We travelled 100km down the road before getting to Tennant Creek. We went straight to the information centre on the outskirts of town. They said the only caravan park that took dogs was on the north side of town and that there was a mine tour at 3pm. So we went to the caravan park and set up for the night. I did some more schoolwork before mum and dad went out to do some shopping. They come back in an hour and we had to rush to get to the mine tour - it was already 2:50pm. We got there just in time to go down and get our helmets and earmuffs. We went down into the shaft and Bob, our tour guide, showed us a model of a mine just north of here.
Next we went to the jackhammer. Bob demonstrated how to use one then he let us have a go - not really.
Next we went to the "blogger", which is a littel tractor towing a skip for carrying the rock. Once again Bob showed us how to use it then let us stand on it.
Next was the expolsive store - there were none working of course. Bob explained different fuses that miners use - there was one fuse that burnt at 75,000ft/sec! Next was the crib room where the miners ate their linch and set off all their explosives.
Next was the toilets - sort of like long drops but they had a bag in it. I feel sorry for the miners who had to go to the toilet in the dark.
We then went to the cage which lifted people and equipment up to the surface and back - we were 17m below gorund level. They used a secret knocking system to explain what they wanted to do.
Then we looked at the diamond saw which was able to cut through rock by grinding it away leaving a core in the middle. The heads were made of diamond and the core was smooth rock. It was very expensive and apparantely people had been trying to buy the drill off them. Even the Museum of Mining in Sydney was trying to take it.
We finished the tour and headed back through the tunnel to the entrance and back to the store. We found a figure with a head hole in it, so I put my head through to have a photo taken. Even Rosie had a turn.
We then went home so we could have a good night's rest.
Written by Sean Campbell
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