Tues, 25th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

6.30am 13 degrees, clear sky and no wind. Margaret’s birthday today so I will try and send her a text this afternoon if I can get a signal.

Drove out to an area which has been dry blown years ago. The musterers have been on this road a lot and there are big sections of bulldust. Glad we have air conditioning. There is an old shaker still there and down the very steep narrow track we found the remains of a shed and caravan. We stopped there to detect while Ray and Carol continued on to where they got their gold yesterday.

Steve got one bit up a creek but I only found rubbish. We moved along the track trying a few different places but no luck. Found Ray and Carol and had lunch with them. Ray had climbed up the steep hill and saw that the other side had been scraped. We went back along the track then drove up a wide creek which is also a short cut back to the main road. We turned off the track and wound our way up to the scrapes. How they got the machinery up here is amazing. Steve found 3 bits in the creek area but we got nothing off the scrapes.

Ray had also said someone had chained across the creek, which is too deep to cross here as it has been dug out for gold. We drove back along the track and found another track across the creek then meandered our way down to just past where Ray and Carol were on the other side.

We started detecting and as usual Steve went for a big walk. He came back with 3 bits so we moved the truck closer. They were just on the top edge of the deep creek in a section that had been burnt – this whole valley has only recently been burnt. Steve’s detector doesn’t like the ash so I went over it again with my 2300 and found 2 bits, one is a gram so we are very happy.

Had a cuppa then headed back. We stopped at the top of the steep hill where all the dry blown heaps were and Steve walked over to the top of the valley leading down to a creek. He got 3 bits and I got one nearby. The musterers zoomed by us in their bull catchers.

Back home through all the bulldust again. Spotted the bull catcher vehicles parked by the track as we turned onto our track back to the van.

Carol had signal in her van so I was able to send Margaret a text for her birthday. We will celebrate it when they get here.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Mon, 24th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

7.30am 12.6 degrees, clear sky and no wind.

Drove around looking for places to detect. Had a great day exploring the area but found no gold.

As there is hardly any wind it is making the days quite hot, 31 degrees in the van when we got back at 3pm.

Played a few games of Skipbo till drinks. Ray and Carol had another good day. They said to follow them out in the morning.

Lovely evening by the fire chatting.

7pm just started to cool off so I closed up the van – down to 23 degrees.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sun, 23rd June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

7.30am 16.3 degrees, mackerel clouds overhead with a clear sky around the horizon. No wind.

Headed south to check out new area of leases we have permission for. We were detecting when a 4wheeler and 4WD drove by. We didn’t find any gold so we continued along the track which went between two hills. The track went up and down some gullies. The others were parked up further along so we stopped and turned back to a clear area to have detect. We heard lots of yelling from the lady so Steve walked over to see if they were ok. She had been on the back of the 4wheeler with her husband and it had flipped going up the steep bank. She had a sore neck and arm and he hurt his hip and broke his $10,000 GPS 7000 but he was more worried about his wife which was good. She was Asian and not very happy. Steve helped him get the 4wheeler started again and the lady got in the 4WD with the other chap. Don’t think he will get her back on the 4wheeler any time soon. They headed back to their camp and he said they will head back to Karratha tomorrow.

We didn’t find any gold there either so after a cuppa headed back as we weren’t going to tackle those gullies. Along another track we found a good aluminium fuel/water tank with brackets. The brackets seemed ok but maybe another bit broke so they had to abandon it.

Tried another area and Steve found three bits in the dry creek bed. We moved closer to it and after lunch I wandered around but found nothing. No more for Steve either.

Home for a cuppa, 28 degrees in the van. I put a lamb casserole in the Ecopot for dinner.

Ray and Carol returned – had a good day. Steve went back to where he got the lone one the other day to see if it had a friend. He put his bigger coil on hoping there might be bigger ones deeper in the ground.

I caught up on my blog and relaxed playing my games on the Tablet. Steve came back with another little bit – the smallest his big coil has found, 0.14g.

