Saturday April 3, 2010 – Mt Isa

There was not much to do on Easter Saturday. I spent the morning going though photos to post. We then went to the Top 10 park and used more of our Top 10 internet time. It was very nice of them to let us use their kitchen to do our internet work as we were not staying there.

On the way back into town we stopped at the Visitors Centre and found out that the Underground Hospital was only open until 2pm. So we went there instead of having lunch. We sadly found it closed. It was the one thing I was really interested in. It was built after the Japanese bombed Darwin in WWII. Mt Isa thought they might be next because of the mining there. An underground hospital was built by the miners to help the wounded from Darwin and a safe place for patients if the Japanese bombed here.

We went back and had lunch. We went to the lookout to see the area. We met a man from Oregon. He was doing a 2 month stint as a student doctor here at the hospital. It was nice to talk to him. We found out that they are mining lead, zinc, gold and copper. There are a number of mines in the area. The mine right in town had a smelter with it. We went downtown afterwards. It is a strange downtown because it is spread out and disjointed. We got a few groceries then went back to relax. Charles went for a swim and I just got in to cool off. We then sat by the pool and read.

The day had been overcast and there were a few misty showers. However it stayed warm and muggy all day.