Page 3 - Camper Trailer Australia Magazine Gemtree Park

home. The other option is to have the garnet(s) cut by the resident stonecutter and sent to you, or you can take the uncut stones home immediately.
Garnet Gully is also right on the property, with the chance to sieve for garnets and discover other regional rock specimens.
Zircon tours are also available from Gemtree but there is no guarantee you will find stones and the work is much harder. The zircon field can also be accessed on your own with a mud map and a permit from Gemtree. Dedicated gem hunters have been known to return to Gemtree frequently to find these more valuable stones.
Brian and Pat, who travel Australia digging up and cutting stones of all kinds, have several impressive bags of zircons and garnets, some of which they have turned into jewels that make Pat look like the gypsy queen of caravanners. After all,
For those who prefer to travel on foot, a 3.5km self-guided nature trail provides an excellent introduction to the flora of the region. For the mountain biker, there is also a mountain bike track offering
a cycling challenge and some great scenery. Carmel has done an impressive job of putting together an illustrated guide book that also includes points of interest and a bird list.
Speaking of birds, they are abundant at Gemtree, including flocks of budgies that descend on the billabong every morning like a fluttering green cloud.
For the golfer, there is a bushy and rocky nine hole course.
STATION LIFE
For anyone interested in outback station living, Gemtree frequently shows a short film featuring Cameron’s younger brother when he was a boy growing up on the
over the following generations. To find out more, join the Gemtree local history day tour, but be sure to ask in advance.
A big screen down by the billabong has regular showings of footy matches, concert, etc.
CAMP COOKING
Cameron and Carmel’s daughter,
Kate, runs Kate’s Campoven Kitchen, featuring camp oven meals served near the billabong, including a delicious shepherd’s pie, a Sunday roast dinner followed by some karaoke, or, simply
a hot spud with the works after a bit of paddy melon bowling.
If a hearty breakfast is more your style, then the Saturday morning billabong cook-up is right for you. It can even be delivered to your site.
In these times of ever-increasing travellers, where we all sometimes feel a certain charm has been lost in the shuffle, a place like Gemtree has more heart than most. And so, If you get a chance, give it a try. n
“It’s nice to have a latte-coloured sparkler to go with your khaki shorts and tops”
FAST FACTS
Gemtree is 140km northeast of Alice Springs via the Stuart then the Plenty Highways,
(08) 8956 9855, www.gemtree.com.au.
Gemtree has fuel, a kiosk, public phone, internet, washing machine, toilet and shower block, powered sites and bore water.
April to September is the best time to visit. Summer is too hot!
it’s nice to have a latte-coloured sparkler to go with your khaki shorts and tops.
No matter what your goals are for your fossicking adventure at Gemtree, you will at least have fun.
OUT AND ABOUT
For 4WDers, Gemtree can send you off with a mud map for a bit of self-guided driving in the Harts Range area. In fact, 4WDs can also access Gemtree via the Arltunga Historical Reserve, once a thriving gold town.
family grazing property near the Plenty Highway. Have a yarn with Cameron, who is justifiably proud of his grandfather’s amazing penetration through the Red Centre in 1921.
With the help of an Aboriginal guide, Charles and Cory Chalmers took their four children in a horse-drawn covered wagon, while driving 400 sheep, 13 horses and a few goats, across 2,300km of desert over a two-year period.
They settled north of the Plenty Highway and became closely linked to the region
Find your way with Hema’s maps.
The Gemtree camp ground has large sites but plan to be self sufficient.
Fossicking for gems is great fun for families.
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Gemtree Caravan Park, NT
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