Tree of Knowledge and lovely Sapphire

We ended up driving from Longreach to Sapphire in the same day which is only around the 300 ks or so. It was a longer than usual haul for us as we were getting used to about 250 or so. We are so glad we did. Along the way we came to a little town where the Tree of Knowledge is. It is a famous tree that the workers all sat under when they had the first ever shearers strike. Under this tree the Australian Labour Party was formed. The tree is beside the railway station but has been held up and supported by various methods and had a Perspex floor and lights underneath to see all of the tree roots. Apparently in 2006 the tree was poisoned and died but they have carefully preserved it. It is centered in a wooden overhead display that actually makes it look like the trees foliage. Very clever and well preserved.

After partaking of the local bakery offerings we were on our way to Sapphire. There are two parks in Sapphire but we eventually decided on The caravan park at the top of the hill. It was delightful with very secluded and pretty bays. We were however very close to the amenities block. The new owners are carrying on the tradition of a very friendly and welcoming park where at the end you don't actually want to leave. There was happy hour each evening and would you believe we met some lovely people who lived in Darling Downs (Just a few ks up the road from our home) The park has an abundance of various wildlife and John got a fright on our first night when a possum scurried up the tree. Sapphire is of course known for its sapphire mining which is a great way to pass some time. John and I went fossicking at a place called Pats Gems where you can buy buckets of wash and spend the day searching for your fortune in sapphires. It was great fun and we found a few sapphires of different colors which was very exciting but nothing that was suitable for cutting. People go there on holidays and end up staying to do mining for 6 months of the year. You just have to put a claim in and get the gear and off you go. A license costs about $9.00. I think this is just what I would like to do but only in the cooler months of the year. We had heard there was a little place in Rubyvale which is another sapphire town about 10 Kms away so off we went to look around and have some of the famous strudel. We had the strudel but the Austrian man who owned the shop was also a jeweller and creates stunning jewellery so a 12 dollar afternoon tea ended up becoming a sapphire ring. He was having a closing down sale as each year he closes for the hotter months and returns to Europe then comes back again in February. So he has a big sale to clear his store. So of course yours truly now has a beautiful blue green sapphire ring. I can't stop looking at it as it just shines and sparkles in the sun. We also went on a tour of one of the underground mines there. Like Coober Pedy, it is a constant 24 degrees under the ground and a very pleasant temp

Far too soon our 3 days here were finished and as much as we wanted to stay longer it was time to pack up and move on to our next adventure. (We were only going to stay just one or two days initially). It's off to more adventure and places to see Talkies soon Xx Son n John