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Tracing the footsteps of giants: on the fossil trail in Queensland

A big fossil was just under the surface - I could feel it in my bones. "That upside down heart shape," says guide Montana, her laser pointer dancing on the stone, "that's the back right foot of an adult sauropod." Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue reading All articles from our website The digital version of Today's Paper All other in your area The Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum near Winton. Picture by Michael Turtle Before us, preserved in a stretch of prehistoric mudflat twice the size of a basketball court, are the footprints of giants. Here at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum near Winton, surrounded by the arid red dirt of outback Queensland, it's hard to imagine the dense conifer forest and river plains that once covered the landscape. Perhaps even harder to imagine, though, are the enormous animals that roamed amongst this lush vegetation 95 million years ago. I can see from the footprints that sauropods were huge: about 20 metres long, weighing about 25 tonnes, with four legs, rotund bodies, and elongated necks. It's why a footprint shows a deep hole where one slid in the mud - probably because a youngster suddenly ran in front. "That's why this site is so important," Montana explains. "We get to see some of the social behaviour of these massive animals." Preserved mudflats featuring dinosaur footprints at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs near Winton. Picture by Michael Turtle They're starting to come to life in front of me, but footprints only get you so far. Which makes the discovery of so many bones in the ground around Winton particularly important. At the museum's Fossil Preparation Laboratory, you can see volunteers working on these finds, spending days painstakingly removing the rock from around just a single sauropod bone. One volunteer looks up and tells me he thought he had a vertebra but it's just a connector. I ask if he's disappointed. "No! 95 million years and we're the first to see it!" The Collection Room holds some of the finished results, and the star attraction is Banjo, the most complete meat-eating dinosaur ever found in Australia. About six metres long and two-legged, this lightweight predator (if 500 kilograms is "light") could match some of the smaller theropod footprints I saw earlier (which Montana described as "angry chickens"). The age of the dinosaurs looked pretty scary. The museum's Fossil Preparation Laboratory. Picture by Michael Turtle But Winton is just one stop on this road trip I'm doing through outback Queensland and this is not the only dinosaur attraction I'll uncover. As one local puts it, "it's great to think you can drive two hours and go back 10 million years". He's right. You don't just travel through space on the Australian Dinosaur Trail, you also travel through time. And the fossils in the town of Richmond plunge me into a period when all of this was once a vast inland ocean. Richmond is small, with about 700 people and two pubs, so you won't miss Kronosaurus Korner when you drive in. Also, it has a 10-metre-long (lifesize) replica of a blue kronosaurus out front. Mouth agape, sharp teeth bared, it was one of the fiercest animals to swim and hunt in the Early Cretaceous waters here. Hughie the Muttaburrasaurus at Flinders Discovery Centre in Hughenden. Picture by Michael Turtle Technically, they're not dinosaurs because that term is only used for land animals, but "if you want to call them swimming dinosaurs, then fine," the museum's Dennis Clancy says, as he shrugs. So, let me tell you, there is a very impressive collection of swimming dinosaur fossils inside Kronosaurus Korner, with some relatively complete skeletons painting a fascinating picture of an ancient marine ecosystem, of sharks and turtles, massive schools of fish, and huge terrifying predators. Imagine finding one of these things for yourself! Well, in Richmond, you can. Just 12 kilometres out of town are official fossil hunting sites, where many of the items on display in the museum came from. Some of them were found by Dennis, who takes me out on one of Kronosaurus Korner's digging tours. Kronosaurus Korner in Richmond. Picture by Michael Turtle Gradually we peel back the layers of the earth, millions of years, and sift through it for evidence of its prehistoric inhabitants, history crumbling between my fingers. Incredibly, there's actually lots to find. I'm constantly coming across bits of fish, pieces of squid, even some fossilised turtle poo. It reminds me a bit of searching for gems in other parts of outback Queensland. "It's better than a diamond," Dennis says, when I ask if finding a fossil is the same. "A diamond is worth something but this is priceless." Kronosaurus Corner paints a fascinating picture of an ancient marine ecosystem. Picture by Michael Turtle Today I don't find anything particularly special that excites Dennis, but I'm given a consolation prize of a fossilised shark tooth that someone else uncovered... and I'm pretty happy with that. Still, I felt it in my bones that the big one was near. Dennis says I could be right. "The big find we're going to make one day, a kronosaurus, it's probably just going to be one of those spots you're pointing at." I see why people keep coming back here to dig. And I see why people do the complete Australian Dinosaur Trail here in Queensland, which has its other main stop in Hughenden. While here, I explore some of the town's sights and venture out further to the stunning Porcupine Gorge National Park. But for dinosaur fans, the highlight is inside the Flinders Discovery Centre. Dennis Clancy leads a fossil digging tour. Picture by Michael Turtle It's here you'll find 'Hughie', an exact reproduction of the skeleton of a Muttaburrasaurus, one of Australia's most famous dinosaurs because it was the first to be cast and mounted in the country. Hughie was a herbivore that lived on the coast of the receding ocean, but this three-tonne reptile still looks menacing looming over me. The petrified can still petrify, and that's the magic of these sites. Footprints take us a step back in time, while a fossil fuels imagination even today. They connect you with a deep past normally buried far beneath our feet - and if you're lucky, you'll even go home with a piece of it, like the 100-million-year-old shark tooth in my pocket. Words by Michael Turtle Michael Turtle is an Australian journalist who left his job in televisionto travel the world forever. He'll show you how to find the lesser-knownplaces, get involved in the culture, learn the history, and meet locals along the way.