I’m afraid to say… Dinosaurs and rocks … they are really NOT my thing.

BUT…

My 2 boys - LOVE LOVE LOVE all things dinosaurs…

And, my 2 girls LOVE LOVE LOVE all things rocks, gems and precious stones…

Therefore our time in Winton and the surrounding areas exploring was time well spent.

I must admit, during my time researching about the dinosaur trail, I found it hard to locate the information I needed and I spent a lot of time online trying to plan our days and piece together the must see activities at each location.

There was so much that I wish I had known when I arrived at each of the attractions that would have been helpful to know beforehand to make our day more enjoyable.

I hope that this blog post will help you and your family streamline the information you need, and save you time as you plan for your dinosaur expedition.

*Micah enjoyed feeding this (sort of) friendly dinosaur rocks at the Age of the Dinosaurs*

What are the dinosaur attractions in the outback?

There are 2 attractions in Winton,

The Age of Dinosaurs, and
The Dinosaur Stampede - National Monument

And, there are 2 more optional extra attractions in 2 different towns,

3. Hughenden (Flinders Discovery Centre)

4. Richmond (Kronosaurus Korner)

There are some other dinosaur places to go to for your die-hard-Dino-fans, Muttaburrasaurus Interpretation Centre in Muttaburra is one of them. However we didn't make it to this attraction on this trip.

There are also optional extras to do at each of the 4 attractions, so if you are interested it would be recommended to research beforehand and book in early.

All attractions are very different despite being focused around the Dinosaur theme.
The best value for money is to buy all 4 tours in the one package,
The attractions in Hughenden (in particular) and Richmond are equally as interesting and informative, however have more than just dinosaurs within their exhibit.

The best thing about the dinosaur tour was the value for money for larger families. For a family with 2 adults and up to 4 kids, cost us $400 to see all 4 dinosaur attractions.

Including 4 children in a family ticket is unheard of! So, I really appreciated this.

Please Note

You cannot buy your Dinosaur Trail tickets at the Information Centres, you need to book online direct through the Age of Dinosaurs website. Do this as early as possible, because you might not get the date and time you want, it books up quick in peak season.

*Stampede National Monument, from the top of the lookout, a short walk that you can do before or after your stampede tour*

The Dinosaur Stampede

The stampede is an attraction that shares a dinosaur stampede that happened during the dinosaur period here in Australia!. As well as seeing the actual stampede footprints you also get to watch a informative presentation about the the stampede.

PROS:

Unique experience, and one of the biggest and only dinosaur exhibits of its kind in the southern hemisphere
There are scenic walks to do, before or after your tour, to make your trip there worth while.
The tour guide we had was experienced, engaging and enthusiastic about the information he was presenting
The movie was informative, and helped us to understand what the stampede is all about. Kids can sit on the floor close to the screen so they can see.
There is a lot of information given about each of the footprints (different dinosaurs etc) and there is time at the end of the presentation where people can ask questions
A dinosaur enthusiast and natural history buff would love it.

CONS

It is a bit boring for little kids, kids aged 8+ would get the most out of it. Although my 7 year old was quiet during the presentation, she didn’t absorb a lot. She said that she was bored and told me about the game that she was playing in her head ‘while the man was talking so much’
My 5 and 1 year old were good during the movie part, however played chase around the benches during the talk about the stampede, and naturally I spent most of my time, trying to keep them quiet so they didn’t ruin it for others.
There is no café and/or food to purchase other than ice cream and packets of chips at the venue. There is however an automatic hot drinks machine, you buy a take away cup from the front desk and help yourself, hot drinks are $5.
It is quite a long drive to get down to the attraction from Winton about 100km

*Maddie and me at the top of the look out after our Stampede National Monument tour.*

My takes:

Out of all 4 attractions, this one was my least favourite. Whether it is because I am not a dinosaur person, OR because I spent most of my time running around after kids, OR both, I don’t know. I did however love our little family walk up to the look out, and we had some nice family photos there.

