OPALS & DINOSAURS

THIS OUTBACK QUEENSLAND ADVENTURE TAKES IN OLD OPAL MINING TOWNS AND MUCH OLDER PREHISTORIC BEASTS. WELCOME TO WINTON SHIRE.

- KEV SMITH

AS PART of our Outback Queensland odyssey we headed to Winton in far-western Queensland to check out part of the Dinosaur Trail that’s known around the world as the dinosaur capital of Australia. There are actually four parts to the trail; two are located in Winton, which is 1150km west of Brisbane, and the other two are farther north at Richmond and Hughenden.

The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum is 25km south-east of Winton and has the largest display of Aussie dinosaur bones in the world, plus you can check out the lab where bones are cleaned for display. The other Winton spot is Lark Quarry, about 110km south-west, where you can see impressions of dinosaur footprints in mud from a stampede that occurred millions of years ago.

There’s plenty of fascinating history in the Winton shire and, unofficially, it is the gateway to far western Queensland and beyond. If you want to spend some time here to check out Winton on foot, there are a couple of caravan parks within walking distance of town, in which you’ll find a couple of cool old pubs that date back to 1895; Arno’s Wall, which is a huge manmade wall with quirky stuff cemented in it including the kitchen sink; the Waltzing Matilda Museum; various opal stores; and more.