August 7 Mt Isa

A very low-key day – didn’t do much at all. I think we’ve exhausted just about all the touristy things here. We went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service base because I hadn’t been able to buy a souvenir shirt in my size at Charleville. They had one here so that was good. We also had a look at a Tent House, the type of accommodation used for the miners in the old days. It has been listed by the National Trust so is quite a significant building. Rather than try to describe it I’ll post a couple of photos. Notice that the top half is made of canvas with a corrugated iron roof over the top. Rodeo is absolutely HUGE here. For a few weeks we’ve been seeing ads on TV, the local newspaper is printing an issue every day, the ABC is broadcasting from the grounds, cowboys and cowgirls are everywhere. Last night’s Bull Pit – Man Against Beast was excellent – lots of bucking bulls and horses. Today there was a Cowboys & Cowgirls Golf Day and tonight at the racecourse the Mailman Express is on – it’s a sprint race for horses over 200m with first prize being $5000. Tomorrow the real rodeo events start, there’s a Mardi Gras and street procession followed by another round of the Bull Pit and a continuation of rodeo events on Saturday and Sunday. Adam Brand and Mental as Anything are part of the entertainment and in addition there’s a Ute Muster. Like I said, HUGE! The ticket prices are fairly huge too. Last’s nights Bull Pit was $25 each for two hours. Each day of rodeo is $30. Last night they announced that it was the second biggest rodeo event in the world after the Calgary Stampede. I have the car booked in tomorrow for the Qld equivalent of a Pink Slip. They actually call it a Road Worthiness Certificate and it doesn’t need to be done annually – just when you are selling or disposing of a vehicle. It costs $66 plus GST and takes about 1 ½ hrs. I first went to the Holden dealership and was warned off by the guy on the service-desk that they are very thorough and even something as minor as a worn wiper blade can result in the vehicle being faulted. My next stop was at a workshop suggested by the caravan park so we’ll see how we go there. I wrote a letter to the Manager of the local Toyota and hand delivered it on Tuesday. As yet I haven’t had a reply so I guess I won’t – it’s probably been crossed off as just a whinge from an out-of-towner and tossed in the bin.