For the past couple of weeks, Sniffy and I had been trying to organise a meetup for a dig and we finally got the chance on Saturday and invited Dylan along for a view of the ripped apart earth and destruction from the old timers. His 4x4 made the trip much easier, I had left my house very early to meet him at his by 6am. We took off and met up with Sniffy at the meeting point which worked out well although it was obviously nippy out of the car and I can't even think how cold it was for Sniffy who arrived an hour earlier!
Good morning Melbourne
It was amazing seeing water in places I'd never seen it flow before in past times when I had been there though like most accessable areas had already been turned over a few times and creviced every inch. We didn't bother to look there, but introduced each other hapily and moved onwards for a while to a nice spot where a chimney resides and is something to look at. For those who have not seen the goldfields like these and the amazing history still stands, the video below certainly shows how breathtaking the experience is as Sniffy and Dylan absorbed its mysteries and scenery, speechless and staring in awe, just like the first time I went there
[video=480,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81hV7EXI5uk[/video]
We grabbed some soil from a dry gully on our way to some water in a dam, I managed to get 3 little bits out of the soil but the others had no luck there. Its a great display of alluvial digging here and a large moonscape for kilometers with deep shafts and tunnels all over the place and careful foot placement is well needed around these sort of diggings. Not to mention the unfilled detector holes which makes the moonscape look like swiss cheese now and great for rolling ankles, cheers those who don't fill in holes..
We drove to the water supply I know of and before getting to work we went on a quick stroll to check out the area and scenery of a massive alluvial field with some nice stone ruin remains left nearby and preserved with walking track access and wood rails which I wish they did more around my area..
Sniffy grabbed out his sluice and gear andbwe set it up by the water and started to test pan the area looking for a place to dig while dylan tested his brothers eureka gold on the ground as a couple of others were there doing it too. We panned and panned but had no luck so I suggested we run through the sluice a spot I've seen sapphire come from and I thought gold and started to run the material through the sluice. We ran a fair bit through it, a few buckets from here and there and also a couple of wheelburrow loads as well so we certainly were having fun. So much fun we forgot to check how the sluice was running and after an hour or so we realised that the angle was too low and we collected a lot of clay which clogged the riffles, oh well ya just get these things don't we! Haha
.[video=480,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ725wO7-Wo[/video]
Chatting around lunch, Sniffy pulled out the Eureka Gold which he had offered a deal to me earlier for it and it looked like a dream. Thank you soo much for the detector Sniffy, very impressed with how runs and already having a ball! We all were very happy with every part of the day and meeting Sniffy was certainly a refreshing experience and he is full of charm and charisma, love to dig again sometime
[video=480,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gsasi2Ts_Y[/video]
Unfortunately the find for the day were shameful and not worth speaking about and my fault there for not knowing the area well enough but we didn't have the time to work the area I know its at. The weather, the guys, the scenery and the sounds of silence there is all the gold we needed for the day I think and it was still a great day. After packup we said our goodbyes and I directed Sniffy to an awesome popular scenic view of hydroblasting called The Red Knobs. Before I got to show the view to Dylan, after Sniffy had left we discovered we had a flat battery and ccouldn't start the car! Nooooo! Nah it wasn't too bad, luckily ibwas sort of mates with a bloke parked there already and he jumpbstarted us and we were on our way home. Also checked out the Duke of Cornwell mine on the way through and Wattle Gully working mine whichvare always awesone to view. I think HTY has been through the mines there though I havnt gotten out the car yet to look
These prospecting days sure are getting better and better every time and its much more friendly than my past mining 'friends' digging with forum members and I'm soo lucky to dig with some of you andbi thank you very much everyone who either offers to dig with or comes and digs with me. Also a big thanks to Dylan for driving the whole way up n down, the day certainly tired us by the end of it and the trip was long!
Good morning Melbourne
It was amazing seeing water in places I'd never seen it flow before in past times when I had been there though like most accessable areas had already been turned over a few times and creviced every inch. We didn't bother to look there, but introduced each other hapily and moved onwards for a while to a nice spot where a chimney resides and is something to look at. For those who have not seen the goldfields like these and the amazing history still stands, the video below certainly shows how breathtaking the experience is as Sniffy and Dylan absorbed its mysteries and scenery, speechless and staring in awe, just like the first time I went there
[video=480,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81hV7EXI5uk[/video]
We grabbed some soil from a dry gully on our way to some water in a dam, I managed to get 3 little bits out of the soil but the others had no luck there. Its a great display of alluvial digging here and a large moonscape for kilometers with deep shafts and tunnels all over the place and careful foot placement is well needed around these sort of diggings. Not to mention the unfilled detector holes which makes the moonscape look like swiss cheese now and great for rolling ankles, cheers those who don't fill in holes..
We drove to the water supply I know of and before getting to work we went on a quick stroll to check out the area and scenery of a massive alluvial field with some nice stone ruin remains left nearby and preserved with walking track access and wood rails which I wish they did more around my area..
Sniffy grabbed out his sluice and gear andbwe set it up by the water and started to test pan the area looking for a place to dig while dylan tested his brothers eureka gold on the ground as a couple of others were there doing it too. We panned and panned but had no luck so I suggested we run through the sluice a spot I've seen sapphire come from and I thought gold and started to run the material through the sluice. We ran a fair bit through it, a few buckets from here and there and also a couple of wheelburrow loads as well so we certainly were having fun. So much fun we forgot to check how the sluice was running and after an hour or so we realised that the angle was too low and we collected a lot of clay which clogged the riffles, oh well ya just get these things don't we! Haha
.[video=480,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ725wO7-Wo[/video]
Chatting around lunch, Sniffy pulled out the Eureka Gold which he had offered a deal to me earlier for it and it looked like a dream. Thank you soo much for the detector Sniffy, very impressed with how runs and already having a ball! We all were very happy with every part of the day and meeting Sniffy was certainly a refreshing experience and he is full of charm and charisma, love to dig again sometime
[video=480,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Gsasi2Ts_Y[/video]
Unfortunately the find for the day were shameful and not worth speaking about and my fault there for not knowing the area well enough but we didn't have the time to work the area I know its at. The weather, the guys, the scenery and the sounds of silence there is all the gold we needed for the day I think and it was still a great day. After packup we said our goodbyes and I directed Sniffy to an awesome popular scenic view of hydroblasting called The Red Knobs. Before I got to show the view to Dylan, after Sniffy had left we discovered we had a flat battery and ccouldn't start the car! Nooooo! Nah it wasn't too bad, luckily ibwas sort of mates with a bloke parked there already and he jumpbstarted us and we were on our way home. Also checked out the Duke of Cornwell mine on the way through and Wattle Gully working mine whichvare always awesone to view. I think HTY has been through the mines there though I havnt gotten out the car yet to look
These prospecting days sure are getting better and better every time and its much more friendly than my past mining 'friends' digging with forum members and I'm soo lucky to dig with some of you andbi thank you very much everyone who either offers to dig with or comes and digs with me. Also a big thanks to Dylan for driving the whole way up n down, the day certainly tired us by the end of it and the trip was long!