No wind so very pleasant sitting around the fire. Ray got his satellite TV working ready to watch the second State of Origin match which is being playing in Perth.

Steve and I had a game of 3 to Kings then had dinner and watched another movie – so glad we have so many as some of them are rubbish.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sat, 22nd June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

7.30am 17 degrees, the sky is half cloud and half clear with no wind. Another light shower of rain fell during the night.

Made our lunches and went detecting. The wind is back, blowing well so that will help dry out the tracks. Went through a couple of soft bits but mostly it was solid ground.

Checked out another area and were rewarded with a few bits. We are disgusted with some people though who leave don’t fill in their holes and leave their water bottles as well. I picked them up and will get rid of them.

There are tracks going everywhere through the hills so we tried another spot where someone had raked away spinifex and left holes. We presume it was gold as there doesn’t appear to be any rubbish or much mine working about. More water bottles here too! I found one little bit – as they say ‘no one gets it all’.

Home for a cuppa and another game of 3 to Kings.

5pm we headed over to Dave’s camp and met his wife, Sue. Other campers came too so we all had a great afternoon chatting. A chap from Tassie had some cut stones to show and sell. He had Kilkrankie Diamonds that are found on Flinders Island (NE of Tassie). He also had some emeralds from Cue. Another chap had a lovely 3oz nugget of gold he found here recently – there is hope for us yet!

Back home for a late dinner, shower and movie.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Fri, 21st June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA (Anthony’s birthday)

7.30am 18.8 degrees overcast, no wind. Puddles of water everywhere. Won’t be driving anywhere today though Dave has to go to Newman to pick up his wife today so hopefully he won’t get bogged or they don’t close the road on him.

Each morning we look at our photos of 2 years ago and we are also looking at the ones from 3 years ago as we didn’t look at these last year while we were doing the desert track trip. It was raining at Lake Mason when we were there with Jeff 3 years ago. We had just left Quinns where we were detecting 2 years ago.

Quiet day playing games with the music rocking. Joined Ray and Carol in their van for a cuppa – very squishy underfoot walking over to their van.

Carol baked a cake in her newly fixed oven and brought us over a treat for lunch. I did my baking too and made my Nuts and Bolts for drinkies snacks. I am also taking a bowlful over for Dave’s birthday gathering tomorrow afternoon. I wrote out some of my recipes for Carol now she can use her oven.

Caught up on my blog – will upload then next week when we got into Nullagine again.

After lunch the sky cleared a bit and the wind picked up. At least we are getting some charge in the batteries from the solar panel now. Played a couple games of 3 to Kings.

Showed Carol how to play Take 2 using the Scrabble letters. It was one of the games that Suzanne and I played whenever we went camping.

Steve got some more timber and got the fire going early to dry out the wood so we can cook roast chicken and vegies in the camp oven.

Still a band of cloud around us on the horizon but overhead it has cleared. Chatted around the fire as the stars came out.

Cool breeze came up from the east while we waited for our dinner to cook but it was very pleasant out.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Thurs, 20th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

7.30am 17 degrees, overcast and no wind. No need for the bedspread last night.

I decided to do some washing as the clouds have moved and the sun is shining now. Carol did the same so Steve went over and fixed her stove as Ray had ordered new parts and they were at the Post Office when we came through Nullagine. Ray gave Steve a bottle of his home-made smoky Bourbon to say thanks.

I worked on my blog while the generator was on for the washing machine. The breeze has picked up so the washing is drying quickly. I went over to Dave’s to try and ring the Mines Dept but I couldn’t get a signal.

