Newbie from Brisbane

[wadeo]

Hi All,

I'm from the Northside of Brissie and have always been curious about fossicking. Until about a week ago my only previous experience was about 25 odd years ago as a young fella going out to Rubyvale & Sapphire with the folks on a holiday. I don't remember ever finding anything when we were digging around the creek. Pretty sure we ended up buying a couple of bags of soil from the tourist shop and getting a couple of well placed tiny rough sapphires.

A couple of weeks ago I finally bought a couple of gold pans and took the family for a drive out to Talgai near Warwick for an afternoon of fossicking. Well we managed to spend a couple of hours there until it got too hot. I've only watch YouTube and researched info on this forum (Thank You all) to try and suss out the technique for panning and finding good spots to dig.

Managed to find a few specs of yellow which if the photo works you should be able to see. The gold was panned from about a 20L bucket of material. Only very small, but was very exciting for me and my boys to actually find some. I will definitely be looking to get out again. It's a shame Warwick is a few hours away, but also going to check out the fossicking area around Gympie.

Also thinking about getting a decent detector, mainly for coin & relic hunting, given there's not much in the way of gold nuggets around here, but plenty of parks & beaches

Cheers
Wade

 

[Ramjet]

Hi Wade.
Welcome to PA.
That's a great looking pan for your first few hours panning. Well done.
As you say there is lots of good information here to help you along the way.
It's a very adictive hobby
Good luck with your future adventures.

Cheers

Ramjet

 

[wadeo]

Thanks Ramjet, think the addiction has already taken hold.

Wadeo

 

[WalnLiz]

Welcome to the forum Wade. Great to see your making it a family affair with this prospecting caper, and I'm sure the jar will eventually start filling with that gold. Look forward to sharing the adventure and keep those pics coming in mate.

Cheers Wal.

 

[axeman]

G'day and welcome wadeo, I usually head down to the 7 mile diggings at Nanango (about 3hr drive north of brissie) but you'll need a 4wd, you can walk in, it'll take about 10 minutes. If you have a 4wd and you drive in to the creek, it has great camping areas but there are no toilets ect. The creek has water in most of the time unless it's a severe dry spell. Also If camping there before heading out, drop into the Nanango tourist information centre and fill out a camping form, it's free to camp there but this form gives the council an idea of how many people go there so they know if it's worth doing up the access road.

Some gold I found on my last trip. I'm heading down that way on the 27th of this month for a couple of days and again on the 18th of January for a weekend.

Mick
PS: Good luck with the search

 

[wadeo]

Thanks for the welcome Mick.

My folks live up at Wattle Camp about 20 mins north of Nanango. Heading up there over Christmas. They have a nice creek running through the back of their place so I'll have to throw the pans in the car so I can have a dig around. We have a 4wd so we might have to stop in to the 7 mile diggings on our way back to Brissie.

Wade

 

[BumbleB]

G'day and welcome wadeo, I usually head down to the 7 mile diggings at Nanango (about 3hr drive north of brissie) but you'll need a 4wd, you can walk in, it'll take about 10 minutes. If you have a 4wd and you drive in to the creek, it has great camping areas but there are no toilets ect. The creek has water in most of the time unless it's a severe dry spell. Also If camping there before heading out, drop into the Nanango tourist information centre and fill out a camping form, it's free to camp there but this form gives the council an idea of how many people go there so they know if it's worth doing up the access road.https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/252/1387748986_7_mile_9th.jpg
Some gold I found on my last trip. I'm heading down that way on the 27th of this month for a couple of days and again on the 18th of January for a weekend.
Mick
PS: Good luck with the search

Hey Axeman is the 7 mile diggings a good spot to highbank- sufficient water etc? Or more of a panning situation?

 

[axeman]

G'day, bumble bee, good for highbankers in the main creek, running water. Do you have a 4wd?. May see you's down that way hopefully.
Mick

 

[BumbleB]

G'day, bumble bee, good for highbankers in the main creek, running water. Do you have a 4wd?. May see you's down that way hopefully.
Mick

Mate I do have 4WD, but it is the Wife's car & after my last trip up at Clermont, its going to be a job getting the keys off her :lol: . The bush attacked the sides of the vehicle- she was not impressed. I had fun, but that only added salt to the wound.......... I'm on the Sunshine Coast now so I will definitely be getting up there at some stage- might have to sneak out one morning before she wakes up & take the pain when I get home. Good to know that it is a worthwhile spot though, I'd heard conflicting reports on the area. Hope to bump into you out there.

