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Inverell
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The area between Glen Innes and
INVERELL
, 67km to the west, is one huge gemfield. Industrial diamonds, garnets, topaz, zircons and three-quarters of the world's sapphires are mined in the area. Inverell is also known as "Sapphire City", and at the
Dejon Sapphire Centre
, on the Gwydir Highway, 18km east of town, you can watch the gems being mined, washed, sorted and cut (daily 9am-5pm; mine tours 10.30am & 3pm). The showroom has a display of sapphires in 155 colours, from pale blue and green, to gold, lemon and pink. To try your own luck, you'll need to contact the
tourist office
on Campbell Street (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat 9am-noon; tel 02/6722 1693,
www.inverell-online.com.au
), which can direct you to the designated areas. If you want to
stay
over and wait for that big strike, try the
Australian Hotel
on Byron St (tel 02/6722 1611; $35-50), which has clean rooms with shared facilities, open fires and air conditioning, and serves counter meals; or
Sapphire City Caravan Park
on Moore Street (tel 02/6722 1830; cabins $35-50, on-site vans $20-35). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Australia,
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