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
If you'd like to download this Trek there are two options:
- Purchase our app ExplorOz Traveller. This Australian-made GPS & Navigation app will allow you to download all the ExplorOz Treks to your GPS enabled smartphone/tablet/iPad or laptop and enable active route guidance along the route as per the Directions shown on this page. The app enables offline navigation and mapping and will show where you are as you travel along the route. The app also allows you to edit/customise the route. Viewing the Trek in the Traveller app also includes all the words, images and POIs exactly as on the website (excludes Wildflowers). For more info see the ExplorOz Traveller webpage.
- Alternatively, if you already have another raster mapping software program you can Download this route in GPX format using the button shown below the map on this page .
TIP | To purchase our maps for offline use, you will need to purchase the EOTopo 2021 map licence. To install the maps you will need the ExplorOz Traveller app. |
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.
TrekID: 105