Mataranka to Katherine

Beside the thermal spring
pool at Mataranka

How different our life has become. We are in a most beautiful part of Australia, harsh but full of surprises. We have spent a relaxing time at both Mataranka and Katherine, and it has given us some time to reflect on how different our life has become, away from the stress and bustle of working, and city life. We are two of a lucky few, travelling this enormous country, sharing in its amazing rich history, and the countless natural wonders. And, would you believe, there is still almost half the continent to see!

The drive up to Mataranka from Daly Waters is only a couple of hours, so we leave late and stop in at Larrimah for morning tea. Carolyn spotted a sign for a place called Fran's, advertising great coffee and home made goodies. We pulled up out the front of an old shack, surrounded by the oddest collection of outdoor furniture and shade structures. We found Fran in the kitchen and were met with "G'Day Darlin, sit yourself anywhere, I'll be with yous in a minute, I've got scones with cream and jam, and beautiful apple and mango pie, and one slice of my fantastic apple and blackberry pie!"

Relaxing at Fran's Place.

We found a seat, and Fran took our order of Scones for

Delicious!!

Carolyn and the last slice of apple & blackberry pie for John. Meanwhile new customers arrived, and Fran shouted "Be with ya in a second, sit with them other folks over there, they won't bite ya! Yous all might learn something!" So we were soon sitting with  two other couples, learning something! There was a shout from the kitchen "OK pies up,come and get it. I ain't got time to serve ya." So up we got and collected our big serve of pie and cream and a scone that came with jam and cream plus an extra fruit tart! It was delicious. One of those fantastic "bush" experiences. The classic line  from Fran came when someone asked for a weak coffee, and Fran replied "don't worry luv, it's nice whichever way it comes!"

Mataranka is set in the Elsey National Park. Many of you will be familiar with the classic Australian novel, "We of the Never Never", which was written in the early 1900's and made into a movie in 1982. It is an autobiography written by Jeannie Gunn who accompanied her husband to Elsey Station where he was to become the station manager. The story tells of her struggles as the first white woman in a hostile land. So we are in the true Never Never Land, and the replica of the Homestead, built for the movie, is here at the Mataranka Homestead Resort & Campground.

Our neighbours Shirley & Bob.

The campgrounds are dry and dusty, and we drive around and around, trying to find a site that will give us shade, and of course allow us a satellite signal through the trees. We have our soon to be neighbours, in fits, as we try a dozen or more positions on two different sites, before we get it right! Our neighbours are Shirley and Bob, farmers from Moruya on the NSW south coast, and within a few hours it is as if we have known them all our life! We spend hours day and night talking about life, family and travels. They have been to this area many times, having camped and caravanned for many years, so I am like a sponge, collecting information, and making notes on things to see and do, and caravan and campgrounds to stay at. This kind of information from kindred spirits is worth a million brochures. Our Happy Hour went for hours every night, and Carolyn & Shirley were off walking or plunging into the springs, several times a day. I've never seen Carolyn spend so much time in the water!!

Thermal Pool at Mataranka.

Carolyn & Shirley take
an early morning dip

The campgrounds are just a short walk from the thermal springs they are famous for today. They are naturally occurring, and the main pool has been made user friendly, to save both the site and the users, from damage. The water runs at some incredible volume per minute, and is crystal clear. The water temperature is around 32 to 34 degrees celcius, and given that the air temperature varies from around 12 degrees at night to 35 degrees during the day, it can be both a warming start to the day, and a cooling afternoon dip! Carolyn and Shirley are early risers, and often first to the pool in the morning. Bob and I are much more respectful of the night, and join in at a more respectable hour. One thing for sure, there are a lot of swims for all.

Apostle birds.

Can I have some too??

