2700k's - A Trip to the Outback

[Ben78]

As a few of you already know I have recently done a trip to Tibooburra with my family. Although I am very widely travelled in Australia (lived in 4 states, toured all of them) I have never been to Cameron's Corner, Tibooburra or Bourke! A recent opportunity came up and we were able to pack up and head west. Primary on the 'to-do' list was to fish in the Darling River, find gold at Tibooburra, visit Cameron's Corner and a few smaller items (noodle at Lightning Ridge etc)

I've ticked them all off and will be adding to this post as I work my way through the pictures.

Suffice to say it's very difficult to take a bad picture in the outback, it's all so amazing. As many have said before me, breathtaking scenery is around every corner.

Here's a couple of pics to kick it off. I'll add more later.

The first of ten pieces of gold I found at Tibooburra for about 7 hours detecting. All except one were under 0.1 gram, some didn't register on my scales which means they were under 0.04g!

 

[Heatho]

Nice pics Ben, keen to see the rest, those melons taste bloody terrible, curiosity got the better of me one day in the outback.

 

[backcreek]

HMMMMM Paddy melons, yuck!!!!
The pigs eat them.

 

[WalnLiz]

Great shots Ben, and as you say, rain, hail or shine, that Tibb region is up there with the best when it comes to desert scenery.

Look forward to the rest of the pics and the commentary.

Cheers Wal.

 

[Syndyne]

Hi Ben,

Great shots! Always nice to see that gold coming out of the ground.

I meant to tell you to give me a heads-up if you were in the Ridge area. Definitely drop us a line if you're ever out this way again or passing through on the return trip.

Hope you had a blast out there! What a wonderful part of the country that is. The scenery never fails to impress out that way.

All the best,
Shauno.

 

[Ben78]

Hey Shauno, Lightning Ridge was the only place that the kids were adamant they wanted to go back to! When we get some time up our sleeves to come out again I'll let you know. We did manage to spend some time in the walk in mine and had a fossick on their dump and I got three slivers with colour in them, I'll get a pic of those later to put up. Had tea at the Bowlo (Lightning Ridge Bowlo is up there with the best bowlo in Oz) then in the morning had time to get the front shaft of the navara pulled out by the guys at Countywide Tyre and Battery as my transfer case is dribbling oil out of the front seal :/

BTW The damage tally...
My rear springs bend the wrong way now
All the shocks aren't absorbing anything
Front output seal of transfer case is leaking (drip drip)
Major stone chips
Battery acid had leaked from the battery, still to determine if it actually caused damage
On the camper I broke the anderson plug connector

Had no tyre issues although one has developed a slow leak. I let down to 35psi (from 46) once I hit the dirt and then to 28psi once the rock started.
Towing the camper I sat on around 15L/100 on the tar and 17L/100 on the dirt. Most expensive fuel was $1.98 at Wanaaring Coopers Store, although they owners were superfriendly. I bought fuel on both passings through town as well as lunch on the return leg.

We stayed at Kidmans Camp at Bourke and it was certainly a nice place to stay. They use some of their irrigation to ensure the park has green grass and they have around 90 powered sites. Plenty of shade and top shelf facilities. Once in the park you couldn't really say where in Australia you were.

Once you leave Bourke it isn't long before you hit the dirt. The dirt gives way to red sand hills, this one is near Wanaaring.

Yep, thats a lake!

 

[aushunter]

Damn good trip that one, we are getting together a trip thru the centre of QLD in Sept and do the dinosaur run.
Good one on the gold too, well done.
Cheers
Brad....

 

[Coyote]

I lived in Cobar for 8 years and headed for wanarring for their Golf Open each year. Only course I've played where they use a grader on the fairways . What a frendly group of people from that town. It was always a great weekend. my wife and I used to Camp out back of the pub, but I heard it burned down. Shame if it did. Had some great times there. Lotsa memories.
The darling looks full.

Thanks for sharing some great pic's. I will show the Wife when I get back home from work.

Cliff

 

[Syndyne]

Hey Shauno, Lightning Ridge was the only place that the kids were adamant they wanted to go back to! When we get some time up our sleeves to come out again I'll let you know. We did manage to spend some time in the walk in mine and had a fossick on their dump and I got three slivers with colour in them, I'll get a pic of those later to put up. Had tea at the Bowlo (Lightning Ridge Bowlo is up there with the best bowlo in Oz) then in the morning had time to get the front shaft of the navara pulled out by the guys at Countywide Tyre and Battery as my transfer case is dribbling oil out of the front seal :/

BTW The damage tally...
My rear springs bend the wrong way now
All the shocks aren't absorbing anything
Front output seal of transfer case is leaking (drip drip)
Major stone chips
Battery acid had leaked from the battery, still to determine if it actually caused damage
On the camper I broke the anderson plug connector

No worries at all Ben. Sing out anytime.
They've changed the old club layout more times than I can remember over the years. It's only just been done again recently. I haven't had a meal there in many years, but it should be fairly decent. Bruno's Restaurant is another option, though booking ahead can be required when the town is busy.

Bugger about the mechanical issues. Hopefully you'll have it back in A1 working order before long. These vehicles can definitely cost an arm and a leg at the drop of a hat.

We have the Opal & Gem Expo coming up. Its on July 31st through to the 3rd of August. That's probably the best time of year to be in town. Quite a bit to see and do and the weather is always nice. Booking well ahead is highly recommended for that one.

Take care and all the best,
Shauno.

 

[Outback]

Enjoyed the photos Ben , shame about your shocks & other things , you must have done a heap of K's on the dirt .

What's your thoughts on Tibooburra for gold detecting now you have given it a go ?

 

[Ben78]

Hey Outback, I think it was about 1200km of dirt all up, so yeah a fair bit.

Thoughts on Tibooburra, well I want to go back - but I was disappointed that the gold was so small. But then, I guess its still there because it is so small and so hard to detect. I need to try out one of the pay-to-play stations out there and see if they are any better...

I also discovered that my spotties don't work now and also the power switch on the fridge failed so I had to hard wire bypass the switch!

 

[Outback]

Thoughts on Tibooburra, well I want to go back - but I was disappointed that the gold was so small. But then, I guess its still there because it is so small and so hard to detect. I need to try out one of the pay-to-play stations out there and see if they are any better...

!

Hi Ben ,

You did OK using a detector only , for the short time you spent I consider your skill excellent ! Tibooburra like most well-known gold fields has been gone over & over for the last 35 years with every detector developed .
What most don't realise is the huge amounts on tiny nuggets still there ' but beyond detectors !

By the time you get back up there I might be able to lend you one of my dry field concentrators we spoke about privately .
Be good to see you score enough gold weight to pay & profit next trip

Cheers
Outback .

 

[Ben78]

Thanks Outback, I was thinking about it yesterday and has to kick myself. All the dams had water in them I really should have gathered a bucket of creek and up and given it a wash!

The gold is so small I don't think it would take much rain to uncover the next layer of gold bearing soils.