RV TRAVEL
With waterfront sites , fires and dogs permitted , showers and toilets , plenty of boat launching spots with total serenity , you ' ll fall in love with this place .
Free-camping opportunities can be found on the eastern side , coming in from Howell , but there are no facilities so you ’ ll need to be totally self-sufficient as it ’ s a long way back into town .
On the road through Howell , the Conrad Mine began operation back in 1898 , with nearly 17,800 tonnes of concentrate silver , lead , copper and arsenic being extracted . Some of the original shafts that were all dug by hand are nearly 250ft deep .
Eventually , the good fortune ran out and the mine was shut in the mid 1950s . Currently , safety procedures are in place to clean the site up and to preserve it for historical reasons .
While the Conrad mine was operational , other areas were explored within the region and smaller mines were opened with some degree of luck . Sapphires were found in the area and by 1970 there were over 100 mining operations in the district all searching for this shiny stone . Inverell is now known as the Sapphire City .
Halfway between Copeton Dam and Inverell on the Copeton Dam Road , the local shire has put aside a large lump of land where you can fossick for free . Sign-posted at Staggy Creek , it ’ s only a short drive through several paddocks to the digging fields . Staggy Creek Reserve is part of an ancient creek bed where it ’ s been eroded down to what it is today .
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