Hi everybody!
First post here…I have a hankering to go gold panning and was wondering if anyone could give me some pointers about doing this in NZ. I will do my research about the various public areas already posted up on here, but sometimes its better to ask a few questions here than just showing up and finding out the place is not what I was looking for…
But first, a bit about me…
I’m from across the ditch, usual habitat BrisVegas. Up here in Queensland the prospecting laws are a bit fraught, so I normally pay the fee to hang out on someone else’s claim, its usually better than public areas, but my experience is based in Aus, not NZ… I have become reasonably proficient with pans, I own a Turbopan and can run 1/2 tonne of dirt through it in a day, providing I don’t have to do the dirt finding as well.
My background is more on the lapidary and jewellery side. I panned a few grams of gold here in Qld and ended up making a necklace out of it, so my interest in gold is more a talking point than for getting rich 
My plan is to figure out whether I will be able to get my gold panning fix in NZ. I plan on getting one of those campervans and having a wander around for a week or so, so my time is limited. If anyone wants to suggest how I can find out about private claims that can be accessed for a fee, let me know.
Thanks!