The Joy is in the Journey

 Sunday 20th The skyline of Mt Isa is dominated by mining industry and smelter processing. There are many mines in the district, but Glencore owns Mt Isa Mines which operates two of the largest.  Each one concentrates on different ore bodies; copper and zinc-lead-silver. The copper mine is the deepest in Australia with a 1,900m shaft.  The smoke stack towers 155m above.  There are a number of statues around town paying homage to the men who work down below. These two show the history from early days to contemporary. The artwork on a water tank at the main city lookout depicts local wildlife including the black shouldered kite and Kalkadoon grasswren. That grasswren is only found in this Mt Isa region.  After exploring town in the morning, we played 9 holes of golf. The weather has been bright and beautiful today, so it was very pleasant though challenging with plenty of trees but minimal grass cover. There were a number of traps to avoid including being off the ...

Wednesday 16th June The planned itinerary had us leaving on Friday but once the awning was replaced and the window fixed after last trip, we were ready to go. Unfortunately neither of us slept well last night; I know I was up at 3am amending an article for the Darwin Golf Club Newsletter. How silly is that? And as a result we didn't get to Mataranka as scheduled but pulled up in Katherine. There were plenty of other vans on the road, mostly heading north.  The last time I stayed here was June 2019 on our way home from Broome. Eric was here more recently to play the NT Vets Open. I really enjoyed the drive through the Top End where the colours were so vibrant.    Fires have recently been burning off the undergrowth so there is a black background to the vibrant green of new cycad fronds. The Kapok bush is in flower, their yellow blossoms are a sign that the mud crabs are sweet at this time.  And then there is my favourite Turkey Bush smothered in pink and you remember ...

Could those rays of sunshine in the morning sky be a sign of better things to come? We're not waiting around any longer to find out. We have even had friend Col from Clare text to check we didn't get blown away in the dark after their experience overnight.  We made it from the heel of the Yorke Peninsula to Port Augusta by lunchtime. And we are in t-shirts again!  On the way we passed many, many more wind turbines belonging to the Snowtown wind farm,located on the Barunga and Hummocks ranges. The name Snowtown evokes memories of that terrible 'bodies in the barrels' episode in our history. None of the people involved were from the town though, it was just where the bodies were hidden. A very grizzly story which had long-lasting repercussions on the town. They even thought about changing the name at one stage apparently.  We have also driven by some lovely pink salt lakes at Price, just north of Ardrossan where they are producing salt and later at Lake Bumbunga n...

Thursday 28th Nov After driving on the worst road we have travelled since leaving home, we have pulled up in Warooka, known as the "Gateway to the Bottom End" of the Yorke Peninsula. We are in the campgrounds (just a donation required) at the town oval behind the bowling green. There were plenty of bowlers in action today and we were invited to join them for dinner. A nice way to return their hospitality and put a few dollars into the club's coffers.   In the afternoon we took a drive to Yorketown, birthplace of two of our friends but in different places and decades. We knew Leslie Menz in Cobram during the 90's and we met  Jan Henschke in Katherine in the 2000's. Yorketown is surrounded by more than 200 salt lakes and at various times they have been mined for their salt. Like many salt lakes in wheatbelt areas, they are vulnerable to pink algae and consequently can acquire a gentle pink hue in certain seasons and under specific climatic conditions.  The bi...