Is going to the West worth it?

Like detecting everywhere, we are seeing less and less nuggets being found and certainly smaller ones. On recent trips to the West, I have heard from those going that in some cases they didn't even find the enough to cover the trip.
Others have said they have several oz but they had to work very hard and it was only in tiny pieces - thanks goodness for the 4500
I wouldn't mind hearing from those who have gone west, your thoughts on your trip, what did you find and are you planning another trip?

I have never found enough to cover my petrol expenses, (nowhere near it) but going west every year, is the greatest joy in my life. Vast expanses of ground without car tracks criss crossing the ground is exciting. Nuggets are on average, a lot larger than in the east, the country is beautiful and you can get away from other people. NICE.

I have been over for the last four winters and I am heading off again in April 2010. I can't wait !

Jigalong

Morning Jeff,
As you well know, I live in the West and enjoy the outback far greater than the amount of gold I find.
There are still those finding new patches that would definitely cover expenses however most travellers I meet are a happy bunch who are always excited to tell you they have found gold even if it doesn't pay the way. They tend to talk more about escaping the rat race and experience the solitude the WA outback has to offer. It is not difficult to be the only couple on the planet not seeing anyone for weeks at a time.
Sometimes you meet people who I think have been too long in the bush on their own. The following story relates to that.
The last trip for this year back in October we were cleaning up an old patch out Laverton way with the 4500's, many tiny pieces mostly sub grammers. One morning while we were both chaining & digging a vehicle went past along the only track in the area. About an hour later it came back and a couple got out and the lady asked us how we were getting on. Her partner stood with his arms folded, his back to us and seemed to be surveying the area we were chaining and barely uttered a word. It was obvious from the fresh digging we were onto something.
We went back to swinging and again this couple drove past and again and again.
The next morning they drove past again with their caravan in tow. If they had spent the time detecting instead of wasting fuel driving past they too may have got onto some gold.
Anyway later that day we drove back to our caravan, parked a few K away to have lunch, when we returned, there, right in the middle of where we were detecting were a couple setting up their caravan.
First up I was very annoyed then thought well we had chained it to death and it wasn't our private lease so they had as much right as us to be there. Anyway I thought it was to much of a coincidence that they should turn up in a remote area where we were finding gold.
You have probably guessed, the couple that had been stalking us for the previous few days had gone to the Laverton Caravan Park and flapped their gums that we were onto gold.
We decided that there might be a rush of caravans to the area so we packed up and left with our 50+ nuggets.
Gold can bring the best out in people, it can also bring the worst to the extent they act irrationally and very strangely.

Anyway Jeff that is probably an isolated story all the rest is good news.
CYA over here one day.
Cheers
Peter

Hi, Like nightjar we live in the west and have been detecting here for about 19yrs. Most trips we would not pay expenses, we
try to stay away from the thrassed areas and enjoy the solitude. On our last trip out for the year we had 7 bits for 8grms
at the end of the first week and then found a small patch that made up for a lot of the other trips. On returning home we were able to
upgrade our caravan. After all those years we found what we had only read about before. So yes there is still the odd Patch out there
Cheers Greg.

Now I done it tough
As I live in SA and only had 2 weeks holidays here is my story.

Jumped on a plane to Perth, then another to Laverton.
Me sup with some great people who I now call friends.
Went out detecting here there and everywhere.
Start off slow then found a ok bit or 2. Flew home 2 weeks later with 50+ gram in me pocket.

So, I did cover my flight (cheap fare) and had a ball.

Will be driving back in a while, hopefully have more fun

John

There are a lot of people out there that do more following than detecting. I could hear their slow tire noises even when they were quite far away, through headphones! They think you don't know that you are being followed.

I found that most people there, all they do is follow you. Don't talk to anyone in the caravan park other than short "pleasantries". Just about everyone there is greedy, a lot.

Other than that, you will find nuggets, mostly small and if you're lucky you'll find a big one.

a group outing from my prospecting club happens yearly, ,they travel and camp together and have a great time, trip is usually around 6 to 8 weeks, this year they bought back 40 oz between 6 couples,phill

Yes,
but its a bit hot just now..

Addictive this gold detecting. Sounds like the challenge and the outback call,

Friend of mine went with a mate for about four weeks and picked up 13 oz mainly small pieces, then they came back. When he realised how much he enjoyed being away (from the missus) he went back within a week or so and picked up another 5 oz.

