Cumulative 13,000 kms
The drone of the generators kept Colin awake so he was a bit tired at the start of the day. We packed up the tents and soon found that we were the last camper to be ready to leave as usual! If we camped every night we would have to reduce our daily mileage. We had brekky at the roadhouse and set off for Camooweal 260 kms to the east. It was a cool morning so we were well rugged up. There was plenty of traffic on the highway in contrast to the day before.
We passed two cyclists riding east for the first time so Colin stopped to take their photo. They stopped for a chat. They were a young man and a very nice sort from Norway who started riding around Australia in December so they had to go clockwise like us to avoid the wet season. They had ridden the GRR just before the rain started in May. Their target was 80kms per day and they spent most night camped in the bush.
We crossed the NT/Qld border just before Camooweal and took the obligatory photos. There was actually an old wooden fence on the border line. 
Camooweal was an interesting place with a grand old Queenslander pub. We met a Harley Davidson rider in the petrol station and hooked up with him later when we stopped for a break. He had an old Fat Boy Harley and was enroute from Darwin to the Gold Coast for his daughters wedding. He had the misfortune to have all his luggage stolen and then his wallet and computer in Darwin so he wasn't overly fond of the place. We rode in convoy to Mt Isa at a good pace.
Mt Isa is completely dominated by the mine and its multitude of chimneys spewing forth god-knows-what from the smelting operation. If the wind blows over the mine towards town they have to shut down. One of the off-road riders we met in Cape Crawford claimed to have designed the height of the biggest chimney at 274m 30 years ago!We had booked into the Irish Club which turned out to be a very comfortable single mens quarters used mainly by mine workers. It was associated with a large RSL style club across the road and we had a drink and our dinner there. Colin had Gourmet Irish Stew which bore little resemblance to the irish stew our mother used to make back in Belfast. We fell into conversation with two couples one of which was from NZ and he was restoring a BSA B31. He invited us to visit his B&B in NZ.
Colin had his first drama of the trip when he discovered that a chunk of his pack rack was missing. It had fractured and dropped onto the road somewhere. This meant that his bags were only supported on one side. He rang around the local welding shops and found one called Stick-it that could repair it first thing the next day.
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