hi reg,
i have seen a couple of your posts about coming over. how long are you here for and where and you planning on heading to ?
i wouldn't recommend spending too much on equipment. keep it simple. the more tools you have to haul around the less time you will have to look for gold, and you won't be able to haul your gear as far.
i have a gold and sand sucker and to tell you the truth i haven't used it too much. i got it specifically to do a certain spot. now i am working more underwater i don't use it. instead i use a little sucker bottle to suck up bits i see. i think i will actually get a new sucker which can be bought as a hydraulic fluid drainer and is made by Cat the digger company, as it's been pointed out the sucker is heavy and will sit on the river bed and not float off.
anyway, i would recommend going to a hardware store such as bunnings or mega. it depends on what sort of fossicking you will do as to what tools you need.
a big screwdriver is useful for crevices. i bought a cheap hand tool and angle grinded off a couple of the prongs to make a crevice scraper.
a skinny rake is good also for moving small rocks and gravels. they sell kids rakes for about $12 at the warehouse. you could always reinforce it with a solid steel handle for moving larger rocks.
carters the building shop has good cheap waterproof gloves, good for protecting your hands. i wear these over my neoprene gloves so they last longer. as it's getting colder you may need some neoprene.
i also got some muckboots, also part neoprene, essential for standing in cold water in winter.
small crowbars are only about $9 at the warehouse. same with small short handles shovels. i don't really use a large shovel as too heavy to carry and harder to get in between rocks and bedrock.
if you want to see underwater the warehouse has cheap snorkel masks. or you could buy or make a viewing scope out of pipe or a bucket.
which reminds me, you will need a good solid bucket. old paint/plaster buckets are best as they are solid. forget about the flimsy 89 cent buckets. they'll break in 2 seconds.
gold pans are on trade me and at places like the local museum. only about $8-12 for a basic one. i use plastic as it's light and cheap. drill a hole in the rim and you can attach to your pack with a bungy cord.
clip it containers are good to put your "fines" in to take home to process. or if only gold and no black sands a little glass or plastic bottle can be bought at the likes of the chemist. here nomads have them for about $1.50.
several guys on this forum and trademe sell sluice boxes. some might do pick ups. you can always sell these later for a good price. or you could make one if you have time.
bushman's is a good insect repellent as the sandflies are everywhere and may drive you crazy otherwise. its water repellent.
probably missed some things but this is a start.
i'm in queenstown and always keen to show new folk how to pan/sluice if they are keen. i won't be showing you my spot but there is a couple of good public fossicking areas with gold everywhere so i can guarantee you will at least find some. some being grams/specks/flakes not pounds. although i have seen people stick to it and recover ounces of the fine stuff. a lot of work thou with just a sluice.
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