South to Mt Isa

1/8/14 – Well it was time to leave this amazing place and head south down the Riversleigh Road towards Mt Isa. We stopped in at Adels Grove to top up the fuel tank $2.05l.

Just before we hit the bitumen on the road from Riversleigh towards Camooweal we came across 3 guys who had just rolled their 4wd. All were ok and I think they thought it was rather a blast. The vehicle was driveable, but had a few dings and no back window but they were happy. The gravel section of the road is a bit rough in places.

The plan was to stop not far out of Mt Isa but the closest rest stop was over 50km away and we didn’t see anything suitable where we could just pull off. So we went into the Isa and booked into the Discovery Holiday Park which is also a Big 4 for 2 nights, $38 powered site per night. We were fortunate to get a grassed site and not too bad a size but sites are pretty close and some are rather small. In the ladies flooding from the showers was a bit of an issue as they didn’t drain away quick enough. The park is just outside the town area so maybe quieter than some of the other parks.

Mt-Isa-Mines Mt-Isa-Mines-2 Mt-Isa-Mines-3We topped up on some groceries and checked out where things were in town. The Mount Isa Mine dominates the area. In the past there was a distinct two areas of the town. The Town side and the Mine side, the mine was there before the town, so the miners and their families lived close to the mine. The mine provided all essential items for the miners and their families. As more people arrived the town developed on the other side of the Leichhardt River and so did the two distinct areas. Now most people live on the Town side.

Isa Isa-Mine Mt-Isa Mt-Isa-at-night