Well just finished a 5 week stay at Tibooburra, got a total of 84 bits (nuglets) plus a nice 4.2 gram nugget. With the introduction of the minelab sdc 2300 gold is getting increasingly difficult to find around Tibooburra. I experienced first hand the power of the 2300 compared to my 5000, when I met Jim Foster for the first time here. Jim has been prospecting for over 30 years and forum members probably have seen his many articles on detecting for gold around Australia. While my 5000 picked up pieces just as small as the 2300, it could not compete on depth with the 2300 picking up the fly specks that were just a few centimetres deeper than I was finding, meaning of course that there is still plenty of small gold around Tibooburra just out of reach of all but the 2300 and probably the new 7000. I was using a 6" Coiltek mono on my 5000 which was dynamite on picking up the smallest specks of gold. While many would scoff at spending so much time chasing fly specs, I find it is still a thrill to find a piece of gold no matter what size it is. The desert country up here is also an experience that I never tire of with the wild goats, kangaroos and of course the ever present bush fly ( could do without them). The locals in and around the township are all friendly and it is nice to be able to detect on the Common and a couple of the Stations without having to look over your shoulder wondering whether you are on a mining lease as is the case in WA. The two pubs are great for cold beer and a good meal and the two stores are well stocked for supplies. My wife Kath, Charlie the Labrador and I stayed at the caravan park which is comfortable and reasonably priced. This is my third year in a row at Tibooburra and I will definitely be scheduling a trip next year !