Tomahawk Creek Fossicking Area

The largest of the Central Queensland gemfields' public digging grounds, spread across remote country about 25 kilometres west of Rubyvale, northwest of Emerald. Extensive sapphire and zircon wash lies beneath flats like Oak Ridge and Oak Flats, drawing fossickers who camp on the designated land for up to three months at a time. It's genuinely off-grid — a solar telephone near the entrance is about the only facility, and access is by unsealed roads and station tracks. A Queensland fossicking licence is required.