June 13th: Mount Isa to Mary Kathleen the Ghost Town – 69.9 km
Day 243
There would be a few nice hills east of Mount Isa, we were told. This was an understatement. They turned out to be otherworldly martian buttresses and outcroppings. Our road threaded through and around the hills and although it was a beautiful ride, it was quite dangerous. At many points there were no shoulders and road trains were unable to see around the bends or over the hills, so they stuck to their lane, which put us off the road. Cher was vigilant and saved me several times. I just couldn’t stop daydreaming.
Eventually we came out of the hills where our average speed was around 15 kph and we were back in the plains. We crept to our next rest stop, Mary Kathleen, an abandoned mining town. Wiki Camps still lists all the street names and the locations of the public buildings, though they were nowhere to be found after the town was actioned off and turned into an active cattle ranch. The owner is kind enough to let people camp there.
As we drove in, we could get an eerie feel of what was there, only a short time ago. In 1985 mining stopped and the town was razed. Only the roads and the concrete slabs remain. As there are no facilities, be prepared to bury or carry anything solid you evacuate. While we set up the wind howled around us and we made the tent fast with several large stones. We did our best to enjoy the beautiful sunset and to ignore the conditions the winds predicted for the morrow.