After lunch headed back to the main road to get phone signal. Had to go a lot further as the spot we stopped at the other day had no signal. Eventually found a spot and rang the Mines Dept. The lady said she would look at it and ring me back but after half hour she hadn’t rang back so I went online and resubmitted the forms again using my laptop. I changed to the tablet and did the payment section, put in my credit card but it wouldn’t go through – man how frustrating. I tried a couple of times then gave up. Changed back to the phone and I got a text from the Commonwealth Bank saying someone tried to access my Mastercard for $0.00 using international online. Makes me wonder if the Mines Dept payment thing has been hacked. I got back onto the lady and explained what I did. In the end we had to drive the rest of the 70km into Nullagine so I could be on the phone and the internet at the same time. After lots of talking and retrying to do the online thing the lady at the Mines Dept decided I could just email her our permits and put in my credit card and she would do it for me – yeah. I also said how the chap at Marble Bar had taken so long with our permits and that we still haven’t received one. She looked it up and said it had been done but he just didn’t send it to us via email – really, very helpful chap!! Got the email from the other mining company that I asked for permission to detect on some of their leases with the ok. At last something is going our way.

Transferred some money for Fran to get something nice for her birthday on the 26^th and sent her a text message in case I can’t get reception on her birthday.

Filled up with fuel and headed back. $1.89 per litre here!!

On the way back we detoured to those leases to check out camp spots as we will move to here when Bob, Margaret and Kerry, Brian arrive. Another late arrival back at camp but this time Ray and Carol knew where we were as they had driven into town for mail and fuel too. As we neared camp about 6pm I saw a flash of lightning then the whole sky lit up. We were expecting a chance of rain tomorrow but nothing about a storm.

We poured a drink and sat by the fire that Ray had got going. More lightning flashed and rumbles of thunder got louder and closer. I could smell rain in the air. Ray and Carol came out of their van to see how we went with getting the forms done. As we were chatting a few drops of rain fell. Then they got heavier and we all had to quickly get inside as the heavens opened. This will certainly settle the dust. After 10 minutes it stopped then 10 minutes later the heavy rain was back. We put a big box to catch the rain water off the awning – filled it up. We won’t be driving anywhere tomorrow. Dave has to head to Newman to pick up his wife tomorrow, that’s if he doesn’t get bogged on the way.

The lightning continued flashing around us and eventually the rain settled when we went to bed.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Wed, 19th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

7am 13.2 degrees, warmer night. Mackerel clouds in the east – no wind.

Detected a couple of spots but only rubbish. Checked out a slope where there had been a few exploration trenches dug. Someone had spread out a pile of dirt and left a couple of holes. Steve didn’t get any signals with his detector but when I went over it with mine I got a couple. Dug out a nice prickly nugget – reef gold, hasn’t travelled to smooth off the edges. Continued on the spot and got a couple more. Steve scraped it back more and we got another couple of signals. Did another dig and scrape and got a couple more. Tried once more but no more bits came to the surface. Not bad for a spot someone else had done over. Will keep these separate as they as so different to the smooth travelled nuggets.

Only a light breeze now so it feels a lot hotter. 25 degrees in the van for lunch. Opened up the windows for the first time in ages.

Went to get water from the tank and someone had turned off the solar pump so it hasn’t been refilling the tank hence there is nothing coming out of the overflow. Steve turned the pump back on – you can understand why the pastoralist gets annoyed when people touch things they shouldn’t. The cattle are back here again.

Drove 7km further north and found the next tank. It is only a new one and the water is quite sweet – not salty at all. The other couple at Dave’s camp have been drinking it. Filled our buckets from the overflow.

Continued on that track which winds its way through the hills towards the Nullagine River to the north of Nullagine. We could see the burnt area in the distance from the fire the other day.

Headed back then turned onto a little track which headed towards a hill that Steve found a nugget behind the other day. Parked and we went wandering. There was a lot of ‘pings’ from atmospheric interference – there are clouds building in the south-west.

I heard Steve get a target and stood watching as he dug, then checked the hole then dug again. I was further over near another hill. He couldn’t see me but whistled and waved his detector in the air so I figured he got gold. I was hoping it was a big nugget for him. Not as big as we hoped but a gram piece at least. He kept working that area and I wandered up the slope. I got a loud signal which turned out to be a round headed nail. We didn’t get anything else.

Had a cuppa then headed back checking out a few other tracks. Did I say how pretty it is out here with the different shades of green and cream of the spinifex and grasses then the green trees and the white trucks of the gums. The hills look maroon/purple after they have been burnt and with the brilliant blue sky it is a beautiful picture.

