Kylie and Tina are travelling with their family from Cairns to Alice Springs as part of the Follow the Sun Relay. This post is about the section from Julia Creek to Camooweal.
The trip was approximately 5 hours (including our detour) but we made it in time for the daily happy hour at the Julia Creek Tourist Park. When we checked in we made sure we had our time booked for the famous Artesian baths to ensure that we didn’t miss out!
After a sleep in and our first cooked breakfast on the road, we headed to the local pool, which is included in our stay at the park. The kids said the water was cold but nice once you were in. If they told the truth it was freezing, but nothing was coming between them and the water slides!
That night we had our Artesian bath experience. It is basically two beautiful claw-foot baths, filled with hot artesian water, in a hollowed-out rain water tank, looking out into an open paddock under the stars. Seriously this is a NOT TO BE MISSED experience. We had an amazing cheese platter and a glass of wine and enjoyed our times under the stars. It was very therapeutic, and we slept like logs that night.
The next day we went to the Information Centre to watch “Duncan” the Dunnart be fed. A Dunnart is a small carnivorous marsupial with a carrot-shaped tail, its about the size of a mouse and related to the Tasmanian Devil. It was believed to be extinct but is now a threatened species with the Information Centre playing a major role in the conservation of the Dunnart.
After meeting Duncan, we walked around town and the kids had a play in a local park to wear off some energy. It was then the kids turn to experience the Artesian baths. We treated them to their own cheese platter (made by us) and a fizzy drink. Eliana was in heaven, because she has been asking for a bath since we left home.
That night we had a huge roast dinner that was prepared by the Lions club at the park. It consisted of roast beef, vegies, gravy and apply pie for desert. It was delicious, and our plates were licked clean! The Bush Dinner nights are a regular occurrence at the park on Monday nights between April and September.
On Tuesday it was time to say goodbye to Julia Creek. We had a great stay here, making new friends, our memorable baths, great clean facilities and awesome hosts Phil and Marg.
Our adventure then took us to Cloncurry where we settled into the Cloncurry Caravan Park Oasis, only to find that we had some motorhome problems and were soon back on the road to Mount Isa for urgent repairs.
The time in Mount Isa has been busy. We visited the Riversleigh Fossil Centre where we had a guided tour of the modern museum with fossil exhibits, dioramas and videos relating to prehistoric animals and plants.
We also visited the Hard Times Mine Tour where we donned orange overalls, boots and a hardhat and went underground to learn how the minerals are mined in Mount Isa.
This was an extensive tour where we all got to use an air-leg drill and got to feel the earth rumble when the kids got to set off a simulated firing of the blast face earning them a certificate of “Minnie Miners”.
We finished off our stay in Mount Isa with happy hour at Discovery Park Argylla with our hosts putting on a sausage sizzle. Whilst there is not too much grass due to water restrictions, the park is well maintained, and the staff are friendly and helpful.
Tomorrow we head to Camooweal where we will join in on the Drovers Festival, until next time, there is no place we’d rather be…
Tina and Kylie
Check out more Follow the Sun Relay posts here!
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