Sat, 29th June, 2024 Harts Range West fossicking area, off the Plenty Highway, NT (garnets)

Warmer morning, only 12 degrees but we still put the heater on to take the nip out of the air while we had breakfast.

Sunny and lots of birds tweeting. Steve shared our sieves with Greg and Sue so they could find some garnets too. I worked on my blog - nearly caught up. Just need the internet now to upload them and the FB posts! Lots of people are using the Starlink now but at $170/month we will continue with the data on my phone when we are near towns etc. I have the phone plugged into the tall aerial so can get texts and calls.

After morning tea I joined the others. Certainly hotter in the direct sun now.

Got a text from Australia Post saying the bushes have arrived so we decided to head into town tomorrow to get that job done. Messaged Jon and he is back in the yard for a day or so as he is getting the smaller drill rig ready to drive up to Darwin. Will do an extra week on his swing this time. The workshop here has a press that Steve needs to do the bushes with so we are very thankful again to his work for allowing us to park up and get the job done there.

A gusty wind has gotten stronger after lunch bring over some clouds. Forecast has changed from 1-10mm on Sun & Mon to now 3-20mm so it’s a good idea to be heading back onto the bitumen any case.

We packed the fossicking equipment away - we have found enough. I got a few bits that were clear. The balls don’t look much now but hopefully they will brighten up after being tumbled. Greg & Sue got some too so they were happy.

Went for a walk to stretch our muscle from all the bending etc. Nice view from the top of the hill over our camp and across to the mountain.

We followed the track around finding a few little bits of garnet on the track. A few pretty flowers too. Didn’t find any other cleared fossicking areas and no other vehicles.

Back to camp for drinks by their fire pit. We chatted the afternoon away and then had our dinners and chatted on into the night as the temperature was perfect for sitting outside. Flashes of lightning caught our eye over in the distance. I checked the BOM map and saw rain cells crossing over Alice Springs. Dark clouds started blocking out the stars low on the horizon.

11pm I heard the pitter patter of rain drops on the roof but it didn’t last long.