Nundle in NSW, east of Tamworth, is an old gold prospection area that we love to visit. Cold in winter or hot in summer if offers challenges… those which include access to water, unless of course it is flooding. Nearby Chaffey Dam is a favourite camp for many as is the caravan park in Nundle itself, spacious and comfortable, and it is here you will find the Info Centre which is necessary for panning and noodling advice. Particularly if your not sure what your doing.
Being an independent self-contained traveller we prefer Swamp Creek as our freecamp, though the pic shows part of the little township in flood. You can find some local pic’s of floods on-line easily.
Then there is the delightful Sheba Dam up in the hills, though it’s 10 deg colder in the winter months up there, and you need to make sure your tow vehicle can make the climb while in tow. The views from Hanging Rock are lovely, and see if you can find the odd little hanging rock at the turn-off.
The Man always ventures out with the detector, though the ground is noisy and panning is the most common practice. The views are rolling hills, filled with old digs and restful cattle as well as the ‘hoppies’ to be seen near everywhere, particularly at dusk and dawn.
I’ve written before about Nundle in The Wealth of a Country – Australia, which includes video of exploring old digs, and on Nundle township A Gem I the NSW Goldfields, though I haven’t mentioned the lovely Nundle Diamonds. In RV Daily they have just featured an exploration of the township which features my absolutely favourite Hardware on the continent. As in A Gem in the NSW Goldfields, RV Daily also explores the lovely little township. You an find the RV Daily article Going for Gold on the link and it worth a read to introduce you the towns many attractions. The Nundle Woolen Mill is a delight and for the knitters and winter warmers this is a ‘must stop top spot’.
This time we came to Nundle to explore the beautiful Nundle diamond. People say… oh its really just quartz… but then quartz had degrees of hardness, seasoning and colour or clarity and most precious gems are “really just cooked quartz”. They are a valued, precious gem in its many forms. Below is a great little Youtube video that is a delight to watch
Formation of crystal quartz also known as rock crystal, is born of a volcanic process and it is not surprising that it can be found along the Great Dividing Range on the East coast of Aus’ where an ancient thermal hot-spot travelled up along the continental land mass forming our line of ancient volcano’s which are now on the Australian eastern coastline, this range forming millions if not billions of years ago. The majority of quartz crystallise from molten magma in hot hydrothermal veins, common also to gold deposits, as well as silver and copper. Naturally occurring crystals of quartz with extremely high purity are valuable and rare on our planet. They are necessary for the crucibles and other equipment used for growing silicon wafers in the semiconductor industry.
Relative to ancient Australia, quartz is the most common material identified as the mystical substance maban in Australian Aboriginal mythology. In the Dreaming Series Moongun the tribal shaman also known as Andrew, uses the ancient mayan stones to protect his daughter, Yindi from the Numereji Serpent who seeks to steal the spirit of young children. Maban stones are used in many ways, for protection as with the opal, as in the sky-stone, that gifted to Jenna who is a child of mystery in the Series. It is used also for enlightenment, as with the dark australite when the shaman step through space and time, leading others, to find the Mimi people of the rock. They are mystic stones of the Earth, of nature and they are powerful in their Lore.
You can explore many aspects of Australian Aboriginal Lore in the books of The Dreaming Series, as well as step deeper into the mysteries with those of The Spirit Children. Available from Amazon in the US and Amazon.au for Aussie readers. The stories are a pathway into understanding what is the most ancient Lore, and religion on Earth.
Travel well.
Jan is a Traveller and an Author. You can find out more about her books on travel on the page dedicated to Oldies at Large, where you will also find a list of her blog postings in topic.
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