Very still now so it was 28 degrees in the van. What a change from being blown to pieces all the time.

Had a game of 3 to Kings before joining the others for drinks.

After that I walked over to Dave’s to try and pay for the 40Es using the tablet as it doesn’t have the antivirus thing on it. I got through and but the forms aren’t in the ‘checkout’ anymore so I will have to put them in again – what a pain. Will try and ring the office tomorrow to sort it out.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Tues, 18th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

7am 14.2 degrees, bit of cloud in the east but mostly clear with a gusty wind.

Went back to our scrapes – no one there. Continued slowly working the area and found some more and I got a nice little specimen (gold stuck on rock). Steve found some more too. We think we have cleaned it out but nobody gets it all as they say.

Home for lunch then we drove back to the main road to try and get better phone reception so I could put in the 40E permits for Marble Bar. We parked up on a hill and got reception using the truck’s big aerial and patch leads. A text came through from Rick so we rang him back. He has been having some fun up the Palmer with his gold machine.

Connected to the internet and went online to upload some blog entries then put in the 40E permits – you have to repeat everything that is on the form and you have to have a scanned copy of the signed form. I took a photo then had to convert the JPG file to a PDF to be able to attach it to our submission – talk about fiddly. Then I went to pay for it and my virus thing wouldn’t allow me – said it was an unsafe site. Seemed strange as it is WA government. Rang their help line and he said just to turn off my virus thing – great help as I don’t know how to do that. Changed back to the phone and rang the office to see if I could just pay over the phone but they had already finished for the day – really! Rang Mum and Dad for a quick chat – all good there. Rang Kerry and Brian – they are going to Karjini then will come up here. Rang Bob and Margaret – Bob all good now so will head up once he gets his new glasses. Rang Dan to ask him about the virus thing. He and Fran celebrated their 2^nd year of being together.

The sun was setting as we headed back – I sent a text through to Ray and Carol to say we were heading back so they wouldn’t worry as we didn’t think we would be this long. More prospectors heading in to Mosquito Creek.

Ray and Carol were still sitting around the fire so we got a drink and filled them in on the saga of trying to lodge the online 40Es. They had a bad day too, staked a tyre and his detector is playing up and needed resetting.

Luckily I had an easy dinner planned for tonight.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Mon, 17th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

6.45am 11 degrees, mostly clear sky with a light breeze. A bit of cloud in the east made a nice sunrise photo.

Drove back to our patch. As we came over the rise we saw 2 vehicles and a 4wheeler but luckily they were further up the slope away from our patch. We pulled into our track and parked up and got to work finding more little bits.

The other people left after smoko which was good. We had brought lunch so we had a full day going over the area thoroughly. Steve went for another walk trying to find the bigger nuggets.

Home for drinks with our nice pile of little bits. We have two resident willy wagtails that zoom around us catching the bugs that must fly in towards the fire. We have seen a few Beekeepers too (look like a kingfisher). Red faced finches hang around the water tank flittering about the trees. Two bustards flew over us yesterday afternoon and one stopped nearby. The other one was behind him but kept on flying so his mate had to take off again to follow him. We all had a funny commentary to go with the two of them.

A beautiful full moon rose but a band of cloud then covered it as it headed up into the sky.

Sun, 16th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA (4 years 10 months on the road)

6.30am 12 degrees, clear sky, no wind – heater on. It is so nice to take that nip out of the air for breakfast.

8am the cold wind is back. We went back to where Steve had dug the ‘phantom’ target as he had gotten a few bits of gold 3 years back on the flats nearby. All we got was lead shot.

Went back along the track a bit and followed someone else’s track over to some scrapes that went down into a creek. I wandered down to where the blue schist stuff was and got a signal. Then another and another around the base of some spinifex. I got a few more, all very little but it was gold. Steve came back with one nice bit he got on the other side of the creek.