The campground is full of wild life. The chirpy little Apostle birds chasing scraps and water, several peacocks, and some very friendly little grey kangaroos. With Carolyn's constant supply of fruit and veggie scraps, we are usually surrounded by an expectant throng! Each night up at the main building which is a pub, restaurant and general store, there is entertainment. All of us went up for the concert, which was good. They lit the campfire, and it was a pleasant evening except for the loud, tipsy group in the middle. After a few complaints, and a bit of push and shove from people old enough to know better, peace was restored, and the show went on!

Driving in Elsey National Park.

Termite mounds everywhere.

We drove out around the area and through the Elsey National Park. It is situated on the Little Roper River, and as we are now well and truly in crocodile country, you take a little extra care when standing by the river bank! There are some lovely spots along the river. Fishing is popular, however there was a very late and dry "wet season", so the rivers are very low, and fishing difficult. The town of Mataranka itself, is small with a large aboriginal population. There are lots of "Never Never Land" things in the park, and a short drive out of town are the other two caravan parks, which access the other thermal spring known as Bitter

Bitter Springs thermal pool.

Springs. We did the short walk to the main

Dressing up the termite mounds.

swimming hole, and immediately regretted not bringing our swimming gear. What a beautiful spot. It is much more "natural" than at Mataranka, so next time we may choose to stay at the nearby caravan park instead. The other natural phenomenon  of this area, and in fact for much of outback Northern Territory and Queensland, are the giant termite mounds. You definitely want to build in brick or steel around these parts!  One of the funny sights we see, are the termite mounds all dressed up. Some of the creativity is unbelievable. You can't imagine what some people carry in their car!!

Our time at Mataranka came to a close. It was sad to say goodbye to our new friends Shirley and Bob. They are on their way home after several weeks in Western Australia, so are going the opposite direction to us, otherwise I'm sure we would have travelled together for a while. We'll keep in touch, and who knows where we might meet up. One thing's for certain, we have a free camp at their farm in Moruya whenever we want it.

Carolyn with Sabu Peter Sing.

Our next stop is only 100 kilometres up the road, at Katherine, the largest regional town and therefore business centre, of the central north of the Northern Territory. The population here is around 11,000, many of them Aboriginal. There is a real Woolworths supermarket, so we get to top up supplies again, though prices are still high, except fuel has come down to a manageable $1.64 per litre before discount! The surrounding area has a rich history in cattle, and at the entrance to the town is a magnificent bronze statue of the famous Aboriginal stockman with the unusual name of Sabu Peter Sing, and whilst it is a statue of one man, it is a tribute to the thousands of drovers and stockmen who have worked this country. These days, in addition to the cattle, there is a rich agricultural industry, so it is likely at some stage you have eaten melons and mango from this region. We are staying at the Shady Lane Top Tourist Park, which is a lovely tropical park full of mango, gum and palm trees. It has a great swimming pool, which will get a lot of use.

The entrance to the park.

On the edge of Katherine is the Nitmiluk National Park, home to the world famous Katherine Gorge. These days, the only way to see the gorge is to book a cruise or kayak trip through the traditional owners, the Jawoyn people. The popular cruises are booked out well ahead, so it is a priority to get our booking, which we can do at our Caravan Park Office. We have decided to do a Sunset Dinner Cruise, and have booked for Saturday night 4 days away. We take it easy and do a leisurely walk around town, and drive out to see the old lower bridge area, Knott's Crossing, and the Katherine Thermal Springs. Here, the weather is hot, 35 degrees every day. It is now several weeks since we've even seen a cloud, let alone rain!

On the way to the
Upper Pools at Edith Falls.

The waterfall and Upper Pools.

