Girl in love with rocks

With an early start at 6am, the intrepid travellers (my long-suffering mentor driving and my sleepy geologist friend navigating) departed the infamous town of Trundle, finishing up our exploration trek of Fifield and Syerston. It was with a heavy heart that we said goodbye (again!) to Middy the pub dog and the gorgeous publican (soon to be Masters student in Education – go you!) Danielle, and drove into the wild blue yonder…….well……we drove south!

After about 20 minutes of travelling we came across a roadside outcrop (have I mentioned how much I LOVE roadside cuttings – they are just AWESOME! But I digress……) of a very interesting nature. This outcrop was a Silurian coral reef full of fossilised remains of Silurian corals, around 408-438 million years old……yes….I said MILLION! With our trusty rock hammer we happily began smashing rocks left, right and centre to find masses of coral remains fossilised in the limestone. A few samples were gathered (Ah……mine may have been so big it was a little difficult to fit behind the front passenger seat which was my allocated area for rocks – read “Bec, you can’t have anything bigger than what can fit behind the seat so don’t even think about it!…..) and after a small time of fossil fossicking heaven (say that 9 times after a few red wines!) we set off again on our travels homeward bound.

Heading back through West Wyalong and again seeing the extent of the floodwaters that have now become huge estuaries full of wetland wildlife, we came across what can only be described as a big rock. It was so big that the town was named after it. The town is called The Rock……and I want to live there just because it is called The Rock. So here is a picture of The Rock…..and I must admit it’s pretty awesome.

Gawd! Look at the tilt!……

Anyways, after celebrating with lunch at Hellebo’s (hello Lambies!), and with my inane chatter about motherhood and the perils of raising three boys and a girl (prescription medication!), we finally arrived in Melbourne just in time before Althea self-imploded and started blowing bubbles and licking windows! After a significant amount of time unpacking the car…..and all the rocks……and fighting with my Long-Suffering Mentor about who gets the big folded rock and who doesn’t (I SWEAR I said I wanted the big one and I SWEAR I told you so!), we parted ways with hugs all round, knowing this intrepid trio of female geologists had spent an awesome week together, and I’m sure somehow, we made a difference in some small way to the geological world.

BEST……..TIME……..EVER!

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Day four began in glorious weather – with a “proof of life” selfie taken and posted to Facebook so my Dear Old Dad knew I was alive and well!

I was most excited about today as my Long-Suffering Mentor had gained permission from the boss to take us out for breakfast to a very special place! And so began a small (by outback standards!) drive to Parkes, NSW.

 

 

 

You see lots of odd things in country Australia but nothing as odd as an Elvis on a Ute……holding a chainsaw……

We travelled for about three quarters of an hour through a few country towns but mainly wide open spaces with endless paddocks of golden wheat until out of the middle of no where, a HUGE radio telescope appeared. It seriously looked like something from a Mars landscape, totally opposite of it’s surroundings and epic in it’s formidable size and appearance. I was mesmerised!

The next hour was spent devouring devine Eggs Benedict and running around the many information booths and signs that are set up at the Parkes Dish! Me, being OCD when it comes to having to read every bloody sign (!!!!), looked like a flipping flea bouncing around and squealing intermittently with various sounds of awe and gushing. Using a parabola to “whisper” to Sanja and Althea from 100 metres away was AWESOME! This was one of the best experiences I have ever had – if you are somewhat of a science nerd – this is the place to visit!

 

 

But duty called, and we were here to work (!!!) so once again we set off back toward Fifield for our last day of sampling. Today was an all female geologists team as our Consultant Geo, David (poor guy had spent two days trapped in the car with me prattling on about box structure of minerals and how excited I was that I could finally identify it through a hand lens!) had left us alone in the wild (hardly!). Actually, I should talk more about David as I forgot to mention him in previous posts! David was our Consultant Geologist for this field trip and had actually grown up in the area of Trundle so was deemed a “local”. He reminded me of an energiser bunny – he would just go go go! Scarily intelligent, best sense of humour, and extremely patient, as soon as he found out I was a geology student he became obsessed with teaching and showing me every minute detail of geology and mineralogy, much to my absolute delight and he seemed delighted by my enthusiasm! He even awarded me with a hand lens (which is the best bloody hand lens I’ve ever seen!)…..and I needed a hand lens so I really appreciated it!

 

I love the vastness of the country, but I also love the variation. Surrounded by fields and fields of golden wheat, we then came across a paddock of sunflowers, all merrily worshipping the sun and pointing in the same direction. The simplicity of the sunflowers actions and yet the complexity of why and how it does this fascinates me. I just love nature so much…..

 

 

 

 

So, with our all female geologist team preparing for a big day of sampling, I decided it would be best if I drove, while Dr. Sanja plotted (sounds devious but actually it’s plotting points on a map where we sample or find something interesting!) and Althea navigated. We made a great team, working together like a delicate ballet of choreographed…….well actually…..we did work well but it was more digging holes, gathering samples (sometimes from extremely stinky creek beds!), swatting flies (thank the LORD for fly veils!), squatting for a wee behind bushes, and gathering red laterite dust in EVERY single orifice imaginable! It was pure heaven!

