Hi there,
I was bitten by the Gold Fever bug when I was about 11 years old. A friend of the family took me out to a "secret" place south of my home town of Bendoc, where she told me the Chinese had dug through solid granite to divert the river. We found the spot, wet our feet in the freezing waters of Delegate River, and then she showed me how to find and pan for gold. I followed the old ladies instruction to the letter, and came out with two or three small specs which I put carefully into an empty spice jar - my first gold!
Unfortunately, that was the last time I ever went gold panning.
However, something had changed in me. In the 32 years since, every river, creek, rock, dyke, granite outcrop or hole in the ground has been seen in a different light - they have all become potential spots to find gold. I get excited when I see rocky outcrops cutting across rivers, or veins of quartz running through some old rock. I love to see evidence of old tectonic forces bending over riverbeds, and I'm constantly scanning the geological layers in road cuttings as I drive past at 100 kilometres per hour. For 32 years, I've had an itch - an itch that I have not been able to scratch!
Now with kids of my own, parents north of Bombala, in-laws south of Oberon, its time to pass the fever down to the younglings. Its time for some fossicking. Its time to get them hooked. And its time scratch my 32 year itch while I'm at it!
Bring on the adventure!
I was bitten by the Gold Fever bug when I was about 11 years old. A friend of the family took me out to a "secret" place south of my home town of Bendoc, where she told me the Chinese had dug through solid granite to divert the river. We found the spot, wet our feet in the freezing waters of Delegate River, and then she showed me how to find and pan for gold. I followed the old ladies instruction to the letter, and came out with two or three small specs which I put carefully into an empty spice jar - my first gold!
Unfortunately, that was the last time I ever went gold panning.
However, something had changed in me. In the 32 years since, every river, creek, rock, dyke, granite outcrop or hole in the ground has been seen in a different light - they have all become potential spots to find gold. I get excited when I see rocky outcrops cutting across rivers, or veins of quartz running through some old rock. I love to see evidence of old tectonic forces bending over riverbeds, and I'm constantly scanning the geological layers in road cuttings as I drive past at 100 kilometres per hour. For 32 years, I've had an itch - an itch that I have not been able to scratch!
Now with kids of my own, parents north of Bombala, in-laws south of Oberon, its time to pass the fever down to the younglings. Its time for some fossicking. Its time to get them hooked. And its time scratch my 32 year itch while I'm at it!
Bring on the adventure!
