Corella Dam to Mt Isa, Queensland

On Monday we decided to move in from the noisy and dusty free camp in Cloncurry. We did our usual routine… dump point, water, fuel and breakfast pie, before hitting the road once again. Just west out of town we went up to the lookout.

We then drove 68km to Corella Dam. We stopped to have a look at the Burke and Wills Memorial.

As we turned off the highway we did need to drive along some gravel tracks but took out time and found a nice spot overlooking the lake.

The dam built between 1956 and 1957 on the Corella River to provide town water for the Mary Kathleen Uranium Mine,  which was an open-cut mine that operated between 1958 and 1982, producing uranium for international export and supporting a thriving township of 1,000 people. Discovered in 1954, the mine was closed when the first contracts were fulfilled, but reopened to meet new demand before being permanently shut down when reserves were exhausted. Today, the site is a ghost town with a deep, blue, but radioactive, open pit, making it a popular tourist destination for exploring the remnants of the town and the mine. We didn’t go as we didn’t want to risk the last spring breaking on us.

From WikiCamps to give you an idea of camping area.

Just after we had connected the Starlink we got a call to say the new springs had been delivered to a My Isa depot! We were happy and relieved that had arrived and appreciated ATW and Chris’s quick response to our dilemma on Friday. So we confirmed with Isuzu that they could install the new springs on Thursday. We were happy to spend a couple of nights at the Dam. I even managed to get a much needed haircut from a travelling hairdresser.

On Wednesday we travelled our last 85km to Mount Isa and were very relieved to arrive without incident. We picked up the springs from the depot and took the to Isuzu. 

Then did some shopping and refuelled before heading to the free camp. We walked over to the nearby Irish Club for dinner.

The next morning we arrived at 7am at Isuzu and were dropped off in ‘town’. We had a walk around and some breakfast. 

Lots of these on the sidewalk of past winners.

No heritage buildings here..

We then walked back 3km to wait for Buster to be ready… it took a bit longer because we asked to get a service too. Finally at 2:30pm Buster was ready and we made our way 138km out of town, heading south towards Boulia. 

Fascinating outback …. Bike tree

We stopped at Dajarra Dam for the night surrounded by cows and birds! And a love,y sunset.