Wash out Central Qld

I guess that afetr the floods subside there will have been a lot of movement of ground up north.
Will this release more nuggets?
Just imagineering
Neil

A LOT of water moving through Queensland at the moment. It probably will replenish most areas, access will be the key - i.e., where you can get to without being affected by the wet ground and floods that are and will be, still moving through their flood basins for weeks to come. Longreach is currently on warnings for elevated water to slight floods.

Last December the Peel River near Tamworth flooded and replenished the supply enough to bring out the locals with pans. Apparently there was some nice little finds near Nundle and around near Bowling Alley Point. When the locals come out to play it is time to play in amongst them. But a bit of local knowledge would go a long way - only the local can tell you when the water has gone down and the access is best.

Now for my question - as my knowledge with detectors is very limited (mostly coastal beach work), how does the wetter ground affect things.

Cheers
Phil

Wolfey seems to have chucked a bit of a wobbly there about something, can't work out why - must be the heat or something.

Getting back to the topic of the post, there are some pluses & minuses in relation to the heavy rains. On the plus side, that amount of water movement will definitely move a lot of dirt and generally move good deposits of alluvial gold, but on the minus side of the equation it will also deposit large amounts of sediment in certain areas resulting in gold being harder to detect due to the depth. Another downside to all the rain will be the vegetation growth and as anybody who has ever detected in the northern goldfields will testify, some areas become totally undetectable after a good wet season due to the rapid and dense growth of grass.

caveman

Hi Caveman

Yeah - poor wolfey, he seems to be upset, but not willing to elaborate and feels that he does not have to explain what is getting up his goat and yet we it appears he wants us to explain our motives and thoughts. Oh well - confusion will remain supreme until further explanation as to WHAT is annoying him. Bit like the missus saying "I am anoyed with you" and never explaining what or why - so I guess I will treat it in the same manner - ignore it and it may even go away or get lost in the translation -

So caveman, it really gets down to the local knowledge aspect, if you have someone near the location that can make daily observations and report to you what is happening in their backyard. Some place drain and dry quickly, some take longer and as caveman said the location can be undetectable in a short space of time - so timing is ESSENTIAL.

Now wasn't that sic -

Seems that we are also getting rain over most of NSW, so the Turon and other rivers will be flowing a little bit better and hopefully wash some new bits into the rivers for us to find

Cheers
Phil

As Jigalong asked - when is it a reasonable time to start talking about this topic? In 1 month, 6, 12! If this is a sensitive subject for some - they should not partake in this thread - I did not know we were restricted in our freedom of speech!! I do not like religion and think it is an insensitive unrealistic approach to life and yet I do not yell this from a street corner, I allow these people to go to church freely and with beratement! (no I am not trying to start an anit-religion thread). All I am saying is allow people to converse on topics that they think would be relavent to their hobby and interests. There is no real answer to this conumdram, cept chat away and if you do not like it stay away from the conversation. I am not trying to be aggressive or attack any particular person or group of people, just want to be able to discuss just about ANY topic that is relevant!!

Cheers
Phil

G'day SootyOwl,

You are right when you say that it comes down to local knowledge and being a central Queenslander I guess I'm in the right spot to relay ground condition info to any of you southerners planning a trip up here this year.

It has been an exceptionally wet summer compared to most recent years and according to the weather gurus, we can still expect more substantial rain over the next couple of months. I live not far south of the Clermont goldfields and will probably do a run up there in a few weeks time to check out a couple of spots - at the moment I would reckon that it is still far too wet. I usually get up around the Georgetown/Forsyth area after May, but with the amount of rain in the area over the past couple of months, I will more than likely delay my trip up there until July/August. I enjoy detecting wet ground, but tramping around in mud can be a pain in the butt.

I see that you are from Lake Macquarie - I'm an old Cardiff boy myself and still have family living at Awaba.

caveman

Caveman, All.
Hey Caveman, I am thinking of going to Forsyth this year but the road is going to be closed for months, I stayed there for 6 months with work in the early 80's when heaps of people were finding gold & showing me at the pub, but I had no interest then, I used to walk ALL the hills & creeks shooting pigs. (I had my priorities all wrong) I only have an x-terra 70, but I am thinking of buying a bigger detector. What type do you use & do you have much success up there?. I have a friend who lives there & he told me they were widening the road towards georgetown & cutting hill edges & people were finding gold there. he also told me with the new detectors some very large nuggets came off the town common, (one was reportedly worth 17grand)
Greg

A cardiff lad - well caveman fits well I grew up in Gateshead West - same tar - different brush

So - how have you coped with the floods, have you been affected in any way??