Steve got the rake and cleared away the spinifex then he helped me dig out more little bits. This is the type of detecting I like, lots of bits to keep me busy – I had the endless walking waiting to get a signal.

Headed back to camp with a grin for lunch. Stopped and got some water on the way.

Still very windy.

We had the feeling there is more to find so we headed back to our spot. Steve put on his little ‘Sadie’ coil and started finding little bits. It is half the size of my detector but no quite as sensitive as the new technology in the 2300. I went over where he had been and still found some little bits.

The wind has settled at last as we chatted around the fire.

Inside of dinner. I leave the phone connected to the aerial just in case a text comes through and it did. One from Kerry and Brian. They are at Port Hedland planning where to go next. I sent them back a text then tried ringing, I could hear Kerry but she couldn’t hear me.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sat, 15th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

6.30am 10 degrees, clear sky – heater on again.

Headed out detecting. Tried further along Cookes Creek but only got a couple of lead shot.

Went to a dug out gully and Steve wandered up the slope. There was lots of spinifex so I stayed near the truck but gave up quickly and just played my games on the Tablet for a while.

Steve gave me a yell to come up as he had just got 3 little bits and feels I should get some with my 2300 as it finds the little bits easier.

I started straight away getting more bits near where he had dug out his three. Steve got a few more.

Had lunch then Steve headed off  along the slope to see if the patch expanded. I continued collecting little bits, sometimes it is just a murmur till you shift the top layer then you get a nice ‘hello’. They are always glad to see me, ha ha.

By smoko I needed a rest so headed back to the truck where Steve was loading in some firewood. He didn’t find any more.

Back to the van to count and weigh our little bounty. Ice-cream tonight yeah. 

The strong wind has blown all day again. The cattle trucks have rumbled by with their load heading for market. There are yards to the north where they had mustered the cattle to.

The fire in the north-west is still burning.

Still very windy at drinks so the fire was quite blustery. Then at 6pm the wind just stopped.

After dinner we drove over to Dave’s camp to use his special phone aerial so we could check my emails as we are still waiting for some 40E permits and permission to detect on some other leases around here. Got two of the three permits through – will definitely put in a complaint about the Marble Bar Mining Registrar, apparently a lot of people have complained about his laziness. Luckily we have the time to wait around. We now have to wait another 3 weeks to be able to access the leases.

A message came through from Margaret. She had picked up our new fridge shelves and that Bob had hurt his back so they aren’t sure when they will be coming up now. Hope he feels better soon so they can join us.

Kayleigh sent a post on Facebook about ‘remembering Toowoomba’ and the first few seconds of the video was of me as Miss Cairns with Helen, Miss Fun In The Sun, on a float in the Carnival of Flowers parade. We had such a good time there with their festival queens. They came to Cairns later on so we had fun showing them around Cairns. I remember we were given a helicopter ride up the Barron Gorge which was fabulous.

The Supercars are racing in Darwin this weekend and the new Ford Mustangs are winning easily.

Virginia and Geoff posted a lovely picture of all their little bits of Nullagine gold on the scales and it weighs one ounce. So glad they have had a great time.

Back to camp to have our ice-cream and watch a movie.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Fri, 14th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

6.30am 8.8 degrees, clear sky and no wind – heater on of course.

Packed lunch for a day out detecting. Tried a few different spots. Got 3 little bits from blue schist that had been scraped down a slope.

The pastoralist is mustering his cattle and there are two helicopters zooming around rounding up the cattle. Don’t think I would want to be up there with them in this gusty wind. The pastoralist had flown over us the other day in his plane when we were at Millionaire’s Gully.

A fire is burning to the north-west. You now when it has got a good section of spinifex as it goes very black from the oil in the spinifex. One of the helicopters flew over to the fire to check it out.

Another spot Steve got a slight signal and dug down. It got louder so he kept digging. He called me over to try with my detector to try and pin point it as he had now hit hard rock. It still sounded good so he got the hammer and chisel and started chipping away at it. Unfortunately after a lot of hard work the signal seem to get quieter and didn’t seem to be in one spot anymore. We decided it might just have been ground noise or phantom signal, where the minerals in the ground just make the sound of a gold target. Very frustrating but that’s the joys of detecting. Filled in the big hole and drove back.

