CAN YOU DIG IT?
Searching for
sauropods at AAODNICE TO EAT YOU
Gape at a life-sized cast
of Winton’s Southern
Hunter at Australian
Age of DinosaursWALT ZING with
TRAVEL
Makenobonesaboutit
–thisisaprehistoric
adventure,twinnedwith
anoutbackodysseyT
he drive between Longreach
and Winton isn’t just 180km
of outback Queensland’s
wide open road. It’s a gateway
to the days of dinosaurs and drovers.
Bush poet Banjo Paterson wrote
Waltzing Matildaout there, which
is about as outback as you can get.
But millions of years before the first
swagman humped his bluey over
those dry plains, it was lush, swampy
forest teeming with gargantuan,
snake-necked sauropod dinosaurs.
Palaeontologists, aided by keen
volunteers, have been unearthing
these prehistoric Australians for
two decades now – ever since local
grazier David Elliott struck a bone
while mustering sheep by motorbike.
His region revealed as a bountiful
dino boneyard, David, along with his
wife Judy, founded the Australian
Age of Dinosaurs or AAOD
(australianageofdinosaurs.com).
This scientific discovery outfit and
award-winning tourist attraction
presents outback Queensland’s
prehistory from its base (The
Jump-Up), 24km from Winton.
Last April, Dinosaur Canyon
opened on-site – thinkJurassic Park,
outback-style! Here you’ll see
life-size bronze dinosaurs in bush
settings, with spectacular views tothe horizon. Meanwhile the real
thing – fossilised remains of new
species discovered on AAOD
digs (various sauropods as well as
a hook-clawed predator) – grace
the Collection Room.
On a lab tour you’ll see shelves
crammed with big bones waiting
to be removed from encrusted rock.
The buzzing of a dozen tiny
drills fills the room as volunteer
preparators patiently bring these
dino bits to “their full glory”, as one
proudly puts it. New preppers are
always welcome. After 10 days’
training you’re an honorary lab
technician and can book in to prep
year-round, staying at The Jump-Up.
Another hands-on way of joining
the dino fun is to spend a week as