Hi all, just got back to queenstown, this time i brought with me my gpx 5000, just wondering if there are some detecting brothers ad sisters around this area that woud like to catch up and share some yarns over a coffee.
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There is a lot of detectors gathering dust in Queenstown, and for very good reason. Unless your into marathon hikes into more remote areas you are just going to be digging trash targets. I’ve been doing if for many years and recovered less than an ounce. Your far better off detecting on the beaches for jewelry if it’s about reward.
I know of a few guys with gpz7000 and they aren’t finding anything of substance either.
A few years ago when the gpx5000 came out the local hills were hit hard and with good reward, I saw quite a few half oz and bigger nugs come out the ground. I think the easy access around here and the sheer amount of guys doing it with better machines have picked the best ground dry.
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You did really well to get an ounce, Gav !!! When I was working in the Lakes District a few years back I went out detecting every chance I got and got nothing but rubbish. I even went to the Kawarau Gorge at Gibbson http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/otago/places/queenstown-area/things-to-do/gibbston-river-trail/ after reading posts about it on Detector Prospector forum from the USA and recognizing it from photos. I wasted a lot of my time there with no result at all except for rubbish. I then decided to do something better with my time after meeting some experenced Arrowtown miners. They were great guys who told me straight about detecting in the Wakatipu basin. Maybe my mistake was not to go into the remote areas. But from what I was told even then I would have little chance with a detector. They all suggested sniping in the rivers for gold but that is not for me. I am still interested in detecting and a guy who I met recently told me that most detecting is done on the West Coast with some good finds of nuggets coming from the Reefton area recently.
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I find that strange as I haven’t done too badly.
15 ounces.
Top row was my last day of detecting in 2017 on 23rd december & the rest were three different days on three different gold fields early 2018.
These two were from a quick late afternoon detect on a local Queenstown spot saturday just gone. Been too bloody hot during the day.
Hope you all had a great xmas & new years & hope you get your share of the precious yellow metal in 2018.
Good luck out there
JW 
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Excellent result. How much junk did you find ?
Hi there goldsborough. Heaps mate. Mostly shotgun pellets & .22 casings & there lead bullet heads from rabbit shooters. Some times you strike a wee patch & no junk at all.
This was just such a patch & this was the first afternoon of finding it
And this was the next day when I went back with the Gold bug 2 & mopped up the smaller bits. I did get a few pellets with the GB2 on this occasion.
Cheers.
Good luck out there
JW
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JW puts in the hrs tho, and has done a lot of walking to all sorts of places, earns it all
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Hadnt gone back to this thread since posting it. Thanks Gavin & Dave for the kind words. No gold is easy gold. That is for sure. You two will know that only too well. Yes Dave, a lot of hills & many miles & hours put in to get any result at all. Sometimes you come across these type of wee patches. Not often enough though but I do enjoy being out there. It isn’t always about the gold but the whole journey. I dont know why the the photos keep dropping out. Cheers.
Good luck out there
JW 
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