The pre-historic giants who roamed the Earth millions of years ago have always fascinated me and the kids are so eager to learn as much as they can about them. So when we decided to travel around Australia we made sure the 3 outback towns of Winton, Hughenden and Richmond, also known as the Dinosaur Trail, were high on our list.
The town of Winton is located in Central West Queensland, 177km northwest of Longreach. It is known as the birthplace of QANTAS, Banjo Patterson wrote Waltzing Matilda and with a significant number of dinosaur fossils found in the area it has gained the tag of Dinosaur Capital of Australia.
Just a short drive, 25.6km out of Winton, is the Australian Age of Dinosaurs, with 3 tours included. Starting at the Fossil Preperation Laboratory, we were shown where the museum first began with the first dinosaur bone discovered on a local farmers property. The process from when the fossil is discovered, excavated, prepared and how it is extracted from the plaster once in the laboratory was so fascinating to learn about and see the processes taking place.
For those who are interested and would like to be apart of an actual fossil dig, the Australian Age of Dinosaurs does offer this opportunity. They also offer a course to learn how to extract the fossils from rock and plaster and work as a volunteer in the laboratory. We did not get to have these experiences, however they are definitely on our list to do one day. What an amazing opportunity for those who like to be more hands on.
The next tour on the day pass is the Collection Room. This is where they have the fossils of 'Banjo' a Therapod and 'Matilda' a Sauropod on display. The fossils of these 2 dinosaurs were found at the same site, which is very unique. There are a few different theories as to how they ended up buried together. But, I'm not going to ruin your visit by telling you what they are.
The third tour of the day is a shuttle ride around to the March of the Titanosaurs at Dinosaur Canyon. This is a guided section for the sauropod footprints and then you will have free time to walk through Dinosaur Canyon and enjoy the view and the history of the area and dinosaurs found in Central West Queensland.
We enjoyed all of the tours and learnt so much about the Australian dinosaurs and how they lived in what we now call the outback.
Also out of Winton, approximately km, is the Lark Quarry Dinosaur Stampede. This is the only specimen of its kind in the world. A large Theropod causing a stampede of over ornithopods and coelurosaurs when he came looking for lunch. It is such an amazing piece of history caught in time and is definitely worth the trip. While out there why not take a walk around the jump ups and see some of the fantastic views of the great Australian Outback. For more information and prices to visit the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum or Lark Quarry go to:
www.australianageofdinosaurs.com
Approximately 215km North of Winton is the small town of Hughenden. This is the next stop on the dinosaur trail. Hughenden is another area where a number of dinosaur and other prehistoric creatures fossils have been found. A collection of these fossils can be found at the information centre located at the Flinders Discovery Centre. We walked in and were in awe of the size of the Muttaburrasaurus fossil right in the entrance of the museum. It was interesting learning about where the dinosaur was found and what happened with the fossil to get to where it is now. There is also a replica of 'Mutt' the Muttaburrasaurus on the intersection of Stansfield and Gray Street just up from the Flinders Discovery Centre. For more information on the Flinders Discovery Centre go to:
Head 115km West of Hughenden to reach the town of Richmond. Richmond is the home of Kronosaurus Korner, where there is an abundance of fossils from underwater creatures. There is so much to see at this museum. Several samples of Kronosaurus and ancient fish, squid and other sea creatures which swam in the inland sea millions of years ago. All the fissils dispayed have been found in the Richmond area including a plesiosaur fossil that is 98% complete, the most complete of its kind.
Want to find your own fossils? Well, while staying in Richmond, grab a permit from Kronosaurus Korner, a spade and brush and head out to one of the dig sites about 10km, there you can try your hand at fossicking and you will be amazed by what you will find. We discovered a 100 million year old fish fossil not far beneath the surface. Some of the big fossils from the museum were discovered in these dig sites. For more information and prices to visit Kronosaurus Korner visit:
All three towns and all the experiences of Australia's Dinosaur Trail are definitely worth a visit. Prices can all add up for sure if you wanted to do all of the Dinosaur Trails experiences however we found a deal which saved us a few dollars. It is called the Trail Pass and is costs $275 for a family (2 adults and up to 4 children). This pass gives you access to all of the tours at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum, the Lark Quarry Stampede tour, access to Kronosaurus Korner museum and the Flinders Discovery Centre in Hughenden. For more information and prices on the Trail Pass go to:
http://australiadinosaurtrail.com.au
We really enjoyed our trip around the dinosaur trail and would love to do it again, maybe even add in a fossil dig next time. For more information on prices and tours visit the websites listed above. Hopefully you found this information helpful. If you do decide to go on a dinosaur adventure we hope you have a roaring good time.
Onward to the next adventure!
Travel Owers
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