EMERALD and the Sapphire Gemfields

Explored the art trail – there is the Mosaic pathway behind the Information Centre which takes you on a short journey through history,, into the present time and looks at the future. The walk is only 100 metres and is the path to the replica of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting, erected in honour of the sunflower growers of the region.

The second art trail is in Egerton Street, where you go in search of the artist’s pieces listed, including sculptures, murals and mosaics. 

The Sunflower Easter Festival: There is a street parade where people in the cars and on the floats throw lollies out on the road for the kids, the stashes of lollies I saw would give Halloween a run for its money! From there, everyone goes to the market and family fun day. Personally, I found this a bit disorganised and not very thought out. Everything was shoved in the entry, so you needed to fight just to get in. It was not spread out at all, and I ended up leaving pretty quickly. That afternoon, we went and checked out the rodeo. I had been told Emerald was one of the good ones to go to, and it had been about 20-something years since I had been to a rodeo. I was disappointed. The crowd was huge, the speakers were very poor and hard to hear, and the toilets, basically, were so crowded that you had to go grab yourself a drink and then line up, because it would take you that long to get in! Organisers of these events really need to think about where they are trying to save money. I guesstimate there were about 1200 or more people with half a dozen toilets, plus they were selling alcohol!

Visited Lake Maraboon – there were lots of boats, kayaks and swimmers having fun. The Red Claw is meant to be amazing, so be sure to take a pot along.

Weekend at the Gemfields – make sure you purchase a fossicking licence online before you leave to visit the area.  We got a one-month family licence for $13.81.
We explored a few regions:

Sapphire – we went to one of the fossicking places and purchased a bag of wash. The lady was very helpful and showed us what was what and sorted the stones we found in the bag of wash. However, it is not actually fossicking now, is it? We ended up buying some cheap equipment and decided to give it a go properly. 
Tomahawk Creek – The turn off to Tomahawk Creek Fossicking Area is not signposted until after you take the turn. The first turn off on a bend off Clermont Rundyvale Rd is the turn you take. You will then see a sign directing you. It is about another 20 kms further up the road. We did not have a 4WD, so we got through the gate, then couldn’t go any further as the creek crossing was really soft after recent rain. We checked out the camping area (which has no amenities) and decided to keep going.

Our second stop was in Rubyvale at Middle Ridge Fossicking Area. We spent a bit of time digging and checking out the area. However, it was 37 degrees, and we were fading pretty quickly. 

On our next visit to the area, we went to Willows Fossicking Area. We didn’t take much equipment with us on this trip; we mainly walked around and checked out the area a little bit. 

Weekend in Carnarvon Gorge

The first day, we hiked the 12 kms to Wards Canyon and back. Our accommodation had not informed us that Wards Canyon was closed and had been for the past year. Before heading off, check the website above, or ask at your accommodation if they are aware of any track closures etc. I twisted my ankle at the 10km mark, so the last couple of km were difficult. It was also a pretty hot day for the last weekend in March. Be sure to take plenty of water. The tracks were quite overgrown in areas, and I found myself wishing I had fully enclosed shoes and long pants instead of shorts and hiking sandals. The next day, we completed a few of the shorter walks (with my ankle strapped up); the rock pools go a little further than everyone else, and you will see an amazing waterhole that you can actually get in and out of. Please be aware that platypus and other wildlife do call this area home, so please be respectful of the area and leave it as you found it. The next walk we did was the Nature Trail. This is a 1.5km loop that was quite nice. We did not do Mickey Creek, as my ankle was too sore to continue. There are two places you can watch the sunset, depending on where you are staying. If you are at the Big 4, go up the lookout behind the taka tents. If you are at Sandstone, well, I don’t really need to tell you; up here, you have an almost 360-degree view, so sunrise and sunsets are covered. 

Weekend in Blackwater. We stayed in the Blackdown Tableland National Park. The word beautiful does not do it justice. We did the Gudda Gumoo Gorge walk – it is a grade 4 two-hour return hike. Be careful on the walk as there is pea gravel and your feet slip out from under you very easily. The reward at the bottom of the hike is worth it. There is a beautiful swimming hole with a gorgeous waterfall; it is just magic. I wish we had left earlier in the day and allowed ourselves more time at the bottom. This is a must-do if you are in the area. We set up our camper trailer and just as we were settling down for the night, the music started. Thankfully, it did not last for very long, and we were able to relax our way. 

On our way back to Emerald, we wanted to check out Blackwater; unfortunately, the International Coal Centre does not open on weekends. We drove out to Bedford Weir, but there were too many bugs for us to want to be out of the car for more than 30 seconds. If you want to camp out at the weir, be sure to take plenty of bug spray.