Gemtree Caravan Park and Campground — Plenty Highway Fossicking Stop

Gemtree is a long-running, family-style caravan park and campground sitting in the middle of the Harts Range gem fields east of Alice Springs. You get unpowered and powered sites among the desert scrub, basic amenities, and a rough-and-ready outback feel. The main draw is fossicking. The park hires out gear and runs guided digs for zircon and garnet. It’s a good place to break up the long Plenty Highway haul, wash off some dust and swap stories with grey nomads and other crews heading east or west.

Access is by a signed turnoff from the Plenty Highway on a graded gravel road. Corrugations and the odd sandy patch are normal, and the road can get ugly after rain. Fuel, supplies and water are limited out here, so top up before you leave the Stuart Highway and confirm what’s available when you arrive. Rates, power, facilities and opening dates change, so verify ahead. Winter is the busy and comfortable season. Summer is brutally hot and some outback businesses cut back or close.

Camp and dig your own gems off the Plenty Hwy