Hughenden to Mt Isa to Barkly Homestead to Tennant Creek

I have been falling behind - badly - with my entries so, hence, this catch up entry.  After one night too many in Hugenden we ventured into Mt Isa.  Seems that the traffic engineers had a sense of humour - why remove all the ups and downs if you can make people with caravan enjoy a five hour rollercoaster ride? 

We saw a whole lot of this....

Anyway, here are the highlights of Mt Isa:

 - coming into Mt Isa.  After hundreds of kilometres of flat country, there are rocky "mountain ranges" all around Mt Isa and then the town itself it dwarfed by the mine.  And then you learn that almost all of the mining happens underneath you;
- seeing Nana and Pa look like gits dressed up in the orange overalls for the underground mine tour (Mum missed out as kids under 7 could not go and she volunteered to look after them);
- the underground hospital tour.  They built a hospital underground during WWII when Darwin got bombed because they feared they could be next.  Lucky they never had to use it.  Reckon I would have preferred to take my chances withthe bombs than get operated upon in the underground hole that would have been this hospital;

This was a hospital you really did not
want to go to if you were sick. For one
thing, it meant the Japs were dropping bombs
on you. For another, the medical staff were a
little on the inexperienced side...

- kids making friends with other kids on the caravan park. Anoul is getting very good at this - much better than us;
- the public playground - the best I have ever seen.  Section for under 6's and other section for older kids (flying fox anyone?) and a section for water play too.  The kids spent almost a full day here.

The lowlights of Mt Isa:

- having to get dressed in orange overalls for the underground mine tour and looking like a git;

Three gits going on a mine tour...

- getting the lift that did not work to the train without brakes for the underground mine tour.  As it happened, the fact that it did not have brakes did not matter because the train did not go anyway and we have to walk out of there.  Makes you wonder about the state of the mining operations at Mt Isa generally;

Photo in which Isaac chose not to be present
He is attempting to avoid over exposing
himself on this trip.

- Mr Grumpy at the caravan park who "paid for his site and did not expect to have kids all over the place" - which he yelled at Isaac (when Isaac's parents were not even there to be seen.  What is the point at yelling this type of abuse at a two year old but then what type of freak goes to a caravan park and them complains that there are kids there?)  Mr Grumpy gathered Bo Radley type qualiites amongst the kids in the park.  It was quite funny.

In the end we could have spent much longer at Mt Isa but we had to move on.  Barkly Homestead is a purpose built traveller's accomodation half way between Mt Isa and Tennant Creek - although someone seriously stuffed up because it about 500 k's from Mt Isa and 200 k's from Tennant Creek.  There is nothing else there and you would only ever spend one night there.  Highlights of Barkly Homestead were:

- the night sky.  I have never seen that many stars and stars that stretched from one horizon to the other.  Amazing;
- having to shoo the cattle off the caravan site before we used it; 
- having a caravan park with a bar.

Lowlights of Barkly Homestead:

Barkly Homestead. Ahhh, love that red
dirt.

 - paying $7.50 for a Crownie;
- our introduction to red dirt.  I am already over it.

Onward to Tennant Creek for a two night stay.  Highlights of Tennant Creek:

- well, it hasn't happened yet but leaving tomorrow will be a highlight.  The town of Tennant Creek (which is actually just the Stuart Highway with a few shops on either side) is fairly appalling.  The shops are all boarded up to prevent break ins and its hard to tell if they are even open.  A large number of drunks and beggars on the streets (Mum got accosted by one while in the car with the three kids in the back and Dad was in a shop - she was not impressed) and its impossible to avoid noticing the colour of their skin.  Its terribly sad and tragic.  There is a very impressive local Aboriginal contingent who have put together an impressive cultural centre but the place is really rather a dire place that resembles a third world country during war and, in some ways, is an indictment on us all;

Isaac cracking on to some hot chick at the Mary
Ann Dam...

-  The Mary Ann Dam. A little oasis on the outskirts of town and about the only place to find some grass and a playground;

-getting asked for ID when I purchased some beers.  Not for my age but because they ask everyone to seek if they are are on the banned list;
- gettiing a lesson on bush tucker from Jimmy Duckett.  Really interesting and I got to eat live insects;
- Anouk losing her second tooth.  She got a bit freaked by the blood.  Dad used a bit more force than last time but she came good.

Lowlights
- see above;
- having my Father of the Year nomination offically revoked.  I thought I was still a chance even after I had allowed Anouk to smash up her face and taking my kids on a tour of the nudist beaches of North Queensland.  However, letting Yvette roll off the seat while changing her nappy, and having her land on her head with a bang that was heard by most people in the caravan park, was probably the nail in the coffin.

Guess who was given a camera? And guess
who hates being in front of it...

Tomorrow, a long drive ahead of us.  As much to get as far away from Tennant Creek as possible as anything else.