WEDNESDAY 14 JULY     GEMTREE

We took a packed lunch and drove back out to the garnet fields. As our supplies drop, and because we don’t want to be making bread too often, we have had to start in on the Cruskit biscuits, eaten with Kraft cheddar cheese and sliced tomatoes. That makes an adequate lunch.

Before lunch, we dug in the same creek area as before, and seemed to find some pieces.

The creek where we were fossicking for garnets

After lunch, John wanted to try up the hill, along a rough track. This digging area looked less worked over, but we did not do as well. I was not sure whether we were reworking gravels already sieved!

It was pleasant working out there, but the bush flies were bad again.

Interesting Harts Ranges scenery at the FA9 fossicking area

We drove 87kms today.

When we left this morning, the mechanic was working on the pump. The diesel was back working by the time we got back this afternoon, so we filled up. 97cpl.

Tea was soup, omelette, French fries and leftover fried rice.

SATURDAY 10 JULY     GEMTREE

We decided that today we would try looking for garnets – a red stone that can be cut to resemble a ruby. There is a designated fossicking area – FA9 – to the west of here. This was shown on the map that came with our fossicking licences.

Map showing Fossicking Area 9

Garnet hunting appealed because they are found by dry sieving dirt and gravel, thus one does not have to carry water and washing tubs – or get wet and muddy!

Drove east on the Plenty Highway – unsealed after Gemtree – for about 35kms, then turned south and tried to align the map we had with the reality on the ground. As with other fossicking places we have been to, the reality is that there is a maze of tracks that are not on the maps!

The Plenty Highway east of Gemtree, and the Harts Ranges

We found a narrow, short, dry creek valley that looked pretty dug over. There had clearly been people camped there recently. Regardless, decided to have a go and actually found garnets.

John dug and I sieved. I spent a lot of time picking out small, rough pieces that were crystallized on the outside – but eventually realized that it was the bits that looked like red glass that we actually wanted!

The well-equipped garnet hunter!

John found a pocket in the creek bed that did not seem to have been dug before, and that was productive.

There were many annoying bush flies and we had to resort to the fly nets bought at Alice Springs. It was a challenge to eat lunch without eating flies too! Apart from the flies, it was quite pleasant, beavering away in the creek bed.

We only did about four hours’ work and got a half fruit tin full, to take back to camp for proper sorting.

We drove 87kms today, there and back to the garnet area.

The country around the FA9 garnet fossicking area

Back at camp, after cleaning up, I made zucchini slice for tea. It was time to use up some of the ageing zucchini we had. I thought we’d have some left for lunch tomorrow, but we were hungry after all the work, and ate the lot. I also made pea and ham soup, but that was not done until late – it will be for the next few days.

John has revived his Alpha Centauri computer game and has been playing it until the power goes off and then his laptop battery gets low. It is all over by 11pm – a natural curb to his enthusiasm! He is reading too – no TV out here.