Prospecting North Queensland.

Hi All
For those members interested in "Prospecting for Gold" in North Queensland, here is some information that may make planning any trip a little easier.
Located around Georegtown "Etheridge Shire" there are a number of properties that members of the public can access for the purposes of metal detecting & camping.
Access to these properties is by pay to detect, contact the owners for current pricing.
those are as follows,
"Western Creek Station" - Which is located about 20 km South of Georgetown, operated by Shirley Young & Geoff Brown, this is a working cattle property & has only been open to the detecting public since May 2014 so it is relatively untouched, there was some good finds here since opening.
There is a designated camping area which is huge & has toilets & hot showers for campers.
"Flat Creek Station" - Is located a further 13km South West of Western Creek on the same road, this is also a working cattle property run by Peter Henry, it has been open for quite some time but still produce good gold, there are toilets & hot showers at the designated camping area.
"Dells Hole Station" - Is located South West of Forsayth & is run by Kevin Young, this is also an operating cattle property, this property has been open to the public since 2011, there are no facilities at the camp, so you need to take in all water
Here are the contact details for respective properties,
Flat Creek Station - http://www.flatcreekstation.com.au/
Western Creek Station - 07 40625591.
Dells Hole - (07) 4062 5534
Gilberton Station - Is located about 60km South of Forsayth & is accessed via the Kidston or Oak Park road, this is also a working cattle property that has been open for detecting for quite some time.
It is run by Rob & Lyn French, (07) 4062 5321
They also own Mt Hogan which is near by, that they open from time to time, both of these 2, have specific areas set aside for detecting.
In Forsayth there is a Caravan park, when you are staying at the park this gives you access to another property North East of town called Mt Talbot, the only way to access this one is to deal through the van park.

Thankyou Lee 

Thanks for update, Lee.

Thanks for that Lee
spinna

ok you have just twisted my arm looks like this is in order

Thanks for sharing that info Lee, gives those some reference who have never been to your wonderful state QLD, very much appreciated.

Cheers

Thanks for the info. Can one just rock up and pay or should one book in advance? Any idea?
Cheers

What type of vehicle is needed to access these places Lee?  Are any of them accessible by a 2wd camper, or are they all 4wd access only?

In the dry season, most areas are fine with 2wd.........

Gold Miner wrote:In the dry season, most areas are fine with 2wd.........

Thanks Lee, that helps with planning for later in the year.

Rocknut66 wrote:Thanks for the info. Can one just rock up and pay or should one book in advance? Any idea?
Cheers

Mate it is always advisable to ring before embarking on such a journey, as plans on the land can change with the seasons.
Think of it like this, you would like to have someone tell you they are coming to play in your back yard & not just turn up hey!!

Hello Lee,
I am from Tassie and starting the trip north tomorrow. Hoping to be in the Forsayth area within a couple of month. Could you make a recommendation which of these listed places may have the best prospect to find a speck or two. Also how easy are the station owners to get along with?
You took nice photos from that running creek. How bad are the mossies up there?
Happy detecting
Cheers
Ray

Rocknut66 wrote:Hello Lee,
I am from Tassie and starting the trip north tomorrow. Hoping to be in the Forsayth area within a couple of month. Could you make a recommendation which of these listed places may have the best prospect to find a speck or two. Also how easy are the station owners to get along with?
You took nice photos from that running creek. How bad are the mossies up there?
Happy detecting
Cheers
Ray

Ray
I would highly recommend "Western Creek" for your trip, easy access central location, owners are very easy to get on with & Geoff (owner) detects so he can point you in the right direction.

Tell them Lee Burke, sent you there.

I see on Flat Creek Station's Facebook page that the road is now open to the station. Great news!!

thats great to here! is that in through western creek?

Info here - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flat-Creek-Station-Georgetown-Camping-Fossicking-and-Homestay/229990788140


EDIT:

***BREAKING NEWS***
The Flat Creek Station access road is now OPEN. Yesterday morning the main access road between Georgetown and Forsayth was re-opened after being closed for 18 months. Located only 45km from Georgetown, Flat Creek Station is a great place for bush camping, gold detecting and bird watching, with the rare Gouldian Finch spotted here recently. Please share this status and let's get the word out that the road is again open!!!

happy days thats great news!!!!

