It is a week since we headed off in the night on a Greyhound bus to Mt Is for the a long weekend.
Mt Isa and the dogs are not related but they too are part of this weeks adventure.
We traveled through the night last Friday and woke to Mt Isa , an Oasis among the spinifix. The home of the Kalkadoon nation with a 40,000 year history.
Only the Golden Arch if Macdonald was open at 6am we ate and wandered the wealthy streets in comparrion to Tennant Creek.
The mountain Isa is looks like a massive mullock heap with three very big chimneys emerging out of it. The largest mine in the world and town is right next to it cheek to jowl., hand and glove etc, very close. 3,400 working at the mine + 700 contractors.
Lead ,silver, copper and zinc all being mined here. Above and below ground.
William Landsbourough called the area'The plains of promise'
The Aboriginal people call the blaze and date he put on a tree claiming the area ' Mark of trespass'
The invasion of their land.
History of the 1890s was the end of the dreaming and the beginning of wild times.
More modern history I learnt in 1960 over 1000, Finns came to work at My Isa they have a very good reputation for their work underground.. They were known as Huckleberries.
The winner of 20 firsts on the PGA tour Greg Norman was born in Mt Isa.
Back to our exploits we did the shops stayed at a motel ate at the Irish club in a Motel. We enjoyed our visit to the Underground Hospital which was built because Darwin had been bombed by the Japaneses and there was fear that Mt Isa would be the next target.
It was trialed during the war, patients taken from the above ground hospital nearby and put underground. It is set up today with beds and operating theatre and old nursing equipment. Karen said some of it is still used in Reefton. Robert gave me full run down on how the slipper pans used to spill!
We visited the Thingadontas den a gift shop named after the Thingadontas. So many perhistoric creatures were found they called one a Thingadontas was a dog possum creature. Karen and Robert did the bone museum while I spent time in the mine museum .
On Monday Karen was geared up to do some shopping but everything was closed.. Queenslander's take seriously Queens Birthday, they must all stay inside and have a cup of tea.!
We wandered the empty streets with our belongings in a shopping trolley before meeting up with our ride home.
We came back with a friend of Roberts it was good to see in daylight what we had slept through on the way to Mt Isa. I was asleep when they went around a big snake on the road on the way home.
Back in Tennant Creek Tuiana and Caitlin had a lovely tea cooked for us. They left this morning at 3am on the bus for Darwin a 12hour trip. They are catching a plane for NZ Going to a wedding.
On Tuesday a Doctor working with Karen said she had a spare bike which I could have. I have wheels now, just like Mulga Bill!
My first journey was to the Bill Allen lookout outside of town that afternoon.
The bike went well but is it stuck in a very low gear lots of turning of the pedals for a slow speed. not a good thing when on next afternoons adventure.
On Wednesday I thought I go would out to the airport, while biking past an industrial engineering type workshop it happened.
Two very big, barking, savage, guard dogs came out from behind the fence and came across the road toward me on my slow moving bike.
I thought, what should I do, get off and walk? Pretend I am not scared of them? Tell them I am old and not tasty? While trying to think what the dog whisperer would do.
Anyway I was watching the big massive brown and white mastive , bull terrier doberman ugly. I was going like they do in the cartoons legs moving not getting anywhere fast enough I wanted to be out of there.
On my left side came a big black kelpie ,dingo biter he latched onto my left calf.
I have always been against piercings. I now have four evenly spaced on my leg.
I kicked out wishing I had steel capped boots and was wearing chainsaw pants instead of shorts and canvas shoes. I put my loud assertive I'm not scared voice and went as fast as I could, they followed to where there was a cattle stop or grid as they're called here.
I looked at my wounds, talk about blood ( it was,'t that bad just good puncture bites) I was shaken up and thought ' I don't want to go back that way.' However I found it there was no way around the airport only one road in and one road back past the dogs.
I decide to be prepared like David and Goliath. I chose four good sized rocks two went in a plastic potato bag( I had fed some chooks our scraps on my way). Left hand armed, two rocks in my right hand right hand ready.
I was looking down the road toward the workshop I couldn't see them. I went over the cattle stop, then out from the long grass they came black dog in front they were waiting for me. I stopped lifted my right hand high the dog looked and I said in my growliest command. Get home! Go on Get home! They turned and trotted back. While passing the workshop the black dog came running out again . I called out and someone heard me and called the dog back.
At came home looked up Karen Bush nursing book on dog bites ,washed and cleaned with peroxide and put four plasters on. It had a reasonable sized mouth.
Karen was late back that night as she had been visiting the home of Cheeky Dogs artist Dion.
(see the web site for his merchandise.)
A cheeky dog is one that will bite. Those two were certainly cheeky dogs. Probably just doing what they are meant to guard their patch.
Well that's about it for this week. This morning I cooked eight loaves of bread so that should keep the toaster going for a while. Very nice flour here I reckon.
Thanks for all the emails take care, God Bless Ian and Karen
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