Day 71 (27 September) – Karumba (Point) Caravan Park to Cloncurry Caravan Park Oasis
On the road we refuelled at Normanton as the fuel prices at Burke and Wills Roadhouse are expensive.
On the way to the Burke and Wills Roadhouse we saw termite mounds that had been dressed like people. A stupid activity as the termites need the mounds to be unobstructed so they can continue to live in them. The clothing makes the mounds too hot as the natural ventilation is prevented.
We shared the driving to Burke and Wills Roadhouse, had a coffee and filled up the tanks (we wouldn’t have made Cloncurry with the amount remaining). Back to the Amethyst dig site 7 km north of Quamby. Lyn got out, tried her hand and then decided that we were wasting our time with the basic equipment we had. Back into the Jimny and on to Quamby pub where we had a counter lunch (it had been recommended at the Cloncurry Caravan Park) – fairly basic but OK. Then on to the caravan park where we unloaded the Jimny.
I then went in to town to pick up the rewired and replugged A-frame. On arriving back at the park we found the same issue with the Jimny – the passenger tail light didn’t work. It has to be a problem with the Jimny. I’d arranged with Mark Reilly of Access Electronics (rewired the A-frame) to bring the whole set up back in on Monday morning if there were still problems.
What it also means is that we’ve extended our stay in Cloncurry for an extra night to see Mark on Monday as well as the advice we got from a few fellow travellers not to stay in Mt. Isa for any period of time.
Lyn went for a swim in the town pool while I did some financial admin. I then scheduled and entered all our future activities into the calendar as Lyn had wanted to be able to see what we were doing on her iPad. I finished reloading the Jimny (mainly), set up the bikes for a morning ride the next day and then more admin before settling down to watch the Storm take on the Roosters.
What a game! The Storm lost NAS in the first 20 second to the sin bin – I didn’t think it was there as the contact seemed more accidental. The Roosters put on 6 points whilst NAS was off then the Storm came back when he returned and led 22-6 at half time. The second half started with a try to the Storm then two tries to the Roosters to have the game at 24-18 after around 10 minutes of the second half. The Storm pulled away after that and finally managed a decisive 48-18 win.
GO STORM! for the grand final next weekend.
Day 72 (28 September) – Cloncurry Caravan Park Oasis
I tried to watch the replay of the previous night’s game as the quality of the video as I was watching live was really poor on Kayo. No luck, so I updated the blog. Then Lyn and I went for a 14 km bike ride to the airfield and back through town. On the way back I called into Access Electronics to let Mark know the problem hadn’t been fixed despite his re-wiring of the A-Frame.
I managed to get some of the replay (quality) working and then set up the TV with Kayo, 7Plus and 9Now and then also tuned the TV for reception in this area. So, the afternoon was spent watching Katy Perry, as pre-match entertainment, and then Brisbane soundly beat Sydney in the AFL Grand Final – the game was over by half time.
A meal of prawns from Karumba, then I settled down to watch Penrith beat Cronulla – a decisive win in the end. So next Sunday it’s the Storm vs The Panthers.
Day 73 (29 September) – Cloncurry Caravan Park Oasis
Up at 06:30 as I repacked the Jimny and the motorhome tunnel storage area. As we aren’t playing as much golf up here, I put the clubs in the front of the Jimny behind the seats and the buggies in the motorhome boot. I repacked a few of our other containers – snorkelling gear, sports gear (bike riding & golf), tools and aviation pack. It’s a much better layout and fit now.
Next, I set up the bikes for a ride. We went out to the rear Cloncurry bypass road (we thought the bike path went further), then out to Chinaman Creek Dam and back – in all around 17.3 km. Back at the camping ground and I put the bikes on the Jimny roof rack in preparation for a departure the next day.