Suggestions:

Read up on the stampede before you go here https://www.dinosaurtrackways.com.au
Take a flask of your favourite hot drink to enjoy while down there. The one from the machine wasn’t that fabulous.
Pack a picnic, there are ice creams available to purchase but no other food/snacks available (that I saw). There are tables in the foyer area where you can sit, pre and post tour to enjoy your food.
Be prepared to tag team with your partner so you can both enjoy some of it, or have an activity ready for your little ones during the presentation
on their website, I saw that there are school based activities and resources to do after visiting the attraction which could be useful for home educating families..

Age of Dinosaurs

This one is by for the most popular of all the dinosaur attractions and rightly so. It has lots of things to see and do and was a highlight for our family.

Be prepared however to tag team with your partner if you have really little kids.

There are multiple tours so little kids can get bored. I would say at a rough guide kids 4+ would be engaged with all the tours available here.

Pros:

A variety of tours/exhibits that are incredibly interesting and informative
You get a guided tour through each of the 3 facilities, and the guides (we had) were great.
The variety of information at each facility, keeps the kids engaged.
There are activity books that your kids can take on the canyon walk and they can do the activities as you go - allow time for the canyon walk, our time was rushed and I was disappointed about this. You can allow time by splitting your visit to the age of dinosaurs over 2 days or spread out over a whole day.
There are look out binoculars to view over the canyon (similar to the ones in bluey episode: ‘The Sign’) no coins needed though.
Lots of dinosaur selfie opportunities
Loads of hands on learning for the kids (and parents)
Seeing real dinosaur bones was amazing
Learning that people (kids as young as 12) can actually help the palaeontologists by doing a short course was unbelievable and something I have kept in the memory bank for later, for my kids. This is something that is unheard of anywhere else in the world.
Wildlife and beautiful walk to the fossil dig room

There are LOADS of selfie opportunities with the Dino's after your tour at the Dinosaur Canyon. Make sure you leave enough time to walk down to the canyon and do the trail activities, and spot a dinosaur within the canyon as you walk along the boardwalk. There is a shuttle train that takes guests to this tour, don't be late (like we were) or you will have a manager drive you down there in the shuttle bus.

Cons

There is an exhibit with more Dino footprints at the Dinosaur Canyon tour. Although it was an interesting part of the tour, my ‘CON’ comes because it was hard to keep my 1 year old quiet in the fire proof echo-ey room. Thankfully it was okay, as long as I kept him moving in the stroller. I was grateful I could still hear the guides presentation, while walking around with the stroller.
I didn’t know you could book your tours over 2 days. We were really rushing from tour to tour and so it made the day exhausting
There are no fences or rail guards on the (beautiful) walk over to the fossil room. Please make sure to keep hold of your kids. The cliff faces are huge. You have the option to drive there, but I recommend the walk, we also saw a goanna on our walk over which was really cool.

Good to know

The Age of Dinosaurs is a popular attraction, so you need to book into each of the 3 guided tours beforehand, (there is a 5th which is a tour of the night sky that we did not participate in).

The best advice I can provide is give yourself time (especially your kids) between each tour.

This place is huge!!

You can underestimate how much time it takes to get to each place, especially if you have little people.

I would recommend that you visit here over 2 days, if you have the time, so that you can spread out your tours and get the most out of your ticket. You will definitely feel less rushed and it will but much easier on the kids.

I actually didn’t know you could do this, and I wish I had known because we definitely would have gone over 2 days. Instead we rushed all 4 tours (including the self guided canyon tour) into one afternoon.

*at the fossil preparation laboratory you can touch an actual fossil, which was a pretty cool experience*

*My kids enjoyed digging for dinosaur bones in the kids excavation sandpit located just outside the centre, next to the cafe.*

There is a sandpit out the front that my kids loved digging in. I would have loved to have had more time for them to dig and play here, but we ran out of time

There is a cafe, and it is right near to the sandpit kids fossil dig site, so you can enjoy a coffee while the kids play - bliss

The sunset looks like it would be amazing, over the canyon, I said to Brad, “man I wish we had packed a picnic dinner or bought the portable bbq”. However in saying that, there is a gate so you probably can’t stay till dark as you may get locked in!

