[gmap-embed id=”22″]Day Two started at 5am waking to the most magnificent sunrise in the beautiful country town of Trundle. The colours of the sky were almost unreal from my balcony window in the Trundle pub. Built in 1909 the pub accommodates a myriad of revellers including excitable rooky geologists and backpackers passing through looking for some work in outback New South Wales. The shared-style accommodation was originally built for the itinerant workers from the nearby busy railway line which was a way to bring produce to rural NSW. After breakfast and packing the car with the mainstays required for a day of geology (ie. water, toilet paper and chocolate!), we set off towards Fifield. Watching the roadside change from pale red to dark red dust, there were many stops along the way to test the rock and regolith which became more and more magnetic as we drove. Much fun was had with a pen magnet picking up small iron filings (I think I could have stayed in that one place for hours just watching the small flecks of iron-rich rock moving towards my pen magnet!). With a quick stop at a magnecite quarry – OHMYGAWD! It was totally awesome!! – […]

[gmap-embed id=”37″]   It was with much excitement (and a tummy full of butterflies) that I began my first ever mining exploration trek! My Long-Suffering Mentor (a.k.a. Dr. Sanja) had the great idea (although I’m sure she regretted it as soon as the ear-piercing squeal of delight reached her ears and she was forced to watch several minutes of eye-burning victory dancing on my behalf!) of asking me to accompany her as a field-hand on her upcoming exploration trek to outback New South Wales. In hindsight, she probably regretted her asking me pretty much as soon as I shouted “YES YES YES!” in her face and immediately began pouring over Google Earth maps and Geological Surveys, but to her credit she never reneged, and so began our outback trek on a sunny Monday morning at the bright, crack of dawn!     Again, in hindsight, I feel perhaps my overly chipper nature at 6am leading into a 10 hour car trip may have not made the best of impressions, but to their credit, my Long Suffering Mentor and my newly formed friend, and work colleague (how GOOD does that sound!? Hey! Hey?!) Althea, put up with my incessant questions, gesticulations […]