30th May 2026: Spent most of the day at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs exhibits.we started with the Fossil Preparation Laboratory, which showed how bones are protected at the site where they were excavated and then processed some years later at the Fossil Prep laboratory. They teach volunteers how to do the intricate painstaking work required with a dental drill (pneumatic scribes).We met volunteers who come back for periods of time year after year. Eventually the fossil is infiltrated by a sort of plastic material to preserve its shape and mounted in some way.

Next we saw a display of bones of dinosaurs found around Winton in the Collection Room. They were those of sauropod Diamantinasaurus, sauropod Savannasaurus, the most complete theropod dinosaur Australovenator,  crocodile Confractosuchus, abs pterosaurus Ferrodraco. 

We then were transported to the March of the Dinosaurs: the 54 meter long Snake Creek track site removed from its original site on a property near Winton and put back together at top on the Jump-Up.  It showed the easily distinguishable track marks of 4 sauropods, theropods, ornithopods,crocodyliforms, lungfish, turtles- very impressive! 

We then took a walk down the Dinosaur canyon where dinosaur scenes have been re- created in a gorge beneath the Jump-Up where they are attempting to recreate a Cretaceous Period scene like it was 100 million years ago, by plantings of Cycads. The walk began with “death in the Billabong”- a scene of what bones would have looked like when found, after the dinosaurs had been attacked by predators after they became bogged in the billabong, explaining what the bones were no longer in their anatomical relationship to each other. The gorge is traversed by an elevated concrete walkway. Dinosaur metal models dotted the landscape.

We then visited the Waltzing Matilda Centre, elaborating on its composition by Christine McPherson and lyrics by Banjo Paterson. This gave rise to a whole museum of memorabilia of the time.

We had dinner outside at the Tattersalls Hotel- lamb cutlets for Nic and fish and chips for me. The rest of the evening was spent researching the next bits of the trip.