This is exactly what I am talking about - the LOCAL info can save a lot of wasted time as well as building up an overall knowlege base for the group - thank you Caveman

From my own local knowledge of Nundle, this good rain we are having (Maitland 6 inches and Moree 3 inches yesterday, so tis widespread) may swell the Peel River again and flush a bit more out, so within 1-2 weeks of the rain stopping I will prolly be making a trip up there, instead of the 4.5 weeks after the flood had completely disappeared as well as the water in some of the smaller creeks that provide good colour. Unfortunately my detecting knowledge limits my amount of detecting until I can dedicate a couple of days up there going through the manual (and any other info garnered form places like this site) and the manual on site. I own an x-terra 70 and plan on buying a 6" DD coil in the near future - unfortunately buying a 4500 is out of the picture at this stage - I originally purchased the x-terra as I live near the coast (beaches) and only ever intended to use it for gold on the odd trip to cowra to visit the in-laws. Guess what I discovered the whole new world of prospecting and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute so far!! I will let people know when I am going to Nundle, maybe someone else may be interested in venturing out that way - if you are in the area i.e.

There are quite a few other rivers in NSW that will also be swelling at the moment! So an abundance of future opportunites abound - more fun - more excitement - maybe some more yellow stuff

ps Caveman - My boy plays RL for the Cardiff Cougars - he will prolly play u17's this year - let me know if and when you come down to visit the family.

Cheers
Phil

Hi all,

Greg.
I see that you live in Townsville, so you know what rain is all about. As you are aware, the gulf country has copped a fair soaking over the past month or so and I can't see it drying out for a couple of months yet and even then a lot of places I detect in will still be a bit soggy. I'm not real familiar with the x-terra 70, but from what I have read about them they seem to be quite a versatile machine. I use a GP3500 myself and I haven't quite made up my mind if I should upgrade to a GPX yet - maybe I'll wait and see what ML brings out in the next model.

Phil.
I'm based on the central Qld gemfields and even though we have had a fair bit of rain recently, it is nothing to what the area copped last year.

As a kid I spent a lot of time around the Nundle/Hanging Rock area helping the old man panning and sluicing and I've always thought I should get back there someday just for old times sake. My cousin has got a couple of thousand acres near Nyangala and he tells me that there is fine gold in his creeks.

The wife and myself will probably get down to your part of the country later in the year on a trip to the Turon, we were there last year for a few weeks and I detected a few nuggets.

Wil.

Cardiff High hey - I was in one of the first classes there back in '62 (I think) and got kicked out 2 years later.
Good memories - you would probably have been in kindergarten when they marched me out the front gate at the end of Boronia St.

caveman

Yeah that would be right caveman I would have been crawling around the back yard at home in Lachlan rd Cardiff but wnet to both cardiff public & high school. sounds like you get around to lots of places detecting etc for gold with the wife, I only wish my wife was a little more adventurous & also enjoyed golding so it could be more of a family outing which may happen more often, oh well I can only hope she comes around one day. Caveman did you ever do any good panning or detecting up Nundle? I endevour to find some less common / flogged areas up there for detecting/suicing so I hope to eventually get onto some private property up there,but the vibe Im recieving from my cousin who lives up there is that they aren't too keen but I want to get there a bit more often so I maybe able to chance meet a few land owners & have a chat & see what transpires.
Cheers M8
Wil

G'day Wil,

Staggering home (Second St) from Cardiff Workers Club one night I decided to souvenir the old school bell from Cardiff Public and almost had it when the local cop turned up - he gave a swift boot in the arse and sent me on my way. From memory, I think he was more pissed than I was. I was going to take it post and all only because I think I was the only kid who went to the school in my era that never got a go at ringing it.

I have never detected around Nundle, I only ever panned and sluiced in the area with my old man back in the 50's. I drove across the range a few years ago from Gloucester and thought that I wouldn't mind spending some time prospecting a couple of spots. From what I have researched, nuggets up to 34 oz were found in an area from Nowendoc through to Nundle and I would guess that there is still good gold to be found around there. Getting access to private property is always one of the barriers us prospectors face, but as I posted on another thread, sometimes the offer to do a bit of unpaid work for a property owner in exchange for access will get you through the gate - food for thought.

caveman

LOL funny story Caveman I dont doubt about the cop being under the weather too,ah the good old days.Yeah food for thought there If I get the chance to talk to any land owners I might suggest that option, nothing to loose ay.
Wil