Distance: 284 km
Only about 250km to travel today so no rush to set off. Nowhere to stop on the way because today is a Queensland Labour Day public holiday so everything is shut. It was a pleasant drive under a cloudless sky
Stopped at White Mountain NP Lookout for the view and to stretch my legs.
Arrived in Hughenden at about midday, found the caravan park and checked in for a couple of nights. Because it was so early thought I might as well take the opportunity to wash my dirty clothes – didn’t need to but good opportunity.
Afterwards I went for a drive to look round the town.
Doing the Time Warp…
Big surprise - the Tourist Info and Dinosaur Museum is open. Hughenden was the site of the second discovery of a fossilised Muttaburrasaurus. The Museum was only $5 entry and the girl was most helpful - giving me brochures about the Gorge I want to visit tomorrow.
After the museum there is still plenty of daylight left so I took a drive to Mount Walker which is supposed to have 360’ views over the area. Once at the top you could believe that once the area was beneath the Eromanga Sea which stretched from the Gulf of Carpentaria to Lake Eyre in SA. The surrounding land is very flat. The sea existed during the Cretaceous Period when Australia was about to separate from Antarctica; a few years before Cook arrived.
On the return from the lookout came across a razorback that must have been run over by the local drunks.
Now it was nearly sunset so took a drive to a local Chinese Restaurant which seemed to be the only other place open in town. Bought a Chilli Squid and fried rice meal back to the caravan park to have with a beer. A nice end to an interesting day.
