Mary Kathleen, QLD

OK you stay-at-home-slugoids, here's a little quiz.

Q. What do Darwin, Kakadu, Mt Isa, Katherine, Mary Kathleen, Alice Springs and South Alligator have in common?

No I'm sorry, you'll have to read to the very end to find out, I'm such a dag.

This morning first thing I went on the Hard Times mine tour, Bit of a joke compared to the Broken Hill Mine tour Merv and I went on in 2002 as it was only 23m under ground and was the Training centre for would be miners. None the less, we got kitted up in overalls, hard hat, gumboots and helmet lamp and descended the pretend shaft in a pretend miners cage. The guide was great and showed us all the equipment, both old and fairly recent, we played with the rock drills, did the obligatory 'absolute darkness' thing and sat in the crib listening to a recorded blast of the rock face going off. The usual dumb question from an even dumber tourist, "was that real?" provoked the immediate response that no it wasn't and if it was we'd all be locked up for breaking 27 statutory laws...

Anyhow, a pretty interesting 3 hours getting a taste of what miners actually do and the conditions,. enough to make sure you never wanted o rake it up as a career,

After lunch we took a little run out to a place called Mary Kathleen, which would be a ghost town except they sold everything in 1984 when the mine closed down forever. All that's left is the remains of the bitumen roads and the concrete slabs where the shops and houses used to be. Standing there looking over the terracotta tiled floor i was reminded of the ancient Roman ruins we saw through Europe and I wondered what someone will make of it in a few hundred years time when Isa and the other mines are all gone and the land reverted to its natural state. An interesting side trip that shows just how tenuous a hold we have on the land.

Snap of the day

Shop ruins, Mary Kathleen, Qld

Quiz? OK so here's the answer:

A. They are all towns and places mentioned in John Williamson's "Amazing Day"

Secondary question for bonus points:
Q. So what? Who cares? Have you lost it?

A. Well, it's my idea of a little amusement, they are all places we have been to and it brings a smile to my face when I hear it on the iPlod