mn90403

What brand do you recommend?

Just before my trip to New Zealand the coil ears on my 11" coil for the 800 just suddenly snapped off. I hadn't checked them for cracks but it obviously was weak. There is nothing left to stiffen so I think I have to fix it as I did my 17" CTX coil. I have to attach a U to the coil. What is the best U that someone makes? A related question would be ... Does Minelab replace the out of warranty coils that break? When I get back I'm going to ask.

10" GPZ 🫡

Now in Paeroa! The trip is coming to a close. I'm back with relatives and will have dinner in Auckland on Saturday. Other than landing at the airport, I haven't been there. Everything has been country and mountain roads. I've passed through lots of places I don't know anything about so I'll look at my pictures and a bit of Wikipedia later and then know more about what happened there. We've hit a couple of really nice playgrounds for the kids. The one today was in Hamilton. When leaving we had a great choice of takeaways to choose from. Pretty good stuff really. The exchange rate makes the food here about the same that I'd pay in California (when I left) but I've read about the bump ups in both food and gas. Most gas here is between $2.75-$2.91 NZ per liter for 91. I'm using a Toyota that gets better mileage than my cars in California. We went one stretch where there was no gas for over 100 miles. I was glad to pay $3.14 when I got to that station! Lots of things seen and many things to consider. If I ever made another trip to NZ I won't have to drive everywhere, that is for sure.

It might have been good to meet you. I didn't want a picture of the gold I saw because some things need to be shared by the owner only. I took a picture of some of Justin's finds as it was part of his shop.

That would have been a bit better but I do have pictures of the inside history and a video walk around. I'm now on the ferry.

We've made it to Blenheim for a few hours before we get on the Ferry at Picton in the morning. On our trip today we found a beach that probably has jade and a mine with my name! More on that later.

We've now driven all day and stopped by a glacier and we're at a Holiday Park in Hokitika. Thoughts of Queenstown still with me. I'm going to stop at one or two of the bookstores that are everywhere here and ask them if they have any gold books. I saw one at JW's that showed the truly large amounts of gold that was found in NZ about the same time Australia and the United States were having their rushes. I never knew. Today we passed along the West Coast. There were some old gold towns here too and the quartz appeared in the streams and rocks. I tried to eyeball a nugget! I've got a couple of rock samples and pictures.

I'm preparing to leave Queenstown this morning. I wish that I could report finding my own nugget but I do have some NZ gold courtesy of JW. Simon and I went out on just a perfect day to a spot just like many others I saw here in the south that once held lots of gold. Once again we gave it out best effort but came away without a nugget. We had a great time which could have only been made better by finding a piece. My big relic of the trip was an unfired 22 long. We both found dozens of tiny bird shot. Simon was using his 6000 and I was using my Algo. While I just started using it this trip I'm finding it to be a very capable detector with the Sadie on it. More on that later when I get back and meet up with some of you. This was near where we detected. It was one example of many that I saw of gold mining activity that took place over the area. The specific area we detected reminded me of the climate and growth at Rye Patch. There is just much, much more exposed bedrock and no crystals. On my return trip to the north along the West Coast of the South Island I'm told this is where the largest nuggets were found. I did stop by a shop and meet someone who had a 500 gram nugget! Lots and lots of gold was found and taken but I'm only taking back a little gift. Thank you Simon and thank you JW. I'll try to keep some of your secrets safe. haha

It is about 8AM and I'm waiting for Simon to pick me up for about 6 hours or so of detecting. This will be it for me. Tomorrow is a travel day. Yesterday Simon was the perfect host and showed us a local spot that once had ounces and ounces of gold. I was told by a local who detected it back in the 80s or so that you could easily get an ounce a day. There were some undetected spots that yielded more before the SDs came out even and when they had those ... ah the stories and pictures of multi-ouncers. Simon managed a nice bit, but he'll show it to you when he gets a chance. My wife and I didn't fare as well but it was fun. It is hard to take a lot more pictures when you have to give your phone to your kid so you can detect while they play games! haha

Simon is on his way to meet me for a bit of a gold hunt. That gives me a few minutes to search through my phone and post a couple of pictures. Searching through is time consuming but I'll start with a picture of Bradrona! This was in the middle of what Simon tells me is a large gold area really labeled Cardona. This was on the ride down the road from the lake at Wanaka. Somehow the hikers and others decided to leave a little (or large) piece of their clothing behind. There is gold and gold workings in them thar hills. This search for photo and posting has taken 15 minutes. One thing I need to say is my wife has better photos because it is hard to drive and take photos at the same time. Klunker said put together an album and I will when I get back. I'll check off a bunch of Google Photos and share it for any who care. Now it is time to get organized for Simon.

I don't have enough time and connections. 🙂

That is a good idea and I wish I had known about it earlier. I found some live ammo rounds and some other artifacts I would have dropped off. I've only been out to that one spot and found the buttons I posted and the one lapel pin.

We spent a 'free' night in Tekapo looking across at the shops. We woke up in the morning to some friendly Mallard ducks. Then we have gone to another lake town, Wanaka where I am now. We'll be in Queenstown tomorrow!

Ah, it is a long day to get a Ferry at 8:45 and then drive to Christchurch. Add in a few road repairs and stops for play and it makes for a full day! We're here!

Wellington tonight and Christchurch tomorrow. There is a bit of rain hanging around here but a mostly clear moon at the moment. I need to start looking South!

Any comments will educate me about the area because I know nothing!

I was considering the size of the lake and thinking it formed long after an eruption. The 'hot zone' certainly stretches out over hundreds of miles. It was cool to see. I know there is a NZ billionaire who wants to harness the thermal and hydro power and send it by cable to Asia.

We are spending our first night at a hotel in Wellington. The satellite says no signal. It could be the sun that is causing the problem.

Look at when the lake was formed.

That was a 'minor' eruption but you made me look up when did the lake form and this is what I found: Lake Taupō is in a caldera created mainly by a supervolcanic eruption which occurred approximately 25,600 years ago. Lake Taupo is 234 square miles vs Lake Tahoe with 193 square miles.

Today I was at Agrodome and we have showed up at Lake Taupo. I stop late in the day after travelling and not any real time to do anything about uploading a picture. During the day we have been to a McDonald's for some free WiFi but this is the first time I've been at a Holiday Park with enough time to read my email and no time to look and add pictures. After I'm back I'll use this for a guide and add pictures and a bit more info.

Ah, I haven't read all of the thread but my thoughts are what was said earlier when the price increases were laid on at the beginning of the year. Raise the price so you can put it on sale! Must agree that Jeff's satisfaction with it and my soon use of Simon's may cause me to make an order before I return from this trip.

The caves were a good stop. Then we went to Rotorua and saw the hot springs and a bit of the town in a drizzle.

Hobbiton was amazing. Today we go to the Waitomo caves.