After Saturday's 37°C day we took one of the layers of our Doona off the bed, unaware that there could be such a variation in temperature in this area. And unfortunately we felt a bit cold overnight with Longreach's minimum falling to just 9°C! But the Sun began to warm the day as we headed off on the short 180km leg to Winton. 

We planned to stay at the caravan park attached to the Tattersalls Hotel, but hadn't booked because we thought they didn't take bookings. On arriving we were told they definitely did take bookings, but as it was only 11am, there were sites available and we were allocated Site 14 - a generously sized site with afternoon shade. After a sandwich lunch in the van we walked down to The New Waltzing Matilda Centre and found the dinosaur shaped rubbish bins along the main street very fitting given this region is known as the dinosaur centre of Australia.

The New Waltzing Matilda Centre only opened in April this year after the original centre, which was built in 1998 after the centenary celebrations for AB 'Banjo' Paterson's 1895 song to house Australian memorabilia and interactive displays, was destroyed by fire caused by an electrical fault in June 2015. A statue of Paterson stands prominently at the entrance and the words of his famous song are etched into the footpath.

Inside the centre were several themed areas which told a story about various aspects of the Winton area; of course with the story behind Paterson's song Waltzing Matilda taking prominence. Winton's connection with Waltzing Matilda is that it was written by Paterson whilst holidaying on Dagworth Station nearby Winton and legend has it that the song was first performed in public at Winton's North Gregory Hotel. The Centre also incorporates the Qantilda Museum, which celebrates the achievements and lifestyle of Winton’s pioneers. 

The convenience of having a meal at the Tattersalls Hotel was too hard to resist. So just after 6pm we walked across the road and were lucky to find a vacant table for two right on the corner under the verandah. Our timing was perfect because in no time all tables were full of locals or tourists from the park. And it's no wonder why given how good our meals were. Lucinda had old fashioned lambs fry and bacon, with mash potato, vegetables and gravy, while Bryon had panko fried calamari with chips and salad. Two glasses of the house Moscato were the perfect accompaniment.