Today we drove to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum just south of Winton. The tour comprised 2 parts - the first was a talk and dinosaur bones display concerning the local inhabitants of some 95million yrs ago.The picture of the bones is all they have found of 'Banjo', the dinosaur statue in front of the centre. The second part of the tour took us though the laboratory where the specimens are stored until they can be separated from the rocks and dirt that have bound them for millions of years. They have quite a collection awaiting processing as most of this work is done by volunteers who have been trained to do this. Winton is not really 'just around the corner' so time is really the thing that prevents things happening faster. These are the cases on the shelves and the petrified log on the floor on the left is a fossilised branch of a conifer, which proves the area was once a lush rainforest area. 
This photo shows what we saw today, coming down from the mesa where the museum is. just goes to show what a difference 95million years makes! Although it is very dry it is still quite pretty country and must look an absolute treat after rain. 
Later this afternoon we visited Winton's musical fence. Yep! That's what we said. By straining the wires to different tensions tunes can be played by hitting the top wire with a pipe. The tune they gave for 'play by numbers' was ..... Waltzing Matilda. Surprise! Surprise! They also had a drum kit and other ingenious percussion instruments made from bits of farm machinery, fuel drums and metal hub caps etc.Tonight we enjoyed a 3 course dinner in the Banjo Shed here at the park, and hen listened to a bush poet for a bit. Very entertaining.
Seen today: Emus (very close up); more wide open plains and blue skies; real dinosaur bones - not papier mache; flies!
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