To whet our appetites for the gorge, we decide to take a drive to the other side of the National Park to see Edith Falls. It sounds like a nice place to have a swim in a cool waterhole at the base of the falls. When we arrive, we find it has a really nice campground with unpowered sites, and it is almost full. We read the map, and decide that before going to the main pool, we will take the steep 1.2 kilometre walk to the Upper Pools. What a great decision! We arrived at the pools soaked in sweat, and breathless at the beauty of the waterfall and deep green pool surrounded by red and black rocks. We found the best way into the water and all our heat exhaustion was washed

After our swim at the Upper Pools.

away as we swam around the huge pool with a handful of

The main pool at Edith Falls.

others who had made the trek. It was like we were in one of those travel brochure photographs, ticking off another Bucket List item, a swim in one of the Territories iconic waterfall pools. We just didn't want to leave. There were huge water monitor lizards sunning themselves on the rocks, and pink and red German, English and American tourists sunning themselves on the rocks as well! We finally dragged ourselves away, and headed down to the main pool for a picnic lunch. The main pool is enormous, and equally as clear and fresh. When you look around, there are a lot of people, but the area is so large it still looks secluded. We've just had another of those great days.

Is the Ghan coming??

So, is it safe??

On the drive back, we stopped at a railway crossing to take one of those crazy "standing on the railway tracks" photographs. I said to Carolyn, "isn't today the day the Ghan comes through?" I kid you not, within 3 minutes of the photo being snapped, the Ghan came roaring past!! You are probably wondering about crocodiles. Well, they do inhabit these areas, so you have to take notice of the signs. At the main pool at Edith Falls, you aren't allowed to swim at night from 7.00pm to 7.00am, as this is when the non man eating Freshwater Crocodiles feed! I guess it's hard to tell the difference at night! Personally, I wouldn't be hanging around to check his snout any bloody time of the day. I'd be doing my best JC impression, taking big strides!

Freshwater or Johnson Crocodile

Katherine Markets.

Saturday morning we headed off bright and early to the markets. It was only quite small, but beautifully set under the shade trees in the park. We topped up with beautiful fresh fruit and veggies from a local guy who just does the markets. The lettuce and other green veggies, as well as all the fresh herbs, were magnificent. They'll be put to good use by the caravan chef. We also did a walk through the shops of town. We love the "Emporiums" that exist in these big country towns. Katherine has a beauty, menswear, kitchenware, toy shop, sports store, homewares etc. The range is enormous!

Sheers cliffs at Jeddas Rock.

Katherine Gorge, the second gorge.

Late afternoon we headed off for our highlight in Katherine, a boat trip up the gorge. We are doing a two gorge tour, followed by dinner on another boat, on the water of the first gorge. Some things you dream about seeing all your life, and when you actually get there it is underwhelming. Katherine Gorge is all we expected and more. The sheer size and majesty of the gorges just blows you away, and when the guide explains that during the wet season the water level is 9 metres above where we sit in the boat, and the water flows at a rate equivalent to the volume of Sydney Harbour, every hour, you can only wonder what it must look and sound like. In the late afternoon sunlight, the contrast of the red cliffs in sun and shade is quite simply, just beautiful. 

Sunset in the gorge.

Boarding the dinner boat.

In total there are 13 gorges. The further up you go, the narrower they become, and at this time, nearing the end of the dry season, the water level is pretty low. On our tour, we do the first gorge, then disembark and walk across 600 metres of path, to reach the second gorge, where another boat is ready to take us up the second gorge. We see freshwater crocodiles, and traps for the dangerous saltwater crocodiles, and lots of bird life. On the walk we see some Aboriginal Rock Art, dated at 10,000 years old! As the sun sets, we return to the first gorge to be met by our Dinner Boat, complete with white linen table cloths and waiters in long black

Sunset in Katherine Gorge.

aprons. The tables are set with fine china and glassware, and

Ready for dinner.

you think, hang on, we are in the middle of nowhere, how can this be happening! There is an on board chef, and the main course choice is wild barramundi with a pesto sauce, or BBQ'd fillet steak, served with a beautiful fresh salad. We are handed a glass of bubbly and shown to our table and meet Mark & Jenny, a couple of Darwin locals away for the weekend, and we spend a wonderful evening of excellent food, wine and company, as the sun slowly sets on the gorge. Would you believe that David and Jenny came from Leichhardt, about 2 kilometeres from where we lived in Lilyfield! David is a doctor, working in the Darwin Hospital casualty dept. as well as for Care Flight. They have been in Darwin for 18 months, and love it. We shared life stories, and as the gorge became dark, the spot lights were turned on and the gorge came to life again. The lemon ginger creme broule for dessert was a wonderful finish to an amazing experience that will last with us forever.

