July 10^th 2017

Lake Mary Kathleen

Twenty kilometers toward Mt Isa on the Barkley Highway we turned onto a track which took us into the Lake Mary Kathleen/ East Leichhardt River Dam. During these kilometers of travel, the 'event of the day' occurred. I noticed John reduce speed and to my horror there was a black beast crossing the road in front of us....not only that, we were meeting another car and caravan. This mad animal actually survived crossing the road between the two vehicles.

The Dam was built at the time of the development of the Mary Kathleen Mine, and supplied water to the Mining area. It is situated, on a Private station which allows people to visit and camp. The main gravel track in to the dam, was very good apart from the small river crossing

 of the East Leichhart River. .

Crossing the East Leichhart River

Other tracks, of which there were many, were rocky and difficult to negotiate. After about 8 kilometers, we rounded a corner only to see the road disappearing into the Dam..luckily there was a flat camping area quite near to the water. This was a most suitable spot for our overnight stay.

We have driven and walked several of the nearby tracks. It is a wild, remote and beautiful area. It is a great pity that those people who visit, are so skilled in leaving their rubbish among the trees and rocks instead of taking it with them.

John suggested cooking our dinner by the waters edge….after a little rescheduling, we enjoyed sausages, rice salad and roast pumpkin..plus wine and tomato sauce watching the sun set over these pristine waters. The birds gave us enormous pleasure as they settled down for the night.