Whenyougo

FollowAustralia’sDinosaurTrailfrom WintontoHughendenbeforelinkingwith theFlindersHighwaytoRichmond.Toadd Eromangatoyourdinosaurdrive,from RichmondreturntoWintonandtravelvia LongreachtoCharleville,wheretheNatural SciencesLoopwilltakeyoutoEromanga.

While our search could have ended here, the holiday has now morphed into an expedition, so we return to Winton before continuing southwest via Charleville to Eromanga, where we discover Queensland’s dinosaur graveyard has revealed its biggest secret so far.

Australia’s furthest town from the sea was thrust onto the global stage in 2004 when 14-yearold Sandy Mackenzie discovered a titanosaur fossil more than 90 million years old. Scientists estimate that Cooper, the largest dinosaur found in Australia so far, was 30m long and as tall as a two-storey building, winning Australia a place in the top-10 most colossal fossils finds in the world.

We meet the famous sauropod (in parts) on the Australian Dinosaur Giants Tour at Eromanga Natural History Museum. Alongside some dino mates, Cooper is awaiting technicians to undertake more of the painstaking work required to remove sediment that has entombed him for almost 100 million years. When they finish, a two-storey gallery will be built in his honour.

For now we can only measure how diminutive we are against a replica of his humungous humerus bone. But we are invited to gently pat the real thing too, a rare prehistoric privilege that accelerates my daughter’s palaeontological aspirations from in bud to flourishing.

Who knew ancient history could be so fun?

Emily and Glen continue their loop around Australia

Along the WA coastline, there are long stretches of red desert and mining between destinations.

The upside of that though are the incredible stars that lighten the sky and more often than not you’re the only ones around.

Western Australia is home to some of the nicest national parks we’ve seen. Once we left Broome, we spent the next month slowly making our way south.

Karijini National Park provided great hikes with a gorge at the end to dunk yourself in. Kalbarri National Park offered great views of the valleys.

Gregory Pink Lake was extremely impressive with its bubblegum pink water stretching for many kilometres. Glen swam in the lake and due to the high volume of salt, his body was floating at the top.

Our favourite part of the whole of WA was Exmouth and the Ningaloo Reef.

The Ningaloo is accessible just off the coastline and provides great snorkelling, spear fishing and the opportunity to swim with whale sharks as they migrate through. We were lucky enough to swim with three different whale sharks.

They really are incredible creatures. We could’ve spent months camping along the Ningaloo with our friends, however the wind started to pick up and settle in so that meant it was time to continue moving south.

1SproutsReadingClinic

After her own child was diagnosed with dyslexia, former schoolteacher Amy Deane, began researching ways to help her son Luke, tailor-made to his style of learning.

Witnessing first-hand the benefits of the Multisensory Structured Language curriculum, Ms Deane has now opened her own private practice Sprouts Reading Clinic, to help families in the same boat.

Using a holistic approach, the owner of the new reading clinic said she hopes to incorporate mental health strategies to assist with anxiety and low self-esteem too.

2SettlementDayByBoxed

Nothing brings Amie Storey more joy than spoiling others with presents on special occasions.

When the 20-year-old began brainstorming new business concepts with her boyfriend, who works as a real estate agent, the couple found a way for Ms Storey to combine work and pleasure.

Launching her business Settlement Day By Boxed earlier this year, Ms Storey packages gift hampers for real estate agents to gift clients when purchasing a home.

Filled with cocktails, lollies, chocolate, garnishes, condiments and more, the most popular box is The Taste of Toowoomba, which features locally-made items.

3SowandNurtured

Proud of her indigenous heritage, Tiffany Gesler offers a unique and holistic education model which focuses on outdoor play. Working with children since she was 17, the qualified midwife and early education specialist started Sow and Nurtured – a venture to support families with natural resources and outdoor learning.

The proud Gunggari woman offers a variety of workshops with an holistic learning approach to assist families and children who may be experiencing anxiety or behavioural issues.

4ThePALApp

When Bess and Andrew O’Connor welcomed their son Eddison into the world, it was a frightening time for the parents when he was born prematurely. The fight only continued when he was diagnosed with Motor Dysgraphia, a rare condition that impacts the child’s fine motor and writing skills.

Determined to assist her child and others, Ms O’Connor began researching and working with developers to invent a multipurpose app. The primary accessible learning (PAL) app is subscription-based and will help teachers to monitor, mark and check schoolwork remotely, while parents will be able to access progress reports for specialists.

5TheSmartGardener James Feez has always loved to garden and looks back fondly on the moments spent working on his grandparents’ farm in the Burnett region.

While he was a uni student, the green thumb started an online blog, offering tips to gardeners and going under the pseudonym of The Smart Gardener, but as his following grew, loved ones began to guess his identity. After years of experience, the horticulturist started his own business last October, offering landscaping and traditional gardening maintenance or advice to customers.

6TheSoapyandLippyMonkeys

Tyler Craze began his business The Soapy Monkey after receiving a Make Your Own Soap kit from his grandmother.

At just 11 years old, Tyler makes and sells his own unique soaps, including specifically designed soap pieces ideal for one-day use.

Tyler has dreams of going to NASA and has been saving the money made from his business. After seeing the success of her brother, Mia Craze, 8, decided to create her own business, however instead of soaps, Mia has created her own lipbalm.

All orchestrated through the Soapy Monkey website, Mia’s Lippy business has taken off, like her brother’s, and she has already begun to make a name for herself.