Springvale Station.

The local Flying Doctor's first plane.

For our last day we took in a little of the history of the area, at the wonderful little museum, and at nearby Springvale Station, one of the first cattle properties in the district, which is now a rustic caravan park and tourist attraction. We were a little taken back by the presence of a saltwater crocodile trap in the lake in the middle of the caravan park. The caretaker nonchalantly told us that they think the croc has gone back to the river. I wonder what they told all those backpackers camped along the bank of the lake!!!

We've had a wonderful time at Katherine. Darwin is firmly in our sights now, but first we head to Kakadu National Park.

Outback Loop

Travel the Min Min Way.

From Winton we decided to go way out back. We took the long way to get to Mt. Isa, travelling along the Min Min ByWay. The Min Min relates to a mysterious light that has been sighted many times, in and around the town of Boulia. More on that later!

The road is one of the "developmental" roads, a single strip of bitumen, with wider "passing opportunities" spaced along the road. The idea is that as you approach another vehicle, each puts two wheels in the dirt, slows down and then resumes the bitumen. The exception is if the vehicle is a road train! Then you get off the road altogether and leave him on the bitumen. The last thing you want is a hundred wheels chucking rocks at you! 

Landscape along
the Min Min ByWay

Carolyn got behind the
bar at Middleton pub

The drive itself is across a landscape that changes from gibber desert, to spinifex grasslands and small hilly regions that look like a scene from old westerns. It is ruggedly beautiful, with the browns and reds of the earth, the green and vivid white of the gum trees and that magnificent blue, cloudless sky. Along the route, which was originally a stage coach and mail run, we come across the last inhabited outpost, the Middleton Pub. It is a run down old weatherboard house, with a wide verandah. You step inside the front door, turn right into the publican's lounge room, or left into the public bar. Definitely Out back Chic is the decor, complete with dust, cobwebs and plain old dirt. We ordered drinks, and joined the other patrons, four adults, three dogs, one calf and one pig out on the verandah. You can see why people die of thirst out here. They charge $29.50 for a six pack!

Parked at Cawnpor Lookout

A wedge tailed eagle flies off.

Further down the road, we climbed up to Cawnpor Lookout. Situated in a cutting, in country where we expected Gary Cooper or John Wayne to pop out from behind a rock, the short climb to the lookout gave us a wonderful view of the surrounding country. All along the way, the sky is full of hundreds of Hawks or Kites, soaring on the breeze, and searching for prey or carrion. The road kill provides a feast for many, and we come across the magnificent wedge tailed eagles, joining in the feast. As you drive towards the destruction, the crows and hawks leave, but the eagles stand their ground until you are almost upon them. They are such magnificent creatures.

Boulia's Windmill and
Bore water supply

Here come the galahs!

We arrive at the small town of Boulia, and drive in through the gate of a surprisingly green and grassy caravan park. The manager is very friendly, and walks us down beside the river to a large grassy site. We decide to stay for three nights. Boulia's big event of the year is the Annual Camel Races, which all happened a couple of weeks back, so it is reasonably quiet at the park, though each evening there are about 20 to 25 vans and camper trailers staying mostly overnight. Most are small off road rigs, as Boulia is where many of the iconic desert tracks, start or end. Each evening, right on sunset, we are treated to an amazing spectacle. Thousands of pink and grey galahs, fly low over the caravan park, on route to their night resting place. There is wave after wave of these happy, chattering little guys. It almost blacks out the sky. Truly unbelievable. Sunday we head up town to visit the Min Min Encounter Centre. It is a real surprise. First it has a very nice cafe, and a self guided tour through the centre was a treat. You pay your money and then go on a Movie World like, animated tour through a number of rooms, where people dressed in their clothes of the period, retell their story of an encounter with the Min Min lights. Fact or fiction, who cares, it was  lot of fun. Back at camp that night we spent a few hours talking to our neighbours for the night, Holger and Lynn. They convinced us that we were so close, we should not miss Birdsville.

