Day 30: Mt Isa to Cloncurry

Day 30: Tuesday August 9
It's the anniversary of dad's death, but we had a great ride. Mount Isa to Cloncurry, 118kms, is ruggedly hilly all the way. It was a mostly windless day and I made good time, especially after I decided I was going to Cloncurry and not just taking photos!

Morning light leaving Mt Isa

The road is much busier now, due to the size of Mount Isa, and I'm hoping my turning off the main drag to Townsville, and heading for Winton, will lead to less traffic. There was constant mining traffic, and the company running the side tipper ore-road trains is, in my experience, flat out the worst lot of semi drivers in the country. They use intimidatory tactics against other drivers.

Big Sky Country

Beginning the climb

There are lots of cattle going to market. I sat across the road from a road train for lunch. If watching them jostling and struggling to get out doesn't sour you hamburger, nothing will. Killing them is a a final mercy.

 

A a great flock of Grey Nomads cute passed around 10 am, as they moved on to the next waterhole, and there were plenty of contracters moving between mines. I also saw a helicopter apparently doing some kind of mining survey.

There are a couple of ranges to climb through, with spectacular scenery and slopes of 3 to 6 percent, although I'm pretty sure my altimeter is not registering properly. Overall there is a 200 metre drop over the 120 kilometres so it's a fairly easy ride.

Tomorrow has a small climb out of Cloncurry, a bit of a bump later in the day, and then a gentle drop to McKinlay.

I went to little way into the old Mary Kathleen town site today it's very quiet and a bit eerie.

The road into Mary Kathleen