Australian Age Of Dinosaurs

Once again I would recommend making an advance booking for the Australian Age Of Dinosaurs so that you don’t miss out on a fantastic experience relating to Australia’s prehistoric past. We purchased the Ultimate Dinosaur Pass package. This included a guided tour of the Fossil Preparation Laboratory, the Collection Room and a free shuttle bus to the March of the Titanosaurs exhibition at Dinosaur Canyon.

How to Make Booking

Makings are made online at- https://www.australianageofdinosaurs.com/page/20/australian-age-of-dinosaurs-plan-a-visit

Booking Costs-

At the time of our booking ticket costs for the Ultimate Dinosaur Pass were –   

Adult $75, Concession $70, Children (5-17 years) $45, Children (4 and under) Free, Family (2 Adults and their children) $200.

Our Visit

Driving from Winton out to the Australian Age Of Dinosaurs it wasn’t hard to know where to turn off as their sign stood out well.

After parking our Hilux we made our way to check in at the main visitor centre. They directed us to take a short walk over to the Fossil Preparation Laboratory. On arrival we met up with our friends but we had to wait a few minutes for the group in front of us. Our guide elaborated on how the dinosaurs are found and recovered. She showed us how they are stored and/or displayed, before taking us into the workshop area where we could see and chat with technicians who were working on dinosaur bones so they can be displayed or further researched. Many of these technicians are actually trained volunteers.

After about 30 minutes there we were directed to walk back to the main reception area where we would have time in the Collection Room. As we walked back with our friends we stopped along the way a few times to check out the rugged landscape and some of the plants that are able to survive in this terrain.

At our designated time our group was invited into the Collection Room by one of the staff. As we sat in the small theatrette she told us the story of how teams of palaeontologists and volunteers had recovered the bones of four (now named) dinosaurs. They are all quite different. Banjo was a largish hunter. Here’s a photo of a partial reconstruction.

Wade was a Grassland Lizard. Here are some of his bones.

Alex and Matilda were River Lizards from the Diamantina River area. Here is the display relating to Alex.

Here are some of Matilda’s huge leg bones.After our visit to the Collection Room we had a short wait so we could grab a drink from the shop or purchase books or souvenirs. A staff member ushered us onto a courtesy bus and we driven a couple of kilometres to the final part of our package, Dinosaur Canyon. We were met by our third guide who gave us an interpretive talk as she showed us a 54 metre recreation of a sauropod stampede. Next we had some free time to walk down the canyon boardwalk. Initially we passed some massive bronze herbivores.

Our walk took us down this boardwalkwhich provided us with great views out to the surrounding outback.A stampede scene of dinosaurs of various types and sizes had been recreated with more bronzed dinosaurs.On our return to the top of the boardwalk our group was transported back to the main reception area. Time for a fun photo or two to complete an impressive and informative afternoon.