seven oaks fossicking

Very dry this time of the year. We took our own equipment for sieving. Ground is pre dug from creek by escalator and dumped for you to dig a bucket of dirt at a time to sift through in the provided water troughs. The property is only a short drive 1.5kms of dirt road to get to camping ground (short walk to fossicking area).Unfortunately the facilities weren't as well kept as they should be. Bins were overflowing and extra litter was seen around various empty camp sites. The gas for provided cooking was empty (lucky we took our own gas and water). Plenty of toilet paper provided but long drop toilets were not clean and there were no instructions for those not use to using such toilets plus no lime left in bucket to help with the process. The solar shower worked well, but again was not cleaned and was grimy with body hair. If you can get past this the fossicking was pretty good and a small number of sapphires found.

All equipment supplied. Bob showed us how to fossick correctly and came up with a sapphire on first example. Set in gum trees with minimal facilities. Toilet is a bush long drop. Beware those used to more town facilities. We had a day of fun and hard labour and came away with several small sapphires.

Friendly environment with the other fossickers. Showed us how to get started as all of the equipment is there, though the more serious guys had their own equipment. We found a few party sapphires and had loads of fun. Would have spent more time if the weather had of been kinder. Would be pretty spot to camp.

I absolutely loved and enjoyed my stay here.-GREAT fossicking destination. It's definitely worth it if you're a serious fossicker!-The caretaker Bob is a really nice old man who knows a lot about sapphires & fossicking-The camping is great and the price is great too!!Overall, just really loved my holiday here! And... I found a great Blue/Yellow 6.5 carat party sapphire!!! Even though the temperature was -9 degree's during the night, everything else made up for it :) although I would recommend if you cant stand the cold, try going in summer.

All equipment supplied, just turn up and start shovelling dirt into buckets then Ziff away. Bring old cloths.

I camped there for 4 days, this was my third 'bush' camp but the first to have a shower, A few toilets and an undercover area. I was keen to try my hand at fossicking. The Hosts were Fantastic, They were friendly and helpful. Always ready to jump in to help with anything from firewood to showing techniques on sieving. I found quite a few sapphires which was very rewarding, and muscles I didn't know I owned. I drove a small sedan which driven slowly had no problem navigating the well worn driveway. Best of all was the nights around the campfire under the full moon and stars. Waking to the birds chatter and seeing kangaroos a stones throw from my tent. I didn't want to leave and can't wait to bring my daughter back for her to experience it too.

I just spent 4 days at 7 Oaks. And I am saddened to read that somebody complained about 7 Oaks. No.1 It is bush camping, it has a hot shower and a toilet so you do not have to hide behind a tree and dig a hole. there is so much space that it would be hard to fill the place with visitors. For those who have only a car there is a large shed with clean drinking water and a Bar-b-q. Where in the bush can you find these amenities. Then the fossicking, the explanation given on how to find a rare gemstone in a pile of dirt is more than what should be required if you have any interest . It is explained and shown how to do and I saw a seven year old girl find stones by herself after just 5 minutes. As far as the dirty water goes, you only need to wash one bucket and guess what the water is dirty. Another thing to remember is that water is in short supply. And yes there will be some mud in the washing barrel. even more if you do not dry sieve the dust of the gravel. So doing things the smart way will make your stay more enjoyable rather then see how many things you complain about. I found the staff most helpful, when the drum got to dirty they tipped it out and washed it all I had to do was ask. I had a small problem with my car and needed some assist which was given happily. The wild life was amazing, birds, Kangaroos and wallabies. the fees are unbelievable for only $10 you can camp overnight with the use of the amenities. For $20 per day, you can dig and fill as many buckets as you wish from the dirt brought in from the mine site and is virgin soil, it hasn't been run through a machine first, or you can find your own spot in the creek and gullies. But that is really hard work :) I can recommend any serious and wannabe fossicker to come here. I had a grand time , met lots of nice people and found sapphires, a ruby and some nice size zircons.