On the road to Birdsville.

The dusty road to Birdsville.

So, we checked the map, 388kms. Decided to leave the caravan behind, phoned the Birdsville Pub and booked a room for the night, and headed off next morning, down the Eyre Developmental Road. The road as far as Bedourie, was excellent. The countryside was mostly flat gibber plains. You wonder how the cattle that graze this land get a feed. As we crossed into the Diamatina Shire, we came across a new lookout perched on a hill beside the road. We stopped for a cup of tea and a bikkie, and were just swamped by the quiet and emptiness of this vast landscape. You can only be full of admiration for the people who came to this area to seek a living. There are stops all along the way, telling of long abandoned homesteads, and tragic stories of families beaten by drought. Today there are just monstrous cattle stations, the largest in this area is Marion Downs, which covers over a million hectares. In Europe they'd call it a country!

The iconic Birdsville Pub.

Welcome sign.

What a surprise is Birdsville! It is one of those places that I've always wanted to visit. My vision, was a pub in the middle of nowhere. In fact it is an entire town, in the middle of nowhere! And, there are lots of people. The caravan park is a dust bowl, and given that half the road from Bedourie was dirt, we were glad not to have pulled the caravan here and back. There is a geothermal power station, so there is plenty of water. The billabong behind the caravan park is full of bird life, and the town oval is almost lush and green!

Delicious camel pie!

Sturt's Desert Pea.

There are two things you must do at Birdsville. A beer at the pub, and a camel pie at the bakery. It didn't take long to accomplish both! Actually, the Bakery is excellent, and a very popular spot in town. The big event in town is the annual Birdsville races. The town swells to around 8,000 people, which is hard to comprehend. This event is held in early September, so planning is well underway. The bakery has already baked and frozen 3,800 camel pies, plus countless other flavours, and the cases of beer are arriving by the truck load!

First beer at the Pub.

We took a drive out to the race track, which is just a dust bowl.

Heading to the Birdsville Billabong.

They are busily erecting the extra loos needed for the big crowd. A drive down along the Diamantina River to see the Burke and Wills Tree, reveals all the stalls, scattered among the trees, for the trainers to keep their horses for the race meeting. The river has plenty of water, so it is an ideal spot. The Burke & Wills tree, marks a known camp site of this legendary couple of explorers who made the first crossing of Australia from South to North, sadly perishing on the return journey, a few hundred kilometres south of here. We headed back into town to check in at the pub. There is a fairly new and modern Motel built out the back of the pub, and we get a nice clean room. That night, we headed back into the pub, for a few drinks and a pretty good feed. We couldn't believe how many people there were in the pub, and the huge outdoor area. There were at least two coaches in town, and dozens of camper trailers, and 4WD's laden with camping gear. Lots of urban cowboys and girls dressed like a local, that is until you meet a local, and realise how fake they look.

Taking on Big Red.

The famous Birdsville Track.

Next morning we take a visit to the bakery for breakfast. Carolyn wouldn't let me have camel pie for breakfast, so we settled for raisin toast, which was going well until I told Carolyn they weren't raisins, but flies!! Revenge is sweet!! After breakfast and a beating, we headed out to Big Red. This is the name of the first big red sand dune west of town in the Simpson Desert. There is a great sport out here which involves racing your car up and over Big Red. We didn't make it, but it was fun trying. We turned tail for Boulia, late morning. We were

Road kill???

really glad we had taken the time to come to Birdsville. It was one of those places on the

Now that's a big backyard!

