Out of the outback, the road to Sapphire is at least different, if not sometimes bizarre.
There’s been a trend in recent years for some people to dress up the many anthills – termite mounds – that sprout along the roadside and well beyond.
It’s attracted the attention of both local council and the ABC. To us it just seems nuts!
The other change is the horizon. The Drummond Range rises out of the flat monotony. We stop for morno’s at a lookout and I practice looking out over the lookout at the range beyond.
Sapphire, when we get there, lives up to expectations; at least at first. We arrive at Pats Gems (NB deliberately no apostrophe) with a shabby exterior and rusty bobcat concealing a flash and well set up interior. Pat is obviously doing well out of something. We want a coffee, a doughnut and a go at fossicking in the quickest possible time. Pat offers it all.
We opt for the mud first, listen to the well-rehearsed instructions then sieve and wash our pan of gems. Then the real competition begins. Fossicking is a real test of character, and some people are just not cut out to be a fossick. You can really tell who has the attention to detail and flare for this sort of work from those who just haven’t got the concentration span, thoroughness, determination, dexterity, or willingness to see something successfully through to its conclusion. I’m not naming names here, but I’d just like to say I end the morning with that warm feeling of self-satisfaction!
The only small thing that takes the gloss off is to learn that every bucket of dirt we have paid Pat for has been pre-loaded with only 75 carats of stones. If you can’t find them all – and we didn’t – we have been well and truly weighed, measured, and found wanting.
Slightly poorer than expected, we set off for the gem metropolis of Emerald. We’ve earmarked the Emerald Tourist Park to lick our wounds in. It is camping on an industrial scale.
Caravans and camper-vans cheek-by-jowl on tiny pads next to power and water. Why did they ever leave home?
We find an uncrowded pleasant shady unpowered site on the far edge of the park under a tree full of rainbow lorikeets and put the Land Rovers on parade. The sun is out consistently for the first time in three days, and we dry out and air.
The next morning, Sunday, we have a leisurely start and after a brief pause in Springsure, move on to the Carnarvon Gorge. More impressive than King’s Canyon as we approach it, the campsite is spacious, well-kept and spread out; set amid gumtrees and palms. There is a hint of wildlife in the surrounding bush. Kookaburras eye our afternoon tea with interest.
There’s a ‘welcome to the gorge and campsite’ video shown at 5.00 pm at the veranda bar, so we patronise it to watch.
Most of Carnarvon Gorge’s attractions – the indigenous art gallery, amphitheatre and moss garden can be seen within about six kilometres from the start.
So why, the next day, we end up walking 24 is a mystery to me, but apparently I’m responsible!
It was a shared decision to continue on to ‘Big Bend’, surely?!
We do manage it, despite a training regime that has consisted of sitting on our bottoms for the last five weeks. And the gorge is a spectacular sight. High limestone and sandstone cliffs shade the creek below, allowing the growth of lush green grasses, ferns, palms and gum trees. We pass through glades of carolling Currawongs, flitting and calling to each other against a backdrop of brilliant blue sky.
We visit the artwork at both the ‘cathedral’ and ‘art gallery’, slightly mystified about how old it all really is. Having taken the decision to go ‘just another 4 kilometres’, we go even further to the gorge’s end, then Guy and James speed-march themselves out, glad of the opportunity for some exercise.
John and I move more slowly, soaking up the scenery and sites in this rare green watercourse in the middle of the dry Central Highlands. Pictures convey it better.
On from Carnarvon is the Great Dividing Range and the landscape changes again. After a truckies breakfast at Injune amid trucks, we strike across country on unsealed roads and tracks – for a last fling at four-wheel driving.
This is great farmland. Cattle lurk by the roadside in greater numbers than earlier in the trip. A flock of emus lope across the road in one place, big kangaroos in another
Again, the rain has given the countryside an unexpected colour. We pause to see it from on high, taking the little drone-let to its maximum height and practicing fly-pasts at speed. James wants to emulate Elon Musk and SpaceX by capturing it when it lands in the palm of his hand. I resist the offer as I want it to work next time!
The day winds on and we stop finally at Miles.
At the caravan park there’s a fire, power and water.
The owner is a former soldier and gives us a special deal. A great day.
On this trip, of course, we are trying to give four charities a special deal, to raise funds so that they can continue to help young people and veterans in need. The Smith Family and Onside, and Mates4Mates and Combat Stress, do amazing work. We can only help them with your help. So far you’ve raised nearly $16,000 – about £8,000. There’s still time to raise more, so please continue to help share our story by sharing the link or our gofundme page and encourage others to contribute.
Fantastic to see so many photos. It really gives a flavour of the distance and variety…