Winton Tours

Australia's Dinosaur Capital

Winton sits at the centre of Australia's richest dinosaur country. Just outside town, the Australian Age of Dinosaurs holds the largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils in the country, set atop a dramatic mesa — known locally as a jump-up — with sweeping views across the surrounding plains. Visitors can tour the working fossil-preparation laboratory, meet famous specimens such as the sauropod nicknamed 'Matilda' and the predator 'Banjo', and walk through Dinosaur Canyon and the March of the Titanosaurs trackway exhibit.

The science here is genuinely world-class, and it is still unfolding — new fossils are prepared and described from this region regularly. With a Cooee Tours guide, you arrive with context: how an ancient inland sea and its floodplains preserved these giants, why Winton's black soil yields such important finds, and what the discoveries mean for our understanding of life on the prehistoric Australian continent.

Lark Quarry & the Dinosaur Stampede

About 110 kilometres south-west of Winton, Lark Quarry Conservation Park protects one of the most remarkable fossil sites on Earth: the world's only known record of a dinosaur stampede. Thousands of fossilised footprints, laid down around 95 million years ago, are preserved beneath a purpose-built shelter and interpreted by guided tour.

It is a humbling, atmospheric place — the prints capture a single dramatic moment frozen in stone. Where itineraries allow, Cooee Tours can incorporate the Lark Quarry experience, and your guide explains the long-running scientific discussion about exactly what the trackways record.

Birthplace of Waltzing Matilda

Winton holds a treasured place in Australian culture as the town where Waltzing Matilda was first performed, in 1895, after Banjo Paterson penned the verses in the district. The Waltzing Matilda Centre tells the story of the song, its characters and its enduring place in the national identity — the only museum in the world dedicated to a single song.

Around town, the heritage North Gregory Hotel, the open-air Musical Fence and the Royal Open-Air Theatre add to Winton's distinctive character. Your guide draws together the bush-poetry heritage, the shearers' history and the outback folklore that gave rise to the ballad.

Opal Country & Big Skies

Winton is also boulder-opal country. The fields around Opalton, south of town, have produced striking gemstones for more than a century, and the town's shops and museums celebrate this fossicking heritage. After dark, Winton's remoteness delivers some of the clearest, darkest night skies in Australia — a quiet highlight of any outback stay.

It all adds up to a town that punches well above its size. Dinosaurs, a national song, opals and an enormous outback sky make Winton a place travellers remember long after the journey home.

Winton Highlights