New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

Hi Guys, Went for a bit of an adventure in the weekend to a place I hadnt been before. It was my wedding anniversery & my wife & I decided to do part of the Old Dunstan Trail. This trail was the first coach road through Central Otago from Dunedin to the Dunstan Goldfields in the early 1860's. It was the most direct route & pretty much followed the high country ridges. It avoided the boggy lowlands & bushy areas but had its own hazards. Especialy in winter. Stinkin hot in summer & bitterly cold in winter. Today it is a four wheel drive track but you still need to pick the weather if going on your own or else go with at least another 4X4 & both with winching gear.
We made a bit of a defiation from the trail & went to an area called the Sepentine. An old gold workings area. Both alluvial & hard rock. Come on a bit of the journey with us.







On our way too the Poolburn Dam



Modern day gold plant



Some amazing schist tor rock formations



Through the eye of the needle. The hole in the rock from above pic.



The Poolburn Dam, Scene's of where The Land Of Rohan was shot for the film, Lord Of The Rings.





Just past the Poolburn Dam the Old Dunstan road carries on but we hung a right to head on to the Sepentine reserve. At over 3000 feet above sea level







Couple of old miners cottages beside some old gully workings





Now where is the gold hiding? Some big country out there.



Lets try here.



Way down in the bottom gully is the Serpentine stamper battery & water wheel













The old save. Used to keep the hard rock miners wages in & gold recovered from the operation.



Didnt have a lot of time to detect but....found three little bits for just on two grams



Close ups



Small speci



Flip side of little speci





Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for looking.


Good luck out there & a very merry xmas & a golden new year to you all

JW :)

Thanks for sharing - looks a fun area to explore. Might have to try and get myself down there for a wee adventure when my parents visit Jan / Feb. My dad likes detecting but most of the spots I go looking for gold are probably a little too difficult for him. From your photos looks like a leisurely stroll with the detector once you've 4wd'd in?

well done! iv been meaning to head up there for the last month or so. was thinking of going Tuesday infect but the weather looked crap.

fantastic pics JW.thank you very much for shareing...looks like a place i would love to explorer

Nice and remote part of the world jw-nice one.
At least you can spot any doc nazis from a long way off and hightail it back to the truck!

HA HA! thats me pulling the other truck in my land cruiser. was a great trip, but yes it can get very muddy up there and whatever you do don't go past the church unless you wont to get stuck.

Thanks John for the post, especially the photos, since I have been back from the get together in Oct. I have been itching to get back down that way, and reading the book"GOLD TRAILS OF OTAGO" has really been wetting my appetite for more, all the new spots to check out.
I was planning on doing the Old Dunston Track from Clarks Junction to Styx onto Serpentine then Poolburn lake to Moa Creek. Your photos really confirmed my drive to do it, but hey that video puts a slightly different aspect on it. I was planniing to do it just Anita and myself in our 4wd hilux
and Anita is not to keen on getting out and pushing when we get bogged down especially after our last trip down that way when we had a rental car and me forgetting thinking I had a 4wd, those town cars aren,t up to much when you go cross country.
Looks like a man needs a couple of dry weeks before attempting such a trip, and maybe a 2nd vehicle, but I'm a bit of a bugger to travel with as I've got to stop all the time and check out all the likely looking spots, gold ,relics, trout, old buildings, you know whatever. That waterwheel would waste a bit of a mans time, what a relic. I showed Anita your photos and she is real keen, but I must keep the video out of her reach if you know what I mean.