Stopped in dry Mosquito Creek and collected some more firewood.

Home for drinks around the fire. The wind has settled which is lovely. Can’t believe how much the wind blows over here.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Wed, 13th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

6.30am 9 degrees inside, 5 degrees out! Clear sky – heater on.

7.20am up for breakfast in nice 22 degrees.

I did the washing and Steve went detecting. The cold wind continued blowing from the south-east.

Did my blog while we had the generator on, will have to upload it someday when we get internet connection.

Had a cuppa with Carol who was also doing her washing.

Finished off my book.

Steve back for lunch with two little bits.

We went back to Millionaire’s Gully to recheck our spot and I got 1 but then Steve got a really tiny bit.

Drove around to another burnt area and Steve did a big walk around a hill full of big granite boulders. He came back with one bit. He said after he had dug it out he turned around and got a big signal which turned out to be two roofing nails!! There was an old boundary marker nearby so maybe they were from the post.

Ray and Carol got a few bits too as we compared notes over drinks. The wind settled so we cooked on the fire.

By 7.30pm it was chilly again so we headed inside for dinner and showers.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Wed, 12th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA (Tim’s birthday)

6.30am 10 degrees, clear sky and no wind – heater on.

No phone reception to send Tim a birthday text so will send good wishes through our thoughts.

8am the wind is back from the east.

Went back to a spot we detected 3 years ago – some scrapes going down a slope to a creek. When we crested the hill we saw there was a caravan parked on the flat above the creek. We crossed over further up the hill and parked on the scrapes.

Steve went for a big walk while I wandered around the edge of the scrapes hoping the rain etc had exposed some gold I didn’t hear last time. I worked my way up a washed out little gully and got a faint sound at the base of a burnt tree. I thought it was probably ash but when I cleared that away the sound got better. Out camp a nice little bit so I cleared away some branches and got another signal. I worked my way around the tree and had a lovely time finding little bits. Steve came back and slowed down listening carefully which is quite hard as the wind is blowing hard. He eventually scored a few little bits too.

Headed back to camp via the water tank and topped up the buckets. Ray and Carol had just filled theirs – they had been for a drive but had no luck.

20 degrees in the van even with it all closed up. The sun is warm if you are out of the wind which is quite chilling.

Steve put a rope over and under the awning to give it a bit more support with the gusty wind.

We drove out to Cookes Creek where Doug Stone (the gold prospecting book we bought years ago) mentioned he got gold on the flats on the east side. We found some nice ground and Steve headed off for his big walk while I walked over the flats. I got a strong signal but it was a big ball of lead shot – haven’t had one of those for a while. A bit further over I got a funny signal and dug it out and it was a lovely little quartz specimen with a good bit of gold on it. I tried to call to Steve but he had gone way over towards the creek. I gridded the area and found another two bits but that was all. Steve came back for a cuppa and was impressed with my find. He had nothing. We continued around the area for another hour but only found some old tin.

Back across the creek where we stopped and loaded up the truck with more firewood. There is heaps piled up in the flood debris.

The cattle were having their afternoon drink before heading off to feed as we came past the water tank. Not in any rush to get off the track for us.

The wind has settled so we got the fire going so we could do a potato bake in the camp oven and cook the steak we were going to have last night.

Had our drinks and cooked dinner with just a light breeze blowing. Cold when you walked away from the fire – 16 in the van.

10pm down to 13 in the van – going to be a chilly night.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Tues, 11th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

6.30am 10.5 degrees – definitely heater on!! Overcast with mackerel clouds and no wind.

We went for a drive through this lease looking for places to detect. Checked out some pending leases too on the western edge of the lease. Steve got 1 bit from one and I got 4 specs from another – all too small to even call nuglets!!

The sky has cleared to the west but the mackerel clouds are still in the east and a gusty westerly wind has blown up. Back to camp for a late cuppa.

