I finally got the opportunity to get out of sunny Tauranga to head South for a couple of months Fossicking for bigger bits of Gold than Coromandel had to offer only to be met by the wrath of Gita, I did get to have a play at the two Aorere public sites obtaining a bit of flood gold from area B and a flake from Area A using a pan and shovel. I also got to stay at the Howard camp and got very intimate with the Bumble bees and sandflies, here I got to use my newly purchased folding sluice after walking up Louis Creek to the bottom of the claim but didn’t get anything with it so used the home made one I use in the North island and got some small flakes, unfortunately Gita threatened to arrive so I thought it prudent to leave the valley in case I got stuck there for the duration of my holiday.
I ended up staying the night Gita hit in Westport the storm passed quickly but the Rivers were too high for me to look at the Stoney and Britannica so I headed to Denniston for a look, I thought there was just an Incline to look at but how wrong I was, such a fascinating place I spent the entire day looking around… something I would have missed if it wasn’t for Gita.
Anyway if you have read thus far you will be thinking what’s this North Islander waffling on about,
Well apart from being bored and having surprisingly good 3G coverage from up Denniston I was wondering how long till the rivers will drop to a level I can have a play? assuming we get no more rain
I plan on having a look at all the Public sites apart from Lyell that I have already passed and I may skip Gabriels Gully as I had a walk around there a couple of years ago.
Would love to here any suggestions on were to go other than back to the North Island lol
PS Great community Site lots of very interesting posts and thanks to Mal for the work he put into setting up the Area Collaboration topics they have been a great help for a newbie like me even tho they don’t seem to get many updates which is a shame, maybe they need a Section of their own?
going to be an interesting trip. how about regular updates and maybe a few photos if you can. good luck and may the weather gods be on your side from here on.
Once I would have said that the further South the more friendly and obliging the people but after having spent ten or so holidays in Auckland and Coromandel these last two years I think it might be the other way around.
In any case hope you find heaps of gold and dont forget the twelve mile and Arrow River - some great gold to be had yet from the Arrow.
Yeah thanks mate,been a bit slack at rarking everyone up for some updates…maybe as the season draws to a close everyone could submit and compare hauls,as your from the North island there is a sur-charge for using the public fossicking area info so if you could just courier me 30% of your total clean up to the following post office box…nah just kidding!!Get into it mate …much still to see…moonlight and slab hut my favourites…oh like Lammerlaw said Arrow River is alway good for a dig(dig deep)…good luck…send us some pix…Mal
Yes its looking like the weather may be a challenge, totally different to when I was here last February you had a heat wave there was no wind and no rain the entire time I was here, unfortunately I didn’t get to do any Fossicking as I had the Family in tow so we did the Tourist spots. I will be taking some Videos / Pictures of the sites I visit but only have a cheap GoPro clone so will have to see how they come out, If there any good I will post them on the relevant Fossicking Area Info posts.
I think in general New Zealanders are Friendly depending on how you approach / treat them it does seem the ones in the big Cities can be a bit short but I was one of those types too busy and stressed with running a business but I woke up one morning and though F*** this, Shut my Electronics servicing business a month later, Laid off 4 staff (not easy when they had worked for me for 10yrs) now I spend most of my time Fishing, Traveling in my camper and generally doing what I want, with a bit of work thrown in just to remind me why I got out of the Business…
I will be going to Twelve Mile for sure if I can find somewhere the Queenstown council will let me stay in my “self contained” Van I am hoping the DOC camp at Moke Lake is still open? I think they closed the 12 mile Delta one as a knee jerk reaction to the huge influx of tourists spoiling it for the poor old Kiwi Camper… I have found, especially down here that there is a bit of a hate culture developing towards people in camper Vans, something I totally understand due to the Huge amount of them around, but I won’t open that can of worms on this forum lol
The Arrow looks very interesting but I am not a great fan of crowds so wouldn’t be looking in the River by the carpark, what’s it like further up the Claim? or is the entire length patrolled by camera toting tourists?
A lot of work obviously went into posting the Public Fossicking info on here and it was a great idea to have the relevant info in one place rather than spread all over the place, hopefully as you say once everyone has retreated indoors after a bonanza Fossicking season they may upload info, hopefully I can add something myself maybe start a new category "What not to Do"
I hope you have a daytime Job Mal because I fear 30% of what i’m likely to find won’t buy you a punnet of Fries from Mc Ds
Yes Slab Hut is on my list for Sure,
Moonlights on my hit list as well but I here access can be a problem? my vans only 2wd I have pushed it into places it shouldn’t go and have some recovery gear but don’t want to push things too far especially with unpredictable weather around.
Its not so much the Gold for me its more the thrill of the chase
I think you should be ok going up to Moonlight once we’ve had a day our two of fine weather as the track is mostly gravel and not mud,biggest problem is fallen trees so may take a day our two for someone to clear this up.I have taken shitty little rental cars up there on many occasions(did I really say that!)and they handled it ok,just need to take care where wheel placement is if you van has lower ground claerance.
I found good flakes straight down from carpark traversing steep path n rope in side gravels or slightly downstream.
Slab hut has a primo camping set up and could be a good base for a few days with nice flakes to be had also close to the carpark(see jades youtube vids).
Tourist in the Arrow are like sheep they usually don’t like to wander too far away from the Latte machine.
Look for gravels that contain signs of black sand…good luck…I’m prepared to waver the 30% surcharge if you post us some pics at the end of your trip.…lol
I will try Moonlight early next week, looking forward to Slab Hutt and I have a 5 Month DOC Pass so dont have to pay to stay in DOC camps which is a plus
Spent a couple of hours up Stoney and Britannia yesterday after I managed to tear myself away from Denniston, DOC had closed the track due to multiple slips but I managed to get up to just past the start of the claim, found a Big rock on an inside curve and dug a hole, ran about 3x 10L buckets of classified through my “Jobe” Folding Backpack Sluice, I will try to attach some Pics now,
when I finish trip I will upload any relevant pics and info to the Fossicking pages you set up.
Hi, I don’t think I will get down that far by next week I am slowly working my way down the West coast before I head across that way, but if the weather here turns I may do and I will be in touch.
Yeah I liked the look of Howard I spent half a day there before Gita arrived had to walk up to the claim along stream as I only have 2wd van, lots of big holes dug in banks just below start of Fossicking area, I ran a bit of material through, got a couple specs then tried to find my way up to the Hutt, well that took about an hour lol
Had planned on staying another night but didn’t want to risk getting stuck in Valley when Gita arrived, may go back for another look if I get time, Nice quiet spot was only one there apart from the Bumble Bees
Maybe no gold there, but it’s just a good example of the slips that could provide opportunities for resourceful people around the country after the cyclone.
Help clear the slips, by taking a ute load of silt home to process!
…lol
Just flick me a message!
after the cyclone.