*I was not going to miss out on having my photo inside the jaws of a Kronosaurus.*

Kronosaurus korner

is located in Richmond. It is all about the Dinosaurs out here, and has a particular focus on the ocean based Dinosaurs, unlike the others in Winton, which focus on the land base Dino’s

Pro’s

The video is very well made and engaging for the kids. it really brings the dinosaur period to life, definitely a highlight for me and my fam - I would recommend watching it first as it really introduces the rest of the exhibits.
The story teller on the recorder, self guided tour was easy to listen too and his stories were fascinating.

*Maddie lifted Micah up so he could see the fossils a little better.*

Con’s

Reduced opening hours on the weekend means you can feel a little rushed. If you get there at opening time, this can be resolved.
Not as hands on as the other places so really young kids can get bored and restless (don’t let this deter you though, just come prepared)
We didn’t know about the self guided tour through your phone and would have bought our headphones if we knew, as having it on speaker was a bit disruptive. I probably should have checked.
Some of the exhibits are quite accessible to little hands, and feet, they can easily climb on them, you need to watch little kids at all times.

*There is another fossil that you can touch at Kronosaurus Korner*

Good To know

There are quite a few (costly) optional add-ons for Kronosauraus Korner. I would recommend looking on line and booking in advanced. They also run special events during school holidays. Some of the optional extras are:

Digging at dawn at kronosaurus korner
Becoming a junior palaeontologist

There is a playground across the road with BBQ facilities and shade, you could probably get a pass out and head back in after lunch. This is what I would have done, had I know that there was a playground across the road.

The opening times are shorter on weekends and the cafe and shop is closed.

My take

Kronosaurus Korner was a fantastic museum with fascinating exhibits and loaded with fossils and history. It is unlike all the other Dinosaur museums and was one of my favourites to visit.

*There are 3 different galleries within this museum, to explore, plus the movie room. So give yourself plenty of time to explore and read all the interesting boards.*

Flinders Discovery Centre

Located in the Hughenden information centre, this new exhibit covers ALL you will need to know, all you didn’t know, and all that you didn’t know, that you needed to know, about Hughenden, Dinosaurs and the surrounding district.

This well presented, modern discovery centre is the most interactive one for kids, out of the 4, it is a self paced walk through style discovery centre, so you can go at your own pace. and spend longer at the things that interest you

There were little costumes and props for kids to use throughout the museum. My little explorers enjoyed observing and measuring the different footprints on the floor throughout the museum. They also got to dig for precious stones.

Pro’s

It is very kid friendly
You can stay as long as you like
Relaxed self paced
Lots for the kids to do, hands on learning fun
Not just a dinosaurs museum, it has information and displays on loads of topics including farming, weather, animals, mining, geology and so much more!

Con’s

Can’t think of any!

*Maddie and I explored the sheep shearing section of the museum together, it was very informative, and interactive. Great for kids.*

Good to Know

I believe there was a café here, otherwise there is a little area around the corner (where we went) for a picnic. There is also a library around the corner where we spent some time afterwards.

The friendly librarian brought some toys out for the kids. There is a cupboard full of them, just ask.

This is a good place to chill after the discovery centre, if you are not in a hurry as it has WIFI and toys - need I say more.

There was an awesome play and discovery section, towards the end of the centre. There is a play space with dinosaur themed toys, stencilling/coulouring. puppets, and so much more. Kids could easily spend a while here enjoying the activities on

Final Thoughts

The Dinosaur Trail was great, I am so glad we did it, it really was a highlight for the kids and the “trail” part added to the exploration theme and adventure, as we travelled from location to location over the course of a week.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me via email or my Facebook page for more information. I am always happy to help!