Monday 16 May
Last night about 8 road trains (three carriages each) spent the night in the truck park beside the pub. As the sun peeped just over the horizon, tinting the sky a ruby red, first one, then the next slowly came to life, the engines increasing in powerful sound, and then the long rows of red lights down each side of the ‘train’ lit up, making it seem like there were long, noisy, creaky strange snake-like creatures out in the spooky early morning light. It seemed to take them ever so long to finally move out and disappear back down the highway.
By the time we finally set out on the road, the next lot of road trains had already pulled in to the Road House for morning tea!
Since we camped at the Walkabout Creek Hotel at McKinlay last year, we paused only briefly this time, for the Dump Point and a leg stretch for Rosie.
For about the next 20 kilometres the road undulated its way up and down, over the many braided sections of the McKinlay River. We felt like we were out at sea going up and down the waves. Gradually, the landscape changed from brilliant green to the more familiar red dirt and termite mounds, dotted by round green puffs of spinifex.
Once the Matilda Way merged with the Overland Way (or the Landsborough Highway merged with the Flinders Highway) we encountered many more vehicles connected with the mining industry, which dominates the economy up in these parts, as well as the cattle trains moving cattle to stations that now have plenty of feed following the rain.
We couldn’t recall how many times we have previously travelled to ‘The Curry’, but they have been many. We paused there to fill up with fuel then continue on towards ‘The Isa’.
By the time we reached the Burke and Wills Memorial it was time to pull over for a late lunch. This is another spot we paused at last year. It is humbling to reflect that only 161 years ago, Burke and Wills made their way mostly on foot, through this country in the full blast of summer’s heat. Here we were not so much further on in history travelling with ease down sealed roads, in air conditioned comfort for the most part.
Speaking of air conditoning, we were soon to experience the real heat of travelling out in these parts, when Linus started overheating on the many hills between Cloncurry and Mount Isa. In fact I think it was cooler outside the truck than in it. She would get very hot climbing up the hills, then cool right back down again when going down the other side. Fortunately Mount Isa was less that 60 kilometres away by then.
We drove straight to the Sunset Caravan Park, where we booked in for a few nights, then Norm set out to find the only radiator repair man in The Isa. The very nice man, Ted booked Linus in for tomorrow; he even had a spare reconditioned radiator if it was required!
With a great deal of relief that our mechanical problems had been so easily resolved, we settled back in camp to watch the sun set over Sunset Caravan Park, with a refreshing ale/wine. The chef then BBQ’d our first steaks for this trip (They are SO expensive at the moment).
ON THE ROAD 