Lyn wanted to be able to delete the photos from her iPhone so she got out her computer to make it easier. I set up the iCloud photo folder then copied all photos to a new drive I’d set up for her (on an unused D: drive). Unfortunately, the copy took several hours and had to be restarted a couple of times that afternoon so Lyn wasn’t able to work on the photo deletions.
In the afternoon we went for a swim in the local pool – 25m long and fairly warm.
Dinner at Leichardt’s Hotel! It was a really good meal, a pity we hadn’t found it before.
Back to the caravan park to finish setting up Lyn’s photo folders with me updating the blog and photos.
Day 74 (30 September) – Cloncurry Caravan Park Oasis to Mt. Isa Sunset Caravan Park
I got up at 05:30 to finish the blog update and process the photos.
I went in to Access Electronics, told Mark that I’d had a look at the Jimny problems and that he probably couldn’t fix it, refuelled the Jimny then went back to the caravan park.
Lyn went for a morning swim whilst I finished off the blog and photo updates.
Then off to Mt. Isa via a modular Puma fuelling station near the airport. A pretty straight forward drive over the 120 odd km. We arrived at the caravan park and were told we could park where we liked, found a suitable site then set up. Next off to do the chores: find out where the Jimny was to be repaired, off to the windscreen replacement place where we confirmed the booking, then to Supercheap Auto where we picked up the bolts for the driving lights and lastly to Superior Machinery to pick up the part for the Iveco. The Iveco parts hadn’t been ordered – I was told they had to come from Italy – so we cancelled the request.
At the Supercheap auto shop, our expert, Gordon, brought out the parts that hadn’t been labelled or have any notes explaining what they were for – luckily, they kept them for us. Gordon saw the Jimny and said “You can take the bikes off the top but leave me with the Jimny”. Apparently has father had bought one of the first to come into Australia and they both loved them. He told me a story of when he was out with his father and a land cruiser was stuck in a dry bog, they pulled over and asked if the guy needed any help. The guy said “I’m waiting for a 4WD to come and help”. Gordons dad said “This is 4WD”. The guy looked at it and said “I’ll wait for a real one”. Gordons dad asked if he had a snatchum strap, which he did, coupled them up and pulled the guy out. When they had finished the guy came over and said “I’m getting 3 of these”. It’s been incredible how many people talk or ask about the Jimny – one of the best finds that James put me on to.
We tried a number of shops to get a long-range Tyre Pressure Monitoring System so that I could make sure the tyres in the Jimny were OK when towing. No luck in Mt. Isa although I did pick up some clues that may be worthwhile (using trailer TPMS systems).
We had also found that Lyn’s front bike tyre was flat – obviously a puncture from our country riding. Not many bike shops in Mt. Isa but we finally found Sportspower and took the tyre in. The guy looked at the wheel and mentioned that the brakes were catching as he could see wear on the brake disc. He suggested that that was the reason that I could keep up with Lyn because her brake was on most of the time. Despite his attempt at humour, I asked if he could adjust her bike. So I went out, got Lyn’s bike off the roof and brought it in to be adjusted properly. I then thought it might be worthwhile to have both bikes serviced so brought in my bike and wheel and left them to be repaired.
As we were getting the Jimny repaired the next day we went to the information centre to find out what we could do whilst waiting for the repair to be done. I’d spoken to the windscreen people and they said they could drop me off when I left the car with them. We found the young lady at the information centre extremely helpful and informative. She suggested the Hard Times Mine tour and the Underground Hospital tour. The mine tour was at 11:00 the next morning so that seemed to work. We left the information centre and looked for the underground hospital to find that it was closed and the tours were not being held.
I got a call from Sportspower that the bikes were ready and so I said we’d pick them up the next day – it was easier that having to store them at the caravan site whilst the Jimny was being worked on.
After a fairly long day it was back to the caravan park then to Buffs Club for dinner. Buffs is a fairly new facility with reasonably good food. The wait service could be a little better as we were told by the Maître d’ that we’d be served at our table. I had to search out waiters several times and also had to go to the bar to get our drinks.
