Camooweal to Mt Isa, QLD

Monday 30th August 2021
After a lovely night by the billabong where we listened to lots of wildlife coming and going we are on the road again but before we leave a visit to the Camooweal Caves National Park is in order.  This was a lovely drive through beautiful plains where it is flat as far as the eye can see. I love the colours in the plains. The Camooweal Caves were just open sink holes but worth an investigation anyway.

Then on we head to Mt Isa – some bitumen driving at last. We had lunch at Moondarra Lake BBQ Area where we greeted by about 8 peahens and 3 peacocks. They were very friendly as they were expecting to be fed. We watched one of the males preen in front of the ladies to no avail. Then on to the shops to restock, buy a new camera and head to our camp.

Tomorrow we will visit some tourist attractions here before moving on.

Camooweal Caves National Park
The 13,800 ha of semi-arid Barkly Tablelands that make up Wiliyan-ngurru National Park are characterised by open eucalypt woodland, spinifex, turpentine wattle shrubland and extensive areas of Mitchell grass plains. A variety of birds including waterbirds and woodland species can be seen in the park at different times of the year.

The caves and sinkholes formed when water percolated through 500 million year-old layers of soluble dolomite creating caverns linked by vertical shafts up to 75 m deep. Visitors should be extremely cautious around the edge of the sinkholes. Public entry inside the caves is not allowed. A safe viewing area is located at Great Nowranie cave.