Gold Prospecting Australia

Had a great day out with Ronda and Mark from Gold Prospecting Australia today - can't recommend them highly enough - patient teachers and what a great spread for lunch - thanks for showing us that little piece of Kangaroo Flat guys!

My wife and I had been tossing up whether to throw some hard earned at a detector - we're a lot more likely to now.

Cheers

for the last 2 years i was planning a trip with these guys, but they have cancelled their all inclusive tours this year. for me that is what i would have had to have gone on. i was more than happy to pay what every they were asking too as i've been saving since last year and i can't do this trip any other way.

maybe i'll have to wait till 2013 if they decide to run the all inclusive tours then. would have been a great trip.

not bad mouthing the company..... i have only heard good things about them.

I'm booked to do the 3rd tour next year in W.A can't wait I'd been wanting to do this tour for years and now l'm finally going

I'm doing two WA tours with them in 2011. I have not missed doing at least one tour with them in each of the last five years - great fun.
Jigalong

I'll be catching up with Mark and Ronda at Castlemaine this coming weekend for a two day tour. Having previously done a tour with them before where I met Jigalong, I too can also highly recommend them. I have to decide quickly which tour I'll do next year, probably Kalgoorlie.

Ditto from me,

Have done a couple of tours with GPA and have booked for my third later this year, totally professional organisation with a great product.

GB, yes I'm the same as you, looking forward to a trip to WA next year, prepared to pay whatever, but will have to wait till I can put 6 weeks together to do a trip over their now.

O'well just means I will have to do more here in Vic until then.

Mariner3800

Went out today with GPA in the Bendigo/Kangaroo Flats area. After a quick lesson with Mark showing me the basic, i set out with my dad who was holding the pick and myself swinging a GPX5000 call it beginners luck after two pieces of trash BINGO my first piece of Gold. Only a 0.2 grammer but still a bit of yellow. After a coffee and a chat with Mark we set out again. This time it was another couple who was taking the course who had a find. We then had a bite to eat all part of the package supplied by GPA and hit the scrub again, after a few pieces or trash (old 22 bullets pieces of melted alloy and the likes ) I heard a really fient tone, and you wouldn't believe it yep BINGO again, another little 0.2 grammer. It may not have been an early retirement fund but i was over the moon and enjoyed my day out with Mark and as a beginner goes and reading these forums for the last couple of months the information and knowledge Mark threw my way was invalueable. I'd highly recommend a day out with GPA and in saying that I'm going back out with them tommorow. Fingers crossed a hear that delightful tone and clink in the container several more times.
Thanks GPA

Thats a good news story m8. and good luck for tomorrow as well.

cheers dave

I done the training with them as well and only have the best to say about it.
Good luck tomorrow and say hi to them.
Keep digging

Mariner. I was really dissapointed when they told me they weren't doing the all inclusive tour.

For a North QLD'er it's a big trip in itself just to get to the WA gold fields. flights especially. They did make a point that i could hire all the equiptment and it would cost the same as if they ran the all inclusive tour, but i don't have the time and when you travel so far for a tour such as this, i wanted it to be as easy for me as possible with everything supplied so i can just go and detect with no headaches at the end of the day.

I do hope they reconsider and include an all inclusive tour for 2012.

I believe that Mark and Ronda canned the all inclusive catered trips in WA because they made very little money on them - they worked their butts off for little reward.

The costs of getting the huge amount of gear required to keep a dozen people fed and sheltered in the WA bush made it tough to make a buck out of the fully catered tours. Also the costs of hiring staff to cook and care for them and the wear and tear on the truck and trailers etc etc etc just kept going up.

Just keeping enough water for 12 people to drink and wash in for 10 days, was a logistical nightmare when they were 80km from town - lugging around 50kg water bladders was doing nothing for Mark's bad back either.

I think that they kept the fully catered tours going for so long, because they felt they owed something to the overseas customers.

Anyway, they are concentrating their efforts now on winter tagalong tours in WA, NT, Qld and NSW, although they are still doing plenty of fully catered trips around the Victorian Golden Triangle in Spring and Autumn.

Jig.

Hi all
Is any one else booked for the Murchison Region in WA tour next June with GPT's? I'm on board and am eagerly awaiting the time to come. I have registered with Tengraph (Site on WA Mines Dept.) It is not an easy site to negotiate but if you want to go into an area to detect before or after your tour, you have to have approval to do this as it is all owned by Mining companies and leased by pastouralists. I will plan to drive to Kalgoorlie, in my Cruiser and I have arranged to hire a camper trailer. Saves lugging it all the way over and back this way.
cheers
Hookey

G'day Hookey,
I'm doing both of the Murchison Tours, so I will meet up with you there. I am leaving tomorrow for two weeks detecting in Tibooburra - practice for WA !
Cheers,
Jig.

I have the highest regard for Mark after spending a tour in the Kimberlys last year. it will be a loss to folks like me if there are no more All-Inclusive tours...but, I know baby-sitting a bunch of tourists is a tough job...
However...Australia is in my blood and calling....

fred

Glad you had a good time Fred. Happy people are always welcome.
Paul.