North Queensland - 31 Aug 2021

We slept pretty well. Darryl got up early to check out some diggings before it turned too hot. 

Gorgeous sunrises too

I pottered around the campsite. There were lots of flies, but they came in waves, so there was some relief.

Darryl came back with pocketfuls of stones which he then checked. Nothing to make our fortune but still exciting to see colour.

Despite it supposedly being 35C we didn't feel hot. Taking in shade under a tree during lunch then once it cooled off went for a little walk.

Late in the afternoon, Darryl was fascinated by the spinifex pigeons that raced up the slope, jumped on large rocks, stood still, and sometimes flew a short distance back down the hill to retrace their track. 

I got lots of great star photos.

North Queensland - 30 Aug 2021

We packed up casually. 

Darryl made a little shroud for the Billy so it boils quickly. I think it looks like a Dalek!

All Darryl's hard work paid off with a nice haul

We all drove back to Cloncurry, sharing the gates (which meant we only had to do one each). 5 camels were in a paddock on the side of the road. 

Don't you love a stop signal when there's no one actually working!

This looks like someone has relocated both a railway siding and carriage for their home

We overtook a truck, (thanks to the good truckie spotting for us), and as we overtook Eddie were just pulling back to our side of the road when another truck pulled out from a track on our right without looking...very close but we were safe.

Back in Cloncurry, we went to the tourist info again. Met up with Gail and she gave me more fossicking information. In town we fuelled up, got some supplies then drove west before taking the road to Duchess. 

Turned south and after Malbon had lunch beside the Cloncurry River, before finding Kuridala township and cemetery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuridala_Township_site This was where Darry's grandfather, (Sydney Walsh) first started working for the railway as a boy porter in 1914 when he was 14 years old. 

Not a lot left of the township

The cemetery was fenced off and 'out of bounds', but a copy of the Register of Burials was in a an old fusebox

Darryl used his zoom to get a few headstones

Lots of birds were coming down to share the cattle trough

Hampden Smelter at Kuridala https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuridala_Township_site

Mine mullock heap a few hundred meters away.

We had a look around the smelter area, then headed for the amethyst fossicking area. 

A mining shaft

A mullock heap

Camping isn't allowed at the historic township, but the Fossicking permit allows it at the diggings

A pretty steep, rocky track took us up to the top of the ridge, where we set up camp.

Darryl found a few poor quality stones almost immediately.

This site afforded magnificent views and sunsets. 

Crepuscular rays formed in the east and in the west (below)

Looked like we 'might' get a visitor but they never arrived. Found that I had 'some' phone signal at times up on the hill.

I was able to play with the star mode on my camera - Venus in the west

The Southern Cross sitting in the centre of the Milky Way