We made our way to Camooweal over a couple of days. Along the route we visited the Mary Kathleen mine site and Mount Isa and camped about 50km west of there.
Mary Kathleen is a retired uranium mine. It had a town attached, that’s gone except for some concrete slabs and some tile work. The mine site is 8km from the main road. The access track is utterly unsuitable for caravans and motorhomes. Something that Gayle pointed out repeatedly before fleeing from our motorhome about 300 metres from the end of the road. The pit is a spectacular hole in the ground.
Mount Isa is a bustling town with traffic lights and a Woolworths. It reminds me of Broken Hill. It sits amid vast deposits of lead, silver, copper and zinc. The surrounding country is also home to the Carpentarian Grasswren a bird that I have not seen despite previous attempts.
We camped at a place where the Grasswren is known to occur. Once again I did not find it. Maybe next time.
At Camooweal we camped near Lake Francis, another magnetic water body. Long legged birds were our companions again.
There are three species of long necked Egrets in Australia, identifying them can sometimes be a challenge. It’s much easier if you can line them up in a single field of view …
Nearest the camera we have Intermediate Egret, next is Great and the furthest is Little. Obvious, eh.
We left the next day. A few days later a downpour turned the black soil into a substance so magnetic that no one could break free for a day or two.
bobmcgee 