Nelson Creek for a bit of color

Gold Fever Locations
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Hi you all,

We are heading into Greymouth area and hopefully some color. going to head up into the public fossiking areas in Nelson Creek with the kids. I’m sure we will get some color there. Home made sluice box (approx 1.2 mts long. ) and lots of hand tools. Hoping to get the kids their first taste of color.

Any tips for this area?

Any “fairly easy access” areas that you can suggest? Does anyone have a claim in and around this area that we could “prospect” on? :rofl:

Cheers
NH

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Advice? Yep… dig deep. Good luck & Merry Christmas.

JW :cowboy_hat_face:

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Thanks JW… good advice, as always :stuck_out_tongue:

Early start tomorrow, onto the ferry in Welly, road trip to Greymouth, setup camp (top 10) and then chill, next day off to Nelson creek with the sluice box and the munckins. Detol spray and coveralls donned. Pesky sandies need to stay away. Hopefully in the 5 days we are there we can show something for our efforts. Just reading about the 2 inch dredge setup (Gavin was mentioning usage of one…), pretty sure not able to use the in the public fossiking areas though… right? Or does it come down to get away with what you can until caught?

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fossicking areas will be pretty busy. be a brave man to put a dredge in a public panning site at the moment. i would think you would soon get told. :grinning: also isnt the sluice length limit 1m. not sure about that and hopefully no one will pull you up on it if i am right. good luck. are you going to try slab hut while you are in the area or even goldsborough out kumara way. both have easy access to the fossicking areas

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Yeah I don’t think dredging in a public fossicking area is a smart move. I have a home made sluice box that it is 1mtr in length, as you say, that’s the limit for public areas. I will certainly check out slab hut and Goldsbrough as with littlins easy access is pretty high on the list of considerations. I might do a bit of reconnaissance and see what’s easiest and go form there. Thanks for the advice. Cheers. NH

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I doubt anyone would bat an eyelid at a 1.2 meter long box. I’d be surprised, and I doubt any DOC worker is going to pull out a tape measure to check.

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A metre is plenty long enough. If you can get enough width, flow, and good catching media and feed enough material through it you’ll be golden

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I certainly wouldn’t worry about any sluice limit, there’s no limit down south. If there was then everyone with a Keene sluice would be in trouble as the A52 are 1300 long

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Public fossicking areas are for the fun of everyone. Not your private unpaid for gold claim. Leave some gold in there for others by using the usual methods - hand tools only!

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Well so far only dust… There is extensive evidence of plenty of “larger” operations in both Prices creek and Claughesys creek. I wouldn’t be surprised if the “evidence of activity” aka huge holes and destroyed banks, isn’t
the work of “hand tools”.
Anyway, just makes it uber challenging to find some semi decent color in the pan to show the kids, as it’s plan that people with equipment are in there chewing out the best spots.

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any more success today

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I agree.
Ive just finished a fossicking tour from Aorere no gold after a few hours.
Moonlight creek by bridge a bust.
Slab hut mid Dec. The best results.
All other creeks turned over like bulldozers had gone thru.
I saw a
4 wheel driver winched a large boulder out of the slab hut creek. Ka pai. Yes re the :child: kids
Sioux.