Bucket List. A true icon of the Aussie Bush. Heading back we stopped a number of times to check out the wedge tailed eagles. I never tire of watching these magnificent creatures. The whoosh of the wings as they take flight is something you can never forget, nor is the ferocious glare in their eye. There is other gob smacking scenery along the route as well, such as the private road sign covered in shoes and boots, and then our favourite was the outdoor garden setting, just sitting in the middle of nowhere! we lunched at Bedourie Roadhouse, one of those hamburgers you can't pick up, but is delicious, and make it back to Boulia in time for Happy Hour.

Camped at Camooweal Billabong.

The Camooweal Solution!

We spent that night in Boulia, and next morning headed for Mt. Isa, continuing along the Min Min ByWay through Dajarra. The scenery is again dry and gibber desert, but tending to scrubby bush as you get closer to Mt. Isa. We only stop here for one night to top up our supplies.  We haven't seen a real supermarket for over a week, and need to top up our groceries and fresh fruit and veg and meat. Mission accomplished we head for Camooweal. We will be going over old ground between here and the Three Ways in the Northern Territory, so decide to get there as quickly as we can, and free camp along the way. First night, we camped at Camooweal Billabong, down below the big bridge along the very dry river bed. It is a lovely spot, and we have a lot of other campers around us, enjoying the bush camp under one of those amazing night skies. Whilst refuelling at Camooweal we think we might have stumbled on to something to do with Kevin's new Boat people policy. There were all these trucks loaded with tanks and other armoured vehicles. Where were they going???

Galahs looking for shade &
water at Barkly Homestead. 

At 41 Mile Bore campground.

In the morning we crossed the border into the Northern Territory and headed for our next night stop at a place called 41 Mile Bore, which is as the name might suggest, 41 miles west of the Three Ways. We passed through Barkly Homestead, but only stopped for Fuel, which was 205.90 cents per litre! You city folk haven't got it too bad eh? This camp site also got pretty busy as the afternoon drew on, and by nightfall we were surrounded by about 30 caravans. Carolyn cooked up a lovely big piece of corned beef with baked veggies for dinner, a nice bottle of wine, and we sat back to watch Friday Night football on the TV. God it's tough out here in the bush!!

John at the Daly Waters Pub.

Cheers to the Daly Waters Pub.

Next day we were away early, as we had a long drive, headed up the Stuart Highway to another icon of the Aussie bush, the Daly Waters Pub. Coffee at the Threeways Roadhouse, then on up the highway through Renner Springs, Elliot, where we stopped for a lunch of cold corned beef sandwiches, then through Newcastle Waters and Dunmarra, before reaching Daly Waters around 3.00pm. The caravan park was already pretty full, but they put us in with all the other large vans, all lined up in a row. It was dusty, and not a blade of grass in sight, but hay, we are here for the pub and the tucker.

The boys cook up the beef & barra.

When you set foot inside the pub and your eyes adjust to the

Entertainment was great.

light, you just don't know where to look. Hanging from the ceiling, and arranged in orderly groups, are piles and piles of hats and caps, singlets, ladies bras, money, stubby holders, number plates. You name it and its hanging on a wall or the roof! Bloody amazing! The famous dinner is the Beef & Barra BBQ. You order what you want, all beef, all barra , or a bit of each, they give you a time, and when that time arrives they call out your name, you collect your meal, and then load it up at the salad bar. Carolyn ordered barra, which they had to confess was now threadfin salmon because they'd run out of barra, and I ordered the combo. We got a 7.00pm time slot.

Inside the main bar of the Pub.

