Sunday...17 July 2011

Big day today. Up early to move from Longreach back to Winton.....175kms. Got here just on lunch time and by the time we set up camp it was well and truely lunchtime!!
After lunch we went 25kms out of town to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Fossil Preparation Facility.  Worth the visit if only for the views. To access the centre you have to go up a 'jump up' and the views are stunning. 360 degree big sky views, miles and miles of unlimited panaroma. Stunning. Then when you get to the top of the jump up there is the Dinosaur area.
Very interesting and the lass who is the tour guide really knows her stuff. She merrily sprouted all sorts of information about the finding of dinosaurs here in Australia and in particular here in the Winton area. They have found two distinct dinosaurs in this area, they have called them Banjo and Matilda. Banjo was the smaller of the two and was very nimble and quick and a meat eater, he looks a bit like a raptor. Matilda was a plant eater and much much bigger than Banjo. The guide made them sound most interesting.
The thing that made the hairs on our neck stand up was that we were allowed to put our hands on the actual fossils, the dinosaur bones that are 95 million years old, There they were, just sitting on a table, no ropes around them, no big no touch signs, in fact we were encouraged to feel them and get up close and personal with them....wow.

Now I am sitting in my caravan in the van park listening to a world class Elvis impersonator doing his thing to entertain the residents of this park, way out here in no where land,,,,, incredible.
PS, he is doing ok!