Tag: Dolphins

10th May 2018–A Day Trip to Muttaburra

Distance: 318 Km
Fuel: 41 L

A trip to the geographic centre of Queensland (give or take), a little town called Muttaburra where a fossil of a new specie of dinosaur was discovered – the Muttaburrasaurus.

It is one of those places that you have to visit once, unfortunately they had not made the most of their namesake though they are trying to catch up.

The town is about 151km from Barcaldine so it is a fair way to go but this is the only sealed route.

180510 059 Aramac180510 003 Road to Aramac180510 007 Road to Aramac180510 054 Aramac

Muttaburra

When I entered the town it was the archetypal Australian town with kangaroos hopping down the main street (yes, really).

180510 014 Muttaburra180510 012 Muttaburra

A fibreglass model of the Muttaburrasaurus is housed in a new ‘Muttaburrasaurus Interpretation Centre’. The interpretation will come in stage 2, at the moment it is just a rather odd building with a fibreglass statue.

180510 025 Muttaburra Muttaburrasaurus Interpretation Centre180510 023 Muttaburra Muttaburrasaurus Interpretation Centre180510 019 Muttaburra Muttaburrasaurus Interpretation Centre180510 021 Muttaburra Muttaburrasaurus Interpretation Centre

The rest of the town was typical; wide empty streets with everybody at work.

180510 027 Muttaburra180510 031 Muttaburra180510 032 Muttaburra180510 036 Muttaburra180510 038 Muttaburra180510 040 Muttaburra180510 042 Muttaburra180510 049 Muttaburra Cemetery180510 050 Muttaburra Cemetery

Aramac Tram Museum

After looking around the centre of Queensland started on the return journey. Passing once again through the town of Aramac I just happened to see  a small sign pointing to Aramac Tram Museum. I did a quick U turn to investigate.

180510 092 Aramac Tram Museum180510 069 Aramac Tram Museum180510 061 Aramac Tram Museum180510 062 Aramac Tram Museum180510 064 Aramac Tram Museum180510 067 Aramac Tram Museum180510 071 Aramac Tram Museum180510 074 Aramac Tram Museum180510 076 Aramac Tram Museum180510 081 Aramac Tram Museum180510 084 Aramac Tram Museum180510 086 Aramac Tram Museum180510 090 Aramac Tram Museum180510 094 Aramac Tram Museum

The Tree of Knowledge

Back in Barcaldine no visit to the town would be complete without seeing the Tree of Knowledge. Unfortunately the tree was poisoned in 2006 and now only the dead trunk remains covered my a massive wooden structure that represents its original canopy.

180510 111 Barcaldine Tree of Knowledge180510 113 Barcaldine Tree of Knowledge180510 103 Barcaldine Tree of Knowledge180510 110 Barcaldine Tree of Knowledge

It is not that long since I visited Barcaldine so I didn’t bother with its other attractions other than a walk round town however the railway station remains a working station.

180510 109 Barcaldine

180510 117 Barcaldine180510 121 Barcaldine

For dinner I decided to have a steak at the place opposite the caravan park. So glad I did it was the best steak I have had for a long time.

180510 123 Barcaldine

The local water supply must be from the artesian bore because it is warm. I haven’t used the hot tap for a shower since I have been here, the temperature from the cold is perfect.

10th May 2017–Monkey Mia

Distance: 60 km
Fuel: 26 L

Got up just after 6am, showered, had breakfast and set off for Monkey Mia at about 7.10am to be at Monkey Mia before 7.45am for the dolphins.

Emus wandering through the car park.

We waited for the ranger at the ranger station meanwhile, in the water, so did the dolphins who have, over many years, successfully trained humans to stand in a line at the water’s edge and feed them fish.
170510 002 Monkey Mia170510 004 Monkey Mia
Finally we were allowed down to the waters edge to get closer to the dolphins.
170510 007 Monkey Mia170510 029 Monkey Mia170510 035 Monkey Mia170510 043 Monkey Mia
The ranger told us about the dolphins and the history of Monkey Mia which was quite interesting but I must admit after a while my interest waned somewhat and I wandered off to take other photos
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Even a spider.
170510 053 Monkey Mia
Finally the feeding of the dolphins by selected members of the public.
170510 050 Monkey Mia
It would have been a lot more interesting if it was the feeding of the Tiger Sharks who prey on the dolphins but to be fair I did enjoy it, it just went on too long.
Had a coffee at the restaurant and by the time I finished they were at it again. They feed them up until noon with a minimum 10 minute break between sessions.
I decided to look at other local attractions; I called in to Little Lagoon on the way back. There was a French family parked who were flying a drone watching them passed the time (actually there seem to be a lot of French tourists). The lagoon is circular with a very narrow snake like inlet to the sea.
170510 060 Little Lagoon Shark Bay
Back in Denham during the afternoon it was quite windy and this looked a lot of fun.
170510 069 Denham Wind Surfer
BTW my theory about fuel being more expensive here than on the highway was sort of correct – $1.33 here, $1.32 on the highway. Ummm…