Steve went for a walk over the burnt flats behind us while I caught up on my blog. Carol has phone service on and off so I plugged my phone in and got reception. Weird how we had it the first hour then nothing – now they have it! At least it is enough to check our phones and we can go over to Dave’s camp and use his Yowie to check emails etc.

Drinks around the fire now the wind has settled. We were just deciding whether to cook steaks on the fire when the wind sprung up again from the south west. It blew so hard like we were about to get hit with a storm but there was nothing. We all quickly headed inside after securing chairs etc. The wind buffeted the van, luckily we had the awning tied down well. I had pulled out the ingredients for Cheat’s Payella to make room in my little freezer so I cooked that up instead. The wind blew for an hour then slowed down. Weird.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Mon, 10th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

7am 12 degrees, clear sky and light breeze. As the van is about 4 degrees warmer than the outside it must have been 8 degrees out there.

We drove out to Millionaires Gully – named because of all the gold found there in the old days. We had found gold here in 2016. I got 1 bit straight away as I went up the side of the creek then I only got little bits of dozer blade!

Steve came back for smoko with a grin – he had 4 bits. I followed him over to an area that had been pushed between granite boulders. I slowly gridded around his holes and got 7 bits – all very small but they are gold. Steve went for a walk and came back empty handed so he continued working near me and got 3 bits.

Headed back to camp for lunch. Stopped at the water tank and filled out buckets from the overflow pipe. With the extra water now I gave my hair a good wash. Luckily my hair only needs a wash once a week. The bore water is a bit salty but nice on my hair.

Gusty breeze now, 25 degrees in the van with a few windows open.

We went back to our spot and found a few more bits and lots of little bits of wire too which might have come off a dry blower.

Joined Ray and Carol by the fire for drinks. Dave joined us too so we had a great time chatting and hearing about all the nuggets found recently. He had dug a 40g nugget out of the creek behind us – as usual we are always here just after the good ones have gone!!

Lovely evening though it is cooling off quickly outside but the fire is nice and warm. Headed inside for dinner and movies about 7.30pm.

Sun, 9th June, 2019 Bush camp south of Eastern Creek to Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

7am 21 degrees, overcast with strong wind. A few spits of rain have fallen and the sky is dark in the south east. 10mm was forecast so we decided to pack up and go around to Mosquito Creek as this area wasn’t producing too much gold.

We were 15min too late and got caught in the rain which of course made the road muddy in places. Just as the rain washed off the dust the mud clods flew up onto the bonnet – poor Pat.

Parked up near Dave’s camp and raced into our vans for a cuppa till the rain eased. Played a game of Skipbo and Steve had such a run it was over in 10 minutes.

Moved the vans a bit further over and set up as the rain had stopped. Lots of burnt ground to the west of us.

There are lots of Sturt Desert Pea plants growing on the burnt ground so we should have lots of lovely flowers soon.

I plugged in the phone to the aerial in the van and got 3G so texts started coming through. One was from Leanne and Rick checking to see how we were going. They have sold their van but hopefully we will catch up with them somewhere again.

I tried ringing Mum and got through. They are enjoying the French Open in tennis. The Aust girl just won the women’s final and they have the men’s final tonight.

I tried the internet dongle but couldn’t get reception so we took the big aerial off the truck and put it on a long pole but still no signal. Tried a few places around the van but no good. Checked the phone and it had lost signal. The sky has half cleared so maybe I only got the reception because of the heavy cloud. Dave has a ‘Yowie’ booster on his van so we can got over there and get reception if we need it.

After lunch Steve went and filled up the truck with firewood. I went for a wander with my detector over the burnt area nearby. I was rewarded with a tiny little bit.

We can get bore water for showers from the pastoralist’s cattle trough tank just down the road. There is an overflow pipe we can use but it only has a small solar panel so you need good sun to get the pump to work well. Will try tomorrow when the sky is clearer.

Steve built a nice fireplace again which we sat around for drinks with our fly swats as it was too early for the flies to go to bed yet!

