Any good areas for a beginner around Bairnsdale region?

[4x4Patrol]

Hello,

I'm new to gold prospecting - new as in only ever found a few grits of gold panning some years ago.

I hear that supposingly there is gold to be found in Deptford area, and in Bullumwaal area?

Is that true?

I went up there to try some panning, but the rivers and creeks were quite full, so don't know if its the wrong time of the year?

There is heaps, and I mean HEAPS of quartz rock everywhere, but no matter what I panned, no color at all.

Am I panning the wrong areas? Am I panning the wrong stuff? I tried panning some of the finer sand that resides against some of the bigger rocks in the creek bed, I even tried digging down a foot or so to see if the gravel bed changes, but it seems to keep going - lots of course gravel and round rocks/quartz. No gold. I was expecting to see like a clay bed or something where the gold might settle on, but can't seem to find anything like this.

Any tips or suggestions from anyone who has been up here?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Swinging & digging]

You can not pan in the Nicholson River as its on the exempted stream list ( No prospecting ).
There are a number of small creeks in Gippsland that carry gold.

 

[4x4Patrol]

You can not pan in the Nicholson River as its on the exempted stream list ( No prospecting ).
There are a number of small creeks in Gippsland that carry gold.

Would you be kind enough to expand a bit more on "a number of small creeks"?

Also it says on the exempt list - Nicholson River Tributary of Lake King. Is this the WHOLE Nicholson River, or just the part where it is tributary (flows into or feeds) Lake King?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Swinging & digging]

Entire River is on exempted list!
You can,t prospect creeks within National Parks in Gippsland.

You will have to do your own research for Creeks up that way as i am not familiar with the area!

 

[Guest]

Hi, try looking at Forest Explorer (map) for rivers/creeks around Bairnsdale. It is quite detailed and shows many creeks that don't show on other maps. Then type the name of some of these creeks into trove.nla.gov.au to see if there's any mention of gold in that creek. It a good way to start if your unfamiliar with your area. Hope this helps

 

[ProspectorPete]

Hi there 4x4Patrol, probably the best way to find out where the gold is in a creek once you've located a one that has a history of gold would be to research at home, a quick search on "how to find gold in a stream" on Youtube came up with plenty of great videos on the subject like this one for example
[video=480,360]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyYjFDAwor4[/video]
There's also threads on this forum too which go into detail on how to read a creek, the key is to research via your computer then when out at a creek look for the likely places and test pan, sometimes it pays to test pan across the creek at 1 foot apart in a likely spot and you should find a pattern of what ends up in your pan for example: iron stone and black sands are heavy so usually are found where the gold will also be, look for the heavies, but it's all 90% research and about 10% prac in the field until you really understand it.
I'm about 10 months into my prospecting hobby and still have so much to learn but the one thing I've realised is the more time you devote to research the more "luck" you'll have on your journey, just enjoy the ride.

 

[Grunta69]

Hi 4x4Patrol
There is plenty of gold in the creeks around Bullumwaal and Deptford just be careful where you go cause there is a lot of deep shafts around.
Happy Hunting.

 

[4x4Patrol]

...sometimes it pays to test pan across the creek at 1 foot apart in a likely spot and you should find a pattern of what ends up in your pan for example: iron stone and black sands are heavy so usually are found where the gold will also be, look for the heavies, but it's all 90% research and about 10% prac...

How deep should I dig in a creek bed though? For example, I was in a small creek near Deptford the other day, but obviously with the rain we have had here, there was a fair bit of water in the creek (in fact, the main creek at Deptford was unpassable, even in my patrol - caz I don't have a snorkel!)

I went down about a foot or so in the gravel next to the flowing creek in what I thought were some promising areas, but I never hit a clay bed or anything, it just kept going down with lots of crushed rock about pea-sized with some course sands in-between. Should I have dug deeper?? (was kind of impossible though, as it started filling up with seeping water!

 

[XIV]

Head north. Towards barry way
research is the key.
you will find some of the information on here.
the rest you will have to find (dpi) os also another place to look

 

[4x4Patrol]

Head north. Towards barry way

Sorry for my ignorance, but where is Barry?? eg - "barry way" :/

 

[Tathradj]

Um,
How long have you lived in Gippsland. ??
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Way

 

[4x4Patrol]

Um,
How long have you lived in Gippsland. ??

um, not long obviously!! :8

Thanks for the wiki link though! I did try Googling it on Google maps, but it didn't seem to come up, so thanks!

 

[SCROUNGER]

The Barry Way is one of the most scenic drives in your area and travels from just outside Jindabyne in the Snowies down to the Buchan Caves area and then onto Bairnsdale. It not only follows beside the Snowy River below Lake Jindabyne but crosses numerous creeks also.

 

[Tathradj]

There are a lot of hidden gems around just under our noses. LOL
One of the best aspect's of this hobby is discovering them.
.
Just doing some research last night and have found a potential site that is in the middle of no where.
The pocket of country it is in is quite rugged but beautiful.

 

[4x4Patrol]

There are a lot of hidden gems around just under our noses. LOL
One of the best aspect's of this hobby is discovering them.
.
Just doing some research last night and have found a potential site that is in the middle of no where.
The pocket of country it is in is quite rugged but beautiful.

Hi Tathradj,

That secret spot isn't over my way is it? haha :lol:

 

[ProspectorPete]

There are a lot of hidden gems around just under our noses. LOL
One of the best aspect's of this hobby is discovering them.
.
Just doing some research last night and have found a potential site that is in the middle of no where.
The pocket of country it is in is quite rugged but beautiful.

Hi Tathradj,

That secret spot isn't over my way is it? haha :lol:

Not trying to be critical here 4x4Patrol but the answers you seek are pretty much highlighted above.

You will gain a much better knowledge of your area by doing some research yourself.
Just spend a few hours on Google and type in what you're after eg: alluvial gold Gippsland, then get out on the weekends and search some spots by foot, research is half the fun and you won't find much waiting for others to do the work for you.

Hope this helps you a bit and good luck with your search

 

[4x4Patrol]

Thanks PP for the advise. Don't worry, I love getting out and just exploring, even if I don't go panning or find gold!

 

[Tathradj]

More my way Mate. LOL
Going to have a bit of a look see when things warm up a bit.

There are a lot of hidden gems around just under our noses. LOL
One of the best aspect's of this hobby is discovering them.
.
Just doing some research last night and have found a potential site that is in the middle of no where.
The pocket of country it is in is quite rugged but beautiful.

Hi Tathradj,

That secret spot isn't over my way is it? haha :lol:

 

[Mickkat12]

More my way Mate. LOL
Going to have a bit of a look see when things warm up a bit.

There are a lot of hidden gems around just under our noses. LOL
One of the best aspect's of this hobby is discovering them.
.
Just doing some research last night and have found a potential site that is in the middle of no where.
The pocket of country it is in is quite rugged but beautiful.

Hi Tathradj,

That secret spot isn't over my way is it? haha :lol:

How you end up going ?

 

[Tathradj]

Hi Mate,
Area was ravaged by bush fires so I am waiting for things to settle down.
Work commitments have been stalling me for the past 3 months.