Western Creek Station Nth Queensland ... Just left the area (July 1 2015). Camp well set up with toilets and a donkey shower. A very helpful caretaker on site and a lot of area open to go to. Only spent four days there but trash every where you go and very hot during the day. Road from George Town bitumen except for the last kilometer very rough and then turn right on a good dirt road for eight km. Very dusty no telephone cover and no drinking water. Dingos can be herd at night but did not see any during the day. The heat got too me and I left only with the usual pull tabs, nails, bullet shells and rusty tin pieces. George Town two caravan parks are very run down and overcharge so stayed in and out at Mt Surprise unpowered site on lawn for $10.00 a night. A nice place to try but for a place in the middle of nowhere there is metal junk every where you go and you can see signs the area has been worked over. They do not advertise the site as it is at full capacity by word of mouth with the amount of prospectors there.

George

Jungle wrote:Western Creek Station Nth Queensland ... Just left the area (July 1 2015). Camp well set up with toilets and a donkey shower. A very helpful caretaker on site and a lot of area open to go to. Only spent four days there but trash every where you go and very hot during the day. Road from George Town bitumen except for the last kilometer very rough and then turn right on a good dirt road for eight km. Very dusty no telephone cover and no drinking water. Dingos can be herd at night but did not see any during the day. The heat got too me and I left only with the usual pull tabs, nails, bullet shells and rusty tin pieces. George Town two caravan parks are very run down and overcharge so stayed in and out at Mt Surprise unpowered site on lawn for $10.00 a night. A nice place to try but for a place in the middle of nowhere there is metal junk every where you go and you can see signs the area has been worked over. They do not advertise the site as it is at full capacity by word of mouth with the amount of prospectors there.

George

Hi Jungle, bugger eh!   no lovely Western Creek gold for you...this time round, nevermind, maybe better luck next time, its a small place as places go up that way but given that there's approx 91 Square Km of ground on that Stn and gold is being found from one end to the other,  I wouldn't give up on it just yet  four days is a very small window of opportunity, some very nice gold has come of that ground in the last year or so and you can bet your balls there's plenty more to come, no one will ever know the absolute number  for sure but several hundred ounces is known with some sizeable nuggets, 23 Oz being the largest confirmed known by me to date, I saw a very nice 7 Oz bit just the other day ,  made me drool a little , there is trash in a lot of areas as the place was worked in the 1870s and again in the 1970s but there are also areas of little to none, don't be too put off by the machine worked areas, much gold was won over the years there but what they have also done is expose the bottom for good folks like you and me to detect upon   , dingoes are every where in that country as with most places, all dams and water in that country are croc habitat, I cannot recall any real threats to man, but as usual you may want to keep Fido close by and out of harms way, as for the heat now is the season to be there, good to hear they are getting people in, At Capacity?   really    must be a few there eh?, phone reception is available at known locations to most users, depends on your provider most likely, ready to drink water is definitely scarce in that country after yet another failed wet season so it is imperative you take your own, I do believe adequate supplies to wash or bathe are and will still be available throughout the season, good luck to you on your next effort.

Wayne.

Thanks for the directions. I nearly got to the Forsayth district at the end of last year but got sick of living in a tent and had to head back south. Regrettably.

Wayne

Sorry the late answer. Yes I will go back next year.My trouble too eager and not prepared enough. A day prospecting in the sun and a day or rest will be the go next visit. The area you have to prospect is vast and because a lot of it has not seen detectors so the trash.    SunriseBoy living in a tent with the dust is not the go we haul our caravan there with shower and toilet but water is the problem. The owner pumps water for the showers from the local creek but it is not drinkable but George Town is only up the road for supplies.Telephone with Telstra is up the road for cover and no TV cover. Dust Dust and more Dust just set up away from the road. We leave Adelaide for the sun in winter so hope to be up there next June July.

Yes, winter is the time to go up there. I don't know if I'll get that far north again unless I can strike a patch to fund a 4 x 4. A 1990 Magna wagon is not exactly the unit to be doing the Georgetown and Forsayth district!

SunriseBoy

You could get away with a standard vehicle if you take it slow and no rain but its  4wd country. A 1990 Magna wagon is getting long in the tooth and if it breaks down it would cost more getting it to repair than its value. I get to Tiborburra NSW now and then and see the truck come up from Broken Hill to take back the 4wds damaged on its tray towing there caravan at $4000.00 a trip. (Not repairs only getting there gear back to town (Broken Hill). No repairs available in Tibooburra. One weekend seen it up three times but if you see the way tourists drive on the roads with caravans on the back at speeds you can understand why.

I hear exactly what your saying. I'm not sufficiently dumb enough to take the old girl off-road into the likes of that country; or any other rough places. As I mentioned I'm working towards getting a 4x4 so I've got the right kind of machine for the job.
And I drive very tenderly in rough areas. I'm gob-smacked at the way he dudes do the rip-tear-bash type driving and then cry in their beer that they've busted something and, as you said, have to pay 4K (holy crap!!!) to get the thing back to be repaired.

I go at jogging or even walking pace if things get lumpy.