Mon, 29th August, 2016 Bush camp, 4 Mile Diggings, S of Marble Bar, WA

7am 22.5 degrees, van closed up again as the wind has turned and is blowing from the south. It blew the big band of clouds to the east so there was blue sky again by 8am. Forgot to take our campsite photo yesterday.

I got started on the washing and Steve washed the truck and van – mad we know as we still have more dusty roads to travel but it is good to feel fresh and clean for a moment!!

Chatted with Robert & Robyn throughout the day. Robert was wandering with his detector but hasn’t found anything yet.

We were just finishing cleaning – slow process in between all the chatting – when a little willy willy swirled past the end of the van then went around and got faster and bigger sending dust everywhere!! I had to wipe the insides down again and shake the dirt off the bedspread!!

During drinks I learnt that the female Emu lays the eggs but it is the male that sits on them, hatches and raises the chicks. Robert & Robyn grew emus at one time. 6pm it is 30 degrees in the van with all the windows open so it has warmed up a lot today. The wind has gone too.

Their friend, Kevin, who we met at Mosquito Creek rang to say he had just unearthed a lovely 102gram nugget at Mosquito Creek!! Our time with come we hope.

Sun, 28th August, 2016 Bush camp, 15km S of Marble Bar to Bush camp on 4 Mile Diggings, S of Marble Bar, WA

Woke to the sound of pitter patter on the roof. 7am 24 degrees in the closed up van. Overcast with more pitter patter.

Headed off for one last go on our scrapes – hope the rain holds off.

We scraped some more dirt off and cleared another row then the phone rang. The heavy clouds have given us a signal up here!! It was Jeff checking in after I sent him a text about our big nugget yesterday. He is still at Ruby Well and is finding some gold from the old pushed workings. It is raining down there and still cold.

I went over our scrapes with the 2300 but the heavy cloud is making it very warbly so I am having a hard time making out the light signals. After a while it settled down and I got one signal, then another and another in a small area where we had taken a few off yesterday. We scratched around the big ones holes but couldn’t find another ‘hunker’ unfortunately.

A few scuds of rain passed over us but it cleared up a bit by lunch. We ended up with 11 nuglets. Steve went for a wander up the creek to where he found the original nuglet but he couldn’t find any more or where it would have come down from. Last photo of our landscaping – will have to come back next year to see if the rain takes it down another layer or two.

Had to get a photo of the ugliest and nastiest tree here – it has very hard crinkly leaves with very sharp nasty spikes.

Weighed our little nuglets and were pleased to see it added to 3.02 grams – worth the 20 minute very slow drive out there.

Robert and Robyn rang – they are at the 4 Mile Diggings already. We packed up and headed into town to get some water. We spotted them on the hill. It is very wet in town so they got more rain than we did. When Steve went to fill up he saw one of the water caps was missing. He had undone it last night as the back tank was burping and then forgot to tighten it when we left. We filled up and went up to park near Robert & Robyn then had a cuppa and a chat. Drove back along the road and then onto our track and found the cap about 100 metres from our camp. What a relief.

More little scuds of rain came over but cleared up as the afternoon went on. Had a great afternoon chatting. Still windy from the north with some big dark clouds in a band over us.

Sat, 27th August, 2016 Bush camp, 15km S of Marble Bar, WA

7am 16.2 degrees, no wind, clear blue sky.

Back to our scrapes past Salgash Mine for another go at raking and digging out the bank and around the areas we have found gold. I found a few little nuglets straight up then worked over the area where we found the ‘hunker’. I got a little ‘hello’ about 2 foot from the tree where we found it and then Steve dug. As we got deeper the target got louder but we had also found a wire rope here so I wasn’t optimistic. It started to blank out (making a loud screaming sound – same as steel) but Steve was sure it was gold. He got it in the scoop then straight into his gob again for a wash – yuk!! It was a heavier piece which was so exciting.

I had brought the camera this time.

The new hole beside where we dug out the nearly 4g one under that tree root.

Our ‘landscaping’.

I have already got those little nuglets from this little gully and it had given us a few nuglets before so will dig it out more too.

