Corella Dam 20 – 21 July 2014

Corella Dam 20 – 21 July 2014 Had a brief stop at Cloncurry (which reminded us of the mining towns out west) and decided to head onto Mt Isa. There is a nice little museum there but everywhere there are NO CAMPING signs. The shopping centre seems rather strung out and small for a town of 3,500 but maybe everyone shops at Mt Isa. The countryside has changed again with rugged undulating red hills, covered in small white gums and grey spinifex and red termite mounds. On a whim we decided to have a look at Corella Dam. After a dramatic turn and entry through a locked gate, we followed a rough dirt track to the dam site. Even though the dam level is quite low after 3 years of dry weather, it was a very pretty site, with plentiful bird life, so we decided to stay a few days. Watched another brilliant sunset and then tried our hand at star gazing – fantastic clear night. The next day we went up the abandoned Mary Kathleen Mine that operated for 30 years from 1955. It is quite eerie to drive around the kerb and guttered streets with trees growing where houses and shops once stood. It must be quite sad to see it now if you lived there as a miner. What it used to look like.