Billabong Blue Sapphire Fossicking Park — Attraction in Sapphire

Well, all we can say is extremely disappointing. We had high hopes as many reports came in for some nice pieces being found the weeks previously. Unfortunatelly the rain over the previous days made conditions wet and there was very little paydirt available on our first day with just over 30 hopefull people trying their luck. Our hard work for the full day was rewarded with a few meagre chips. Nothing worthwhile to talk about! The water for washing the dirt was already like custard by lunchtime making it hard to try and wash any gravel. Day two was a complete disaster, water in the trough had been topped up by the look of it but no mud had been removed making it almost impossible at the start of our session to try and clean the wash. We did ring ahead to make sure some new dirt was going to be available as it ran out the day before and yes there was a pile of new dirt there, but thats all it was, dirt, we washed this dough like mud for 2 hours in what was like pudding instead of water in the trough...by 11 am we had enough and left, simply not worth the efford, we managed to "wash" six tiny chip by then... the other 40 or so people there had the same problems, no proper wash, a custard like soup in the trough to try and wash all this mud etc etc...we saw very few small chips being found ! Not what one would expect after paying $20 per head to fossick. We left just after 11 am , had some lunch and spend the afternoon in a local Free Fossicking Area finding more stones than at Billabong Blue and having the advantage of clean running water to wash our gravels. There will have to be big improvements made to BB before we spend our hard earned dollars there again ! This place had been highly recommened for their sapphires , however this time it has fallen well short...

We decided to fossick and camp at billabong blue and ended up staying a week. We tried out the fossicking park for $20 and found loads of sapphires in a whole day of digging (opens 9am, closes 4pm). Not really any good quality ones though. We brought our own sieves etc so we did two days of our own digging and fossicking in Frazer's creek near the campsite ($10pp). This was more successful with nicer stones. We ended up getting a sapphire and zircon cut. And found one more on the last day that was 3.6 carats that we will get cut.

We also camped at their site. They had flushing toilets and a hose with creek water (it was clean but not drinkable) you could use as a shower. They also had a shared space with a kitchen sink that was connected to a rain water tank. There were a few shacks around that you could use. And the bathroom and main communal area had lighting. The bins get emptied every day and the toilet paper gets restocked but I would bring a roll just in case.

We accessed Billabong Blue via a sealed road, but the campsite location is through dirt roads around the back. Our mini SUV was fine and most cars in dry weather would be fine also.

If you are camping get there before 2pm, if fossicking get there as early as possible. It was very quiet all week but got busier over the weekend. Would highly recommend this, even with families, singles or couples.

It was a great experience overall. Loved waking up to the sounds of birds and cows in the morning. And seeing the...

Great place. Found sapphires near the creek and at the fossicking park. Loved talking to Bill top bloke had some great stories. His camp facilities are the best clean park toilets and a huge camp kitchen. Two other families were there at the same time as me and they were heaps of fun and very friendly. The reason I chose BB was a negative review. Had to see for myself. To the baggers let's remember you are out in the country fossicking nothing is guaranteed. At BB you will be greeted by a top bloke made feel welcome and if camping a top spot to stay, if you need a wash jump in the creek remember you are camping and paying a minimal fee to do so. Can't wait to get...