Took my 13 yuo son down. He built his own wooden sluicebox and couriered it from from Lower Hutt. We camped at 12 Mile and panned a few days and sluiced one day as the sluice showed up late. Friggin cold as it snowed on the tops 3 times in front on Nevis Peak and behind and we’d be in the water as it rose during the day a few times with the thaw. Crazy. Not a lot of gold as the diggings kept getting filled in by rubbish carried by the thaw. Stopped at Goldfields in Kawerau Gorge one day for an hours panning as my son insisted. He was keen as when we stopped in the summer of 2018 he got a little yellow rock that rattled in his bottle. My share is here and my son got about the same amount. We got a little bit more at 12 Mile but needed a lot more effort.
Congratulations to your son for building a sluice box and having a go he will be hooked on fossicking now with that bit of color that he has seen 
thanks Froggy. He’s pretty handy with his hands. Yep he’s got the fever and pretty keen now. He just wants more and bigger gold!
Yeah I’ve got a bit of gold some from otago and some from the coast but I want to hit 12 mile at some stage and see what I get
We panned there but have only looked at small bits of the creek and valley. I spoke my Physio Monday and he worked a sluice at Arrowtown over Xmas and got one speck of fine gold. Camps is basic but okay and only 12 mintues drive from town so pretty handy.
nice gold Simon, Were you using a sluice or detector?
Keene A52S Sluice, The new model that doesn’t need classifying,started off not needing to classify but the water flow slowed and I had to classify later on as it kept getting clogged up. You can sure run a lot through when you don’t need to classify.
If you can just shovel it very efficient.