Sapphire/Rubyvale

Spent a couple of days here at Sapphire,

it would have to be one of the friendliest places we have stayed although there isn’t much to see and do other than fossick for sapphires and zircons.

We camped at the town reserve which we shared with cows and guinea fowls  

they told us there were also camels and a donkey roaming around the town as well but we weren’t lucky enough to have them visit while we were there.

Fred and I did some fossicking and as we knew nothing about this fascinating pastime we opted to go to Armfest Mines where they give you a free tour and instructions on how to find your gems. They then sell you a bucket of wash and you use their equipment to wash your dirt and look for the gems. 

The best part of this deal is after your have finished your fossick they check your dirt and find the ones you missed for you and then access what you have found and tell you whats good and whats bad.We found about a cup of gems and out of that we found 2 that were worth having cut and made into a piece of jewellery.

We had a great time and I think we had value for money at $20 per person.

Blackdown Tableland National Park

 Blackdown Tableland National Park
We spent a day exploring this park, we left the van at Dingo as the road into the park is unsuitable for caravans.
Our first stop was Yaddamen Dhina Lookout which gave  us sweeping views of the distant ranges and down onto the plains we had driven over to reach the park.

We also did a short 3km walk down to Two Mile Creek this was a pretty little walk with lots of wildflowers I was surprised at how many were in flower as it is still winter, the prettiest were Wattle and Sarsaparilla plants that were entangled together

 The smell of the Wattle was devine.
Back in the truck and onward to Minosa Camping area where we did the Goon Goon Dina Circuit Walk which took us past the remains of old cattle yards and along the creeks to Ghungalu Rock Art site. This was only a small site with mostly hand stencil art.

Next stop was Gudda Gumoo where we walked down into a gorge and the Rainbow Waters Waterfall. This waterfall was beautiful and the gorge stunning, it was lush and green in comparison to the rest of the park. The walk was 4km and involved 240 steps down and thus 240 steps back up. The park brochure list this walk as needing a high level of fitness but we found it easy walking.

Time for lunch then we did the 19 km 4wd loop road, most of this was easy driving with just 3 sections where we needed to put the truck into low range 4x4 and do a careful scramble over large boulders there were lots of scenic outcrops of sandstone in this section of the park.

 It was then homeward bound for a well deserved happy hour.