Back to the motorhome to empty out the Jimny so it could be worked on the next day.
Day 75 (1 October) – Mt. Isa Sunset Caravan Park
A relatively late start as we only had to get the Jimny to Isa Autoglass by 08:30. Lyn and I got our things together for a full day of vehicle-less activities.
We drove the 3 minutes to the windscreen place. I also called the Malouf service people to make sure they knew what to do with the Jimny when they got it (to calibrate the radar after the windscreen was fitted) and then we dropped off the Jimny, paid for the windscreen replacement then Lyn and I were dropped off at the Information Centre. We booked in for the 11:00 tour of the Hard Times mine (behind, and part of, the Information Centre) and had a coffee and a quick look around the centre.
I decided to walk to Supercheap to get the missing split washer and to get some lock nuts for the driving light mounts. I walked about 1 km up the road – no luck at Supercheap but got what I wanted at AutoPro on the way back to the Information Centre.
We went through the museum at the Information Centre, then at 11:00 we were met by Allan (Al) – our mine tour guide.
The mine is a faithful replica of a working mine but has never been operational. Mount Isa Mines used to do tourist visits until one lady broke her leg on a tour and sued them. So they made the decision to stop tours entirely. The locals thought the tours were great and, with the drive of the mayor and donations form the city council and some of the mining companies, they excavated a full size mine replica specifically for tourists. First, we were given some background on the establishment of the mine and Al himself, then we were taken through the museum to be told about the area and see some of the historical pictures of the mine workings. Next, we were given helmets, disposable overalls and boots for the mine tour. Outside in the sun we were shown around some of the large machinery and exhibits then finally taken to the mine entrance where we were each given a head light for our helmet. Over to the elevator cage to take us down the entry shaft where we found a train to take us along to the crib room where the underground tour began. We were shown equipment, told about techniques to mine, safety features such as the refuge chamber, how the equipment was used and how the mine walls and roof were supported. The exhaust fans and ventilation were very noisy but demonstrated the temperature reduction when they were turned on. We were each allowed to try one of the compressed air drill machines and shown how the explosives were applied and detonated. Back to the crib room for a final briefing and a pastie each with tea or coffee then we were taken back up to the surface in a Toyota, travelling along an upward sloping tunnel driveway.
Out at the top and we then took off all the safety gear and returned the key items to Al. The mine tour was incredible, taking 3 hours and demonstrating aspects that couldn’t be shown in any other way. The realism was extraordinary. I don’t think Mt. Isa residents and visitors who don’t experience the mine tour understand how exceptional this tour is.
We left the centre after lunch, and a final look around, and walked back around 2 km to the Malouf service centre where the Jimny was being worked on. As I expected they didn’t understand the problem with the tail light not working when the A-frame was used. Also, they said the calibration of the radar was fairly difficult after the windscreen replacement. The head man explained that he thought the problem with the light not working was that the earth wasn’t properly working or that the voltage drop was too much and so the passenger tail light was the sacrificial light not to work. Finally, we got the car back – washed and cleaned. We then went back to the caravan park to get a ladder so I could put the bikes on the roof after their service and also Lyn could go for a swim whilst I was picking up the bikes.
Back at the caravan park I started loading the Jimny in preparation for the long drive the next day as we intended to drive around 650 km to Threeways Roadhouse. I also started re-arranging all the outdoor equipment to go into the motorhome boot more efficiently.
Off to the Buffs Club for another meal, this time we were on the balcony in the fresh but warm air. A good meal then back to finish packing for the early start the next day.
Day 76 (2 October) – Mt. Isa Sunset Caravan Park to Threeways Roadhouse
Up early as we had a long drive today (650 kms). I finished packing the Jimny, put the hose and power cable away, switched the Starlink to inverter, plugged in the destination and headed off.
