Central Queensland gemfields

This area of undulating bushland is ideal for those wishing to try their luck 'away from it all'.

Although heavily worked in places, the area remains popular because it still contains large areas of unworked ground.

Access

Turn off the Capricorn Highway for Sapphire and Rubyvale. From Rubyvale take the unsealed Clermont road for 27km to the Reklaw Park/Mount Mica homesteads turn-off. Turn left, then left again almost immediately onto the Reklaw Park track, and follow through a series of grids for 17km to the signposted entrance on the north-east boundary of the fossicking area.

A minor track on the right leads to the Featherbed Run diggings. The main track then crosses Hut Creek and veers left to follow the eastern edge of Oak Ridge to Zircon Gully, Ironstone Gully and Mount Hoy diggings.

Tracks are rough but generally suitable for conventional vehicles except in wet weather. Caravans are not recommended. Seek advice locally and check conditions before setting out.

Map

• Tomahawk Creek fossicking area map (PDF, 577.8 KB)

Facilities

Camping is allowed for a maximum period of 3 months. Camping permits can be obtained from our regional offices or fossicking licence agents. There are no facilities except for a solar telephone near the entrance. The area is remote and visitors must be self-sufficient.

Water needs to be carried from Sapphire or from waterholes in Tomahawk Creek (boil before use). These holes are the supply for some local residents and must not be polluted.

Fossicking notes

Wash of different types is extensive. Oak Ridge is blanketed by deep wash but its depth and a cover of large billy boulders renders it impossible to mine by hand.

Shallow secondary wash covers Oak Flats; it is only between 300mm and 1m deep and although bouldery makes this area popular with visitors.

In Zircon Gully, thin (100–200mm), hard, almost cemented wash lies beneath up to 2m of sandy soil overburden.

Ironstone Gully is the next to the south and has also proved popular.

The Mount Hoy diggings in the far south lie east of the volcanic plug of Mount Hoy. The shallow wash to 500mm deep consists of white quartz pebbles and cobbles of sandstone and conglomerate; few billy boulders are present.

A short distance to the north, in the area known as the Ash, the wash comprises 70–100mm of topsoil underlain by 250–300mm of loose pebbly grey soil with rare cobbles, resting on an irregular clay bottom. Some good blues, as well as fancy stones, have been found here.