Mon, 24th June, 2024 Tropic of Capricorn Rest Area, north of Alice Springs to Bush camp at Mud Tank Zircon Field, off the Plenty Highway, near Gemtree, NT (digging for zircons)

It only got down to 3.9 degrees in the camper - must be some insulation in here then. Clear sky again and no wind. A couple more travellers pulled in during the night

We continued on the Stuart Highway heading north. Turned east onto the Plenty Highway which is a single lane bitumen road. 

Sign says, Welcome to the Central Australia Gemfields. We will be looking for zircons and garnets. Originally the miners thought the garnets were rubies, hence the area near here called Ruby Gap but they were just high quality garnets. The first mine rush in Central Australia was in the late 1880s.

Crossed over the rail line - decided I don’t need any more photos of the rail line!! Passed the turn off for the Sandover Highway, which is dirt.

Stopped for a cuppa on open area by the road. It has warmed up so no need for jumpers now. It is marked as zircon specking spot on Wikicamps. Not sure what colour zircons are but I found some clear crystals.

Stopped to check out some ‘art works’ by the roadside. They are part of the Outback Way Outdoor Gallery (2021) and there are more along the Plenty Highway heading east.

Turned off into Gemtree Caravan Park. It is on Alcoota Station but they excised the area off the station allotment about 30 years ago to give travellers and fossickers somewhere to stay away from their cattle and water points etc.

We checked out the Museum first in the 1928 Mt Riddock Station homestead. It was great they were able to preserve the homestead. Shifting it must have been an interesting job. Great information boards about all the station around here. Found the one the lady was working on - Ambalindum Station and Quartz Hill. We visited the meteorite crater at Box Hole.

Into the office and gem shop. The couple running it were lovely and showed us lots of zircons and garnets so we know what to look for. What we picked up before were just quartz crystals. They had lots of interesting other pieces but I didn’t take any photos. Lovely bright bougainvillea outside.

Back to the Plenty Highway continued eastward a bit till we found the turn off for the gravel Binns Track. We did Sections 3 and 4 last year. This is part of Section 2 through the East MacDonnell Ranges and back to Alice Springs. We will take track this later.

We are only on it for a bit then we turned off to the Mud Tank Zircon Field. The area has been excised and fenced off from the station now. The information off Wikicamps.

Haven’t had to open a gate for a long while.

We spotted a few camps and there are tracks going everywhere as we approached the narrow dry creek. We went up a track and a vehicle came towards us so we stopped for a chat. He was in the van nearby and said he would show us where to go etc after lunch. We pulled in near him and had lunch in the camper.

We followed him across the ‘main track’ and through more ‘camp spots’ then across the creek to where mounds of pebbles were obvious. This is the zircon field as such. He showed us where he was working and went through the process - dig down to the old river stones where the zircons hid. Put the dirt in the sieve and shake - we have two different sized sieves. Then wash them in water - will have to use one of our black boxes to fit the sieves in. Then you can spot the zircons shiny surfaces glittering in the sunlight. We spotted heaps. Some are called Bombs as they are big but can have some nice stones in them worth cutting. We thanked him for the tutorial and headed back across the creek.

We decided to just park up nearby so we can walk across to the area to dig. Set up camp. You can see our friend’s car across the way.

We had a cuppa then walked over to find our ‘spot’. There was a big hole already dug out and we could see where the river wash was so Steve dug some out and the first shake of the sieve revealed a big bomb. I took it across to our friend to show him and give it a wash in this water tube. Not bad at all. We loaded up a bucket and then went back to camp to wash it out there tomorrow once we do the washing so we can reuse that water so we don’t waste the clean water.

Washed up the few bits we have dug out - some were just rocks (on left) and others are crystals or a green stuff the chap was saying he keeps too. The long one was a bit of petrified wood Steve picked up while looking for firewood. The shiny one on the left is mica that was also mined around here this area.

Steve got a fireplace ready and got out the sieves etc. He found a friend in the grass, luckily one with legs.

Had our drinks by the fire and watched another lovely sunset while plucking all the nasty prickles out of the mat from the camper. I hadn’t realised I had them stuck in my sandshoes and now it is a very slow process to pluck them out and burn them. Will have to take our boots off before going inside now.

The temperature dropped with the sun so inside for dinner, cards and a new TV Series called SIX.