We left around 8 am as we knew we had a long leg of our trip today (651Km), made even longer by the time zone change of plus 30 minutes when we crossed the border into Queensland. We stopped at Camooweal (Qld) for lunch and to buy a little bit of fuel to get us to Mount Isa. It was $2/L.

Not long out on our trip we came across this challenge.

There are huge numbers of termite mounds on the side of the road, all different shapes and sizes. Some clever people have dressed many of them in tee shirts and hats which breaks the trip up a little. Amazing how you can amuse yourself when there is no radio signal.

We travelled most of the day through the Barkly Tablelands and were surprised by the changes in vegetation in different locations. More animal life was evident in the second part of today’s trip. About 30Km outside Mount Isa we came upon an impressive (mountain) range that went for all the way to Mount Isa. As we got closer, we observed the impact of the mining industry.

As soon as we reached Mount Isa (around 4.45pm) we headed for the Tourist Office to find out about where to stay the night and over the next few nights. We would like to try a small site at least once while on the trip.

We found out that as it was Saturday, the supermarkets would close at 5pm and not reopen until Monday morning. So we drove as quickly as possible and I dashed around Coles and in 10 minutes filled several bags. It felt like one of those game show challenges or even Masterchef where I had 10 minutes to select my ingredients. At least the bottle shops did not close at 5pm.

We then stocked up on fuel ($1.85/L). We had used much more on our trip today, close to 16L/ 100Km! The wind had cost us about 15L of fuel.

We will head towards Longreach, no decision to stay anywhere in particular. Will keep you posted. When we have wifi.

Here are a few shots of our van, showing Michael catching up on some a TV.