Eulo and Cunnamulla (Natural Sciences Loop)

Thursday 7 April 2017 – 168 070 - 37°C

We all slept in until 6:30am.  The stars in the middle of the night were truly amazing! I spent some time photographing along the Paroo River. After a cooked breakfast, we packed up and headed off about 10am.

Stop 1 – Eulo Mud Springs.  These were the original release valves for the Great Artesian Basin pressure prior to bores.  There were three of these, each 3 to 3.5m high and 7 to 10m round.  When Hayden jumped on the top you could see the top moving and Drew and I could feel it through our feet.

  Then Drew jumped on it!  It jiggled like jelly!  The mud itself rubs into the skin, and doesn’t feel “grubby”.  Hayden poked a stick into the surface and found a fissure below the surface which opened into a large underground hole – presumably this is where the mud would flow to the surface.

https://www.outbackqueensland.com.au/attractions/mud-springs/

Stop 2 – Eulo Megafauna.  We stopped to see the megafauna statue in Eulo.  This area is where the majority of megafauna fossils are found.

Stop 3 – Cunnamulla. We topped up on bread and salad ingredients, and checked our emails at the Cunnamulla Fella Visitor Centre. The Artesian Time Tunnel had an excellent video on the Artesian Basin.  The actual display however was disappointing, I felt more pictorial information would have been helpful. 

www.paroo.qld.gov.au/artesian-time-tunnel

The Cunnamulla Fella centre also had a quite good museum with the items well labelled and set out logically. They also had two large detailed models; one of a shearing shed and pens, and the other of stockmen’s’ quarter.

https://www.paroo.info/Information/CunnamullaFellaCentre.aspx

Stop 4 – Cunnamulla Sand Dunes. There is a large sand dune directly behind the town, and in complete contrast to the surrounding

countryside.  We had not seen any other sand since leaving the coast.
https://www.paroo.info/Attractions/Cunnamulla-Sandhills-Walking-Tracks.aspx

We decided to drive on to Bollon.  We should have got fuel in Cunnamulla as we took the gauge down to touching the “E”.  We put in 50L to get us through to St George in the morning.  We have camped at the Yumbai Creek Donation Camp Area – it looks pretty but we didn’t see much before it got dark.

www.balonne.qld.gov.au/camping