Meanwhile we settled into the beer garden where we were

Even the birds get served at the bar!

entertained from 4.30pm by a pretty good country singer. Happy hour, with cheap drinks continued until 5.30pm, and at 5.25pm there was almost a frenzy as people loaded up with as many beers as they could carry before the bell sounded! At 700pm our names were called, we collected dinner and it was excellent! The main entertainment started around the same time, and this guy, "Chilli", gave us a fantastic couple of hours of songs, yarns and bush poetry. It was all patriotic and great fun. The story he gave about the safety demonstration on board his recent first flight had everyone with tears running down their cheeks. "If we crash in the most crocodile and shark infested sea in the world, there is no way I'm blowing a bloody whistle to seek attention!" What a fantastic night we had. We met some lovely people and the best possible night.

Daly Waters Pub, another Aussie icon kicked off the bucket list!

Winton

I am sitting at the keyboard, wondering how to start this story, when I hear my neighbour who is getting ready to leave, yell to his travelling companion "sorry mate, shouldn't be long, the bloody missus had to go to the dunny!" Yes folks, we are in Outback Queensland!!

Welcome to Winton.

Where Qantas started.

We have arrived at Winton, 184 kms west from Longreach, and what a rich history it has. Our national airline, Qantas, was founded here, the first board meeting being held at the Winton Club. The great Aussie poet, A.B. "Banjo" Patterson, penned that song called Waltzing Matilda right here, and the song had its first recital here. And, it is now all about dinosaurs, so we have a busy few days ahead of us. We are booked into the Matilda Country Tourist Park, and are we glad we booked, as every night it is full. It is dry, it is dusty, the water stinks of sulphur, but apart from that it's lovely! More on the caravan park later, but first it is time to get set up on a site that has some grass, albeit brown, then it's off to the Visitor Information Centre,which is part of the Waltzing Matilda Centre. The boss Macca, is so enthusiastic, and when we tell him we have a few days, he is beside himself with joy, as we'll get to see lots. He steers us into a "Gold Pass" that will get us into all the sights and save us some money as well.

The North Gregory Hotel.

Winton Hotel.

Leaving the Visitor Information Centre we do a walk through town. Actually, it is more like a pub crawl, as the main street is dominated by the three large pubs. The North Gregory Hotel is the most famous having been burnt down a few times, the last time being rebuilt in the art deco style. It was a high class bush hotel, with formal dining room. Today it even has a small caravan park out the back, where you can stay for $10.00 and get 2 free schooners, as long as you have a meal in the pub. It fills up pretty early! The other famous pub is in the suburbs a few blocks out of town. It is the Winton Hotel, a grand old building.

The outdoor theatre. Note
world's largest deck chair back left.

There are some amazing stores. Searles is unbelievable. It is the Lotto Agent, a hardware shop, a dress shop, a menswear shop, a shoe shop, a gift shop, haberdashery and lots more! The stock goes up to the roof, and you have to walk side ways down the aisles! Also, there is a genuine open air theatre complete with canvas deck chairs. They have a show on some fairly random nights, and they show old movies, cartoons and news reels. Carolyn was mortified there was nothing on while we were there. Looks like we'll have to go back. There is a bakery, some galleries, a Newsagent, a dress shop specialising in Ladies Race wear, for all the Outback race meetings around here, and a few coffee spots. We tried both the cafe at the North Gregory and the Waltzing Matilda Centre, and both were good. We missed the camel races by a couple of weeks, Bugger!

Elvis in the Outback.

Mel & Sue on Tour.

Back at the caravan park, we got chatting to our neighbours over a drink, when a young lady comes by on a pushbike. She tells us about the nightly show, put on at the old tin shed near the office, and invites us down. It's on every night, and different every night, and you only have to put a donation in a tin. Well the show was an absolute scream. Two girls, Mel and Sue, put on a show that is all Aussie bush poetry and funny yarns. Mel is the poet, and has won numerous awards, and Sue is just one of those rare infectiously funny people. They took the Micky out of everything and everyone. We had tears rolling down our cheeks, and when Mel recited the Man From Snowy River in its entirety, there was a tear in many an eye. When Sue came out dressed as Elvis, she did her version of "In the Ghetto", which was called "It's a Gecko", I was laughing so hard I thought I'd burst. When she finished, she announced that the next night the real Elvis was doing the show, and brought out one of the best Elvis Impersonators ever seen, and sure enough the next night we all gathered in the Tin Shed for "Elvis in the Outback". He must have done 30 or more songs and had all the girls swooning. We all had a fantastic couple of hours, an the next night we backed up and did it all again with Mel & Sue, and true to their promise it was all different material.

