Rolling to the Rock: Day 14

We’ve had our fill of gaps, canyons, and gorges, so it was time for something a bit different – gemstone fossicking.

Located ‘just up the road’ from the Glen Helen Resort (see Day 12), 140km north east of Alice Springs, via the de-restricted Stuart Highway and mostly single lane Plenty Highway (keep going another 500km or so and you’ll hit the Queensland border!), Gemtree Caravan Park is promoted as an ‘Outback Wilderness Retreat’ but there’s really only one reason to stay: the chance to dig for semi-precious stones.

The friendly, family-run park operates two tagalong tours in the area: one to a garnet field about 32km up the road, and another to search for zircons about 17km away.

We opt for the more kid-friendly garnet tour, as the sparkly red stones are easier to find, and join three other families for a crisp 8.30am start.

The tour price of $80 includes fossicking equipment (sieves, pick, shovel, and 20 litre water container), which we shove in the back of the Kia Sorento, and lug again out to the designated site, which apart from a number of small holes looks like any other patch of dirt in the Red Centre.

However, after three hours of pounding the soil, sifting the chunks and checking for red glints amidst the washed stones in the mid morning sun, we return triumphant with a handful of decent garnets and covered head to toe in red dust.

Back at the park’s gem stone shop, our guide sorts the stones into various grades, and then offers for a price to polish and set them in jewellery, before sending the finished result to our home address about six weeks later.

Other than fossicking, the Gemtree park offers a peaceful, outback haven for those who want to just kick back and relax for a day or two.

While dusty, most of the 40-odd powered sites are flat, drive-through and offer some shade and plenty of space so you never feel crowded.

Chirpy and cheerful hosts Aaron and Kate McMaster make the best of their remote location, offering ‘candlelit’ communal dinners most evenings in peak season in Kate’s very rustic Campoven Kitchen near the billabong.

Facilities include a very basic store with alcohol available to guests, fuel, devonshire teas and decent drinking water sourced from an artesian bore, and the ablution block is kept fastidiously clean.

However, most things are in short supply, with the water supply cutting out repeatedly during our laundry session, and power from the on-site generators switched off at 10.30 each night (much to our relief, as the ‘whirring’ disturbed the starry solitude).

Like most stops in the Red Centre outside of Alice Springs, Gemtree is out of mobile range but offers basic wi-fi internet for those needing to keep in touch.

Pets are more than welcome (one guest’s labrador joined in the garnet hunting), there’s tasty citrus fruit available for anyone who wants to pick it, and firepits surrounding most sites ensure the perfect, flickering ending to any day in the outback.