Cuckoowaif
Stephen Gibson
Finally , I got all the family stuff out of the way , and got a few days in the bush .....
I went out to Tuena with a plan . Someone mentioned that a long walk would put me onto ground that hadn't been worked over recently . So I poured over the maps of the area and decided that downstream on the Abercrombie from the junction with Tuena creek , and downstream from Costigan Rd were my targets this trip .
First , the Abercrombie .... My research said an 8klm paddle in my kayak would be a good day trip , however , Google maps must have taken their photos of the area during wetter times ! I could only get about a kilometre . Then it dried up and had to walk ! Anybody who's been out there can imagine that that's not easy . I didn't get any more than 4klm before realising that I'm not as fit as I once was ! But that paid off anyway . A natural riffle in the bedrock at right angles to the flow , on the inside of a curve in the river , rubble in sands that were as hard as old concrete ..... My Eldorado ? I thought so until I was half way through and came across rusty barbed wire ! But , I got gold ! Not enough to retire on , but more than I have pulled out of one spot ever before . I also attacked the roots of an uprooted tree with some success as well . Will try to post some photos .
On the other side of this trip , I tried many other spots on the river and in the creek , but my ideas on a likely spot have already been someone else's good idea ! But still , there is a lot more country out there to explore .
I did think to myself while walking the riverbank , I wish I was a young man when the original gold rush was on !
(Looks like I still can't upload photos from my android .... don't know what I am doing ...... will post photos later from my laptop .....)
Steve .
I went out to Tuena with a plan . Someone mentioned that a long walk would put me onto ground that hadn't been worked over recently . So I poured over the maps of the area and decided that downstream on the Abercrombie from the junction with Tuena creek , and downstream from Costigan Rd were my targets this trip .
First , the Abercrombie .... My research said an 8klm paddle in my kayak would be a good day trip , however , Google maps must have taken their photos of the area during wetter times ! I could only get about a kilometre . Then it dried up and had to walk ! Anybody who's been out there can imagine that that's not easy . I didn't get any more than 4klm before realising that I'm not as fit as I once was ! But that paid off anyway . A natural riffle in the bedrock at right angles to the flow , on the inside of a curve in the river , rubble in sands that were as hard as old concrete ..... My Eldorado ? I thought so until I was half way through and came across rusty barbed wire ! But , I got gold ! Not enough to retire on , but more than I have pulled out of one spot ever before . I also attacked the roots of an uprooted tree with some success as well . Will try to post some photos .
On the other side of this trip , I tried many other spots on the river and in the creek , but my ideas on a likely spot have already been someone else's good idea ! But still , there is a lot more country out there to explore .
I did think to myself while walking the riverbank , I wish I was a young man when the original gold rush was on !
(Looks like I still can't upload photos from my android .... don't know what I am doing ...... will post photos later from my laptop .....)
Steve .
....Good show of colour mate.
