Currimundi Christmas

Even the surf lifesavers were into the spirit of Christmas this afternoon at the beach. This was on Currimundi beach near lake Currimundi.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Dragons

A weedy sea dragon. This was one of the most unusual fish at Underwater World.

Brain Coral

A brain coral. With a small brain budding off the side. Two heads are better than one...

Underwaterworld

This is one of the many creatures you can see at Underwater World at Mooloolaba. There's a few more photos to show you over the next few days, so stay tuned.

Trawler

From the east wall at the entrance to the Mooloolah River at Mooloolaba you can see many boats come and go.

Christmas Lights

A closer view of the Christmas lights on top of the water tower in Longreach town.

Night

On Eagle street, the main street in Longreach at night. The well lit water tower at the far end is in the middle of the roundabout on the Matilda Highway.

Fire Brigade

Also visible from the balcony of the Lyceum pub is the Longreach Fire Brigade, as seen here.

Lyceum

This is it, the Lyceum pub. I like the double posts and the high ceilings. It's a very nice old building.

Longreach

Our trip brought us through Longreach where we stayed overnight at the Lyceum Hotel. These were some of the revellers enjoying a quiet moment on the balcony.

Driving

The things you see in your side mirror while crossing a great big flat desert. This was about halfway between Kynuna and Winton. We all made it in one piece and without breakdowns. The only casualties were a few hubcaps seen flying off over a cattle grid and some insects.

Quiet Friday

It was a Friday night and all was still in the sleepy little town of Mount Isa. Unfortunately the Christmas tree has not been lit up yet, when it is it will be right in the centre of this photo.

Irish Club

A local pub/pokie/club called the Irish Club is all dressed up for Christmas at the moment. The Irish Club has a long history here in town.

On a different topic, I am off for a holiday. I will post photos as I can and let you know what's happening where ever I happen to be.

Mary Kathleen

An autobiographical photo at the old Mary Kathleen uranium mine.

Blue and Green

Another beautiful eucalypt. This tree was posing very nicely.

Window With A Lunar View

An amazing sight any day of the week. The moon. This is not something particular to Mount Isa, as you can see it from anywhere on Earth at some time. That is what makes the moon so remarkable.

Rock Art

This sandstone slab almost has writing in it. It was a remarkable piece of stone.

Jellyfish Rock

Not the Jail House Rock. This piece of sandstone looked to me like a jellyfish.

Ripples In The Air

A tower sprays invisible signals into the sky. This photo was taken on a recent trip to the International Space Station as we passed over the Pacific Ocean.
(PS this is not really a photo taken from the International Space Station. However, with a little imagination it could be.)

Hardy Trees

This wobbly tree has a solid grip on life at the edge of a hill.

Step Together

At the top of a hill, a pause for a pose.

Magnetic Fields

This marker was on top of the lookout at the Pamela Street hill in Townview. It's amazing what you find on the ground.

Red Rock

A red rock in the orange light of sunset. Nature is elegant in its simple beauty.

Ten Pin

At the local Mount Isa Ten Pin Bowl on a Friday night.

Mountain Man

A local takes a walk up Sunset hill in the evening light.

Close Encounter

Caterpillar Dump trucks are big. Very big. This is about as close to a moving big yellow truck as you would want to get.

Hills

This photo is at the entrance to the old mining town of Mary Kathleen which I've mentioned before. Another visit brings a new perspective.

Gecko

Some of the nocturnal fauna. This well fed Gecko was happy to pose for a photo.

Door

This is clearly self explanatory. The Matron's room at the old hospital.

Underground

This is a section of the underground hospital that was not restored. It was partially knocked in and blocked when the current above ground base hospital went in. Needless to say, you are not allowed into this section.

Hospital Museum

Another place worth a visit in Mount Isa is the Underground Hospital Museum. This hospital had an underground section dug into the hill behind it during the war in 1942 in case of an air attack. It was never needed for its purpose and has since been turned into a museum. It is the only hospital of its kind in Australia.

Chalcopyrite

This chunk of rock is the source of Mount Isa's wealth and sustenance. It contains a high percentage of copper and is turned into 99% pure anodes by the smelter.

Axe

An axe made by the Kalkadoon people of the Mount Isa region. This was also found in the Outback@Isa museum. It is made from a sturdy stick, a hard green stone and joined using the resin from tree saps. These were highly prized tools, often traded as far south as present day Adelaide.

Billy Goat Cart

The Outback@Isa complex is home to a small museum of historical items. This is an old billy goat cart. People like my mum will even remember riding on these things. Looks like it would have been a fun ride.

Water Feature

The centre piece of the garden.

Outback@Isa

This park is in the Outback@Isa tourist complex near the centre of town. The sign is very effective and well coloured. Tomorrow you will see a photo of the park water feature.

Tree Theme

Continuing the tree theme. This tropical scene is from a past trip to Townsville.

Binary Time

Just arrived in Mount Isa, hot off the post. A binary clock from anelace.com

Construction

This is the soon to be new IGA grocery/convenience store complex here in Mount Isa. Right next to the Overlander Hotel on the Barkly Highway.

Tree 3

Another tree near a small creek in Sunset.

Elementary Particles

This quilting pattern reminded me of the tracks that particles make in bubble chamber collisions.

Fibonacci

Quilts contain a great deal of mathematics. This quilt for instance uses the Fibonacci sequence to select the sizes for the squares.

Mount Isa Quilt Show

The Mount Isa Quilters Group Inc. put on a display this weekend at the Red Earth Hotel. I went along and got some photos.

Branch

Continuing the tree theme. A branch, befitting of Spring.

Lunar Eclipse

The 2007 total lunar eclipse was visible tonight in the Eastern sky.
This photo was not taken by my camera. A friend kindly loaned his camera and I was able to capture this shot with it. My Optio S7 unfortunately would not cooperate in taking shots that were so dark.

Tree

An interesting tree.

Flagging

The Australian flag blows in a light breeze.

Castle Hill

The centre of Townsville has a large rock looking over it. Castle Hill it is called.

Five Images

A seagull looks patiently for some scraps.

Marina

If you looked closely at yesterday's photo you would have seen these masts hiding behind the garden. The tide was full and the water looked wonderful.