I thought I’d be smart and had looked at Service Stations along the road for the lowest cost on FuelMapAus. Neither of the 2 stations I’d identified on the app were to be found along the way so we continued to Camooweal where we were able to fill up. Fortunately, we didn’t need the fuel leaving Mt. Isa to get to Camooweal comfortably. I’ve changed my technique to fill up at major stations as we come to them in order to provide more comfort for us regarding fuel requirements. A coffee at Comooweal then on to Barklay Station Roadhouse – a really impressive place in the middle of nowhere. Refuelled there, had lunch and a good chat between Lyn and me and off again to Threeways Roadhouse at the intersection of the Barclay and Stuart highways. (It’s difficult to be with someone almost 24 hours a day. Our chat reinforced our bond and teamwork – a very positive step).
We pulled in to Threeways and, as I refuelled, Lyn had a look at the caravan park, it seemed OK with a nice little pool. We had the option of going South to Tennant Creek (we’d be doing that in a few-days time), going on to Renner Springs or on to Elliott. We decided to stay, set up in the caravan park alongside a couple, Barry and Anna from Wollongong, who had their 4WD break down with oil in the turbo chargers. A long story but they were going to get a tilt tray to take the car back to Wollongong so the original owner could fix it.
We went for a swim in the pool then prepared for dinner. A great meal at the Threeways restaurant and bar then I fitted the driving lights finishing the main steps as it started getting dark. The motorhome outside lights stopped working and the inside lights played up and wouldn’t work either. I tried a few things without success.
Day 77 (3 October) – Threeway Roadhouse to Bitter Springs (Mataranka) Caravan Park
Up early again as we had another long drive today (550 kms). We stopped at Renner Springs (140 km up the highway) had a coffee and the guy who was cleaning the amenities block suggested we visit the springs. “I think it’s the best water in Australia” he told me. We had filled up a plastic container in Cloncurry which we’d been using for drinking water as we were told the Mt. Isa and Threeways water was fairly bad so didn’t need the Renner Springs water – a bit of a pity.
Off again, this time to Elliott – nothing much to see there, on to Dunmarra where we refuelled and then kept going. We ended up at the Puma service station at Mataranka where we refuelled again then headed the extra 4 km to Bitter Springs Caravan Park.
We booked in for the two nights that we’d planned on staying – it was a bit hard finding a good spot (‘You can park anywhere there is a free site’), we half set up then I decided to move to the adjacent site for better internet reception.
We then jumped in the Jimny and went and had a swim and float in the Bitter Springs thermal river/pool. The river flows fairly slowly and is fed from the springs at 33.9 degrees centigrade (according to one of the locals we met and followed as he swum upstream). He said he’d been making mosaics using very small tiles and that his wife had died of a brain aneurism a couple of years before – just as she was about to retire. They had been travelling and he had returned to Mataranka and bought a farm which he was clearing. A sad story but an interesting one – he was a dead ringer for a mate of mine – Richo.
Back to the caravan park where I refitted the driving lights (I’d put the brackets on back to front) while Lyn made dinner – a very tasty salmon dish.
Still no motorhome lights outside, but by resetting the BMPro Battery Management module I’d got the inside lights working. Hmmmm….
Day 78 (4 October) – Bitter Springs (Mataranka) Caravan Park to Katherine Discovery Caravan Park
A slower start – I troubleshot the problem with our lights. I found the problem was a wire that was meant to be connected to our door handle light but was loose and shorting out the other lights. I taped it up, reset the BMPro Battery Management System and everything is working again (except for the door handle light).
We went for a swim in the Bitter Springs thermal pools again – I tried out the GoPro Max 360-degree underwater camera as we were swimming downstream. I’ll have to edit the films and see how they turn out later.
We then thought we might head to Katherine a day earlier (we decided we could forego the extra night at Bitter Springs). I called Katherine Discovery Park and booked in for 3 days. So, we packed up, attached the Jimny then headed into week 12.
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