Little Jack - near Lark Quarry

 25 - 26 June 2025

We left Opalton and set off for Lark Quarry. We had checked the map and discovered we could cut across country rather than going back into Winton, which made for a much shorter journey. After a short stop for lunch along the way, and a spot of birding, we arrived just on 1:00pm. Bronwyn and John were still there having taken part in the 11:00am tour. They were having some lunch before setting off on one of the harder walks. We treated ourselves to an ice cream and walked up to the lookout. We spent some time looking at the information displays in the visitor centre while we waited for our tour.

The building protects the precious trackway

As luck would have it we were the only two people booked in for 2:00pm so we had a truly personalised tour. Once again, our guide was knowledgeable and we found it fascinating. The trackway has not been fully excavated so no-one knows what else might be hidden.

Big footprints amongst the little one

After time at the Trackway we set off to do some birding down near the airstrip and Telstra tower before continuing on to find where Bronwyn and John had camped for the night. They had sent their location in "what three words" format so, apart from initially missing the turnoff, it was quite easy to locate them.

Little Jack is a free camp in the true sense of the term - nothing there, just a clearing in the bush. We arrived just as the sun went down, so set up quickly and used the last of the timber we collected the day before to start a fire. After some drinks by the fire, we had an easy dinner from the freezer  and an early night.

We made a snap decision in the morning to get up early, pack up and go back to Lark Quarry for one last attempt to photograph the Opalton grasswren. We packed up as quietly as we could, but still woke the others. We said our goodbyes and headed off. We were going to take the Old Cork Road that is just north of Lark Quarry so it wasn't too far out of the way to go back.