Relax’n & Fish’n

We have a few overseas followers who follow our adventures, so we are including details of roads & locations as we know they follow us on Google Earth.

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Our last blog finished with us camped at Camooweal Billabong. The origin of the town’s name is uncertain. One theory is that it takes its name from surveyor George Telford Weale, who surveyed the area using camels in the early 1880s. Another theory is that it is an Aboriginal word meaning strong wind.

We love camping here as there is so much birdlife around the billabong. After two nights we moved onto Mount Isa. Mount Isa is a major mining town in western Queensland and our blog followers would be aware we have stayed there several times. We stocked up on provisions and did our washing before heading off toward Normanton and then Karumba. At Normanton, we enjoyed breakfast with Michael and Erica before they headed off to Croyden and beyond. It had been great travelling with them over the last 15 days. We had 5 nights at Karumba just relaxing and doing some fishing.

Karumba is in the Gulf country region of Queensland, 79 kilometres by road from Normanton. The town is sited at the mouth of the Norman River.The settlement was originally known as Norman Mouth.

Given its access to the Gulf of Carpentaria, the town’s economy has revolved largely around fishing. The prawn industry expanded in the 1960s.

We are now free camped at Mary Kathleen en route back to Mount Isa where our car is to be serviced. Mary Kathleen is an abandoned mining town. In 1954 a large Uranium deposit was discovered and mining commenced in 1956.

The town, 6 kilometres away from the mine, was built around a shallow valley with a post office, cinema, sports ovals, a school, banks and a community store. By 1961, approximately 1000 people lived at the new township. With all contracts filled by late 1982, the township, mine and mill were dismantled and the tailings rehabilitated by the end of 1984. Mary Kathleen became the site of Australia’s first major rehabilitation project of a uranium mine, which was completed at the end of 1985 at a cost of some A$19 million