Gem fossicking fun for the whole family

Written By: Jessica Palmer

Who knew gem fossicking in Queensland would be a whole heap of fun? I mean, what kid doesn’t like a treasure hunt? What adult doesn’t secretly like the idea of stumbling over their very own gemstone?

Fossicking for gems in the outback towns of Sapphire and Rubyvale in Queensland is a great way to spent a few days of the school holidays. Better yet, combine your visit with a road trip to the beautiful Carnarvon Gorge like we did!

At the ages of five and three years, my kids often collect ‘special rocks’. I haven’t yet worked out their criteria for ‘special’. They often pick up what looks to be common pieces of road gravel and ask to take it home. It really wasn’t hard to convince them that a holiday fossicking for ‘special sparkly rocks’ would be fun.

We had passed by the Central Queensland Gemfields on the way through to Central Australia 18 months earlier. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to stop and I was really disappointed. Well, I wasn’t disappointed this time! Gem fossicking in Queensland turned out to be a great family activity and as an added bonus, we were able to do it on a budget (road trip and camper). We even scored 11 tiny gems out of it!

Learn how to fossick for gems in Queensland

Of course, we didn’t have a clue how to fossick for gems when we first arrived. A morning spent with Fascination Gems on a Tag-A-Long fossicking tour soon had us up to speed.

There are plenty of places that can show you the ropes in Rubyvale or Sapphire, but we went with this particular Tag-A-Long tour as you stay as long as you like, and you get to keep everything you find. There were no extra costs, and all equipment and expert tuition were supplied. All we needed to bring was our own sandwiches and drinks.

I loved that this was a casual tour where you just leave when you’ve had enough. Miss Three is at an age where she is still fairly spirited (cough…awful) when she gets tired, so I didn’t want to be tied to a schedule in case it all went pear-shaped. She loved it so much that she happily shovelled dirt for 2.5 hours before she started picking fights with her older brother.

Our youngest lasted until mid-day

Around mid-day it starting going something like this, “Muuuuum, Ripley is looooooking at me!” and, “Muuuum, Ripley went fiiiiiiiirst”. Imagine this in a loud whiny tone with a fair amount of foot stomping. This is why I try to avoid being tied to a schedule.

Not long after, we called it quits and were the proud owners of a handful of tiny gems and the knowledge of how to do it ourselves!

A nap and an ice-cream sorted out our youngest member’s mood. We checked out the town, watched amused as a herd of cows wandered down the main street, and even fit in a leisurely stroll along the dry river bed behind our caravan park.

How to spend 48 hours on the Sapphire Gemfields – Tips for treasure seekers>>>

Everyone has an interesting story!

From the elderly couple in the huge bus beside us who stay here three months out of every year, to the lady we met buying ice-creams who purchased a mining lease to retire on. Everyone here has a story, and it’s worth taking the time to strike up a conversation with both the local residents and visitors to hear of their gemstone discoveries.

If you do strike it lucky in the gemfields, there are a few options in town for having your gem cut and made into a unique piece of jewellery.

Accommodation options >>

Now that we were officially experts, we took a small sieve and bucket of water down to the currently dry Retreat Creek. One tiny green gem was discovered on the first bucket, and then a whole lot of nice round river rocks and small quartz chunks for the next hour. At least now we can swap the gravel in the special rock bucket under Mr Five’s bed with some nicer specimens!

There is more to do here than just digging around in the dirt or the dry sandy creek. You can tour an underground sapphire mine, check out one of the many local gems shops, observe the night sky at the observatory (or even from the dry creek bed like we did), or enjoy the local hospitality at one of the cafes.

When to visit

You are more than welcome to visit any time of course! However, It gets pretty hot in outback Queensland so it’s worth considering visiting in Winter.

Even though Winter is technically peak season in Rubyvale and Sapphire, it’s really not crowded. Peak season in outback Queensland is nothing like peak season on the coast. The roads are far from busy and there is no waiting in line….anywhere. Unless you count one or two people in front of you at the convenience store. The days are sunny and pleasant, and the nights are cool but not freezing.

The June school holidays is really a lovely time to visit and the kids are guaranteed to find a few other kids to play with! I would suggest booking accommodation before you leave just in case though.

Where to Stay

We stayed at the Blue Gem Tourist Park in Sapphire as we were travelling with our Jayco Swan Camper. This park is a caravan park but has a couple of cabins, a small shop with a lot, and clean facilities. It’s located on the banks of Retreat Creek in which you can also try your luck at finding gems. We found one!

The Rubyvale Caravan Park and Sapphire Caravan Park also offer fabulous camping and cabin stay options.

If we were to stay in hotel/motel type accommodation, I would stay at the New Royal Hotel in Rubyvale or Rubyvale Gem Gallery.

How to spend a weekend in Sapphire Gemfields – Tips for treasure seekers>>>

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