The Ultimate Isa Experience

Best of Mount Isa Tour

Our detailed interpretive tour of this amazing outback city starts with it's discovery by John Campbell Miles in the early twenties and continues along to the present day. We look at the natural fauna of the area and traditional dwellings.  We take a sneaky look at the mine before getting a photo opportunity in front of the lead smelter and bore mill. We visit Mount Isa's train station only metres from the mine and the end of the line for "Progress and Prosper" as the rail line extension to Darwin never eventuated. Before heading back to Outback at Isa we visit Buchanan Park home to Mount Isa's world famous Rodeo, the biggest Rodeo in the southern hemisphere.

This tour does not have accommodation pick up for this tour is at the Outback at Isa 19 Marian Street Mount Isa.  Confirmation of your booking will be sent after booking

Old Mary Kathleen Uranium Mine Tour.  

Originally discovered in 1954 by Norm McConachy and Clem Walton, the Mary Kathleen Uranium Mine and Township were officially opened by Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia and Frank Nicklin, Premier of Queensland in October 1958.

In its heyday, the township had a population of 1,000 people and was situated 6 km from the working mine. The township had all the essentials that a population of that size needed - a post office, school, cinema, banks, hospital, supermarkets, swimming pool, sports grounds orchards and more.

The uranium in Mary Kathleen mine was exhausted by 1981 and it was subsequently closed. Today we can still see the concrete slabs where the original buildings stood, remnants of the town’s layout and the mine itself.  And if we listen carefully we may hear the distant voices of the residents as they weave through the trees on the breeze.

This tour includes Afternoon Tea and accommodation pick up and drop off.

Underground Hospital:

After the bombing of Darwin in 1942, there was a real fear that Mount Isa with its rich mineral resources would be next. Given that Darwin Hospital was also bombed, there was also genuine concern for Mount Isa Hospital. This prompted a discussion between the then regional District Hospital Director and Superintendent of the mines. Their idea for an Underground Hospital quickly became a reality, carved into the hills near the base of the regional hospital. Over a period of 15 weeks, miners drilled, blasted and mucked out a series of four timbered tunnels into the side of the hill.

Tent House

Step inside the heritage-listed Tent House, a solution to the 1930s housing shortage in Mount Isa during the early mining boom years. Find out how a common tent was converted into a Tent House; an adaptation of materials to suit a hot, dry climate.

Beth Anderson Museum

The building currently housing the Beth Anderson Museum has a story of its own. It began life as a hospital in Kuridala, a heritage-listed abandoned mining town in the Cloncurry Shire. 

When you are finished sit back and relax on the verandah with a cuppa and Anzac biscuit, included in your ticket.

 This tour does not have accommodation pick up and is held at the Underground Hospital and Museum 63 Deighton Street Mount Isa.  Confirmation of your booking will be sent after booking

Hard Time Mine Tour

From the very beginning of the tour, you know that this is something special. From the moment you meet your tour guide who has worked as a miner for most of his life, to the kitting-out in overalls and cap lamps, already you’re having fun and can’t wait for what comes next.

Descending into the mine in the Alimak Cage, you begin to explore the history of mining as the guides enthral you with their stories of the good times and the hard times that they had working deep under the earth. You will see how the tunnels are formed and shaped by the majestic boom drills and mucking units. Get up close with the machinery and try your hand at the air-leg drill, and feel the earth rumble with the firing of the blast face. These magnificent experiences will stay with you forever.

This tour does not have accommodation pick up and is held at the Outback at Isa 19 Marian Street Mount Isa.  Confirmation of your booking will be sent after booking

Bush Tucker Experience

Walk alongside an Indigenous heritage bush guide as you explore the beautiful Outback at Isa Native botanical garden right here in the heart of Mount Isa. Learn about traditional bush methods used to make tools, medicine, and food firsthand

Plants were utilised in many ways such as food, seasoning, herbal drinks and medicines used to treat common ailments. They were also used for dyes, cleaning, clothing, crafting, building shelters, weapons and much more. These techniques and knowledge about our native flora and fauna have been passed down for generations by the legal custodians of this land,  the Kalkatungu (Kalkadoon) people, as well as other indigenous tribes such as the Gangalida, Yanuwa, and Garrawa who’s people have lived and thrived in this harsh outback country for over  65, 000 years.Your Bush Tucker experience also includes a guided visit to the neighbouring Fish Hatchery where you can get up close and personal with our native fish in the viewing tanks while learning about the different species and their connection to Aboriginal culture and history.

The tour will also include a short guided informational session through the Mount Isa history museum to not only admire some beautiful Aboriginal artwork and artifacts, but to understand their meaning and historical importance.

This tour does not have accommodation pick up and is held at the Outback at Isa 19 Marian Street Mount Isa.  Confirmation of your booking will be sent after booking

Self Guided Isa Experience

The ‘Isa Experience Heritage Display’ is a must do for those interested in an in-depth look into Mount Isa from its humble beginning 100 years ago. Book a self-guided tour and wander through the interactive and vibrant displays depicting Mount Isa from the early days to the thriving town of today.

The display offers a glimpse into a town shaped as it is by its rich mineral bounty and mining heritage, with a fascinating insight into one of the world’s largest mining complexes, Mount Isa Mines. From early beginnings in 1923 the mining complex has grown to become of the most productive single mines in history.

Enjoy our dual plasma display depicting the blending of the indigenous and white perspectives, as it dramatically concludes with the didgeridoo ‘morphing’ into the modern lead stack that dominates the city skyline. The Isa Experience gives an interactive and in-depth perspective to the development of a multi-cultural society that existed well before the term was coined.This tour does not have accommodation pick up and is held at the Outback at Isa 19 Marian Street Mount Isa.  Confirmation of your booking will be sent after booking