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No permission needed for Lowmead, it's a general permission area even though half of the diggings are on private property and the half on the other side of the road is in state forest.
To get to the diggings, go to Miriam Vale and head down the Fingerboard road to Agnes-1770. At the end of the Fingerboard where the service station is, where you would turn left to go to Agnes, turn right instead and head toward Baffle creek/Bundaberg, you will see signs to Lowmead. Turn down Gorge road.
The bitumen runs out and you drive through mountainous country. Eventually, you come to a T-junction and on the corner is the little Lowmead school. The town (about 8 houses and a pub) is a few km past the school to the left but you will turn right at the T-junction. After a few km you will see a railway bridge going over the road and just before it is the turnoff - Clarke's road. There should be a sign for Clarkey's petrol-head paradise from memory.
Continue down Clarke's road a short distance and look carefully - you will see diggings everywhere on either side of the road, most of them are old. If you get to Clarkey's, you've gone too far.
The crystals are in a thin band of broken quartz (mixed with sand) between half a metre and a metre down, resting on a hard basement. Digging is easy, you can do it all with a shovel pretty much. A throw sieve is a good idea.
Another place is Riverslea crossing, on the Fitzroy west of Rocky. Go out through Gracemere, out past Westwood and turn off the highway at Gogango and cross the railway line, you will see signs to Riverslea. It's about 15km down the road from Gogango. When you see a property sign for Riverslea station, don't go straight ahead to the property. Follow the bend in the road to the left and the river crossing is not far away. You can find petrified wood and agate on the gravel banks at the river crossing.
Hope that helps
To get to the diggings, go to Miriam Vale and head down the Fingerboard road to Agnes-1770. At the end of the Fingerboard where the service station is, where you would turn left to go to Agnes, turn right instead and head toward Baffle creek/Bundaberg, you will see signs to Lowmead. Turn down Gorge road.
The bitumen runs out and you drive through mountainous country. Eventually, you come to a T-junction and on the corner is the little Lowmead school. The town (about 8 houses and a pub) is a few km past the school to the left but you will turn right at the T-junction. After a few km you will see a railway bridge going over the road and just before it is the turnoff - Clarke's road. There should be a sign for Clarkey's petrol-head paradise from memory.
Continue down Clarke's road a short distance and look carefully - you will see diggings everywhere on either side of the road, most of them are old. If you get to Clarkey's, you've gone too far.
The crystals are in a thin band of broken quartz (mixed with sand) between half a metre and a metre down, resting on a hard basement. Digging is easy, you can do it all with a shovel pretty much. A throw sieve is a good idea.
Another place is Riverslea crossing, on the Fitzroy west of Rocky. Go out through Gracemere, out past Westwood and turn off the highway at Gogango and cross the railway line, you will see signs to Riverslea. It's about 15km down the road from Gogango. When you see a property sign for Riverslea station, don't go straight ahead to the property. Follow the bend in the road to the left and the river crossing is not far away. You can find petrified wood and agate on the gravel banks at the river crossing.
Hope that helps
