It was a lot easier to sleep last night as it was cooler. Then it started to rain around 4am, first time since Christmas around here apparently. Anyway, it made for a wet old day. That meant doing the washing and having to use the dryer, but I should be able to last until Darwin, or thereabouts. As it was cold and wet, I did bugger all until I had to go on the mine tour at 11am. The tour was by bus, so I only got a bit wet on the way to the pickup point.
This is where I was going for a tour.
And this is the reason for the mine site being started
There is a small 120m deep open cut mine which they started to backfill when it ran out
And some mine buildings, lots of them around here
Then a bit further on was an underground mine that is now being turned into an open cut mine. Eventually it will be 800m deep; at the moment it is just 300m deep. The dump trucks can haul 200tonne each and are usually driven by young women; they are easier on the machines and have cut the maintenance bill since that practice was adopted 🙂 Excuse the crap photos, that is what happens when shooting through windows covered in rain and dust
This photo explains itself, except these blocks are then shipped to England, where the 10kg of silver is refined out.
The mine was not smelting and the rain made all the windows hard to see out of. The tour lasted about 2 hours and was OK, but a clear day would have made it easier to see things. Never mind.
I had some lunch for the first and last time down at McDonalds. I had heard they all had WiFi points and I needed to do something with a good connection. Apparently it is good, but you have to pay for it, not sure if it is just Mount Isa, but not worth the effort, I will do it another day, maybe Darwin.
Then I had to go to my appointment at Terry Hansons, Bike and Rider shop. Here I was given a patch of undercover slab so I could do an oil change; I used an aftermarket filer this time as the bike is out of warranty. The bike still had all the muck on it from when I went to Laura, very dirty! But, I fitted in with the quad next to me anyway 🙂
After the oil and filter change, a spray with some degreaser and hit it with the gurney, the bike is blue under all that shit, fancy that
It only cost $65 all up including oil, filter, disposal and use of workshop materials. Cannot say fairer than that, I would recommend him any day. After that I went to dry out my tent and towel as the rain seems to have cleared, fingers crossed. *edit* Obviously not crossed enough, the rain set back in again around 6pm, very annoying, but shit happens.
I have heard that Kakadu National Park is bitumen all the way, so I will head in that direction. I need to get some NT and Western Oz maps, so I can start planning a bit further ahead. I will do that in the morning before leaving town, RACQ should have basic maps to start with anyway.
Just got a pm from Saab463, he is in Darwin heading to the Isa, so hopefully we can meet up and have a few beers and a chat 🙂 Keep you posted!
Day – 10km
Trip – 4101km
TravellingStrom 