Cliff top camp spot- 4 days of serenity

Just outside of Lark Quarry Conservation Park, 110km south of Winton, QLD

Saturday 11th June - Wednesday 11th June

Before we left Winton, headed for the Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry Conservation Park, we'd met some people that confirmed what I'd read on WikiCamps - there was an area just before you entered the Conservation Park that was suitable for camping. When we arrived we found it was so much more than just suitable, it was a near perfect camp spot on the top of a cliff overlooking the ancient red rocky escarpments that make up Lark Quarry. Daniel managed to reverse the caravan into a spot that was hidden from the road and we marvelled at our luck at finding such an incredible spot- and best of all we had it all to ourselves. We decided it was the perfect place to have some down time. 

Highlights of our time here:

- Jackson and Emilia built an incredible cubby out of dead wood, then spent the afternoon chilling in there reading, eating and playing games.

- It's boulder opal country so of course we went specking (this means fossicking without digging - just walking around with your head down hoping to notice a sparkle). The kids are experts at this and they found some lovely boulder opal. 

- Marvelling at all the petrified wood (from millions of years ago) and checking everything we found in case it contained fossilised dinosaur bones or footprints

- Exploring the rivers, escarpments and gullies

- Enjoying the sunrises and sunsets, including watching the full moon rise over the sparse landscape

- Using our outside shower for the first time, and enjoying a shower in nature (lucky no-one was camped nearby!).

-Using our fly nets for the first time (this is not really a highlight but using them does mean it was hot and we were in the outback!). The flies got friendlier and friendlier each day!

- Catching up on a few blogs that I had fallen behind on!

What a spot!

We watched the sunset in front of the fire every evening.

Some quiet time enjoying his coffee and the view

The cliff that we camped on top of

Bush Girl

The colours (of both the sunrises and sunsets) were incredible. The photos don't show how vibrant the colours were - but they are still quite pretty! 

Sunrise through the spinifex grasses

The way the van was parked allowed the kids to watch the sunrise from their beds (though they usually got up, but the mornings were quite cold).

The cubby the kids built

They were quite proud of their efforts (rightly so we think).

They had snacks, drinks, books and games to keep them entertained.

Exploring.

Dodging the spinifex - the spikes hurt if you got too close

Rocking his fly net!

Some of the many pieces of 95+ million year old petrified wood we found

                                       

We found some lovely pieces of boulder opal - we just need to clean and polish them now!

It was a full moon on our last night

Trying to get a little bit of warmth from the previous night's fire on the morning we left (it was 6.30am and cold)

Selfie on the morning we left from the cliff top where we'd camped.

4 Stray Katz- onto the next adventure.