Off to the Dinosaur Stampede.

Easy to see signs.

The Trackways building
at Lark Quarry.

Apart from all the evening things happening at the caravan park, there is also lots of dinosaur stuff to see. Firstly, it is worth noting, that discovery of dinosaur remains only started to happen in Australia over the last 50 years, and in a big way in the last 30 years. It was thought that all the big dinosaurs all inhabited only the northern hemisphere. That all changed with finding around Winton. Firstly, we drove out to the Lark Quarry Conservation Park, sight of the world's only known dinosaur stampede, which took place around 95 million years ago! It is a 250km round trip on well formed roads that are sometimes bitumen, and sometimes gravel. From the thousands of footprints they have

Large and Small
dinosaur footprints.

theorised that a large carnivorous dinosaur, has chased a number of different sized but smaller dinosaurs around a water hole, resulting in a stampede of the smaller ones. The footprints became preserved. If you want all the technical stuff, you can Google Lark Quarry Dinosaur Stampede. It is an amazing story. The whole thing is housed in a building so as to help preserve the site. The Trackways building itself is Eco friendly, and almost as good as the stampede. A guide runs tours on the hour from 9.00am to 4.00pm, and the whole thing is very well done. It is just so hard to think that this all happened 95 million years ago! 

Carolyn with Banjo.

Matilda's front leg.

The other unbelievable attraction is the Age of Dinosaurs Museum, a purpose built private museum, that is the most productive fossil preparation laboratory in the southern hemisphere. It is the brainchild of local grazier and palaeontologist David Elliott. It is he, who put the "no big dinosaurs in the southern hemisphere" theory to rest, when he found  the big bones of "Matilda", "Clancy" and "Banjo". He built the Museum on the top of a "Jump Up", the quaint name give to the small hills that frequent the area. It is set on the edge of the jump up with

Distance markers on the road to
Age of Dinosaurs.

panoramic views across the vast plains. A separate building houses the working fossil preparation laboratory. They use a mixture of full time, and volunteer staff to undertake the painstaking restoration work. They have discovered three entirely new species of Dinosaur, and reckon they have 25 years of preparation work stored in their lab! Again there are tours that take in both buildings, run by passionate people. When it is all over, you can relax at the nice cafe and just ponder the stories you have just heard about events 100 million years ago, as you gaze out across the plains. Google Age of Dinosaurs Museum for so much more detail.

John with Banjo Patterson.

The waltzing Matilda Centre is simply a fantastic museum. It tells the history of how the song Waltzing Matilda was written, first performed and became an anthem for Australians through two world wars, many major national events. The rendition by John Williamson, in a darkened theatre featuring an animated display, is quite moving. All through the museum are rooms full of Winton's history. The presentation of the hundreds of exhibits is as good as at any museum we have ever seen. The stories of bravery, human suffering and courage will warm and break your heart, and some of the yarns and characters that have lived out here, will have you in fits of laughter. When we looked at our watches, we had been inside for 3 hours, and it only seemed like minutes. Don't miss it if ever you visit Winton.

"Once a jolly swagman......

So there you have it, a busy schedule in Winton. The weather has been magnificent, and we have had a great time here. Let me finish by telling you of a brief encounter with a bushy we just met. He'd been trekking along one of the numerous tracks out west, miles from anywhere. He had skin like leather and was covered in dust as he came into the Roadhouse. He looked at us and said, "I've been out in the bush for a couple of weeks and haven't heard any news. Please tell me someone shot Kevin Rudd!!!" I sadly replied, no. He simply replied Bugger, and headed for the bar.