Headed For The Land Down Under

[Northeast]

It has been great to spend a few days with you Mitchel.  Those amongst the forums may feel that we 'get to know each other' in some way via a keyboard but it is not until you shake a hand, wander the bush and have a few conversations together that you make a real connection.  

I very much appreciate the meteorite too.  Had a look on Google maps at Gold basin, Santa Monica Beach (380 miles each way) - it's nice to get a sense of where it came from and the effort it has taken you to find it only just to hand it over to me  ?

Pity I couldn't put you on to some decent gold but I gave it a shot.  When my friend today talked of 5 grammers, 20 piece trees, 5 pieces of 2 grams all within metres of each other it is hard to believe that all the 2 of us could get the last 2 days was your small piece this morning. 

I suppose when you pick over the carcasses left by others before you, there is often not much 'meat' left on the bones.   

It's a shame the long shot at Marong didn't pay off for us.

For me it is now back to the research to find a fresh patch rather than a depleted one.  

Best of luck with your one last foray tomorrow, hope the hire car passes its final examinations and I am sure the real gold will be waiting for you in LA on Thursday morning California time.

Safe travels  ?

 

 

 

[Lanny]

Success is something you always spar with . . .

Trying to find nuggets is no different, no matter where you chase them, but memories, they last, and what an adventure you've had!

Thanks for the tag-along, and all the best,

Lanny

[Norvic]

Yeah, MN as per Lanny, Thanks for the tag-along, twas a great adventure to follow.

[mn90403]

I gave it a go this morning at Whipstick again.  A second pointy finger sent me to nearly the same place we were yesterday.  I wish I could report the results were different but they were not.  What was different was my 'technique' of using the Zed.

My hipstick canvas/nylon strap at the top wore out.  It came off the shaft and can't be repaired and I wasn't near a shop to buy a new one for just today.  That means with my scrawny little arms I was holding it straight and slowly swinging it.  That is what everyone wants me to do anyway!  haha  I do have a strap that can attach to just the harness but that puts a torque on it and a twist I just hate because I'm fighting it every second.  

The new technique got me just as many bbs as the old technique.  We just don't have this many where I hunt in the states!  After a while you start detecting in reverse.  You listen for ANYTHING that doesn't sound like a bb!  I'm using an SP01 now and it makes those little suckers really sing.  Can we put a setting on it or in the software from Minelab that ignores that set of waves?

After I finished my job of removing hazardous waste from the hills and gullies of Australia I returned my picks to Reg.  Thank you very much for the use of them (I didn't get a chance to use the big one with a long handle) and the conversations we had in the beginning.  I was a bit 'out of it' the first couple of days from the flight and getting over a cold.  This time of going back to his lovely home was quite different because I was familiar with the area.

Last night I had gone sightseeing in Ballarat.  What an interesting place with a lot of history ... at least long history.  They have a lit up Catholic Church in the middle of town and the Flying Foxes come out by the hundreds.  Sometimes they fly around it.  What a great scene for a movie.  I'm sure it has been done.

After I left Reg's I had promised myself a trip to the beach.  There was some rain and I knew the tides were not going to be good but I said I'd check in at my hotel near the airport and go.  To my surprise and utter dismay I have booked a hotel room on the second floor of a building without an elevator.  I had to haul all the stuff upstairs for packing which I haven't done yet and leave for the airport about 5:30 AM.  I haven't been on the second floor anywhere the entire trip.

I checked in and headed for Ocean Grove.  Did anyone ever tell you the bay Melbourne sits on is BIG?  I'll tell you.  I'm in St Albans (not the best area of Melbourne) and it was still a 1:30 drive to the beach.  I got there just at dark near the Ocean Grove Hotel.  It was raining and there was storm surf (it cleaned some of the dust off my boots) and you could see your breath but I had to try out the 800.  I did and found one spike that is used for tents and 40 minutes later I was done.

This is what I learned on the drive.  Everywhere there is a McDonalds there is a KFC near it.  There are no Starbucks (I didn't see them) but the McDonalds here have full barista bars.  The 7-Elevens don't have drip coffee in a pot it grinds it fresh and you fill up your cup one at a time.  There are many Dominoes pizza places.  Woolworths and Coles are everywhere.  I paid $1.35A for a liter of 10% ethanol gas.  They have Mercedes pickup trucks. 

Liberals are conservative and labor party is liberal.  They have ABC and CBS here on both radio and TV.  I don't remember NBC.  There is lots of Fox.  The Triangle is MUCH different than the city.  Tea, instant coffee and milk are part of every room.  Roundabouts are everywhere.  You don't turn on red.  There are lots of old American cars here and a few new ones like Mustangs.  There was graffiti all over the stopped trains.  Driving after 7 PM in the dark is very easy because most cars are off the road.

More later ... packing time.

[Lanny]

Nice write-up for your update, thanks.

All the best,

Lanny

[SteelPhase]

Sorry I missed your adventure Mitchel as I was out of phone reception for most of the time.

It's a shame you didn't get more gold but I really hope you enjoyed your time here regardless.

regards Pat

[mn90403]

I'm back to Santa Monica.  Lots of things for me to do to catch up with the family while I lick my wounds about all that gold I didn't get.  It IS what it WAS now.  That trip is in the books.

When I get a chance I'll put up some pictures or a video or two that I didn't make time for during the trip.

[flakmagnet]

Welcome home. 

[fredmason]

Welcome home, Mitchel.

To bad you did not get a third lifetime find.

However, you found some gold...I have meet a few people that found none in OZ...

More importantly, you went there and done that!

fred

[mn90403]

Just a note for those following along about the car.  I did get a bill from the car company.  It was a bill for Premium Station Surcharge of 27% for $150!  This was in the fine print of the contract but I didn't know until after I turned the car in.  The original amount for the 21 days was $450 so the car cost me $600 and I didn't pay any insurance because I got a waiver from VISA that they would cover the insurance.  I didn't get any charges for scratches ... yet.  I don't know how many days they could still find them.  I would argue that it is too late to charge me for that now.  The invoice said I was just under 3000 ML/Miles!