A Big Collection

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Western Queensland

Thank you for coming with us on our road trip through Queensland’s Outback. We saw dinosaurs and dunnarts, learned about iconic Australians and enjoyed spectacular scenery. This final post celebrates Western Queensland’s “big” things – some fun and quirky, others functional or natural.  Let’s take one last ride around the Outback.

The Big Meat Ant – Augathella

“The Ringer” – Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, Longreach

The world’s biggest Van Gogh Sunflower painting – Emerald

The Big Red Chair – Charleville

In the Outback, bore water drawn from the Great Artesian Basin is a highly valued resource. The water is stored in towers or tanks which dominate the landscape in small country towns. Many are painted with scenes depicting the history or people of the town.

illuminated water tower – Julia Creek

painted water tower – Charleville

painted water tower – Augathella

painted water tank – Richmond

A mural on the wall of the newsagent in Winton commemorates the 1995 Guinness World Record for the longest road train, held by local man Alan Grant.

The Outback is a land of big skies and wide open spaces.

on the road between Hughenden and Muttaburra

sunset – Winton

And finally some Australian birds with big long legs, for Denzil’s long-legged bird photo challenge

white egrets – Judd’s Lagoon

brolga – Rubyvale

Gem Fossickers

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

The Gemfields

While our final destination on the Dinosaur Trail involved fossicking, this time we weren’t looking for dinosaur remains. At the Gemfields in Central Queensland we fossicked for precious stones.

We’ve been to the Gemfields and their little towns before and remembered the beautiful Sapphire Reflections sculpture at the gateway to the region.

We knew we were in the right place when we spotted some oversized tools of the trade in Sapphire,

and the big sapphire ring outside Pat’s Gems Tourist Fossicking Park had us dreaming of finding the perfect stone.

Inside Pat’s we bought a bucket of wash, hoping it was laden with gemstones, and set about learning the skills of gem fossicking. First we had to rinse away the excess soil from the wash in our sieve.

Then we carefully tipped the remaining contents of the sieve onto a hessian cloth. The search began as we sorted through the gravel looking for tell tale flashes of colour, painstakingly checking the stones one at a time.

The reward for our effort was a small collection of  sparkling stones. While most were the usual blue, green or yellow, we did have a couple of the less common “parti” stones with more than one colour.

All our stones were pretty, but they weren’t good enough quality to make into jewellery. They did make a wonderful souvenir of the last stop on our holiday though.

In Miniature

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Jericho

With a population of just 229, the town of Jericho is small – just a grid of four by four streets beside the Capricorn Highway. Inside the Information Centre and Post Office is an even smaller version – a handcrafted miniature clay village.

Created by Alice McLaughlin with help from local artists, the village features 43 of the town’s homes and community buildings. 

And it’s not just the buildings on display – the locals are featured too. There’s a game of backyard cricket going on at one place. 

Perhaps this gentleman is deciding how to spend the day in his shed.

And on the main street, neighbours are catching up on all the local news. 

The most popular place to go in Jericho is the drive-in theatre. It’s one of just a few drive-ins still in operation in Australia and plays new release movies in a double feature once a month.

There’s a lot happening in the little town of Jericho!

In The Middle

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Muttaburra

As well as being the home of Muttaburrasaurus langdoni, the little town of Muttaburra also has another claim to fame. It is the closest town to the geographic centre of Queensland. To celebrate its unique location, the community created a wonderful monument, rich in symbolism and history.

 Beside the monument is a timeline of the town’s history, in the form of an historical pathway. Pavers placed in chronological order are engraved with significant local events. Posts aligned with the pathway show annual rainfall totals since 1885; their height equals the rainfall for each year. 

The most moving element of the monument is the seating in the meeting place, created by local school children. Symbols on each disc connecting the children to their town, its past, present and future, invite visitors to Muttaburra to sit a while, close to the centre of Queensland. 

Meeting Muttaburrasaurus

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Muttaburra

There are dinosaurs on every street corner in Muttaburra.

The most famous prehistoric resident of Muttaburra, however, has his own special exhibition at the Muttaburrasaurus Interpretation Centre.

