New Zealand Gold Fossicking Forums

i went to a spot couple weeks ago where i meet another fossiker doing his thing. got chatting to him and finally got on the topic of the paydirt forums. convo started with him saying " yea before i used the stie i was hardly geting any gold didnt really no were to go" ect ect.

i think to myself yea its a prety good place to get a newbie started like myself a year or so ago.
the he carrys on with " yea thepermit map is awsome you can just look were all the claims are and were the gold is"

and then go's on telling me how he freqents claims and claim areas, it makes it so much easier.

it pissed me off just seeing how ignorant and lazy some can be.

hey i gota admit i used the maps when i first started to get the genral idea as to were gold is found a good spots ect.but i used the maps to make sure i wasnt steping on anyones toes no just a free ride to a spot were gold is and beeen claimed.

how the do you claim holders put up with it? how do you feelspending 10 20 30 k on a claim and no other people are working it when your not around?

I found over the years tha tmany people ar eusers and you are right - because you have a claim at a certains pot people think that is the best spot for gold and so they want to muscle in - We have had that before.

I simply cannot understand why people cannot go find their own spot as there are many spots I know of where there is some amazingly good gold to be found...places that have yielded many ounces and are not claimed and if someone asked me why I dont go there then my answer is simply that you cannot be everywhere at once!

Some of them are also a long way to travel and therefore it is best to concentrate on places closer to home.

There are opportunists and low lifes who trawl these sites looking for freebies, hand outs and to capitalise out of the words of others, those who are too gutless to research old newspapers, historic records and mines records and then follow these leads to find their own spots.

My son went to a spot not so long ago and when he came home I was totally gobsmacked at the gold he had found, all nice nuggets - there are better places than those already claimed - I can assure the lowlifes of that - go do some research, visit places mentioned in historical accounts and find you own gold in your own spot.

spot on, again, lammerlaw.

i enjoy communicating with everyone on this site and passing on a bit of knowledge but unfortunately at the end of the day this forum and the permit map are trouble.

one mention of a waterway or small tidbit of info and all sorts are pouring over the place like you've just announced a goldrush sized discovery.

it's amazing how few members there are, yet there always many "guests". the silent types, not contributing but always ears to the ground.

out in the field most people i've encountered are good people but there always one or two money hungry types that would probably steal from your grandmother.

it always amazes me how if you dig a little hole on a massive beach someone will make a beeline straight for that hole and start digging like it's the spot to be in.

i often test this theory. one guy digs and gives up. the hole gets bigger. next guy sees the hole, digs some more, gives up, and so on.

it got to the point where i would often dig a decoy hole to deter others from good spots. but that only works when that hole is bigger than yours.

at the end of the day though the successful ones are those that share each others trust and information and get ahead that way. one slip up and a bit of bad press and you're out of the picture so to speak.

it's a small world our there that's for sure. still doesn't seem to stop those few trying though.

Hi Simon - yes the communication is a good thing and I have met several people on this site whom I would certainly consider trusted friends but there are the shady types - they wont get any change out of me and I also see no reason for people to be shady types because the best spots are the ones untaken, as yet undiscovered even.

There is more than enough gold to go round and even some of the newer fossickers have done exceedingly well - I can vouch for that as a couple have been out with me and I have seen and heard of what they have found in spots they have researched on their own account and worked without stepping on the toes of others.

It doesnt pay to say too much on the site though and never answer any questions that are 'leading' questions aimed at picking ones brains re locations and places because if the information is divulged then the vultures will strike!

There are many opportunists - people who capitalize out of the success of others - this forum is full of them - but it is also full of really good, down the earth people some of whom I have met and can safely say that I would be happy to 'ride the rails' with them...I have yet to meet a person from this site who I did not like and there is not one person from this site whom I have met that I would not go Gold fossicking again with.

It is also natural for people to join the forum to ask for help, get hints and ideas regarding methods and equipment but only a limited few join or perve through the threads to gain information for nefarious purposes such as claim jumping etc.

As for Gavins map of permits - I find it very helpful to find out where claims are in order not to step on the toes of others and so that I treat them with consideration as I would want others to do for me...no more - no less.

As far as places to go is concerned this site is of no use to me what so ever as i have been there and done that - I had a partner, long since dead who had an intimate knowledge of Central Otago gold mining and the places to go as he looked for gold all his life, his father was manager of a Gold Dredge (Skippers - Sandhills Dredge and he was born on his grandfathers claim, arguably Central Otagos most successful sluicing claim. I also have a collection of many historic accounts, books and geological reports - this site doesnt help me at all but it has made me some friends and it has taught me a great deal about human behaviour...and made me more wary at the same time.