5 May 2012 - More Fossil Fest

We headed down to the local cafe for the 'Snag in a Swag' breakfast, and had a feed while waiting for the Moonrock Throwing competition to start.

Em and Lachie entered the kiddie event and managed to throw their rocks about 10cm or so! The rocks were a bit heavy for the little ones. The rock for the open event weighed 26kg so I decided to wimp out. The event was won by Sean, the father of  Em and Lachie's new found friends. He was a big lad and beat all of the local competition. He also got roped into a team for the tractor pull and won that as well.

In the afternoon we went to the local bush races. This is not horse racing in the traditional sense, it is a sprint over 200m or so from a standing start. It was the local horse riders testing themselves against one another. There was also no general betting. Each horse was effectively auctioned off before the start, in what is known as a 'Calcutta' and the winner takes all.

After sleeps for the kiddies, we went to the street party which culminated in a fireworks display. The kids were terrified so we had to watch them while retreating back up the road to our tent!

4 May 2012 - Richmond Fossil Fest

There was a school concert that officially kicked off the Fossil Fest but we managed to miss it, with the kiddies playing with their new friends. We headed out to the fossil fields again to have another crack at finding something big. Unfortunately it was more shells, but interesting all the same. The big item on the agenda for the day was the rodeo, kicking off at 6.30pm.

Em and Lachie were so excited, we managed to convince them to sleep during the afternoon. After an early dinner we headed off to the rodeo and watched the first event of barrel riding. Horses and riders riding full pelt around barrels in a tight circuit was great to watch but very dusty. After a short break, the bull riders came out and both Em and Lachie were fascinated by the huge beasts and the riders being thrown everywhere. Entry to ride one of the bulls seemed to be open to anyone and there were some backpackers from Ireland, Germany and Belgium who had a crack - absolute nutters. Fortunately there were no serious injuries and we headed off very satisfied with our evening's entertainment around 9pm.

3 May 2012 - Porcupine Gorge to Richmond

I got up early to go for a run and when I got back we started our packing routine again. We were on the road by around 8.30 am with a plan of heading to Richmond.

En-route we decided we would visit Kronosaurus Korner, the dinosaur and fossil museum in Richmond but then head straight through to Winton, the main town on the dinosaur trail. Kronsourus Korner was excellent and very informative. During the time of the dinosaurs, a large inland sea, the Eromanka Sea, covered much of inland QLD. Richmond was part of the sea floor at that time and the sea was ruled by Kronosaurus, a large flesh eating reptile. Kronosaurus makes crocodiles and great white sharks appear tiny by comparison.

After an hour or so at the museum, we headed out to the fossil hunting area west of town. This is an area set aside for people to fossick around for fossils. It was incredible, every rock we picked up had at least a fossilised shell contained inside. The rocks were very delicate and had to be handled very carefully. We found one or two fish teeth and jawbones but it was difficult to keep then intact. After a good fossick around, it was time to head off to Winton.

We found out that the Richmond Fossil Fest was in town over the weekend, a series of events and activities, celebrating Richmond's part in the Dinosaur Trail. On our way out of town we found that the Richmond to Winton road was shut due to recent rain. This forced our hand as we would have to back track 115km to Hughenden and down to Winton from there. We booked into the caravan park at Richmond and decided to check out some of the fossil Fest activities.

On our arrival, Em and Lachie stumbled across 3 kiddies from a nice Townsville family who were in town for Fossil Fest. The kids got one well and it was great for Em and Lachie to have some friends again.

2 May 2012 - Pyramid Rock at Porcupine Gorge

Day 2 running and again I was struck down with the abombnible stitch. I did manage probably 3km, but man is it difficult. I am determined to stick with it now as I have suggested Nick and myself run every second day – what was I thinking???

After a breakfast of tea and French toast we packed our picnic bag and headed down the Porcupine Gorge on the 1.4km downhill hike into the Gorge. Despite being steep the kids fared pretty well and the reward at the bottom was worth it – a sparkling river through the creek and up to the Pyramid gorge rocks.

We “fossicked” for dinosaur eggs and egg shells in the river, chased a few baby cane toads over the rocks and then headed towards Pyramid Rock for our picnic. The rock pools and fish were stunning and Nick was nearly tempted to retreat for his fishing rod – only the climb out deterred him.

The kids enjoyed another dash into the cool waters before we set off on our sweltering climb back up the Gorge. Although steep, there were steps, so it could have been worse. Em was a hero and managed the whole climb unaided – she has come so far with her bush walking since we left Sydney. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Lachie who demanded to be carried and spent the climb on Nick’s shoulders telling him to run. He managed to walk about 10meters, but other than that was hopeless.

The plus side of this activity was the kids both crashed when we got back to the top and left us in peace to watch an episode of the Wire in peace. We then headed off to the other Porcupine Gorge lookout about 10km down the road when Lachie woke up. The scenery was fabulous and thankfully the walk wasn’t far.

We enjoyed dinner under the stars at the picnic table next to our tent and enjoyed a cool cider to wash it down. What a beautiful peaceful spot – would highly recommend a visit here to anyone keen.

1 May 2012 - Dinosaur Trail Day 1 - Hughenden

We left Charters Towers and headed west towards Hughenden to commence “The Dinosaur Trail” which encompasses Hughenden, Richmond and Winton. There are a lot of other little towns along the way, but these are our primary targets in learning a little about the Eromonga sea and the fossils and bones of the creatures that once roamed this area.

