Jump to content

Headed For The Land Down Under


mn90403

Recommended Posts

Guest AussieDigs

Thats how some snake familys travel Simon. Snake within a snake within a snake! 

Mitch, do be aware though, ‘Joe Blakes’ are still getting about.

And if you see any of our lizards, dont stand still. They’l use you like a tree!

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/goanna-attacks-queensland-man-then-turns-on-paramedic-who-came-to-help-20190214-p50xor.html

78E4D2AD-4956-423A-8C56-28AA2FDBB0D4.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites


1 hour ago, phrunt said:

Not much point looking for it when they belong to the state, Aussies struggle to get the required permits, no hope in hell of a yank being allowed to take one.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, fredmason said:

EXCELLENT!!!! keep them coming, MItchel.

how many days left?

fred

Fred,

I have 7 prospecting days left.  Today I played tourist after a bit of detecting in the morning.  I went to Sovereign Hill.  I'm certainly glad I didn't miss it.  Reg had said to go before I got here and mentioned it again in the first couple of days.  I thought to myself, 'I'm a gold hunter, I can't take time to be doing something like that.'  Changing my mind was one of the best things I've done on this trip or any other and I've been to Asia, Europe, North America and now Australia.

I wasn't prepared for how well it was done.  I was sending pictures back home and they were saying 'Are they filming a movie there?'  I felt like I was on a movie set but better.  All of the actors were acting as if they were back in the 1850s and 60s.  It was a we do this and we do that and they interacted with each other according to their character.  Of course they were all dressed in period costumes.  

One of my 15 minute tours was 'The Diggings' tour which explained all the fees the miners had to pay when they got here.  It also gave a bit of slice of life if you were panning with or without a license and the law which was more like our bounty hunters.  The law got money for busting you and no one could object.  At the time this was still a British colony.  I took a women of the gold town tour that explained the life of a married woman vs a non-married which included divorced and widowed.  Many of the women had to dress as men and so they did and they ended up having stores and mines.

Another tour I took was about the treatment of the Chinese.  We all know the Chinese miners were not equal in the Mother Lode.  The same was true here.  They had to stay apart from the Europeans and have their own protection.  Thieves and pickpockets were everywhere in the Ballarat camp.  There would be 6 living in a single tent if you had not found gold and those that had something still stayed in a tent.  The Chinese Traditional Medicine in the camp was better than the European medicine or doctors because they had training.  They had some of their traditional meds and also used acupuncture.  

There are a couple of mine tours there and I went on one.  It was the most 'generic' thing I saw today.  The buildings are maintained as those of the day.  A stage coach with 4 big draft horses goes around several times during the day.  The stamp was working.  There was a panning stream set up.  They had a gold pour!

This was a good time for me to see the attraction.  It means more now that I've been out there for two weeks.

IMG_0036.JPG

IMG_0015.JPG

IMG_0008.JPG

IMG_0006.JPG

IMG_0001.JPG

IMG_20190522_120954_02_01.jpg

IMG_20190522_115923_01_01.jpg

IMG_20190522_115623_01_02.jpg

IMG_20190522_115520_01_01.jpg

IMG_20190522_114409_01_01.jpg

IMG_20190522_121427_01_01.jpg

  • Like 7
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, now for the remainder of the trip.  

Where do I hunt tomorrow?  I'm in Ballarat for the night and I will make reservations soon for someplace near Maryborough because I have an appointment there on Friday.  I want to see Blackwood the first thing in the morning but I don't know about the detectable gold around there.  After my tour today I drove up to Creswick to try and find a random spot but it was without diggings.  All I got was a few more scratches on the car.  Will they polish out?  

I'm staying at a very nice place tonight.  The last couple of nights in Maryborough were the most uncomfortable of the trip.  The room was tiny.  

Oh, I also figured out something today about detecting.  I couldn't quite hear and/or understand some of the speakers.  You know they have an accent.  And then I realized why I can't understand the nuggets here!!!!

Heaven help me if I go to New Zealand one year.  I won't know what a nugget sounds like there either!

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've since looked on the map and I was on the east side of Creswick Regional Park and the diggings are more to the western part of that park ...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Time to get out the door.  It is still dark.  I just wish I had a bit more color.  Location, location, location!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

stick to one place and FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!!!!

You have some gold so you know it is there...so are some big ones...they aren't all 2 feet deep.

REG said so in some other post....

Believe every swing has the next nugget under it....

fred

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with Fred.  Where there is one there is more.  Grid the crap out of those two places!  Then go back over it again in a perpendicular direction!  With your limited time left, if it was me the exploring is done, time to grid, go slow and listen for the faints.  Get that big Aussie gold!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...