Gemfields

Friday 13th March – Gemfields

Woke up to gale force winds and grey skies. Looked at met forecast and decided that the seas were going to be too murky and rough for days for beach or reef. In addition there was an oil spill which closed the beaches around Brisbane. Ex-cyclone Hamish was still moving northwards, the only place with any sun seemed to be westward. By coincidence, the emerald, ruby and sapphire alluvial deposits were the same way.

We drove west along the Capricorn Highway ( as it follows the tropic) through pastureland dotted with gum trees, alongside the mineral line carrying coal from the interior. Each train consists of two locos, then 48 coal trucks, then another two locos and a final 48 coal trucks. We estimated the total length of each train as a kilometre, and we saw five or six during the morning. That is a lot of coal, I reckon in the order of 60,000 tons.

Stopped for lunch at the Blackdown Tablelands, a scarp edged plateau of cross bedded sandstone standing 600m above the level of the surrounding plain. It was cooler and a bit eerie up there.

Then on to Emerald ( named due to its verdure, no connection with gems) to replenish provisions and get the Information site lady to telephone ahead to check the place we wanted to stay was open.

After Emerald, we were driving with cotton fields either side of the road. Eventually we reached the turning for Willows Gemfields, described as part mining camp, part township and booked into a cabin at the Gem Air Village. It is block built with a 1950s feel but fully functional.

Sat on the warm back step whilst the sun went down, drinking wine and watching a kangaroo browsing unconcernedly just the other side of the track.

463km today, but it isn't raining.

Saturday 14th March

Woke up to cloudless day, birds singing including at one stage a cacophony of kookaburras. Eat breakfast sitting on the back step of the cabin, accompanied by a flock of Rainbow Parakeets and even more Apostle Birds ( like large thrushes, but reputed to live in groups of 12), both so fearless that several hopped up onto the step with us to peck up crumbs.

Walked around the corner, past a bunch of kangaroos, to meet Ruth at the Bonanza Claim. She showed us how to recognise and separate sapphires from the gem bearing gravel using a sieve, water and a piece of sacking on a board. The sun shone as we worked, with little cumulus clouds dotted around a clear blue sky. A kangaroo with a joey peeking out of her pouch came to investigate, whilst a kookaburra sat watching from a nearby tree. Beautiful morning made more memorable as with Ruth's guidance we gradually accumulated a collection of small blue and green sapphires.

After a siesta, went to meet Ruth and her husband Paul at their home near the claim. They showed us an impressive collection of sapphires that they had found and Paul had cut. The difference between the rough stones which just look like bits of broken glass and the cut stones which are alive with light is amazing. Paul had bought a gem facetting machine and taught himself to use it, even developing a novel five sided cut which caused the stones to 'fire' (sparkle) more than the traditional cut. We left our largest finds with him to see what he could do with them.

In the evening, we went just outside the cabin to watch a family of kangaroos browse on the newly cut grass across the track. As we watched, first one then another loped across the track to investigate us. I actually touched the smaller one on the nose as it sniffed my hands. We remained together for about twenty minutes in the gloom as night fell around us. It was quite magical to be with such strange and unlikely creatures.