My biggest gold find yet!

Staring in disbelief at the bottom of my blue pan, as a shiny little yellow nugget glimmered back.

My gold workings at Waimea/Goldsborough, which isn’t where I had my biggest find!

You might be aware I’ve been conducting a little experiment recently: visiting a bunch of the country’s public gold fossicking sites and trying my luck with the pan. I’ve also met and mingled with members of the gold community.

Inspired by my time on the West Coast, hiking the Wangapeka Track and visits to other former mining areas, like Macetown and Bendigo, I slowly found myself afflicted with the gold bug. It kept coming up in conversations with randoms and the world gold price has been rocketing. I had to give it a try!

My little jolly has been for a larger piece I am planning about the gold trail, but I wanted to let you know that I struck it pretty big at the weekend. Not multiple grams big, but big in the eyes of someone who’s panned less than 50 pans of material so far.