My 11 year old son and I camped here for 2 nights and fossicked and loved it. Very basic camping but the hot shower was welcome, and a great way to listen to birds instead of traffic, and sit by a real campfire and relax after a day fossicking. We found heaps of little sapphires (over 50) and it was so much fun sifting and spotting them. It is physical, but not hard work as you can go at your own pace. The excavator digs up the creek bed and dumps it at the site so you can easily grab the buckets of creek wash to fossick through. No mozzies or bities here, but definately bring sunscreen! Fresh rainwater is at the site to drink. We loved it, an awesome adventure and tree change.

If you are after trying out fossicking then this is the type of place for you. Unless you are an advanced fossicker then you should come here first. Fossicking in creeks means a lot less sapphires since here they have a running mine and this means the dirt you fossick through is from an old river bed and saves you digging down which legally you can only do up to 1m unless in a legal mine like this.The property is a nice drive from Inverell and the last part through the property is dirt. The road is suited for 4WD but any vehicle can make it as long as you drive slowly.A small fee allows you to wash dirt for the whole day. There are basic toilets, showers and picnic facilities. Camping is allowed for a small fee. A small water tower supplies the water you need to wash with. For an extra fee you can hire a small motorized wash plant for an hour. The caretaker is always nice and will walk you through how to fossick.If you dont like doing much work or have a bad back the this might not be for you. The wash material is from a working mine so it does contain a lot of sapphires per cubic meter but you have to get it out of the clay. Buckets and sieves etc are supplied. I recomment you fill a few buckets with wash (dirt from pile) and let them soak for a tad to make removal of the clay easier. All up with a little practice anyone can fossick for sapphires here.What you find you keep....fossicking through the pile of dirt is hit and miss. Some people believe digging the top is the best since its at the bottom of the truck then it is delivered from the mine...some say it makes little difference as its all stuck in big clumps of clay...whatever your secret is please respect a shovel sticking in dirt when you see it...this means someone else is digging there. Nothing annoys more than digging an area and then having someone else go to your hole.If you have kids then keep them away from other peoples holes. Speckling is when you try and find a sapphire with the nakes eye in situ....again there is nothing worse than a little kid finding a sapphire in a hole that you are digging.

Great looking professional website so I expected the prospecting site to look a little less primitive. Enjoyed prospecting but I felt that for $20.00 the owners could have made more of an effort. There was a very cursory effort made in showing me what to do and then I was left to my own devices. Its difficult to spot any tiny sapphires so a little more attention as to what to look for would have been appreciated. I also felt that the very muddy barrels could have had the water changed more regularly as it was very difficult to get all the dirt off the stones and spot the potential sapphires with the very filthy water. This place has so much more potential to be a fantastic experience with a little more care.

We took the family camping and fossicking here for a few days. It was lots of fun for the kids. They panned for sapphires and found lots of little stones which was exciting for them. They played in the creek and generally got very muddy. They loved it. We camped on the river, had a fire and a relaxing time. The owner was very friendly and helpful. The amenities are very basic and we would have preferred a more secluded camping spot but overall the experience was good.

but an experience to try at least once a secludued location that is probalby better visited when the temperature is under 18 degrees.

Took our 6 year old son to do some panning and had a great time. Located about 20 minutes from Inverell and it costed $20 per adult (son was free) - time unlimited - we stayed 2 hours and found lots of small sapphires. You arrive at the property where the residence is located and then drive maybe 1 to 2 km along a rough dirt road (hint: we had a 2wd SUV and no problem but if you have a sedan/car I would ask your host Peter to drive you to the fossick site which would be no problem). Not suitable I don't think for caravans. Essentially he excavates the old river beds leaving a large pile of sediment. You can dig from it or the river bed and then pan for the sapphires. Peter provided advice and instruction and we had an absolute ball. I think you could easily spend a day there. We found heaps of small stones and people around us found larger ones. The fossick site has a very basic camp area and toilet. The creek is nice. A great day trip I reckon with a picnic rug and picnic lunch.

We went here during our honeymoon as we both like getting out and trying something new. The man who runs it was very friendly and helpful. We stayed for most of the day, found quite a few little stones to keep which was great. His dog (sapphire?) was really cute and stayed with us most of the day playing fetch with rocks at lunch time, which was amusing. Definitely somewhere to go to try something new and have a nice quiet family day. :) don't forget to take a stroll down to the creek at lunchtime, it's really nice. Oh and it wasn't expensive - only $20 each.