Our first stop was at the Hughenden Visitor Centre where we got to meet Hughie, a 7 metre tall muttabuttasauras – wow. A board there provided some background

“The Hughenden area 100 million years ago, was on the edge of a shallow inland sea that extended from what is now the Gulf of Carpentaria through to South Australia. Australia was joined to Antarctica, but there were no polar ice caps at this time and the world climate was quite warm. Large marine reptiles called Icthyosaurus and Plesiosaurs swam in the inland sea while on land dinosaurs such as Muttaburrasaurus and the long necked Austrosaurus browsed on the vegetation amongst conifers, cycads and ferns. Most of the remains of Muttaburrasaurus came from two individuals. The first was found in 1962 near Muttaburra where it derives its name and the other in 1987 near Hughenden. Their bones were preserved because the carcases had been washed into the sea and became buried in the mud which protected them from destruction.'”

The centre also housed a superb kiddie corner, so the kids played with dinosaur jigsaws, models and read books while we watched a video on the history and formation of Porcupine Gorge – our next stop on our travels later today.

We had a look at the shearing shed to learn about the early days of shearing in the Hughenden area but the kids had had enough so it was time to head back out to the searing heat. Summer would definitely not to pleasant around here.

After lunch by the side of the Flinders River, we headed further into the Outback in search of our first “bush camp” in a while at Porcupine Gorge. Whilst we had pre-booked our campsite, on arrival we found it overrun with ants nests, so we moved to another site complete with picnic table. It was beautiful – the perfect spot to crack open a beer when the tent was up.

We had a quick walk to the check out the lookout to the Gorge, but with the sun close to setting settled for a quiet beer before dinner and an early night under the stars. How fabulous it is to be warm enough to have the tent windows opened all night and sleep under the Outback sky!

30 April 2012 - Farewell Coast, hello Charters Towers

We packed up in record time and were soon excited to be again leaving the coast and heading west. While the coast is beautiful, there is something wrong with being unable to swim in it 6 months of the year due to marine stingers – namely the box jellyfish and irijandi.

We hadn’t fully decided whether to stop at Charters Towers or push on for Hughenden, but once on the road we agreed to go to Hughenden listening to 6 hours of kiddie music would be more than we could manage so we planned a stop at Charters Towers to regain our sanity.

En route we saw the start of Outback Australia again, but surprisingly, very little wildlife. We did at one point pass an old man on a horse and trap pulled by a Shetland point to which Emily shouts, “Look, there is Granddad on a Goat”. Poor girl, we laughed so hard, but she was determined the pony looked like a donkey.

We checked into a wonderful campground and for $25 a night got a spot directly opposite the bouncing pillow and swimming pool. Em and Lachie were in heaven as they hadn’t seen a bouncing pillow for some time, but, the joy was short lived when the fighting started – they didn’t want to share. Give me patience!!

We headed out for a look around town, starting with the obligatory stop at Tourist Information. The kids were a disgrace screaming and throwing themselves around the room, so the afternoon was looking a little scary. Not to be outdone by the kids and retreat to the tent we set off on a walking tour of the town once called “the World”.

We visited the Town Hall, Stock Exchange, before getting lost with Nick not up to his usual map reading standard – apparently the map was rubbish. Anyway, with the heat splitting the stones, we took refuge in the library where the kids were thrilled. There was a monster bucket of trucks, which Lachie emptied and drove around the floor of the kiddie area and we read a few books on dinosaurs to get them ready for the Dinosaur trail ahead.

Having pottered around further and failing to get them to sleep we packed them back into the car and headed for the Hill.  This was where the town was born:

“…. in the 1870s when gold was discovered by chance at Towers Hill on Christmas Eve 1871 by 12-year-old Aboriginal boy, Jupiter Mossman. Jupiter was with a small group of prospectors including Hugh Mosman, James Fraser and George Clarke. Their horses bolted after a flash of lightning. While he was searching Jupiter found both the horses and a nugget of gold in a creek at the base of Towers Hill”

We travelled to the top of the hill to the lookout and to absorb some of the history. At night they run “ghost tours” from here which we would love to have done except that Em and Lachie would be too much to bear this time of night. Thankfully they passed out in the car, so we had some peace to explore and check out some of the WW2 bunkers scattered around the hill.

As expected the kids were too nuts to take them back to the Hill that night, so we enjoyed a quiet one at the campsite.

29 April 2012 - Day trip to Magnetic Island

After a not so brilliant run to kick off the day, we headed for the ferry to Magnetic Island. We grabbed a coffee en route thinking this would be badly needed to keep us going for a full day of fun and frolics on the Island.

The Island crossing was beautiful, and at only half an hour, just long enough to keep the kids attention as they looked for marine life off the side of the boat. When we got to the Island Lachie was in heaven to know we were getting a bus to do the Forts walk, close to . Depending on the brochure we read, the walk varied in length from 2.8 to 4.2 km – obviously we hoped for the shorter one and the bus dropped us at the start point, half way to nowhere.

The walk was great, though it was definitely closer to 4km and the last kilometer was up and down pretty steep steps to the bunkers and lookups at the top of the Island. The kids managed it, Em no probs, and Lachie with the obligatory tumbles, but we enjoyed a picnic before heading back down to the “main road”. Whilst there are apparently koalas along the way, we saw none, but no surprises the noise we were making.

On finally getting to our bus stop we realized the next bus in our direction was an hour and 20 mins, so we waited half and hour and headed back to the other side of the Island – Picnic Bay. Both kids passed out briefly on the bus, and Lachie slept on myself and then the grass for a further hour and half when we got there only waking when Nick got icecreams for all but him. He ate mine of course.

Nick and Em went swimming in the swimming enclosure as it is still stinger season, and then Em and myself went looking for crabs and instead found a shipwreck poking out of the water – only visible at low tide. She was thrilled!

A quiet evening at the campsite before yet another move tomorrow – yawn…..