Exquisite Opals

Exquisite Opals From the harshest land on earth comes the most exquisite gem. Join us on our journey to source, cut, shape and polish these treasures.

The sun is setting at Lightninge Ridge as we settle in to camp for the next 5 nights. Since we left Innisfail we have cr...
04/09/2026

The sun is setting at Lightninge Ridge as we settle in to camp for the next 5 nights.
Since we left Innisfail we have crossed the Great Dividing Range, lunched with a friend in Sapphire, crossed the Queensland/NSW border and covered some 1700km.
Hopefully we might track down some opal rough while we are here.

29/08/2026

What a fantastic day at innisfail gemfest today. We met and chatted with so many delightful people. Total country hospitality with home made sweet treats with coffee. Thank you Innisfail Gem Club & Allied Craft Club Inc for being such excellent hosts.

Good morning Innisfail and surrounds. We are looking forward to exhibiting tomorrow at the gemfest. State College on Fly...
27/08/2026

Good morning Innisfail and surrounds. We are looking forward to exhibiting tomorrow at the gemfest. State College on Flying Fish Point Road. These are a few of the polished stones and prepared jewellery items we will be bringing. Hope we see you there.

So to end our sugar discoveries we passed by a field being harvested today just outside Proserpine. Also saw one of the...
24/08/2026

So to end our sugar discoveries we passed by a field being harvested today just outside Proserpine. Also saw one of the cute little trains that seem to tow maybe 30 or so cages full of cane to the factories.
While still in Mackay yesterday we called out to harbour beach which we had read was patrolled for crocs and so "safe" for swimming. Then saw the signs about stinger suits being required, the propensity of poisonous jellyfish, the strong current and etc. The sign didn't mention sharks but the shark net not far off shore told that story. Now we know why Mackay, like Darwin, has a man-made beach. Called Bluewater lagoon from memory, and the photos look beautiful. Sadly it was closed for seasonal cleaning, but we had several trips to the local aquatic centre instead.

Driving out to Finch Hatton today past thousands of acres of sugar cane. Some harvested, some ready for harvest and some...
23/08/2026

Driving out to Finch Hatton today past thousands of acres of sugar cane. Some harvested, some ready for harvest and some newly planted. A Graeme Connors song popped into my head Let the Canefields Burn. That led to the question of do they still burn sugar cane before harvest. The answer is mostly no. Occasionally, but not usually. The canes are mechanically harvested and transported by cane trains into either Mackay or Marian Hill for processing. I am sure there are many more processing plants because the cane has to be proceed with a day of cutting, but these are the ones we have seen so far.
Anyway back to Finch Hatton. We continued on to Finch Hatton gorge and did the quite substantial (for us) walk into the gorge. Just beautiful waterfall and swimming hole. Would have required another 30 or more fairly steep looking steps to get down to the swimming hole and that seemed a "bridge too far" at the time.

Heading further North after rockhampton. A quick detour into Marlborough to pick up a few pieces of chrysoprase. On past...
18/08/2026

Heading further North after rockhampton. A quick detour into Marlborough to pick up a few pieces of chrysoprase. On past acres and acres of sugar cane fields. Hard to judge from a photo but the sugar cane grows to over 2m high. Quite spectacular to see. Lots of roadwork sections on the way from Marlborough to Mackay. We are planning to camp at Mackay for a few days and hopefully catch up with some friends from Port Lincoln.

16/08/2026

And it's a wrap at the rockhamton gemfest. What a great show. Our first time here and the host lapidary group do a fantastic job of making sure everyone is welcome and has everything they need. We hope to be back next year.
Even forgot to take photos but the rockhampton lapidary club page has lots.

Hello there sunny rockhampton and surrounds. We have arrived for the gemexpo on Saturday and Sunday. This trip we are ca...
13/08/2026

Hello there sunny rockhampton and surrounds. We have arrived for the gemexpo on Saturday and Sunday. This trip we are carrying some high quality boulder opal set in 18 ct gold. Also some pieces new to our Exquisite Collection. And lots of unset stones ready to go into jewellery items of your choice or for investment. We even have a few vintage jewellery and curio pieces. Very much looking forward to the weekend.

A couple of days at beautiful mudjimba, just south of Noosa, catching up with some Tassie mates. Thanks Vlad for the ph...
12/08/2026

A couple of days at beautiful mudjimba, just south of Noosa, catching up with some Tassie mates. Thanks Vlad for the photo. I borrowed it from your feed đŸ˜…
Then a quick run up the road to Noosa and a wonderful lunch at Gusto,, catching up with expats Ross and Beth.
Today we are somewhat stranded at bundaberg waiting on some caravan repair work. Nothing drastic just a stove that has decided to not work anymore.
Next stop is rockhampton.

And day 2 of Australian opal exhibition on the Gold Coast. We have 1 table only so a lot of our usual display is not up....
05/08/2026

And day 2 of Australian opal exhibition on the Gold Coast. We have 1 table only so a lot of our usual display is not up. But we think it looks OK.

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