08 August 2022
After a relaxed, camp-based day the day before it was time to do some exploring. We decided to try our luck finding some gems. Not far away was the gemfields, with little towns aptly named things like Sapphire and Rubyvale.
We decided that we’d pay these small outposts a little visit, explore an underground tourist sapphire mine and try our luck with a bucket of wash. It turns out mining for gems is interesting, tough and incredibly dependent on luck. We left with the impression it was more of a way of life than real income generator.
Our little bucket of wash was pretty lucky. While it didn’t pay for our holiday (or even our tour), there were enough gems inside (sapphires and zircons) to keep us all entertained and carefully sifting, rinsing, spreading and searching for the shine of a gem.
