Mary Kathleen

 29 - 30 June 2025

We left Cloncurry after visiting the Sunday markets and headed west again towards Mary Kathleen. We weren't sure whether we would stay there or not as there are no facilities at all. Instead, we thought we might return to camp at Clem Walton Park where there are toilets and a lovely creek, and drive to Mary Kathleen later in the afternoon. We've stayed at Clem Walton Park on a few earlier trips and it's a nice spot to camp for a couple of days.

On the way we stopped at Chinaman Dam - another good birding spot - to have some morning tea. The water level there was evidence of a bumper wet season. Throughout our recent travels we have noticed how green the countryside was compared to previous years, and that many rivers and creeks were flowing.

Further west we turned off the highway and took the road down to Clem Walton park - but it was in dreadful condition and we definitely didn't want to be driving in and out to Mary Kathleen. We stayed and had lunch in the picnic area but the place didn't feel quite the same, with an old guy who had set up a permanent camp right in the middle of the camping area. He probably wasn't causing any harm but combined with the state of the road we made the decision to move on.

We drove back out to the highway and on to the old Mary Kathleen town site. The former uranium mine closed in 1982 but the town site remains, minus all the buildings. It is on private property where camping is permitted. From the town site it is a short (in distance) drive to the mine site. We drove in to the campground and saw that there were lots of people camped, but still heaps of room. With a cold night forecast we drove back out to the highway to collect some firewood a few kilometres away. 

Lots of other campers but still heaps of room

Back to the campsite we chose a nice spot with a makeshift firepit that would do us nicely. Of course we were there for the birds, so later in the afternoon we drove out to the minesite. The road was rough but not as bad as the one into Clem Walton Park. We walked up to the abandoned open pit which is now filled with water. When the sun is right above the water is a beautiful shade of turquoise but late in the day is not so spectacular. Mick spent some time, unsuccessfully, searching for birds before returning to camp.

Who would have thought an old uranium mine pit
could look so pretty?

We had dinner by the fire and an early night. We weren't in a particular hurry to leave in the morning as we were only going as far as Mount Isa. Once packed up we headed west and on to our next destination.