New Zealand Gold Fossicking Forums

Hello from Australia, My name is Shane....and im a gold-aholic just like you guys :)
Ill tell ya a little about myself.
Im 38, a KIWI, was bought up in Blenheim, Marlborough and did a little gold panning as a kid, while grandad, dad and the uncle dredged for gold up the Wakamarina River on the family claim.

As a kid i was never interested in gold mining and left New Zealand when i was 15 and went to live in Australia. (i dont know why i ever left)
Dad would tell me so many stories about when he lived up the Wakamarina gold mining, hunting, fishing and tramping. He pulled out quite alot of gold from the claim, As a kid i remember going into his top draw (when he wasnt home) and play with his gold.

My dad passed away 2 years ago, and now for some reason all i think about now is dad, gold, and goldmining with dad.
The past year i have been buying paydirt from alaska, california and nevada and panning it out, so much fun!!!

So in November just gone, i made the decision to go back up the Wakamarina River and pan for gold, with 2 gold pans and a week stay, i had a blast!! and found 0.65g of gold......woohoo.... not much..... but i found it.

After getting back to Australia (only a few days), i have decided to go back for a 2 week holiday goldmining, and went out and brought an airline ticket back to NZ. im comming back in mid March. (hope the weather is good)
Im also building a gold sluice at work, its just about done, i cant wait to use it.

So NEW ZEALAND "here i come!!!"

Shane.

Hi Shane

I'm in Blenheim and mainly fossick in Murchison as that's where my wife is from. Back there this weekend chop some firewood to keep my mother in law happy then get down to the rivers.

Sherry Stream looks like it may originate in the same area as the Tadmor stream which is a known gold bearing area. Might be worth a look one day I'm thinking

Didnt someone on here mention a claim on the Tadmor?
Had a shufty at Gavs map but nothing granted or submitted...

Actually I would be interested to know whether having a claim "submitted" actually means it's yours from that date? Not up with all the laws/jargon yet :)

lifejockey:

a claim is only a claim once is has been approved.

that said the law dictates to us today that you can only legally fossick (even with just a little old pan) in the predetermined public fossicking zones on certain waterways as you can see in the paydirt map.

i know some people seem to relish in the idea of keeping an idea of the map to see what new areas are having claims being submitted and then rushing in there before the claim is approved.

this is probably not on, definitely in the eyes of the law, but also from the point of the pooor guy/s that have been through the costly and time consuming process of applying for a claim to work an area legitimately.

i'd say that any wise person who submits a claim would be watching out for people keen to 'jump' their spot.

and as discussed recently in the forum, just because someone has decided to mine a spot doesn't always mean there is good gold there. it could be speculative, ie. to flick off for a profit to some sucker, the gold could be metres below the river and hard to get at, etc etc.

you are probably just as likely to find gold upstream of the said spot. then again, one the claim is operational the claimholder would probably not be impressed if you were fossicking illegally above their claim and dirtying their water so that they can't see.

my advice would be to steer clear, maybe talk to some locals and get some local knowledge to point you in the right direction. they won't point you to a goldmine but being nice should usually get some sort of result.

Simons advice is good advice as the locals are the ones who can steer you i the right direction - its a matter of trust and friendship. My son had a holiday job and through it met a man who owned a few acres. This person invited my son to go and have a look on his property - not claimed and yet it turned out that the gold was as good there as anywhere...and my son is welcome back.

get to know people and all good things come your way - and you dont need to hurt others by standing on their feet and betraying them nor capitalizing out of their success when you can find a better spot and create your own success.