Page 28

We decided to leave early from our campsite and have breakfast on the way. Today’s driving was just over 500km all on page 28 of the map book, so needed the whole day. The map showed some gravel road stretches but we were pleasantly surprised that these had since been sealed. The road was however single lane seal which meant we were slowing and heading to the gravel shoulder quite a bit as vehicles passed us.

We bypassed Bedourie and pushed through and stopped at Boulia for brunch and fuel. This is a small town surrounded by dry barren plains. As we headed north the geography started changing. The moonscape started turning with a few trees and waterways. Still very dry of course. A lot of rocky outcrops and by Mt Isa we were seeing a lot of trees.

For the last 40km into Mt Isa we caught up with a road train. These are the top dogs on the road so all vehicles pull over when these machines approach. This is a great advantage as we just stayed in behind this grain carrier as he barged his way along the single lane seal so although it was slower that our normal speed we stayed steady all the way with no one trying to get back onto the seal until we passed. I also had no desire to attempt to overtake him either as getting past a 50 metre long behemoth wouldn’t be fun.

Arriving at Mt Isa motor camp just on 5pm, luckily we had prebooked earlier in the day. We got a great site and set up then promptly had showers and will look forward to a few days removing red dust from every part of the caravan and ute. We also walked to dinner and enjoyed choosing from a menu.Read more