New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

AND EVERY HOLE I DUG A COUPLE DAYS AGO HAD BEEN PULLED OUT AND THROWN ROUND THE PARK!!!! cant believe it the little shits. I try my best to keep the area looking untouched by filling in the holes. I betternot get a bad name for this act, i did fill them in againbut now dirt all round the parkandlooks abloody mess...what elsecould i do...

That would be my worst nightmare - especially if people in the area knew you were detecting there!

But to lessen the chance of it happening in the future I would:

Make sure that I only dug 3 sides of the turf (horseshoe or V shape). With one side still attached by its roots it will not only force the little sh_ts to have to rip the plug out, the grass will also recover much faster. This will also avoid the parks lawnmower from lifting and munching up the plug.

Thump down the edges of the cuts once the turf has been replaced, if you use a Lesche or similar the handle is good for this. This will help disguise the edges of the hole as well as removing some air gaps in the soil allowing the roots to grow faster. This is only good if the soil is damp, if its dry I would avoid detecting in that area as a plug is impossible to disguise in these situations.

Detect early hours of the morning. The kids who pulled the plugs probably saw you detecting to know where all the plugs were, by hitting parks when nobody is around avoids this situation and any ignorant people getting their nose out of joint about the hobby.

Hopefully you will get some rain down there in the next few days. One heavy shower and the dirt showing on the surface will disappear.

I dont live by a beach, and im not a prick who digsholes

The above is why I included this in my last post: ".... and any ignorant people getting their nose out of joint about the hobby."

If done properly there is no damage to the parks. In fact every council park worker I have talked to hasn't minded me digging plugs at all and I've seen kids playing rugby and horses trotting around doing a lot more damage then anything a detector is capable of.

well if they dont have to hide their damage then why do you?
hobby or not detecting parks etc is all for personal/monetary gain its no different then if you were to be out in the hills detecting gold i dont see why it is exempt from getting a consent or access permission its still public land, the fact that you "disguse your holes" makes one think that you know what you are doing is frowned upon and shouldnt be doing it.

we dont "disguse our holes"we put the plug back as best as we can out of respect for other useing the parks.detecting parks and prospecting natural resorces are completely diferent i dont see the need for permits for detecting parks and im guesing that alot of gold prospecters havnt paid for claims on the areas they prospect.

I didnt take too much notice of the word 'disguise' in the context above - but that is exactly what should be done in a manner of speaking - in other words to replace the plug in such a manner that no one could tell that it had ever been disturbed and in so doing 'disguise' the fact that it had been disturbed so that little morons who are the reason the thread was begun do not notice that the ground has been disturbed and tear it up!

Being the epitome of hypocrisy if I got my way I would be in Egypt with a fairly large bulldozer shifting lots of neatly and methodically symmetrically stacked stones looking for goodies so that I cannot in all fairness have a gripe at guys who leave noticeable holes in the park so that little morons can tear them up again.

In actual fact society is becoming a police state ruled over by Mini Hitlers who are always ready to dob you in for ten cents.
I remember the days when you could go anywhere with your detector looking for coins and never once had a rejection to search behind a tote or A & P showground, where you could even take your rifle and plonk a bunny if it stuck its head out, when you didnt need a blasted cycle helmet to ride your bike there and when a seat belt was a novelty and anyone who saw one said "Wtf is that?"

Make the most of whats left while you can you guys but yes it is best to remove all evidence of your passing as it will allay the inevitable for a bit longer but the more obvious the signs then the more complaints from the do gooders who shit in their own nests and the more complaints to the authoritative Gestapo orientated local council arse lickers and then its goodbye metal detecting...except in one of the ten or so designated metal detecting beaches they set up around the country to keep the peasant happy...just like the ridiculous gold fossicking areas. Some of you will rememebr that ALL of New Zealand except freehold land was once free to fossick on with the renewal of your annual Five bob miners right.

New Zealand belongs to us all and it is about time WE made our servants - the politicians accountable for their decisions rather than allow them to dance on the end of the puppet strings of the foreign bankers!

To my way of thinking go for your life - as long as it is public land.

Edited by user Sunday, 17 February 2013 7:49:36 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Did someone slip to the wrong side of the forum?

I've been trying my best to hunt at first light, no interruptions and if the grass is still damp it makes it easy to see where you have been easier to dig and you seem to find targets just a little deeper, maybe it's just less ambient noise.
I don't take a shovel with me, I think that generally if someone sees you with one they will think you are trying to dig a bunker. I'm not saying that the guys that use shovels make a mess, I'm just saying that in my opinion that's what people will think.
If the ground is crumbly then it's probably best not dig there, if you do the plug will shrink and the grass will die, some people water all their plugs but I'm sure how much this would help in really crumbly ground.

What works for me is - don't dig plugs smaller than a baked beans tin, if you miss the target you will just have to enlarge the hole anyways - dig at 90 degrees to the ground a cone shape plug just gets kicked out or sucked up by mowers - I dig round plugs but leave a good size flap and as much dirt attached to the plug as possible - Replace the plug and push firmly back into place.

Lammerlaw is right, it's just a matter of time before we can't go to the local park so we should make use of them while we can, that doesn't mean go nuts and do mass group hunts. Keep doing as we do - treat everywhere with respect and leave it as close to what we found it as possible.

Sounds like an iscolated incident Good to Go. Least you done the right thing and went back to fix the holes as best you can. I have often gone back to an area to check over the holes ive dug just to be sure to be sure.
Did i hear you say ''my Garrett'' , thought you had an f2.
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