What Made You Get Into Gold Detecting?

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Joined
Jun 20, 2020
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Ballarat, VIC
Interested to see what it was that led people down the path of getting into gold detecting.

For me, it was something my dad used to do before he passed away. I told myself maybe one day I might take it up, but family, work, mum with bad dementia & then moving from SA to Vic & getting promoted saw it go off the agenda. Then along came Aussie Gold Hunters which I guess reignited it, so here I am!

What was it got you there?
 
For me it was the fact I've always loved camping in the bush since I was a kid, always fossicked around for quartz crystals and old relics.
As soon as I got my drivers license I went on a trip to Walhalla with a mate where we had spent a week at year 8 camp (1982), this time we camped on the banks of the Thompson River where the train station is now located (nothing there back then), we fly fished the Thompson and tried panning but no success.

Over the past 30 years I've spent many trips each year camped in the bush, along mountain streams fishing for Trout or up on the Murray River fishing for Cod but the past few years my interest in fishing has slowly diminished but my love for camping in solitude in the bush remained, it's where I feel most comfortable and at ease with the world.
In 2013 when my wife and I stated dating she had always wanted to go bush camping so I started taking her to some of my old favorite spots, her son had a couple of old steel pans in his garaged and that got me thinking about trying panning again, we bought a couple of plastic pans and did a trip up to Store Point (past Walhalla) in 2014 and I joined this forum here same time to get some pointers to help.
We found 5 specks of gold that trip and I was hooked.
I started meeting up with Prospector B from this forum (which I still do) and we play in the creeks in West Gippsland every month or two, sluicing and exploring.
8 hrs a day in the creek moving rocks etc. took it's toll on my aging body and it takes 3-4 days to recover from those big days in the creek, so I started to look at detecting so it wouldn't be as taxing on the body, I bought my GPX4500 in Nov 2017 and have been totally addicted to getting out when I can, living in Melbourne metro so it's only the odd weekend I get away, usually take a week annual leave twice a year to detect and fortunately work takes me to Bendigo, Ballarat, Maryborough, Castlemaine, Ararat, Stawell and Avoca, sometimes just a day trip and sometimes 2-4 day trips so as long as the weather is good I get out for a couple of hrs a day after work.
As much as I'm addicted to prospecting I think it's more just the excuse to get out in the bush, I don't care if I come home empty handed, I still feel better for just being out there.
The wife found her first gold last trip using the GM1000 just before the latest lockdown, camper is packed and ready for the green light to go.

I'm working in Ballarat this Monday and staying in a motel, very frustrating not being allowed to detect after work because I'm from metro :/ , only managed 3 trips this year because of lockdown 1.0 and then 2.0, going stir crazy and really needing time in the bush soon to get my head back to normal again, bush therapy can't be substituted and it's making for a looooong Winter :awful:
 
Like you Pete, I love heading bush. I still love my trout fishing & any day spent on a stream sure beats the best day at work. As you say, nothing beats a bit of bush therapy & I am certain we are all hanging to get out there for that much needed mental break from all that has been happening.

Thanks for sharing your story.
 
My dad used to take me panning anywhere from Warrandyte up to The Thompson River from a very young age. Just him and me - how good is that! In the early 80s we started using a metal detector which my dad would hire for the weekend and we'd share it. It was a Whites Coinmaster VLF detector and we'd usually head out to Fryerstown because it was a relatively easy drive from Melbourne and it gave us the most time with the detector before we had to hand it back to the Hardware shop in Balwyn where we'd hired it.

Ever since then I've had a need to get out into the bush and clear my head from the stresses of work and the necessary evil of living in the city. I still go back to the same spot in Fryerstown from time to time and it still gives a bit up. It is my form of therapy and I couldn't live without it. Almost nobody outside of my immediate family knows about my hobby - not sure why. It's just something I like to do, I am very private and I don't feel the need to tell anybody.
 
Work is really stressful in the current climate Sanguine, so being able to get out & de-stress cannot come fast enough. Hopefully you may be able to get back out to your favourite spot fairly soon.
 
Moved into a gold area. Everyone was prospecting. Joined them :)
Something to do on weekends as the nearest fish is 380 K's away :(
 
Same as a few here. Spent many a day panning with me dad as a young bloke. Not many detecting areas around our way so once the kids had grown up a bit I found the bug was still there. Hired a detector for a weekend and I was hooked. Just love the serenity.
 
We had a friend who owned a property on the Mookerawa creek near Stuart Town who wasn't interested in prospecting but he had a neighbour who lived in a caravan next to the creek and the guy invited us to visit . He would dig a few buckets of dirt every day and wash the dirt in a recirculating sluice, we had never seen any one doing that and we became intrigued. A few weeks later we bought some pans and started panning in the creek just to see what we could find ..I think we found a few specks the first weekend and the passion for prospecting just developed from there..
 
It is great hearing how everyone became involved, sometimes after not even knowing about it.

You are right Nucopia, becoming intrigued is often how these things start. I was fascinated by my dads patience with a detector & I guess it was only a matter of time before I would get started detecting.
 
Like a few others, I love my trout fishing, and one day just happened on one of Andrew Smith, Adventure Gold YouTube clips.

Figured that if the fish werent biting I could have a little scratch around,

Well I did, found a few flecks here and there and that led to buying a sluice, and then that led to buying a detector.

Havent had a chance to use the detector much but looking forward to getting out a bit soon

My wife has promised to pay for a trip with Kim and Linc out at Windeyer for my Birthday. So looking forward to that.
 
I felt the same Pogo. If the fish are not cooperative, then maybe the gold will be. One can only hope!

Nothing beats a good curry Mudgee. My preference used to be a Rogan Josh, but Yellow Curry is right up the top of my list now. Cant eat the ones with TOO much heat though. And around a camp fire is even better!
 
G'day

Always loved to scrounge around as a kid and found and collected many old coins and we also used tennis rackets? to sift through the sand at Cottesloe beach for coins, we often found coins too and then we would go and buy hot chips with the money if we found enough, also found some watches, keys, wallets and so on, It just progressed from that to metal detectors for looking for older coins, later years went on to gold detecting and also looking for coins and relics which I still do.

Its about the hunt and being outside I guess, the finding is secondary but still you learn and see something new everyday, a large part for me is the serenity of being in the bush and being away from the hussle and bussel of town life.

cheers

stayyerAU
 
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