Rob does Brisbane & Mount Isa - September 2010

I'm alive! ...or is this PAP really posting? I made sure to tell PAP if I wasn't above ground and logged in to FerrariChat within 12 hours that his account would automatically be frozen.

First time on the internet since being here, we've have kept way busy. A ton of fun stuff, mostly thanks to the Mount Isa Pap Tour Service. I highly recommend them and cheap!

Pap picked us up Friday morning at the airport. Flew from Brisbane in a nice big 737, but interesting approach to the airport between some hills and then doing a U turn in middle of runway to back taxi to the terminal. That's a first for me in an airliner.

We got the full city tour and had lunch at a local club where we got to meet Pap's dad. Friday afternoon Jennie and I caught up on some sleep. We then had dinner with Jennie's American students here and the local program director. Afterwards we met up with Pap and a friend for drinks. Jennie called it the night early and the rest of us did FerrariChat proud! Not only did we close one bar down, but we closed two down because first was at 2 AM and next place was open to 3 AM! Pap must be mayor, hero, or some other icon of Mount Isa because EVERYONE knows Pap and loves him. Met some really cool people.

Saturday slept in and then we met Pap's beautiful wife Nicole for lunch and a drive. See, Pap and I already have so much in common. We both were "reachers" for the wife’s we married while they had to "settle" for us.

First we drove out of town to another mine where Pap's brother works. We then went to Lake Moondarra which is a very scenic place. We saw our first wild Roo! Bloody, splattered, and dead on the road, but still edible!

Another nap in the afternoon before Pap picked us up for the mine tour. What a treat and memorable event. We went through some orientation and then saddled up with all the equipment. We then hung out with the shift change up top waiting our elevator ride down. We loaded up and Pap warned us it would be tight in there with 40-50 workers. Everyone here is a real joker, the last guy in did a full on rugby tackle so that it was a domino effect all the way through the elevator, but it was so tight no one fell over.

The elevator is able to travel at 50-60 kph. It just kept going and going and going, even at that speed. We got off on level 20, which is more than 1km underground. We went into a holding area until after the blast. Pretty light one last night, you could just hear a chain of pops, nothing fell down from the ceiling or no rush of air through the tunnel. We then cleared out for a tour of Pap's shop. For big equipment you need a big shop, so there were many large open tunnels connected filled with all the heavy equipment they work on.

After walking around the shop we jumped in a Toyota for a drive around the mine. Simply unbelievable as 1000+ kms of tunnels and Pap basically had free reign to drive us where we wanted. All enough room to get one Toyota through, but any traffic coming the other way whether another Toyota or massive loader then we had to backup to next cross tunnel. The vehicles are all governed at 25 kph, but that still seems fast in a tight tunnel, rough, and wet roads. We toured some of the other workshops in the mine and then started going deeper where the current work was going on. Roads were much rougher and some deep water sections the deeper you went. I think around 30-32nd level well over 2km deep we first found a machine and guy drilling cables and support holes for mesh in the ceilings. Jennie was able to get up in the cab as he worked explaining to Jennie what he was doing. We then found a machine that was cleaning up loose rock in a new area that was recently blasted. He was just ramming and vibrating the walls looking for any loose rock.

We were way deep at this point and then made the trip back up stopping at the area where they dump the rock which I guess crushes it and then conveyor that takes to surface. We were able to get a ride back to top up the main elevator after it dropped a load off. They load all on little rail cars that they hooked up and tracked away. It was just us and the two elevator workers who opened some little half-meter viewing holes in floor of the elevator. It is hard to even explain, but one of the most awing experiences ever. We turned all lights off in elevator so pitch dark and as it rushed to the surface at 50-60 kph that 1-1.5km we were looking straight down this hole which you could see because of the shaft lights. Standing with your foot by this open hole looking down a 1 km shaft going up 50-60 kph is just without words.

Pap came through with a tour that will be once in a lifetime and never forgettable for us.

Good night’s sleep, now on the internet for first time here in Mount Isa! After I catch up on stuff and a run, will meet Pap up later today. Flying back to Brisbane tomorrow for overnight and then leave for U.S. Wednesday morning arriving in LA only 1 hour later.
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LOL, have only been glassed twice for requesting a Fosters. Just joking, I learned that lesson back in 1994.

I've met my goal of only Australian beers when here. Pure Blonde and James Squire have been my favorites, but I've done a few circles of Australia in beer selections and they are all better than our "piss" beer.

I do think Samuel Adams, Shiner Bock, etc would do well here if they had it. Not a single American beer to be found, even Canadian.

 

does the sheep trick work with crocodiles too? take them to the edge of a cliff so they keep backing up to you. I heard that from a Scottish friend.