In 1963, the skeleton of a previously unknown dinosaur was found by Doug Langdon on a property near Muttaburra. Later, when the skeleton was excavated by palaeontologist Dr Alan Bartholomai, it was named Muttaburrasaurus langdoni.

Muttaburrasaurus lived in this part of northern Queensland between 112 and 103 million years ago. He was primarily a herbivore although the shape of his jaw and teeth suggest he may have also been a meat eater. 

The interpretation centre bearing his name features displays describing the discovery of the first skeleton, replicas of the fossilised bones and a timeline of the earth’s palaeontological history. 

While the fossilised remains of four more of these unique dinosaurs have since been discovered in other parts of northern Australia, the most famous will always be the one found near Muttaburra.

Sunset Views

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs.  

Hughenden

Usually when we go to a lookout there’s just one wonderful view to enjoy. At the summit of Mount Walker, 10 kilometres from Hughenden, the lookout has six vantage points all facing in different directions. We decide to drive up the winding road to the mountain top just before sunset, when the wintery evening sky takes on deep purple and orange hues.

Etna and Ironbark Lookouts face south west towards the vast open plains between Hughenden and Winton.

A stand of majestic ironbark trees on the downhill slope gives this lookout its name. 

Hughenden Lookout faces the little town of Hughenden to the south,

while in an easterly direction is the Jardine Valley, located between Hughenden and Prairie. 

Reay Lookout also faces south, looking over the Mitchell Downs towards Reay Station. 

We save the best till last, going to Sunset Lookout just in time to see the sky alight with a fiery glow as the sun disappears below the horizon.

No Porcupines Here!

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Nature Photo Challenge: Patterns

Porcupine Gorge

We didn’t see porcupines at Porcupine Gorge – there aren’t any in Australia. But we did see fabulous scenery! 

Porcupine Gorge has been formed over the last 500 million years, weathered by wind and water. When we were there in the middle of the dry season Porcupine Creek, which flows through the gorge, was a series of still, clear waterholes. In the wet season from November to March, the average rainfall totals around 400 mm and the creek becomes a raging torrent.

A 400 metre walk from the car park at our first stop to the Gorge Lookout led us to a viewing platform on the edge of the gorge. We could see, in both directions, a large section of the 27 kilometre long canyon. 

It was easy to distinguish the layers of exposed rock on the walls of the gorge; the dark basalt cap on top, resistant to erosion, and the soft lighter-coloured sandstone beneath, worn away by the power of moving water. 

Further on, at the Pyramid Lookout, we saw the gorge from another perspective.

After a relaxing picnic lunch at a table overlooking the gorge we decided to tackle the Pyramid Track, a 1.2 kilometre path winding down to the creek and the base of the Pyramid. While it was not a long walk, the suggested time of 90 minutes return told us it was going to be more strenuous than the level cement paths to the two lookouts. 

It took 30 minutes, walking downhill through the savannah grassland, to reach the floor of the gorge. The Pyramid, a huge sandstone monolith, towered over the creek, its sandy beaches lined with melaleuca trees.

The sandstone beside the creek was carved in fantastical shapes, in some places worn smooth and elsewhere shaped into deep overhangs. 

Where the creek had receded, most of the large hollows and deep potholes formed in the stone were left full of cool clear water.

A few, though, were stained red with runoff from the sandstone walls of the gorge. 

After a hour spent exploring, it was time to retrace our steps back to the picnic area. It did take longer to walk back uphill, but at 40 minutes we were well within that suggested 90 minute time frame. 

So why is the gorge named after porcupines? We read two different theories.

Even though we didn’t see any, there is a large population of echidnas in the area. While their only similarity to porcupines is their covering of protective spines, that may have been enough to confuse early European explorers. Or perhaps the gorge was named for the dense clumps of spiky spear grass which cover the slopes on either side of the creek. 

Either way, the three walks at Porcupine Gorge lead to stunning views of this spectacular landscape. 

Joining Denzil for Nature Photo Challenge: Patterns and Jo for Monday Walks

Watch Out For Dinosaurs!

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Hughenden

There are dinosaurs everywhere in Hughenden.

