Dinosaur Day

Sunday 22^nd May

We had booked to visit 2 Dinosaur Attractions.  The first was a centre where they process the fossilised bones which have been dug up in the surrounding area, and the second was a site where they discovered and preserved thousands of fossilised Dinosaur Footprints.

For some reason the area around WINTON was obviously quite heavily populated with Dinosaurs a couple of million years ago.  Well actually to be more precise between 65 and 250 million years ago.  They think the WINTON area, and we are talking about a couple of thousands square miles here, was at the edge of a huge inland sea, and consequently it was an ideal habitat for the dinosaurs. Anyhow, their bones keep popping up all over the place and this keeps the Palaeontologists very happy and also very busy.

The first place we visited was basically a huge storage shed where they store the bones that are found, until they get a chance to categorise them.  Most of the bones are fossilised in rock and they are bought to the centre still encrusted in the surrounding rock.  Before they remove the bone and rock from the site where they are found, they wrap it in a plaster of Paris cast to protect it.

When they get a chance, they set to work trying to separate the bone from the rock.  To do this they use instruments like dentist’s drills. 

Once the bone is free from the rock, it is then identified, and whenever possible, pieced together with other bones to try and build up a skeleton.  Slow and painstaking work.  They currently have enough bones stored in the shed to keep them out of trouble for the next 15 or so months, and have identified enough dig sites to keep them going for at least another thirty years.

They have recently discovered three new species of dinosaur which they have called Banjo, (after Banjo Patterson the poet who wrote Waltzing Matilda), Matilda, for obvious reasons, and Wade after one of the Palaeontologists.

The site where they are doing the processing, is up on an escarpment, away out in farmland, 23 km east of WINTON, and 11 km south down a very dusty gravel road. From the top of the escarpment we could see for miles out to the horizon and the curvature of the Earth.

The second place, where the footprints are located, was 112 km south of WINTON, half of which was a gravel road, so we had quite a bit of travelling to do in order to see both sites.

We got out to the second site just in time for their 2:00 guided tour.  Besides ourselves, there was only one other couple doing the tour.  First of all we were given an explanation of what had caused the preservation of the site, and then we watched an excellent animated video of what they believe had occurred with the dinosaurs at the time the footprints were made.  Basically two groups of small bird like dinosaurs, varying in size from a modern day chicken to an Emu, came down to the water’s edge to drink, and while there, they were surprised by a big mean meat eater, who charged in and grabbed one for his dinner.  All fascinating stuff.

Following that, we were taken into a huge room built over and around the actual ground where the footprints were found, and suddenly we were staring at 95 million year old dinosaur footprints.   The foot prints varied in size from 4cm for the small bird dinosaurs to 51cm for the meat eater.

Absolutely mind boggling.  Our guide pointed out the prints of the bird like dinosaurs, where they had come down to drink, and then scattered as the big fella arrived, and also the huge prints of the meat eater as he left the area with his prey. We were left speechless, staring at the evidence of a scene that had occurred 95 million years ago.

For once, Cameron was almost stuck for words.  After looking at pictures and reading about dinosaurs for most of his young life, he was suddenly, basically face to face with them.  During both tours he asked some very probing and sensible questions, and we are sure, came away much more knowledgeable about one of his favourite hobbies.

After a very dusty drive back to WINTON, we called in at one of the lovely old pubs for a nice cold beer, before going back to camp for tea. 

An extremely full, enjoyable and informative day for all of us.

Tomorrow we will continue our journey north east.  Hopefully we will get as far as the small township of MCKINLAY, the location of the ‘Walkabaout Creek Hotel’, from the film Crocodile Dundee.  On the way we will do a side trip to visit the Billabong which is thought to be the site and inspiration for the song Waltzing Matilda.  Be sure to tune in for the next episode.