New Zealand Gold Prospecting & Metal Detecting Forums Archive

The forum has moved to community.paydirt.co.nz, see you there!

This forum is now an archive to preserve the knowledge and finds posted here.

Visiting Queenstown Area

RioGold		Posted : Friday, 9 January 2015 7:58:02 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 10/12/2014(UTC) Posts: 24 Location: NELSON Thanks: 21 times Was thanked: 19 time(s) in 11 post(s)		Hi Guys Newbie to forum here! Me and the Wife are doing a trip down to Queenstown and was thinking doing some prospecting in the public areas why I was there, any recommendations to which maybe be best to visit? any info would be much appreciated. regards David

c4bb0ose		Posted : Friday, 9 January 2015 5:36:06 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 7/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 97 Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 32 time(s) in 29 post(s)		Originally Posted by: RioGold Hi Guys Newbie to forum here! Me and the Wife are doing a trip down to Queenstown and was thinking doing some prospecting in the public areas why I was there, any recommendations to which maybe be best to visit? any info would be much appreciated. regards David The mile rivers close to queenstown would be the ones with the least amount of people, I found nothing while I was there however. I reckon your best bet would be the shotover river and or the arrow river public fossicking areas.

RioGold		Posted : Friday, 9 January 2015 6:36:58 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 10/12/2014(UTC) Posts: 24 Location: NELSON Thanks: 21 times Was thanked: 19 time(s) in 11 post(s)		Awesome thanks for the feedback. Regards David

Golddigger7		Posted : Saturday, 10 January 2015 3:17:33 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 6/09/2012(UTC) Posts: 252 Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 46 time(s) in 35 post(s)		Arrow fossicking area will probably be the best place to go, it is bigger than most people think with beaches over bed rock, but dont go to far up the river, eg Macetown, or I will have to tax you :-)

kiwijw		Posted : Saturday, 10 January 2015 9:19:00 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		Originally Posted by: Golddigger7 Arrow fossicking area will probably be the best place to go, it is bigger than most people think with beaches over bed rock, but dont go to far up the river, eg Macetown, or I will have to tax you :-) Dave.....:) How much will the tax be?? 10% LOL :) I did a bit more sluice boxing in the public area one night after work this week & got some nice colour. I just kept on digging where some one else had left off. Pleanty of those type of spots with the summer holiday makers out there doing it. Little sluice box dams already made for you too. LOL :) They cant have feed the sand flys very well as they were still bloody hungry buggers. There was a bloke panning & boxing just up from me. When he packed up to go he stopped to check out how I was doing. He said he had been at it for a few days & had nothing. Nothing.!!!! I said. Found that hard to believe but no he said he hadnt found a speck. I took him over to my sluice box & showed him a few colours that were just sitting in the ribbed matting at the head of the box. He asked where were the best spots to dig. I told him the inside bends on the corners & that you dont need to dig too deep as it is only smallish flood type gold you are going to get & that is usually in the first 4-10 inches. Look for natural iron sand depsoits & clumps of the heavy iron stones. As they being heavy the gold will hang out along with them. Hope he had more luck after that. You been up on your claim Dave & pulling in heaps?? :) Good luck out there JW :)

RioGold		Posted : Saturday, 10 January 2015 7:44:16 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Flake Groups: Registered Joined: 10/12/2014(UTC) Posts: 24 Location: NELSON Thanks: 21 times Was thanked: 19 time(s) in 11 post(s)		Awesome Guys thanks for the info looking forward to getting amongst it!! :)

Golddigger7		Posted : Sunday, 11 January 2015 9:00:00 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Medals: Groups: Registered Joined: 6/09/2012(UTC) Posts: 252 Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 46 time(s) in 35 post(s)		Hey JW, for you I got a special rate :-)

kiwijw		Posted : Sunday, 11 January 2015 7:26:32 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		Originally Posted by: Golddigger7 Hey JW, for you I got a special rate :-) Oh....Thanks Dave. What might that be? 110% LOL :) If you are serious.......I am, with my 4" dredge if you are ok with that.....please PM me..... Had an ok afternoon detecting today. Got 4.66 grams in 8 little nuggys. Cheers Good luck out there JW :)

gavzilla		Posted : Thursday, 15 January 2015 5:54:09 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 24/02/2012(UTC) Posts: 60 Location: queenstown Thanks: 12 times Was thanked: 34 time(s) in 18 post(s)		Beside the arrow the 12 mile is good in places, it all depends on your kit, you need either diving suit or chest waders because you need to dig at least a meter down, but your more likely to be rewarded with nuggets other than flakes from the arrow. Another good place depending on the flow of water is the kawarau river, it's quite ebby and fast flowing but there's places down under the Victoria bridge where I have literally kicked over rocks and found pickers.

kiwijw		Posted : Saturday, 17 January 2015 9:04:23 AM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Ingot Groups: Registered Joined: 28/03/2010(UTC) Posts: 1,152 Thanks: 92 times Was thanked: 658 time(s) in 324 post(s)		Outside of the Arrow the 12 mile has been hammered & pretty seriously as well as a few locals will know. But gold being gold no one gets it all but as said you will need to get down......& down to bed rock to get some nice bits. Lot of hard work & watch out for squashed fingers from moving rocks. It is a bloody cold creek as well. Probably the coldest in the area. Nice area though...apart from the bloody sandies. A major flood event 20 years ago did a lot of damage to a lot of the old workings & stacked stone walls beside the creek banks. Washed them totally away. There was a big....& I mean BIG....boulder in the middle of the creek that the old timers or maybe the depression miners had propped up with tree trunks to stop it rolling on top of them while they worked around & under it. That boulder was totally gone. The track down from the carpark area....which is blocked off now at the road....was washed out & a new track had to be cut in to the rock. The stone walls & that boulder were impressive & I wish I had taken photos of them. Too late now. A walk up to Sam Summers hut is worth while as you will go through large areas of hydrolic sluiced areas & a tailing races. On the left is a tailings race cut down through solid rock & on the right a view of the sluiced workings Sluice gun in action Sam Summers hut Good luck out there JW :)

c4bb0ose		Posted : Saturday, 17 January 2015 2:11:48 PM(UTC)
Rank: Gold Nugget Groups: Registered Joined: 7/09/2014(UTC) Posts: 97 Thanks: 1 times Was thanked: 32 time(s) in 29 post(s)		Originally Posted by: kiwijw Outside of the Arrow the 12 mile has been hammered & pretty seriously as well as a few locals will know. But gold being gold no one gets it all but as said you will need to get down......& down to bed rock to get some nice bits. Lot of hard work & watch out for squashed fingers from moving rocks. It is a bloody cold creek as well. Probably the coldest in the area. Nice area though...apart from the bloody sandies. A major flood event 20 years ago did a lot of damage to a lot of the old workings & stacked stone walls beside the creek banks. Washed them totally away. There was a big....& I mean BIG....boulder in the middle of the creek that the old timers or maybe the depression miners had propped up with tree trunks to stop it rolling on top of them while they worked around & under it. That boulder was totally gone. The track down from the carpark area....which is blocked off now at the road....was washed out & a new track had to be cut in to the rock. The stone walls & that boulder were impressive & I wish I had taken photos of them. Too late now. A walk up to Sam Summers hut is worth while as you will go through large areas of hydrolic sluiced areas & a tailing races. On the left is a tailings race cut down through solid rock & on the right a view of the sluiced workings Sluice gun in action Sam Summers hut Good luck out there JW :) Can confirm, stream is bloody cold (I might have slipped in trying to balance on rocks :P) and the sand flies are out in force.