This picture is proof we were an all female geologist team……please note the coke bottle (which came in handy when identifying limestone – HA! See Sanja – drinking coke isn’t all bad!) and the stinky, bagged samples in a bucket (we were very glad they didn’t fall over!).

Driving on outback roads can only be described as hair-raising. With several things to watch out for at once, concentration and guts are the key to successfully negotiating outback roads. The key to outback driving is to just go for it, don’t swerve for anything, and hold on like the clappers! Roads that are like corrugated iron, huge pot holes, crazy birds, manic kangaroos, lazy lizards (the size of crocodiles – I’m NOT kidding!), sun glare – all while trying to keep an eye on the change in landscape, rock terrain, and having your Long-Suffering Mentor periodically yell “STOP”, or “HERE”, or “SLOW DOWN”, or “Oh look at that lizard, that’s such a nice lizard, HELLO lizard!”…….

Whereas Sanja and Althea were looking for interesting outcrop of mafic rock, I was mesmerised by the Quartz (as usual!). I love quartz. It’s common, yes, but it is so pretty and can be so different depending on the amount of heat and pressure it endures. In my rock collection I have many, many samples of quartz and I had to stop myself from picking up every single quartz rock I saw, because they were all so amazing and beautiful. But this one, I just couldn’t manage to get into the car! Plus Sanja said no…..

….look at the SIZE of it!!! Just brilliant…….

So after a very busy day, we headed back to Trundle for a cold drink and another great pub meal. Saying goodbye to the locals was surprisingly touching – they had all been so welcoming and accepting of us. So with hugs and kisses with Middy the pub dog, we retired to our rooms to pack and prepare for an early departure in the morning……

Bye Trundle! I hope I come back again……

[gmap-embed id=”22″]The day began at 7.30am once again, after rising to another sensational sunrise through my window at the Trundle Pub. Immediately, we set off towards Fifield again, this time heading toward “Area 1” – our designated tenement. The terrain was very different to our sampling areas of yesterday – a lot more trees and bush-like vegetation. There were lots of Big Grey Kangaroos and we even saw a Swamp Wallaby complete with joey in her pouch.

 

Stopping for a sample, we bush bashed maybe 250 metres into heavy scrub and dense vegetation only to turn around and see a huge Grey roo watching us – he would have only been about 10 metres away. He was HUGE! (Almost as tall as AB!) Thick, stocky build – I can understand the damage these guys can do to crops. But I felt surprisingly special seeing this guy up close and personal. As he thundered off the ground shook with each bounce!

 

 

Today’s exploration was with gold and tin in mind, so we were on the search for pink granites. A change in rock indicates a change in what minerals the area holds and different minerals are found in conjunction with gold and tin. There is nothing more fun than smashing rocks with a sledge hammer to find out what it contains in order to ascertain where we should take soil samples!

 

 

 

I learned how to take wet samples from a creekbed using a shovel, sieve and bucket, watching the heavy sediments sink to the bottom and hoping it contains tin! Bagging up stinky samples to get assayed, collecting dry sediment samples to determine what minerals are present in the soil, and bagging and labelling rocks for chemical analysis.

 

 

At one roadside stop we found Devonian-period claystones. The Devonian geological period is known as the “Age of Fishes” so we immediately began cracking rocks in the hopes of finding fish fossils. Unfortunately the five minutes allowance went too quickly and we didn’t find any – although I am sure they were there hiding for the next excited geologist to find!

 

 

 

 

 

Collecting samples on one of the Fifield tenements, we found three old gold mine shafts. The opening to these shafts were so small I can barely imagine humans fitting down there. One shaft was so deep we couldn’t see the bottom of it. No rehabilitation had been done to the site – they were seriously just left abandoned with wooden supports and frames in situ!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Always keeping a vigilant eye out for wildlife I was very excited to see a huge, black wild pig making a mad dash for the tree boundary on a property. I was very grateful I was in the car paddock bashing at the time! The pig was as big as a cow!

 

 

 

Having collected all our samples for the day we were then able to have some fun searching for ultra-mafic outcrop. Some significant bush bashing with shovel, bucket and hammer in hand resulted in the discovery of the most perfect, beautiful fairy circle of wildflowers and igneous rock outcrop! Sunning ourselves in this magical wonderland was just epic!

 

 

 

 

Speaking of bush bashing……I have hiked before, and I have hiked in the bush. But I have never seen bush like such that we saw today. There are no vestiges of tracks (other than pig tracks!) and when you are walking through the bush you are zig zagging your way past trees, stumps and rocks. Everywhere you look is similar looking bush terrain with very little sunlight. It is so very easy to lose your direction and I can understand how people get lost and walk in circles. Today was a huge lesson in walking with a shovel over one shoulder, a bucket on the other arm and a compass in hand at all times, always taking note of which direction you are heading and never forgetting where you left the bloody car!

 

After a hot and dusty day, beers at the Fifield pub were in order, and of course, being the rookie, I became designated driver. After dinner at the Trundle RSL – chinese dinner, no less, where I think EVERY person from Trundle, Fifield and Syerston gathered for a Wednesday chinese dinner (even all the pub staff was there indicating the pub was either closed or chronically understaffed!) –  I dragged myself off to bed, so exhausted I forgot to change into my jimmy jams!

