Today, we hit the road West into outback. After 4 hours we reached our destination of Sapphire. We then went fossicking for the little gems, and after 3 hours of scraping through dirt, washing rocks, and generally not knowing what to look for, we managed to bag a couple of the beauties!

Jens is the larger one in the pic. It weighs 4.68 carats, and is a green sapphire. NICE!!! I wonder what it will look like when we get it cleaned and cut back home…

So, tonight we are camped in the middle of nowhere, ready for another warm day tomorrow…

SD

Another day, and after the rain while we were sleeping, it turned out to be a nice sunny day.

We set off to a place called Mount Hay Gem Park, which was in the middle of nowhere. Here they allow you to mine “Thundereggs”. Thundereggs are formed out of lava pushing gas into rocks, and then over thousands of years the holes are filled with other minerals. On the outside they look like a normal rock, but as you can see by the pics, when you cut them open, you get some very pretty sights.

So, after mining for a couple of hours, we set off to another campsite, where we are chilling, before heading inland a few hours to a place called Sapphire. Guess what you can mine there! So, we are going to spend the day doing that and see what we can find!

SD

Today, we woke up early and had a game of tennis (which Jen won!) before making breakfast and setting off.

We headed 3 hours further North to a small town called Agnes Waters. This town is the last of the surfing beaches in Queensland, so we hired a couple of bodyboards and zoomed into the sea. The waves were ENORMOUS! We were getting battered by the breaking surf, and at first it was a bit too much for Jen… the waves hold you down for a while, it is like a washing machine when you get caught underwater.

Jen pushed on, and after an hour or so, she caught her first wave…. big beaming smile!

At one point, I was a bit too far from shore, and had to really work hard to get back in… the power of the ocean is humbling sometimes.

After nearly 3 hours, we were drained, so got changed and drove a few kms down the road to a town called 1770 (weird name or what?). We are parked at a camp by a beach, and will be setting off again in the morning.