We left Banka Banka at a good time. Managed to get a little bit of a sleep in.
It wasn’t long before we were crossing the border into QLD. The very first thing we did on crossing the border was get breath tested … Welcome to Queensland!
We stopped at Camooweal, just over the border, for an early lunch. Not much to see there that’s for sure.
Continuing on towards Mount Isa the terrain is just like the background in the photo. It rivals the Nullarbor for its sheer expanse of nothingness. The road conditions keep the driver entertained though … many a time I was swerving to the other side, with little notice, to avoid a pothole or roadkill. Nothing too serious.
We unfortunately collected the first near roadkill of our own. A falcon was a little slow in departing the road as we approached and then decided to fly straight down the middle of the road to escape … which wasn’t going to happen. He managed to get stuck in the bullbar and grill. Which woulda been OK, except he was still alive, confused and none too happy about anything.
One lucky birdy. I was able to extricate him without further damage and once he was able to compose himself he just wandered off into the bush at the side of the road. I think he’ll be OK, but may consider flying a different direction next time a car approaches.
Mount Isa was our next short stop. A refuel of car and groceries, as well as a ponder around the info centre, had us decide to continue on a bit further.
The abandoned Uranium mining town of Mary Kathleen was something that I’d been wanting to visit. It just looked interesting.
Great place for a drive. If the Toyota wasn't already radioactive, due to Fukushima, then it is now...
Plenty to see here. Almost none of the old buildings remain, but the streets and house blocks are all still there. The old footy oval, caravan park, etc can still be made out. We ended up setting up camp at the old cinema. Nice, big and flat. The geiger counter was happy too. Even the kids got to ride their bikes around the deserted streets before dark. The streetlights don’t glow anymore. On Google Maps the place looks populated, but it isn’t at ground level … its just a paddock with streets.
And thus we come to the reason for the song of the day…
In the middle of the night, when all was quiet and the kids had finally decided to cease moving. I’d been blissfully asleep for awhile …. and then Kel exasperatedly belts me across the head and scaredly whispers “THERE’S SOMEONE OUTSIDE THE VAN … THEY’RE COMING TO GET US!!!!!!!”. With images of radioactive aliens in her head, no doubt.
So … after having a listen for myself and coming to the conclusion that, “Yes … there is someone walking around outside the van”, and after some frantic prompting from the darling wife I decided to go and take a look for myself. I couldn’t see anything out of the bedside window, it was just blackness.
Nothing else for it, I had to go out and take a look. Well, ‘look’ is one way to describe it. Another description could be “naked, wielding a machete and blinded by the snapping on of all the external spotlights on the van.”
Once outside, I had a peer around in the darkness with the “torch of failing batteries”, in silence, and noticed MANY glowing eyes peering back. We were indeed surrounded … by a herd of black cows !!!! They were all happily crunching around in the gravel of the old drive in, where we’d camped, searching for the meager feed available. So … just WHEN do cows sleep then?
After about the minute it took to realise what was going on and the minute for the laughter to subside, Kel popped her head out of the van and peered into the blackness to see a naked man, holding a machete, laughing hysterically in the middle of a herd of cows that could have cared less. Despite this, I think she’s still happy with her choice of life partner.
They continued crunching around us for awhile but Kel managed to tune them out eventually … and the persistent giggles. They were still seeking the company of the Toyota cow and Jayco cow when we awoke the next morning. The kids slept through the whole thing.
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