When we arrived yesterday and turned the tap on, we noticed a terrible smell. A cross between rotting carcass and perm solution. (My interpretation) The water in Winton is drawn from an artesian well, 1000m below ground. Apparently, this explained the smell. We needed to run the tap then leave the water sitting in the air, then the smell would evaporate and we had lovely tasting water. 

This worked well until this morning. Under the shower there is no opportunity to let the water ‘air’ so I nearly suffocated while I washed my hair. Yes, it was that bad! What an early morning experience. 

Before leaving Winton, we took a quick trip into the Main Street to learn something about the town. We discovered that the first Qantas board meeting was held in Winton in 1920, Qantas having been first formed by local businessmen here. 

Waltzing Matilda, the song, was also penned by Banjo Paterson in 1895 within the shire of Winton, on a nearby station. 

As if that wasn’t enough, in 2009, 3 dinosaur fossils were discovered in the area proving without a doubt that they were the oldest dinosaur bones in Australia. The skeletons were named Clancy, Banjo and Matilda. Of course, they have complicated scientific names too. This discovery has given Winton the title of the Dinosaur Capital of Australia. 

The outback essence is strong here with lots of cowboy boots, akubra hats and checked shirts. We even saw a man walking beside the road with a rolled up swag, dressed in jeans, boots, an akubra and a swagger that could stop cars! Straight out of a movie. 

We arrived in Longreach just before lunch, realizing that it was Friday and that some of the things we wanted to do might not operate over the weekend. Ray got straight on the phone. 

The main touristy thing we had been wanting to do was to go on the stagecoach ride through the scrub. Ray was very convincing, and eventually the operators agreed to put on an extra ride that afternoon as long as at least 2 other people other than us signed up too. It is important that the coach is properly balanced so it couldn’t run with just us in it. While he was finalising details, two other tourists entered the booking office for the same tour so we were good to go. 

We were full of excited anticipation before the tour. We had heard a lot about the ride and had seen quite a few brochures on it. Essentially, it was one of the major reasons for our 1000km (each way) detour to Longreach.

We weren’t disappointed! The ride was thrilling, full of interesting commentary and we certainly gained a good perspective of stagecoach travel in pioneer times. We actually travelled along part of the original Cobb and Co route, past a tree that was over 410 years old. This tree and the billabong along which it stood was a popular resting point for swagmen on their trip. 

The feeling of history was amazing, made all the more authentic by the cracking of whips and the clop, clop of the horses hooves. Caleb loved the sounds especially when the driver combined his whip cracking with a,”G’up Nugget!” (The lead horse). 

We returned from the trip very dirty and dusty, thrilled with the experience. A very worthwhile spend from the tourist budget indeed.