Qld - 1770 to Emerald

Rain and storms were forecast so we thought that we should head inland.( One of the many advantages of having your home on wheels.)
We had heard about Lake Maraboon, near Emerald, so decided to head there; a mere 565 klms away. I had always thought that Emerald was where the gems were found. But,I learnt otherwise...... When Leichart was passing through this area on his way to Darwin, the land was such a stunning shade of green that he named it “Emerald”, now a coal mining and cattle area. It was brown and dry on our visit.
Lake Maraboon is known for red claw, which is like a big yabbie with red claws. They are delicious. The lake, which is man made is about six times the size of Sydney Harbour. We took the kayak out on it twice and enjoyed exploring the coves and the rock formations.

We spent one day at the gem fields in Sapphire and Rubyvale, about 50 klms east of Emerald and had great fun fossicking for gems. We went down a mine and really appreciate how hard these people work to make a living. As you drive around the area, there are mounds of earth dug up all over the place, even on front yards. People seem to dig everywhere and anywhere.
While fossicking, we found four sapphires about 3/4 of a caret each, had them cut and then made into a ring. We also found a few more, but too small to do anything with. Each time I look at the ring, I think about how much fun Mike and I had finding the stones. It certainly gets you hooked, as I wanted to go back another day to try our luck again. We will now head to Mackay as we fly back to Newcastle for a week to catch up with family and friends.

N.B. Mike hasn’t had a list for two weeks, and he is managing really well. Enjoying each day as it comes.
Check out our camping spot “Bedford Weir free camp”

To contact us please email to: gourmetgreynomads@bigpond.com