Field Trips

Fossicking field trips are an integral part of the Minerama experience and many regular visitors allow a full 4-5 days to experience all the unique locations on offer in the area. The charge for all trips is $11 per adult and $4 for children up to age 16 (children under 7 are free). Tickets will be on sale from 8:30am each day from Friday in the car park behind the Glen Innes & District Services Club.

We will be trialing a new system from 2010 where tickets can be purchased in advance - available online  or by calling the Glen Innes Visitor Information Centre on 02 6730 2400. Field trips where limited numbers apply (eg. Pretty Valley, 7 Oaks) cannot be purchased in advance.
 
IMPORTANT NOTE:  Pre-booked tickets can only be paid for using Visa or Mastercard (no cash sorry).  Due to cost of transaction reversal fees, refunds cannot be issued except where trips are cancelled due to bad weather.
 
Disclaimers must be filled out and submitted to the ticket desk on the morning of the trip before departing. Trips are self-drive and leave at 9:00am sharp – you will travel in convoy with the trip guide. Please bring all necessary equipment and personal requirements.
 
DISCLAIMERS: All field trip participants must fill out a disclaimer form before a ticket can be issued. This is a requirement in order to be covered by Council's public liability insurance. If you would like to save some time on the day by filling out the form in advance, please download the 2011 Disclaimer here (70kb pdf).

Field trip locations and timing may vary due to extreme weather conditions – heavy rain may cause some sites to be inaccessible. Please follow all safety instructions when fossicking and driving to/from the sites. Follow the links below for more details on the trips and locations.

Preliminary 2011 PROGRAM BELOW (posted 3/2/10) - please check all details at time of booking
Friday
Saturday

Sunday

Thursday and Monday
 
Organised field trips will not be offered on these days. We encourage you to check out one or more of the many fossicking sites available in the area. Please use this link to view a map of fossicking sites in the Glen Innes and Inverell area. You may like to consider visiting one of our supporters: 7 Oaks, Three Waters or Boolabinda.
 
 
For best results, we suggest you bring the following equipment with you:

For sapphires – you will need to bring a pair of sieves (coarse and fine), shovel (the longer the handle the better), plastic bottle with lid for your finds, pair of tweezers for picking them out of the concentrate and a bucket.

Optional extras include a long steel probe for locating holes under sand or gravel while a small tin and perhaps a piece of steel wire are excellent for scraping wash out from between boulders where gems have a tendency to get caught. A yabby pump may be useful in sandy type soils.

For other minerals - a sturdy pick and shovel, garden trowel or fork, work gloves, crowbar, newspaper to wrap your bigger specimens in.

Be prepared for a day out in the bush so wear appropriate clothing, sun protection and take adequate food and water. We suggest good sturdy walking shoes or boots, gumboots, sunhat and sunscreen, insect repellent and a pair of clippers to cut back blackberry bushes or other vegetation that gets in the way.