Finally taking the kids down south, we are going down to Wanaka from the Waikato for the air show at the start of April, we will be driving down and while on the way there and back we want to spend a few days each way fossicking, we have 1 gold pan at the moment and am looking into getting a small sluice for the trip as I doubt we will get back down south for a long time so want to make the most of it.
does anyone have any recommendations on locations that have good campgrounds? so far the plan is Goldsborough and slabs hut as I’ve seen them mentioned on here as good places to go, we would love to find some cool gems or rocks along the way too and any must see locations would be great! its hubby’s and the kids first time down south so I want to make it memorable for them
digging equipment wise I have a short shovel but am unsure if its suitable or if ill need a longer one to save my back? is there any other equipment that would be helpful to have as well?
any tips would be greatly appreciated to make our trip as amazing as possible!
12 mile and the arrow are good public spots with good campgrounds.
I have done well at both. Most of the west coast public spots have good campgrounds that are cheap for just a tent site. Moonlight has been my pick for west coast public spots.
12 mile is a DOC camp ground as are Goldsborough & Slab Hut. Toilet & water. Arrowtown a full blown paying camp ground. Moonlight is really just a car park with no toilet & can be troublesome with tree fall & can be a pretty rough track for a “normal” car. Weather can be crap, but that’s the west (wet) coast in general. Having no toilet you can imagine what goes on if people camp there. I don’t know for the life of me why DOC dont put in a toilet. Even just a long drop. It would at least clean up that mess because of course people camp there. Reefton & other spots on the coast you can get small red garnets as a by product. Pretty cool though.
As to gear. Short handle little shovel should be fine but if you want to pack a long handled one as well to save your back do so. Panning alone can get hard on your back. Little sluice box also a good idea. Will process a lot more material quicker & the water does the majority of the work for you. A small hand shovel handy too as well as some crevice scrapping type tools to rake out those cracks in bed rock. A little snuffer bottle to suck any gold up from your pan. A bucket is a must & a classifier to sieve out waste material going into your bucket so you have a better concentration of material to feed down your box, I mean sluice box. The classifier sorts out the bigger rocks & stones that will fill your bucket in no time taking up precious room that will just get chucked away any way. Not trying to tell you how to suck eggs, but you can do a search on google or you tube to get a handle on operating a sluice box & all gear that people use. It can be very simple with minimal gear or the sky can be the limit. Have fun & enjoy.
with all of the mining videos the kids have made me watch the sluice operation seems pretty straight forward, keep it level with a decent amount of water flow but not too much I’m sure with some practice ill get the hang of it
wouldn’t of even thought about bucket or a classifier, thanks for helping me be more prepared on that end! thankfully have a couple of months to get everything sorted but as it does with Christmas 2 months goes by fast!
figured it was best to ask here to get some real responses from the guys down that way with experience on that ground instead of walking in blind thinking I’ve got half a idea of what will be needed down there when I really don’t
with 5 of us and a full camping set up (pretty much everything and the kitchen sink) we don’t have a lot of spare room in the car/van so keeping equipment to a minimum size is a necessity
the kids are pretty hardy, we go hiking on a regular basis and I’ve seen them go places I couldn’t get up so not too worried about easy access on their part
We are going to have someone stay at camp with the baby while the other parent goes with the older kids to fossick, way back when I lived down south it was the safe part of the country and genuinely thought this trip would be a nice break from what its like up here, is it just something to be mindful of or a real problem where if you turn your back for 2 seconds its guaranteed?
Standard precautions. My sluice goes in car at night. Food stays in a chilly by the tent all the time. Boots left out over night. Baby will be fine. Not a lot of demand for them on the coast. And bring a small crowbar. That will make rock moving a bit easier.
I Got this big doozy of a flathead screwdriver for $2 at my local recycling shop, highly recommend getting something similar for the kids to scratch out bedrock cracks.
See if the kids want to make some Tassie Boys style snuffer bottles. A very useful little tool for your trip. There’s a how-to video on YouTube
Couple more gold pans, they stack together so it won’t take up any extra space. Get quality ones (they don’t cost more, but will last you forever). The blue version of these is my favourite https://www.dredgenz.co.nz/product/33-cm-gold-pan/
Kmart mask and snorkel set (check out the reviews first to choose which) They are not professional quality by any means, but very usable, and dirt cheap. Then if you dig a big hole in the river down to bedrock, you can at least check the bottom, so you’re not leaving all the best gold behind
Thanks for the information guys! I am feeling more prepared going into this thanks to everyone that has commented here, its truly appreciated!
I’m sure the kids will love a trip to the dump shop to get some tools (better than using my good ones) and make their own snuffer bottles! I will definitely look into getting a mask and snorkel too
hi rebel, slab hut is a easy camp ground to get a van into, please dont forget to get good sandfly repellant as the south is full of them. i hope you do well . good on you for giving your kids the chance to experience finding some gold. The Reefton sports shop has all the gear you would need. PM me if you need more info, i enjoyed teaching my grandkids.
The classifier sorts out the bigger rocks & stones that will fill your bucket in no time taking up precious room that will just get chucked away any way. Not trying to tell you how to suck eggs, but you can do a search on google or you tube to get a handle on operating a sluice box & all gear that people use. It can be very simple with minimal gear or the sky can be the limit. Have fun & enjoy.
I’m sure with some practice ill get the hang of it
