)

We decided to pack up and treat ourselves a night in a motel so after driving past a few, we settled on the Burke & Wills Motel and checked in. It was central, had a family room available and best of all - free wifi (for the kids). I got to catch up with my old friend Michele and then we just relaxed for awhile. We'd booked the 'Hard Times' mine tour for 1pm so headed there after lunch. This is a tour of a purpose built underground mine, set up to show people what it's like in an underground mind and some of the types of machinery used, past & present. Donning a hard hat, torch, lovely orange overalls and gumboots, we were taken 17metres down a mine shaft, and walked through tunnels set up to be similar to an actual working mine. In some cases you actually got the opportunity to operate some of the machinery, such as a bore drill (supported and set up to be safe). It ended with bikkies & tea in the 'crib room' before going back above ground. It was very interesting and well worth the time. Shouted ourselves dinner at 'The Isa' hotel were we had some good food before heading back to the motel and another early night.

overlooking Mount Isa with its landmark smoke stacks

The lookout with Mt Isa below

Day 12 (Tuesday, 14th April 2015)

Up early, we decided to have a maccas brekky and go do some grocery shopping before checking out. Made it back to the motel with about 10 minutes to spare so had a bit of a panic to ensure we checked out on time. Went to my friend Micheles to fill our water tanks and pack away all the groceries (they had just been shoved on the back seat in our rush to get back to the motel), had another cup of tea and said our farewells.

Heading east, and only about 25kms out of Mt Isa, we turned off the highway and toward the East Leichhardt dam (also known as Lake Mary Kathleen).  There were a few other campers but as it is such a large area and there are so many different tracks down to follow, we found a peaceful spot all to ourselves. Sadly there was lots of rubbish around and I spent a while picking up around our site. We burned what we could and put the rest in our garbage sack (sits on the back of the camper for easy carrying).

Turning off the Barkley highway just before the bridge over the Leichhardt River, you come to a closed gate.  Entering a cattle property, you continue on for another 7 or 8 kms over fairly rough road (a 4x4 or at least high clearance vehicle required) before coming to a junction where you can either go straight ahead or turn right. We followed both and found many different tracks through to the dam running off each. We finally settled on a spot that was further north from the other campers and required a very steep hill climb to get there.  The best bit - camping at East Leichhardt dam is free!

We tried fishing and put some red claw pots in but didn't have any luck. It was still quite hot during the day, and unfortunately I think because we were camped in a bit of a valley, it was a hot night too.