Middle of nowhere - Julia Creek  -  Hot and Sunny    Temp High 32C  Low 16C   Distance - 308km

Sunrise at Free Camp 50k West of Mt Isa

The nights are quite a bit cooler now which is good.  We left the free camp and travelled to Mt Isa which is an important mining town - mining both lead & copper.  We spent a couple of hours having a look around the town.

Monument to the Miners

 

Mount Isa with mine in the background

For years the lead had to be transported by camel &  bullock cart to Cloncurry to be transported to the coast by train.  Eventually the railway was extended out to Mount Isa.


The next town we came to was Cloncurry - the birthplace of The Flying Doctor.

 

The Flying Doctor

Lunch at Cloncurry

A Change in the scenery

Softer scenery

 

 

We stopped for the night at Julia Creek, a small town which has a long history in the cattle industry. 

Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Triathlon

We stayed the night at the Julia Creek Caravan Park.  The caravan park was basic but clean and spacious and run by lovely country people.  It had a lovely relaxed atmosphere.  The local council pool is next door for anyone who wished to use it.

The main street of Julia Creek

 

Shady canopies down the centre of the main street

 

One of the local pubs

Julia Creek has a very comprehensive Vistor Information Centre presenting the facinating history of the small town.  The town is a credit to the locals and in particular the local council maintenance man - there were colourful bouganvilleas everywhere and the whole town centre was beautifully maintained and cared for.

St Barnabas Church

I got quite a shock when I got into the shower (in the caravan) - I turned on the water intending to wash my hair and the water was very, very hot!  I confirmed that the hot water tap was turned off and only the "cold" water was running but it was too hot to get under!  The next morning we were talking to the manager and he mentioned the Artestian Basin which provides the water for Julia Creek - the water comes out HOT.  He pointed to the coils of pipe under the cabins - an attempt to cool the water before it goes into the cabins!  Not such facility in our caravan!!  He told us that the water often comes out of the tap at 45C.

(This happened to Steve on our trip through the Gulf Country last November, (he thought the water was connected to the wrong taps) but that was nothing to do with artesian bore water - that was just because it was so hot that the "cold" water was hot)!!!

The Great Artesian Basin is huge and extends right down to South Australia  - see below.........

Hot cold water