Day 7 – Monday 26 July 2021 – 456km

A leisurely start this morning, the information centre and museum at Hughenden does not open until 9am.  The museum is focused on the history of the wool industry in the region with some interesting displays and information, as well as the dinosaur fossils. Hughenden region is also rich in dinosaur fossils and there are stories and displays of the numerous finds. A skeleton of a Muttaburrasaurus dominates the display area.  The displays are well laid out with short stories attached to them. An interesting museum.

The drive to Richmond is around 100km and more of the same flat endless plains. At least now we know why, the plains were formally the seabed of the very large Eromanga Sea. The road is mostly good & we reach Richmond around 11.30am and stop outside Kronosaurus corner, another dinosaur museum. The Richmond area has produced some world firsts in dinosaurs with the most notable being the very large Kronosaurus, a sea creature with a formidable toothy mouth. They have a nearly complete skeleton of a dinosaur which has not been named yet.  This museum is large and well laid out with lots of real dinosaur specimens on display, all from the Richmond area. We enjoyed lunch at the museum café.  We drove over the bridge of the mighty Flinders River, all sand, no water.

The drive to Cloncurry through Julia Creek is more of the same flat endless plains. The monotony is eased a little with the railway sleeper replacement program being carried out on the railway line next to the road. We even saw a train on the tracks, our first in our travels in Queensland.  Tereza swears that I smuggle us back to the beginning of our trip every night because the scenery is all the same every day.

As we got closer to Cloncurry the scenery changed with gum trees, termite mounds and hills starting to appear, then big hills and mountains with lots of trees and windy roads up and down hills. A vast change from the long flat roads we have been driving on.  We stopped at Cloncurry for fuel before heading on to our overnight stop, Clem Walton Park on the shores of the Corella Dam. My goodness, are there ever a lot of caravans in here. We find a free spot & set up camp.  After 456kms of driving we decided to go for a walk around the shores of the dam. Very pretty, especially with the sun starting to set, the colours are amazing. Every free spot around the shores has a caravan, there must be more than 100 caravans camped here, it is easy to see why, it is a beautiful spot. Back to our camp and a delicious dinner, another great day.