Lloyd Jones Weir & Barcaldine

We camped at yet another waterside campsite, this time at Lloyd Jones Weir (Camps 6: 346) for 2 nights.  We saw the evidence of the successful fishing efforts of others here, mainly from those on the down side of the weir. It is not a particularly beautiful spot but obviously being a true waterside spot with the added benefit of fishing, it is a popular spot, with tales of some people staying here for months at a time.  We camped maybe 15m from the waterside. There are lots of picnic tables here and camp side fires are acceptable. We enjoyed this quiet campsite and the bird watching here. I think I would have liked to stay here for a few more days even though there is not much to do here, but sometimes that has its own attraction.

A word of warning to the unwary: Beware of those that take their vengeance out on toilet paper thieves. Here is what happened to one luckless soul.

We met some nice people here especially Sandi and Noel from Victoria who are permanently on the road now.  We end up camping together with them and their 2 dogs for the next 2 weeks until we both leave Mt Isa to head in different directions.  Sandi and I got along famously as we both make cards and crochet and had no shortage of something to talk about!

We enjoyed short walks gathering firewood and cooking all our meals on Nifty. The corned beef was fabulous, finished off with toasted marshmallows for a most unhealthy but yummy dessert! (For an explanation or photos of Nifty click the Warrumbungles entry).

Upon leaving, we called into Barcaldine and looked around. This is basically where the Labour Party started after a terrible Shearer’s strike back in the 1880’s. There is a memorial made of the tree under which the strike was held. The tree was vandalised and consequently killed but the town has made a fascinating gigantic wooden chime sort of contraption above the tree and named it “The Tree of Knowledge”