The first week was a bit lonely but then the solitude and the rewards made it worth while. But then he came back home again - poor bloke

Jeff

Two sometime three couples have ventured from SA to WA for the last four years. We've never got close to paying for the trip and realistically dont expect to, but ya never know!
It is just a relaxing holiday, meeting new characters and injecting money into local remote ecomonies. The WA goldfields reek of history. We love it, plus a good opportunity to catch up with my son and his family.
Yes it's worth the effort.
Dene

Is going west worth it??? You better believe it! Cheryl and myself have been going west since 1999 (7 trips) and have never returned with less than 20 oz. Our best season was 40oz. We spend up to 4 months over there each season (only two months detecting last season) and have a great time by simply heading out and camping on the gold. Since our first trip we have brought a total of almost 200 ozs back east (where it belongs ) and hope to bring more back next year.

But even if we didn't cover costs we'd still go every season as we just love the WA bush. Our first year was hard with a huge learning curve but now we help scores of other first timers have a great time with our prospecting CDs.

We are happy to use our now considerable hard won experience to help first timers and other folk have a better trip and find more gold. Helping and seeing someone find their first nugget is a better feeling and more fun than finding one yourself.

Cheers, Jim

Hell yes it's worth it!

Get out into the heart of WA and if you never get a sniff of gold you will at least see some bloody awesome country away from the beaten tracks that will blow your mind, you will think you are on Mars or the moon, but go well prepared because as fantastic as it is out there it will suck the life out of you in a matter of an hour or two and sometimes even minutes if you donot know what you are doing.

I hope that those who do come across here do the right thing & join APLA which does great work in helping keep the goldfields open
to prospectors & metal detector operators alike here in W.A. by providing a conduit between the state government, mining companies & prospectors alike. They need as much support as they can get.
There has been a lot of mavericks around who due to their total disregard for doing the right thing as far as applying for a Miner's Right,
going onto mining tenements without permission, & not having the curtesy of advising the pastorlist where the tenements are that is
causing the mining companies & pastoralists to tighten up on the right of prospectors going onto ELs without a section20A permit & totally not giving permission on live tenements.
It was only a couple of years ago that I did not have to go to the trouble of applying for a section20A permit to go onto some of the active tenements that I detect on. Now I have to.

Cheers

Ted

Gday

There are still many areas here in WA that have not recieved too much attention, so some careful planning and research could put you on to an area that has been less hammered than the better known spots.

If you have the time of course like 3 or 4 months then its going to be worth your while to do some extensive research, before you leave home, so you dont waste your time and fuel running about the place and can head to one spot after another without wasting too much time driving, time better spent detecting. ( more time on the ground equals more gold in the pocket )

Firstly I would recommend you lay your hands on as much research material as you can, books, maps,cds, and then you will get a clearer picture of the layout of these areas, many of the places you will encounter have been severely hammered over the years, but its going to these places that will help you to recognise the types of rock formations and the look of the gold bearing ground we have over here, it can vary greatly in appearance from one place to another, being able to recognise these features will be the difference between getting gold and not getting gold.

Lastly if you want to be able to come back again you need to treat all these areas like they are your own back yard, take your rubbish with you, fill in your holes and do the right thing, dont treat these places like nobody else will see it, its this attitude from vistors and locals alike that have caused some of these places to be put off limits to us, if people dont do the right thing then expect to find more and more of these places to be off limits to you.

cheers

stayyerAU

i agree with jim ,newbes should grab a copy of jims dvd,try and get a lesson or two with a experienced operator.ourselves and another couple bought back east 35 ozs between us this last winter,incl 2 nuggets over 5 ozs,and 1 over 4.5ozs.already planned our 2010 trip,we had 3x4500s and 1 x4000,the 4000 found the most gold with nf 18 inch round mono,goes to show you dont need the lastest and greatest,there is plenty left.

Nope Wouldnt bother comin over if I was you...... Hahaha lol just jokin im only saying that coz I live in the West and need to get a head start =)

I got back home yesterday after 2.5 weeks detecting at Mt Monger and Leonora.

Got nothing during my four days down at Mt Monger, but I had an excellent talk with the geos of Silver Lake Resources and Integra Gold. They were very friendly and informative about their operations down there.

Ended up with over 2 ounces at Leonora. An ounce a week !

Four long days of driving back to Sydney, but it was well worth it.

JIgalong.