 

[axeman]

Nothing wrong with a bit of bush pin stripping . That's one thing you don't have to worry about that to much at the 7 mile, it's the tracks themselves, big washouts, big rocks and the odd close tree. My ute has a 2" lift so it gets around without bottoming out. Can get on some pretty impressive leans. The gold is there, just have to work for it.
Mick

 

[goldjug]

Hi there, New to the site, so happy christmass to everyone. I have been fascinated for many years on fossicking but never done anything. that is about to change. I have always worked away from home(live in brissy but work in out back areas building coal mines.) i have my 4wd, i just bought a metal dector, i have my pans and sieve that i bought years ago and never used. So i need help in getting started, I have read and bought a few books (research research and research) is what i have heard. but still unsure the do and donts. Went on the queensland mining websight, checked and bought a permit is it miners rights or something. but it is like you can only go to certain places that have designated fossicking areas. so does that mean thousands of other people have already been there. would like to find other ways of going to places that not many or none have been. Is it hard trying to track down owners of properties that have no house in site of closed gated. I mean you have to get permision from them to enter their property? another thing i was thinking of is the high voltage power lines, there is always tracks below them, when i was young i use to break up the boredom of my 12 hour drive by following these power lines here and there. is that legal.

any way it is great to be able to talk experinced fossickers any help would be appreciated.
ps i cant spell for shiut. sorry

 

[WalnLiz]

Welcome to the forum goldjug. Great to see you're eventually getting into the hobby, and I'm sure you'll wonder why you left it for so long. Plenty of guys on here in your region and i'm sure some conversation with them will prove invaluable. Best of luck out there and throw as many questions to the members as you like.

Cheers Wal.

 

[goldjug]

thanks Wal

 

[Still Looking]

Hi there, New to the site, so happy christmass to everyone. I have been fascinated for many years on fossicking but never done anything. that is about to change. I have always worked away from home(live in brissy but work in out back areas building coal mines.) i have my 4wd, i just bought a metal dector, i have my pans and sieve that i bought years ago and never used. So i need help in getting started, I have read and bought a few books (research research and research) is what i have heard. but still unsure the do and donts. Went on the queensland mining websight, checked and bought a permit is it miners rights or something. but it is like you can only go to certain places that have designated fossicking areas. so does that mean thousands of other people have already been there. would like to find other ways of going to places that not many or none have been. Is it hard trying to track down owners of properties that have no house in site of closed gated. I mean you have to get permision from them to enter their property? another thing i was thinking of is the high voltage power lines, there is always tracks below them, when i was young i use to break up the boredom of my 12 hour drive by following these power lines here and there. is that legal.

any way it is great to be able to talk experinced fossickers any help would be appreciated.
ps i cant spell for shiut. sorry

g'day mate..a few answers, you would have got a fossickers permit. with regards to the designated areas you mention , around Clermont you also need a fossickers kit to access those designated fossicking areas..at a cost of about $5 A DAY or a yearly one is around $80...sold at Clermont Detectors..if the park rangers catch you in there without it they will fine you..(free country?)..all private land you need permission to enter and are supposed to get the landholder to sign your fossickers permit...maybe a chech with local councils might shed light on property boundaries and owners.?..not sure about the power line thing but as they would traverse private land I guess land owners permission..cheers

 

[goldjug]

thanks Still Looking. Do you come across many land holders that wont let you on the property, or are most pretty good.
cheers

 

[Still Looking]

I have only been a couple of times to Clermont mate..haven't looked at private property but I have heard that around Clermont it is impossible to get on private land...I think there were a lot of fence hoppers in the earlier days and also quite a few fires were lit to make it easier to swing detectors so these days detectorists are treated like terrorists in that part of the country..its a shame because not all are like that...but thems the breaks ..a few dickheads spoil it for all..

 

[Coyote]

Hi Wadeo and Goldjug,

You have found an excellent forum for research and advice. Hope you do well.

Cliff

 

[allan]

any you guys help me in buying a detector

 

[trenchfighter]

any you guys help me in buying a detector

What are u primarily after?
Gold?
Coinshooting?
relics?
whats your budget?
Do u plan on using it in a water environment?
There's a wealth of info in this forum concerning tecktors, read up my friend and soak it all in.

 

[allan]

after gold mainly i have been watching a lot of videos last 4 to 5 days the at gold suits my budget.
after watching all reviews hard to tell seem the at gold one i like.
more looking at crevacing and dry river beds any ideas ty allan