The Flinders Discovery Centre has a large display of fossils from all around the world. They range in size from this ancient dinosaur egg found in China to the huge replica skeleton of Muttaburrasaurus langdoni, created using fossil remains discovered near Muttaburra and Hughenden. This herbivorous giant of the dinosaur world lived on the land surrounding the Eromanga Sea up to 112 million years ago.

Outside, it looks like some of the specimens have escaped from the display; there are dinosaurs all around town.

Mutt, a life sized replica of Muttaburrasaurus, stands on the corner of Stansfield and Gray Streets. 

Darby, another Muttaburrasaurus made from scrap metal, decorates a wall in Brodie Street.

Further along Brodie Street is a metal sculpture of a Queensland Pterosaur, fondly known as Leanneosaur. This flying reptile lived in the region at the same time as Muttaburrasaurus. 

While Muttaburrausaurus and Pterosaur lived on land, ammonites inhabited the waters of the vast inland sea. This oversized metal sculpture perfectly captures the beautiful shape of these ancient animals.

Luckily none of these prehistoric creatures is as fierce as they look!

Fossil Hunters, Part Two

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Richmond  

At The Australian Age of Dinosaurs in Winton we learned how professional palaeontologists work side by side with trained volunteers to find and excavate dinosaur fossils. At Richmond, amateur fossil hunters are welcome to do their own fossicking at designated sites. So, armed with our fossicking licence purchased at Kronosaurus Korner, the necessary tools, and visions of making the next big fossil discovery, we drove out to the fossicking site.

Even though it looked like any other part of outback Queensland, we knew some significant finds had been made here so we were excited to start searching.

With picks in hand Glen and Kevin each selected a starting point. They both got to work, carefully chipping away at anything which looked promising. 

I was happy to wander, turning stones over with the toe of my shoe and poking around in the dirt. Ripples preserved in the rock reminded me of the time when this land was under water. 

In this area rich with the remains of prehistoric marine creatures, it wasn’t long before we started finding fossils; ancient bivalves, so similar to their modern descendants, forever preserved in the soft sandstone. 

We may not have found a huge Kronosaurus queenslandicus buried just beneath the surface, but the thrill of holding in our hands creatures who lived 110 million years ago was just as exciting.

Sea Creatures

The landscape of western Queensland is dramatic. After a good wet season, Mitchell grass grows thickly on the vast plains. Elsewhere the land is stony and dotted with clumps of hardy spinifex. But if you’d travelled this way 95 million years ago, the scenery would have been very different. In the Mid-Cretaceous period forests of conifers, lush ferns and flowering plants covered the land, watered by rivers and streams which flowed into a huge inland sea. And it was inhabited by dinosaurs! 

In August 2022, we followed the Dinosaur Trail through western Queensland, on a route from Winton to Richmond, Hughenden and Muttaburra, all locations where dinosaur fossils have been discovered. Put your Australian Dinosaur Trail Pass in your pocket and join us on a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. 

Richmond

If you’d visited outback Queensland 110 million years ago you would have found most of it submerged under what is now known as the Eromanga Sea, a vast inland ocean covering 1 million square kilometres. And if you’d gone swimming you would have come face to face with the huge marine reptiles and fish which lived in it. Where the town of Richmond is now located the water reached depths of up to 40 metres, making it the ideal home for plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs and elasmosaurids. 

Of course, people weren’t on Earth then and after one million years the sea and its inhabitants disappeared. But you can see the marine animals who lived in the Eromanga Sea at Richmond’s Kronosaurus Korner. The museum has the best collection of marine fossils in Australia, most found locally. Amazing displays of fossils, information boards, illustrations and models bring these prehistoric marine creatures to life. 

As well as these giant marine reptiles, large ammonites and predatory fish lived in the Eromanga Sea. 

While the Eromanga Sea no longer exists, there is a lovely lake at Richmond. Lake Fred Tritton, a manmade recreational waterway filled by the Flinders River, is a popular place for boating, swimming and fishing. And even though the water is home to 18 species of freshwater fish, you won’t come across anything as large as Kronosaurus queenslandicus!