By the numbers
300 kms driving
2 pies and a lamington
The day started early. The weather had said we would get some rain and I didn’t really believe that as the weather seems to be wrong all the time. There was cloud in the sky, but I wasn’t too concerned about that. We wanted to be on the road by 830 as we had an appointment at 2pm in Euromanga for the Natural History museum.
We took the Warrego Way, which was also the development road towards Quilpie. It was meant to be the longest road that takes you out to Birdsville, which is much further than I would be going. As soon as we hit that road we lost phone service with Optus and it would not come back throughout the day, although we could post later on, but that was with Starlink. The roads got narrower so narrow it was like walking a tightrope and it did say we had to pull off the road for road trains. We also had to keep an eye on animals that we did not want to hit both dead and alive as that makes a mess. The first part of the trip to Quilpie was uneventful.
We had decided Quilpie would be a rest stop as we needed to pee and a rest from driving. I am not the driver, just a passenger looking at the scenery and the photo taker. The toilet was also at the information centre and we went for a look inside. We found a railway museum after taking a pit stop and it had a little about how it was a railway town until it closed in 2012 when trucks delivered goods there. There were two other small museums on the area and from the RSL both showing little bits from the early days of Quilpie and the clothing worn by the armed services. The town itself was a nice little wander, although we got as far as a local bakery where I ended up with a pie and a Lamington. I did see a Fingerbun, but that was $6 so I left it there instead. The shopkeeper was really nice and helpful.
By the time we had left we were ready to get on the road again to make it to the end of the line and that was Euromanga. Along the way the road narrowed again and then we had to stop to say hello to our Emu overlords or else they would be upset. Did see several on the road that had been hit by something. I think we were pretty lucky on the narrow one lane roads that we never met a road train. There were a few cattle grids along the way until we arrived in Euromanga the town furthest from the sea. Not sure if they mean the East Coast or both coasts. Something happened as we came into town and that was several spots of rain, so the forecast was correct that we might actually get some rain.
By the time we entered Euromanga we still had no phone service and that was alright. We went to the Natural History museum, where we would be doing the tour of the museum to see one of the largest dinosaurs found in Australia and that was ‘Cooper’. We had a little bit of a wait and I had a giggle when I seen the video was played with VLC. The one with the witches hat a free video player. The dinosaur ‘Cooper’ was found in the Euromanga area by a young farmer who found an odd rock. Turned out to be part of a dinosaur. The museum itself has funding to expand and should be finished around 2029. We got to see fossils of ‘Cooper’, and several other dinosaurs including some of the mega fauna that was like a giant wombat. The whole process of uncovering the fossil at the site and in the lab is time consuming, and can take years. There are other finds in the same area as the dinosaurs that include fossilised plants and even wood. There were computer generated bones that were 3d printed by a group in Byron Bay that the museum has where they have the fossils so it is interesting.
By the time we made it out of the museum the weather had turned. It was starting to pour and we had to get to the car while it was pouring ands we were getting wet. It was actually pretty cold as well and we were worried about water on the local roads out to our next destination of Windorah. Though I did see a road train take that route before it got dark so I think it should be alright and play that one by ear. It should be an interesting day tomorrow when we are on the road. The accommodation in Euromanga is pretty limited and we got lucky with what we got. There was even a frog in the toilet that I fished out so he could live for another day. There isn’t much in town and its really quiet so I guess that is a good thing for us.
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