Fossicking Fever

The sunset over Georgetown was just magic last night (sounds like a song title).

Eric's new thongs were almost twice the price but they are double pluggers! When did you last see a pair of them? On the other hand fuel was the cheapest we've seen since leaving home ($1.42). 

Armed with a one month fossicking licence for all of Qld ($10.65) and a pick, I am ready to find my thunder rock. First stop O'brien's Creek, just a short drive out of Mt Surprise. A quirky little town with some quirky sights.

30th June

Mt Surprise is a very small town between Georgetown and the Undara Lava Field. It is also only 45 kms from O’Brien’s Creek Fossicking Area. Today I tried my luck fossicking for topaz. I had been advised that I could hire a sieve and get all the advice I needed from the manager of the camp out there. Unfortunately, today the office was unattended; probably doing a tip run I was told. Not much help, we’ve just driven 35 kms on a dirt road and I have no idea what I’m looking for. Not to be deterred, I found a hole and just kept digging. When I was through with that, I moved on to another one. I just kept hold of anything that looked different or pretty and left the rest. Turns out I found some topaz and some smoky quartz, I think! 

While I was playing around in the dirt, Eric cooked jaffles for lunch and did some birdwatching. He found the yellow honeyeater which we have not recorded before. 

Back in town and having had a hot shower we went to the pub for a cold drink and a chat with the locals. Of all people we met a chap from Humpty Doo. One of the locals showed Eric the right way to pour a Guinness can into a glass. Isn’t it ironic the things you learn in a pub in a small town? Did you know you should upend the can into the glass and when it has filled to the level of the can, slowly lift the can until it is empty. Best to start with a glass big enough.  Are we the only ones who didn't know this?

You can watch here How to pour a Guinness from a can

Then to celebrate our day’s successes (?) we dined on fish and chips at the Planet Earth Van Park’s café. This is a lovely grassy, spacious park but it feels a bit like living in the backyard of Steptoe & Son. There are old train carriages, an old Mr Whippy Van, rusty old pie baking trays, fencing wire, rolls of chicken wire, wheel rims, roadside signs…….. the list goes on. Kinda fun actually, for a scrounger like me.  

Rain again. Gentle, hopefully enough to wash the car after those kms on dirt today.

1st July

We woke to birdsong and sunshine. A good thing as we have a booking for the Archway Explorer Tour at the Undara Lava Tubes NP this morning. These strange formations below the surface of the earth are believed to be the longest lava tube system in the world.  In 1862 the Collins Family took up the lease on Spring Creek Station and for the next five generations have farmed cattle and cared for the property. Once they discovered the openings to the lava tubes, and their significance, they took over the leasehold of the adjoining Rosella Plains Station as they learnt the system spread mainly onto that property. To avoid lots of damage to the environment they moved lots of disused train carriages onto the site for accommodation and entertainment venues which work really well. 

Each lava tube entrance is actually a collapse of the tube and these days is filled with pockets of remnant rainforest which makes them easy to identify. It was an interesting tour and we learnt lots about volcanoes and lava flows despite having taught the geology of them for many years. We also learnt that unlike in the NT, the traditional owners of the land didn't enter the caves, but the reason is unknown.

We were lead by a Savannah Guide who shared lots of other knowledge too. I was interested to learn about the blazes that early explorers and settlers used to literally ‘blaze a trail’. I also learnt about the clothes peg tree, Grevillea Glauca, a native that bears seed which split and are known to have been used as pegs. We saw a number of poles remaining from the attempt to construct a telegraph line from Brisbane to Darwin. Termites kept destroying the wooden poles until they eventually learnt that only Cypress Pine was resistant, which had to be shipped from England, or later to use steel. In the meantime though, the line in SA was being constructed and was not subject to the same problem and so it was the one they eventually completed. 

Once the tour ended we walked some of the swamp track and finished with the Bluff circuit for outstanding views across the wooded lava plains. Mind you, since we are walking around and over pink granite I can’t keep my eyes off the ground. The next rock you trip over could have been hiding more topaz. 

Back at Mt Surprise we fuelled up ($1.45) and had a late lunch. Since we are now only about 300 kms from Cairns there are more travellers about so we have had to book ahead to get a site in Charters Towers for the next two nights.