[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!! – we cracked open rocks that looked like nothing special on the outside to reveal the most magnificent white powder like sedimentary rock called magnesite – a natural magnesium salt which is used in stock feeds but would also be quite healthy for humans. I was in my element smashing rocks open and licking them!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upon arriving at the tenement, we bounced around offroad and watched wild emus bobbing around between the trees. The landscape of outback NSW is just beautiful with panoramic views of flat open spaces and then tree filled areas with wildlife in abundance.

My work experience introduction was fast and furious! We choose a site, dig a hole, judge when the sediment change is apparent, and then bag a sample. Each bag is labelled with the depth the sample was taken from, as well as descriptions of the surrounding regolith and top soil. Very detailed and very organised. I was in my element!

Lunch was a sandwich from the trusty esky at an old abandoned wool shed. I experienced my first “au natural” pee behind a bush! I was so excited! My wonderful work colleage, Althea gave me some useful tips prior to my nature pee – “choose your spot well and keep a hold of your pants in case of privacy disturbance!” I achieved an empty bladder without any itchy rash or embarrassing wet spots on my pants or boots! WiN!

 

 

 

Having completed our samples we then became distracted by differential layers in an ultramafic rock! Spending the next two hours scouring the countryside for rock outcrops that showed direction in differential layering, we developed a better idea of the mafic geology of the area.

Scouring the countryside for rock outcrops also provides opportunities for discovering trace elements of wildlife in the area. Finding a particular scat (ie. poop!) that contained traces of iridescent beetle remains was extremely exciting and provided a fascinating few minutes squishing the poop to watch the pretty colours of partially digested beetle matter!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luckily the only slithery creature we encountered was a not-so slithery lizard sunning himself on a fence post. He was friendly enough to pose for a picture or two, but no selfies were allowed.

Our last stop presented us with a corker of an ending for our mining exploration. Scouring an outcrop on our way back to what could be sort of described as a track, we cracked open rocks to discover copper! Copper in it’s natural form is a beautiful greenish blue colour, and in situ with azurite, the inside of what looks like a very boring rock, produces a myriad of breathtaking colours. There was huge excitement as we fossicked for samples. I’ve never experienced such excitement and sheer awe of how nature can surprise us with it’s secret beauty!

Arriving back at Trundle pub, very dirty with red dust in every orifice imaginable, a cold drink and wonderful dinner along with a very welcome shower, sustained us for our adventures which continue tomorrow – more prospecting, discovery, sampling…..and more rocks! Lots of them! Lots and lots and lots of them…….!

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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 and pointing out obscure roadside sights and obviously interesting rock formations (got to LOVE roadside cuttings!) and even agreed to stop along the way at particularly interesting sights……like the following…..

Yes that is a Big Strawberry……

 

 

 

….and yes….that is me trying to take a bite out of it! Again, I reiterate, I was VERY excited about this trip!

 

Our country is known for it’s immense countryside and expansive open plains and travelling to New South Wales from Victoria provides some wonderful scenery. Having heard of the rain that New South Wales has been experiencing in the last few months, it was interesting to see exactly what effect these deluges was having on what is usually a very arid terrain. West Wyalong in particular showed us exactly how much rain has been pouring these last few months! As far as the eye could see, what usually are dry open paddocks have been transformed into the most spectacular wetland estuaries complete with wetland birdlife whom I sure would normally not inhabit such areas.

The damage by the floodwaters was visible everywhere from damaged fences to chronically potholed and damaged roads, including roads still covered by water. In the true spirit of adventure (which I was surely embracing!) we drove through the floodwaters with great splash, enjoying it so much I made my Long Suffering Mentor turn around to go through it again…..

And again……..

And, of course……again!

….by which time everyone in the car was thoroughly sick of me going “WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!” and so, off we set towards Trundle, NSW!

 

With our trusty navigator sitting in the back directing our path, we continued on our way until reaching the beautiful town of Trundle, NSW. Having spent 10 hours on the road, our bottoms (and Sanja and Althea’s ears – from my inane chatter!) were a little worse for wear, and we were most pleased to find the Trundle Pub which would be our accommodation for the next 4 nights. Actually, it wasn’t that hard to find the Trundle Pub, being that the town of Trundle consists of, well, the pub! So…….

 

The town of Trundle is famous (!!!!!) for having the widest main street in Australia. Apparently, Trundle’s forefathers wanted a street wide enough for stock trains to be able to turn around (stock trains, in those days, comprising of huge trailers pulled by teams and teams of horses, bullocks, and other various strong, hard-working animals!) And, yes, the road was very, very wide!

 

The pub was built in 1909 and 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. It’s rustic ambience was captivating and it was comfortable and clean. Plus, I got my own room with a balcony so I was ecstatic!

 

After a welcome cold drink and a traditional pub schnitty (chicken schnitzel for those uneducated people out there! – with gravy!) we clambered off to bed with strict instructions to be ready to leave at 7.30am.

 

Let the adventure begin……..!