Continued scraping and digging the day away. The wind came up after lunch from the west so I had to put on my earphones to hear the targets. Steve got out his detector and put on his big coil to try and find a deeper ‘big’ nugget. Unfortunately he only found a little one on the bank edge which he would have found with his normal coil. We think we will sell that coil and a few of the others he doesn’t use now as he wants a new ‘Evolution’ coil so he can keep up with me!! Ha ha. We wandered down the creek further too as Steve had found two in the creek last time. We only got one – nice and clean compared to the hillside pieces.

In the end we got 14 nuglets and hunker and Steve got his one and only.  Took another photo of our landscaping.

Steve’s piles of raked spinifex. This is what the area did look like – we have only found gold in this one area and nothing further up the hill which doesn’t match up with the belief of the gold shedding from the top but we aren’t complaining.

Back to the van for the weigh-in – Wow wee, hunker came in at 5.47 grams.

The other 14 came to 2.92 grams and Steve’s one and only was 0.72 grams to a total of 9 grams for today. You can tell the creek one – lovely and clean and smooth. A great day so settled down for a drink and a few phone calls and texts to brag.

Watched the space station cross over above us as we waited for our shower water to heat on the fire – it is so bright you can’t miss seeing it.

The wind is getting stronger so closed up all the van.

Fri, 26th August, 2016 Bush camp, 15km S of Marble Bar, WA

6.30am Wendy rang – forgot about the 2 hour difference but it was wonderful to chat with her over the next hour and a half!! Just like being there having coffee.

Got up at 8am, only 19 degrees. Still windy and a clear blue sky.

Headed south to check out Klondyke Queen and Klondyke Boulder Mines. Lots of rubbish left here near the Queen Mine.

More remains of houses made from local stone.

Further around we spotted this slab with a plaque remembering Harold who lived and worked in the mine.

Around to the mine marked by a boiler and winch and pumping equipment.

Below to the left we found a shaft leading into the hill.

We climbed up to the boiler area for a look. More excavations lead up the other side of the hill.

The boiler, winch etc. Later miners used an old truck body across an opening to pull things up. There was water in it.

Walked to the start of the hillside excavations.

Steve continued up the hill for a look. Obviously they were following a quartz vein like this one.

The view over from the mine area. The other shaft is on the bottom of this hill (down to the left).

Back down to the truck and we continued along the track a bit to turn around when we spotted another shaft going in the hill on the other side of the creek.

Only a small one – Steve checking for any leftover gold!!

Followed another track trying to find the Klondyke Boulder Mine but found this open plain and ridged hills. There has been exploration drills around here so there are tracks going in all directions.

Found the mine after we crossed another creek. Checked out the big hole in the ground first. Beside it was a shaft.

Steve found the wick part of a lantern.

Looking from the hole over an old boiler to the rest of the mine area.

Wandered over cleared slab areas – houses or work sheds.

Then we followed the excavations along the side of the hill. There were 10 shafts, most linking with another one.

On the other side was a ridge of stones. They used these for building material.

The spinifex is burning somewhere south of us.

Piles of quartz near the shafts. We got out the detectors to check them for gold but only found rubbish steel everywhere.

Steve found another shaft further down they went in from the side.

The miner wore out his pick on this one.

Headed back then turned off to have lunch near some scrapes from Doug Stone’s book – well we think they are - his directions and maps are terrible. And there was no gold – just rubbish. Heading out Steve spotted another track which he went up but it didn’t lead to anything except a sharp rock that got in our tyre. Steve is getting very quick at repairing punctures now!!

Back past the van and we went back up to our scrapes past the Salgash Mine. We raked back the stones and then I detected, got 3 nuglets straight up. Steve then cleared and dug out the area where he found nuggets the other day and I got another 3 nuglets. We made our 1 gram target for the day. Goes to show there is always more there somewhere.

Very still afternoon which was eerie after all that wind. No drinks with Mel and Sandra as he got called into work early so they had to head off. Will catch up with them in Geraldton one day.

Ray and Carol rang, they are now in Cloncurry on the way home to Woodgate.

Brian had put a post on Facebook about a prospector finding a 4.1kg nugget in Victoria – and Steve thought there was nothing left there!! Another post from Claude and Trish of a 13oz nugget in Wedderburn, Vic too – here we are thinking we needed to be in WA!! It’s just like fishing – ‘you should have been here last week – the fishing was fantastic!’