East Coast Road Tour 2012

V8 Super Cars ~ Vodaphone Pantech




Alan standing inside B747 Engine




Underground Hospital




Delivery Suite




Dinasaus Foot


Saturday 19th June
Three Ways to Camooweal
We left early in the morning heading to Three Ways which is where the Stuart Highway meets the Barkly Highway.We drove until we reached the Barkly Homestead where we refuelled and enjoyed a morning cuppa. We continued onto a thriving metropolis called Avon Downs ( just a police statiion ) where we had lunch.


Sunday June 20th
Camooweal - Mt Isa
Arrived in Mount Isa around 4pm. Reg, Alan and Vicki went to the Information Centre and the IGA store to replenish supplies. No other shops were open on Sunday. Claire stayed back to do laundry and try out the Net4 internet connection that the Big4 caravan parks have. She was able to use skype to talk to Benjamin for a while.

Monday June 21st
Mt Isa
We all did a variety of activities today. Vicki and Alan checked out the local shops. Reg was able to do a mine tour and Claire went to see the WWII Underground Hospital.
The Underground Hospital was dug out in 1942 after Darwin was bombed. It was never needed fortunately and fell into disrepair. The equipment was scattered around various places in Mt Isa. It was reopened seven years ago as a tourist attraction after volunteers had reconstructed the inside of it over 6 years. The museum above houses a vast collection of antique hospital equipment such as a metal catheter (Ouch!), old X-ray machines, examine chair, etc. Claire spent nearly an hour engrossed in rediscovering some equipment she’d last seen in Prince Henry Hospital in the 70’s.

The mine tour was great. After kitting us all up in overalls, gumboots, crash hat , battery & belt with a light attachet to the helmet. We headed off to the mine. Due to OH&S constraints we couldn’t go down an operating mine, but we went down a mine that was built for the tourist industry. Altough not the real thing, was still quite an experience.. they had all the blasting and excavation equipment down the mine. A mine blast was simulated with wth noise and vibrations. After walking 1km underground we had coffee in what they call the crib room. After that we were driven out in a toyota mine troop carrier. A gret 3 hour tour.

Tuesday June 22nd
Mt Isa - Winton
After a long day driving we were happy to get to a little caravan park and be packed in with a lot of other vehicles. After Alan had made a Teriyaki chicken dish we went to “The Shed” to listen to two very funny bush poets. For over an hour these two ladies entertained us with yarns jokes and poems. Getting to sleep was a bit hard as the park is right next to where the road trains pass by the town.

Wednesday June 23rd
Winton - Longreach
We opted for a shorter trip so the guys could see the Qantas Museum. Vicki and Claire instead spent a few hours in the local shops. We ( the boys) need to tell you a little bit more about the Qantas museum. It was a wonderful tour , our guide gave us all the facts and figures about the Boeing 747 which was donated to the museum after 19,000 hours of operation which is when they are decomissioned. Alan had never set foot inside a jumbo jet and was amazed at the size and seating capacity remembering that this plane was 25 years old and the the new ones are almost double the size. We also went through a Boeing 707 which was the first that Qantas bought. The thirteenth 707 is owned and flown by John Travolta. This particular plane was the one that flew theBeatles, Michael Jackson and Madonna before being sold to a Saudi Arabian ( whose name or status they would not divulge) who transformed the interior to a luxury jetliner, including gold trimmings, but we were not able to take any photographs of the inside of the plane due to some privacy deal which had been struck. Winton is also the place where dinosaur fossils have been found ,and we were lucky to find a dinosaur foot ,believe it or not in the main street ( see photo)

Thursday June 24th
Longreach - Tambo
Arrived in Tambo around 2 o’clock after a very bumpy ride. We were interested to see the Tambo Teddy shop which was a bit of a disappointment. Ended up having a cappacino at the pub and then found a nice caravan park in which to stay for the night. Teddy town may have been a bit dissapointing, but we now all have a ticket in a raffle for a teddy, to be drawn in October sometime.