From the outback
Queensland town of Winton in Waltzing Matilda country, the
Winton to Longreach trek follows mostly gravel roads passing Mitchell grass plains punctuated by stony ranges and mesas known locally as jump-up country. The trek heads past the Lark Quarry Conservation Reserve and its famous dinosaur tracks to the opal mines and the quaint Aussie general store known as the “Opalton Outpost” at Opalton. Then backtracking again towards the ruins of Mayneside homestead it turns east along a minor and sometimes difficult to follow gravel track towards Vergemont Station. Continuing east along the Longreach Silsoe Road, it eventually meets the Landsborough Highway (Route 66) to the historically significant town of Longreach.
How to Use this Trek Note
Click the "Map" tab below to see the route we've provided. Icons on the map are the POIs you'll need for navigation purposes. Be sure to check the list of Nearby
Places on each POI page.
If you'd like to save this information there are a couple of ways to go about it, depending on what you're actually after:-
- Ideal solution - download the ExplorOz Traveller App from Google Play or the App Store. The app enables you to carry the ExplorOz Places, Treks, & Maps data offline in your mobile device ready for your adventures. It is a complete mapping, navigation and tracking app. For more details, read our ExplorOz Traveller page.
- You can print a paper copy of the text using the print icon button shown above, near the social media buttons. For the best output it is advised to open each tab/section to load all images and artwork. You will still need to click open each Place page (listed in Where to Stay, What to See) to print off all available information.
- If you have a Hema Navigator or use Mapping Software such as OziExplorer, or TrackRanger AND you are an ExplorOz Member, then you can click the Download Trek button at the top of this page to obtain the raw data files (eg. GPX) for this Trek.
- If you're not a Member, or you'd like to batch download the entire Treks database you can obtain this by buying a product called EOTreks Route Files from our online shop.
Environment
Around Winton and Longreach the terrain is predominantly Mitchell grass plains punctuated by stony ranges and mesas known locally as jump-up country. During the summer months the temperatures may reach 45 to 50 degrees C. Travel in the region between October and March is not recommended due to high temperatures and possible flooding.
History
Lark Quarry Environmental Park
Located 110 km from Winton, the Lark Quarry Environmental Park with its famous Dinosaur Stampede is an interesting insight into life in western
Queensland some ninety five million years ago. This is the largest group of footprints of running dinosaurs uncovered anywhere in the world. First discovered in the early 1960s it was completely excavated in 1976-77. Three species of dinosaur made the 1200 tracks - a large flesh eating carnosaur and many small coelurosaurs and ornithopods.
The brochure on Lark Quarry explains the footprints: 'Most of the footprints were made when a carnosaur trapped groups of coelurosaurs and ornithopods on the muddy edge of a lake.' The area is now protected from the weather and clear signs on a 650 metre track explain the
events.
Opalton Fields
The Opalton fields are a reminder of how things can change in far western
Queensland. Discovered in 1888 they were not worked until 1893. By 1896 there were 500-600 men on the fields but the inevitable problem of water (which had to be carted over 20 km) ensured that when the price of opals dropped the field was abandoned. The township has vanished and all that is left are some ruins and the remains of mullock heaps where miners once fossicked for the precious opals.
