Sapphires!

Hello!
We had an excellent overnight away!
We didn’t leave too early – but it was a really enjoyable drive.
Stopped in Scottsdale where I spotted this wonderful blanket of pink, flowing over a fence!
Jeff got a coffee and we got directions to a park so we could sit and have a sandwich before seeking our fortunes in sapphires.

We missed the turnoff completely – got to Weldborough and had to backtrack. When we saw the road we realised why we missed it. The road sign (tiny) was only visible (just) if you were heading the opposite way!
I suppose everyone else in the civilised world has a GPS in their car haha.

Anyway, we found the Weld River and got in and started sifting and panning. I immediately found a couple of sapphire chips in my pan, so that bolstered our enthusiasm!

After a while we decided to go further up stream to try our luck there. We just walked in the water – it was lovely and warm.
A few fish – good sized trout I suspect – were seen. One came up to Jeff so close he was able to grab its tail!!

It was peaceful and beautiful in the river.
Really enjoyed our afternoon!

So… what did we find?

How pretty are these?

Here is some scale – which will only be useful to those of you familiar with our coinage haha

So – later in the afternoon we grabbed our gear and walked back to the car – changed into dry clothes on the side of the road and drove back to the pub in Weldborough for dinner.

Such a great little spot!
I don’t usually post food photos – usually because I’ve guffed most of it down before I think of a snap – but this is what we indulged in post fossicking…

Steak sandwich for me and a Moroccan chicken curry for Jeff!

Turns out the pub lets people camp for free behind the establishment! Even a block of loo’s and a shower available!! Hows that?
Much better than driving back out in the bush somewhere.
In true Millar Style… it started to rain just as we were setting up!

Its a bit of a squash in our hiking tent… well, I don’t find it too bad but Jeff has more trouble. What kills me is that I can’t seem to stay comfortable on the mattresses for more than 20 minutes before legs ache and I have to turn! Is this an age thing?? haha
Looking forward to crawling into a comfy bed tonight thats for sure!

The next morning was cold-ish. We decided not to spend the day in the water getting cold but scoped out another path to where we might be able to return to next time.
The track was pretty narrow but had a few parking/camping possibilities.

The foxglove was out everywhere. Very pretty but a real problem here as its an invasive weed.

We figured as well if we got up early enough we could certainly do a day trip, come out and sift/pan and return the same evening. Its about 3.5 hours drive each way.

We enjoyed a slow drive back, stopped at a couple of places and managed to return home to a pleased Pip and in time to do some last second supermarket shopping before tomorrow!

Hope you’ve all got a lovely day planned!
I think I shall gather strawberries and raspberries tomorrow!

Cheers