Longreach , Winton, kynuna. Monday 6th May, 2019.

Today is a public holiday so everything closed. Before we left Longreach we spent some time in town. As all the other towns it was very clean and tidy with their big wide streets, with a wide medium strip down the middle. Stocked up a little from the supermarket and got on our way. Will be stopping at Winton, a few places I wanted to see there. Then the rest of the afternoon and night at Kynuna. Nothing here at all just a Roadhouse and petrol and a grotty caravan park next door all run by these two old grumpy people. We have only stopped here for a driving break then on to Cloncurry tomorrow. We will leave here early so we have most of the day and night there at Cloncurry. Another great day no clouds at all. Got really cold last night as it can do in the outback. Warm days cold nights. We are very comfortable in our home away from home but PT did get up at 3.30am and put his sweat shirt on.

Standing in the middle of the Main Street in Longreach. Great wide streets.

Recently constructed memorial in town in remembrance of the old drovers.

Looking the other way.

Back on the A2 highway through Miltilda country. Just out of town we thought that we had better look at 'Thomson'  River. Horrible brown river all coming off the land and we are now experiencing the Aussie flies. They attack you shortly after you step from the van. People actually swim and picnic in this area. Couldn't think of much worse.

Now heading to Winton for a stop. The countryside is now changing. More tussock looking grass. Some of the roads today have been very straight. One that we measured was in excess of 24 km straight although at one point there was about a 2 degree corner. Yes mostly straight line driving today.

Whow, some trees ahead haven't seen them out in the country only in town.

Even hills are appearing. After so much flat land without a hill in sight.

They are building a new road, took this to show the vivid colour of the soil.

We have now reached Winton. The above very modern building, which you don't see in this part of the world is call the Waltzing Miltilda centre, which is the information centre and museum. Only opened in April last year. We asked someone what the piece of building sticking up on the top right represented. We were told it looks like the tail of an aeroplane. We found that a bit hard to see unless the plane was nose down. Waltzing Matilda was first written and sung in this town.

Dinosaurs foot used as a rubbish bin. Most things in Oz have to be "big."

Winton is known as the dinosaur town as it is where most of the big dinosaurs bones in Australia have been found. Just out of town they have the Australian Age Dinosaur museum, which has the worlds largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils and some of those bones belong to absolute giants.  After the floods in February this year , more prehistoric discoveries have been made. They are dealing with  front footprints that are about half a meter wide and back footprints about a metre. A host of movies have used Winton landscape to make iconic Australian films.

This is the famous North Gregory Hotel which was built in 1879 and has been destroyed by fire three time. Latest in 1946. Legend has it that on April 6th 1895 it was the site of the first public performance of 'Waltzing Matilda'.

Inside the bar.

Next door is this old general merchants building. The exterior is all clad in ridged corrugated iron sheeting.

Arno's Wall is an eccentric and well photographed landmark in Winton reaching 2m in height.. it is made up of rock from Opalton and studded with a whole mixture of objects, including the kitchen sink.! It's very Australian!!!

Pictures below, of the wall show more detail. Kids see how many objects you can find.

Jolly Swagman statue.

We are back on the highway heading for our overnight stay in Kynuna and we are now seeing cattle. We have come into farmland in the middle of the outback. We were expecting it to be much dryer and no grass but at the beginning of this year they have had very wet weather after about a seven year draught. This is why it's so green. More like home than the outback.

Landscape is changing quickly now. Above and below.

We have now stopped in Kynuna for  for the rest of the afternoon and night. All that is here is a roadhouse and selling petrol, and caravan park of sorts. As I said at the beginning only stopping here for the night for a driving break. Weird place. It's right next to the main highway and we can here the Road Trains thundering past. Not sure if we will get much sleep. One just went past and we could feel the van shake a little. These road trains can be up to a maximum of 53 metres long and we counted 62 wheels on most of them.

This is how the front seats swivel around to make an extra sitting area. The van is really well designed and gives lots of space especially when the slider is out. Having a ginger beer before dinner.