Discovery Holiday Parks
Lake Maraboon, Central Highlands, QLD

Activities & Attractions

Recommended Length of Stay: 5 days

Must Do's:

- Sapphire Gemfields & Miners Heritage Walk-In Mine

- DHP Bush tucker & sing-a-long

½ - 1 Day - Fishing on Lake Maraboon

Lake Maraboon, meaning 'where the black ducks fly' is more than 3 times the size of Sydney Harbour and stocks about eight different kinds of fish (including Barramundi which can be fished for year round) but is most famous for its Red Claw Crayfish. These are caught in cheap and readily available crayfish pots (allowable limit of 4 pots only per person) with the crayfish themselves not fussy when it comes to bait - fruit, veggies and/or dog biscuits bring productive catches. So launch the boat and spend the day fishing for the big one or a few Red Claw to cook on the 'Barbie'. If you don't have a boat, one is available for hire from Discovery Holiday Parks - Lake Maraboon but it's wise to book this in advance.

½ Day - Springsure

Situated 66kms south of Emerald on the Gregory Highway, this pretty little town developed in the late 1850's primarily from the early wagon teams camping on their way from Rockhampton to the Gulf and Barcoo country. As you approach Springsure, watch out for the renowned 'Virgin Rock', a naturally formed likeness to the Virgin Mary and Child. A recently established Heritage Walk will guide you to 10 of the town's heritage sites and don't miss one of the largest windmills in Queensland. View the Old Rainworth Fort, just south of the town, built in 1862 as protection against Aboriginal attack and if time is not pressing, visit the 'Willis Massacre' site and graves, where on a tragic day in October 1861, 19 of the district's earliest settlers were killed in a conflict with local Aborigines, now acknowledged as the biggest killing of whites by blacks in the history of Australia - refer www.bauhinia.qld.au/visitos/tours.

½ - 1 Day - Clermont

Situated 106kms north of Emerald on the Gregory Highway, the origins of this quiet unassuming town dates back to the discovery of gold at Nelson's Gully in 1861 with historical artifacts and machinery at the Clermont Museum capturing the story of subsequent settlement and development.

Should you wish to try your luck searching for that elusive gold nugget, general permission areas for visitors have been created which allow fossickers to prospect for a small fee without fear of trespass. Clermont Detectors can take you on a guided prospecting tour that includes the use of proper gold detectors (panning is also available at the Clermont Detectors shop) - refer www.clermontdetectors.com.au

To experience a real working coal mine, free guided tours of the Blair Athol Mine leave from the Clermont Tourist Information Centre at 8.45am on Tuesdays & Fridays only and include morning tea served at the Clermont Museum (Entry fee applies) with a visit to the historic

Copperfield Store following that to the mine - refer www.isaac.qld.au

1 Day - Sapphire Gemfields / Miners Heritage Walk-In Mine

A 40 minute drive west of Lake Maraboon lie the Sapphire Gemfields, one of the richest sapphire fields on the planet and a major supplier of these precious gems to world markets.

Open all year, visitors are able to fossick by any one of three ways:

- Digging at one of the nominated fossicking areas

- Buying a bucket of wash and sieving

- 'Specking' - i.e. the art of 'eyeballing' a likely stone whilst walking through the gemfields

After turning right off the Capricorn Highway at Anaki, travel straight through to Rubyvale to the Miners Heritage Walk-In Mine where you can enjoy the complete sapphire experience on an in-depth tour of the underground mine that allows you to observe the mining process (tours run at least hourly commencing 9.15am). You can also fossick through virgin dirt from the mine and purchase from a large range of sapphires and other semi precious gems at the Mine's showroom. To participate in the mine tour and do some fossicking, you should allow approximately 2 hours.

After leaving the Miners Heritage, pay a visit to the award winning Rubyvale Gem Gallery, where in addition to viewing exclusively designed jewellery, you can also enjoy a scrumptious Devonshire Tea on the verandah.

On the return drive back to the Capricorn Highway turnoff, take the opportunity to stop and view the many relics of the past whether these be scattered rock cottages and bush humpies or just the scarred and lunar type desolated landscape with its frozen picture of dreams lost forever by the fossicking boom of the 1970's. You will also pass by a number of jewellery stores, gem galleries or fossicking park shops, a stop at which is sure to uncover that special purchase you have been looking to make.

On the way back to Discovery Holiday Parks - Lake Maraboon, stop off at Morton Park in Emerald to view the world's biggest Van Gough Sunflower painting proudly erected behind the Visitor Information Centre. Also worth a look is Emerald's historic Railway Station, now classified by the National Trust and arguably the finest building in the Central Highlands with its elaborate iron lacework and impressive cast-iron columns.

2 Hours - Emerald Botanic Gardens

Don't miss the opportunity to walk through the Emerald Botanic Gardens on the Nogoa River where seven kilometers of walking track weave between twelve themed gardens of plants, mostly indigenous to the Central Highland, and wetlands which are alive with feeding waterbirds and exotic waterlilies. A great playground, monorail and melaleuca maize also makes the Gardens a terrific place for kids to enjoy.

Don't forget to fit some relaxation time in - laze by the swimming pool or for the more energetic, slip on a pair of comfortable walking shoes and take a walk along the lake front. If you're lucky enough to stay on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, enjoy dinner at the Park's restaurant or if on a Monday (from Easter-November incl.), the popular 'Sing-a Long' with a BBQ and bush entertainment.

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DISCOVERY HOLIDAY PARKS - LAKE MARABOON

GUEST DISCOUNT VOUCHER PROGRAM

(All offers valid to 31 December 2011 and only if booked direct with each applicable Operator)

Blackwater International Coal Centre: Adult and Seniors admission at Children's Prices - i.e. currently, Interpretive Centre: $10.00 pp (normally $19.00) & Mine Tour: $10.00pp (normally $18.00) when booked independently. Combined Tour: $17.00pp (normally $33.00). Price for accompanying children remains as advertised.

Miners Heritage Walk-In Mine: 5% off quality sapphire jewellery when you take the underground mine tour

Lake Maraboon Restaurant: 20% discount off meals and beverages