Cooked dinner in the camp oven as Steve got it out now we are set up for a while. Will heat the shower water on the fire again to make the gas last longer.

Spotted 5 satellites zooming across the beautiful star spangled sky. Quite cool once we walked away from the fire so closed up the van and headed in for dinner and showers.

Sat, 8th June, 2019 Bush camp south of Eastern Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

8.30am 12.6 degrees, put the heater on as it takes that nip out of the air. Clear sky and no wind.

Drove to the other side of the exploration lease and tried a couple of spots. Ray got 1 bit.

I collected some wildflowers to decorate the van with.

Back to the van for lunch. We got a puncture as we turned off the main road. There is a burnt section we drive through and this time we got a nasty sharp spike. Steve found it and removed it so hopefully we won’t get any more.

The wind is back in strong gusts but this time from the west. A cloud band is building in the south west as rain is predicted for tomorrow.

Steve and I tried another few spots and Steve scored with a little bit. Sad to be excited over finding such little things!!

Back to the van for a cuppa. Ray and Carol’s friend, Dave, called in so we all chatted the afternoon away. He knew Sandy and Annette who we were with two years ago. Small world.

Another lovely evening by the fire once the wind had settled.

9pm the wind is back.

Fri, 7th June, 2019 Bush camp south of Eastern Creek, east of Nullagine, WA (Mum & Dad’s 58th Wed Anniv)

Mum and Dad’s 58^th wedding anniversary. Luckily I wished them a happy anniversary the other day as we don’t have phone reception here. They were married in Stanthorpe which has just received a coating of snow – Mum said she was glad that didn’t happen when they were there.

6.30am 12 degrees inside so 8 degrees out – so much for warmer in the north. Should get to 23 as the maximum today. The wind is back but from a different direction.

We all went detecting. I got one little bit then a loud signal in a gully nearby under some spinifex. As I dug I tried not to get too excited about finding a good sized nugget but just when I allowed myself to dream out came half a horse-shoe – I could have cried.

Steve and Ray had no success but Carol got a tiny bit like me.

Steve took the truck and rounded up some firewood out of the creek.

Ray and Carol went for a drive around to Mosquito Creek to see their friend Dave. He has a couple of leases nearby but is set up in the ‘caravan park’ near Mosquito Creek so he can get phone reception.

Steve and I played Skipbo then we got the fire going as Ray and Carol came back in time for drinks. The wind has stopped so it was lovely outside.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Thurs, 6th June, 2019 RV Stop, Newman to Bush camp south of Eastern Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

The traffic got moving early so we woke at 6am. 13 degrees, clear sky.

Got up and had breakfast then topped up the water tanks and put some air in the van’s tyres – more weight in the poor thing again.

Headed back down the road a bit then turned onto the road north to Nullagine. Flat spinifex plains everywhere.

Stopped for a cuppa at Roy Hill rest area where there are heaps of lovely white river gums.

Continued on and there were heaps more in the flood plain before the Fortescue River which had a waterhole with water on each side of the road.

A new bitumen road has been laid to go around the two iron ore mine sites that we drove past 3 years ago.

Into ‘Arizona Desert’ country.

Back onto the dirt which is very rough with the ironstone making it very corrugated.

Met the grader further north which is working its way south from Nullagine.

Back on some bitumen as we pass Bonney Downs Station which is a huge pastoral lease that goes nearly up to Marble Bar so where we will be detecting is on that station.

Back on the dirt again but it is smoother now.

Across the dry Nullagine River as we drive into town.

Checked the mail but our 40E permits haven’t arrived. I rang Leonora Mines Dept where we put them in and she couldn’t understand why they hadn’t been done as they get their permits out in a week and the Marble Bar officee had been given extra help to process all the permits. I rang the Mining Registrar at Marble Bar who isn’t the most helpful person but after a while he eventually found our permits and said they have just been too busy to get them process!! I told him we were not impressed as we are here waiting to go onto our leases and now we have to wait another month if he manages to get them processed in the next week. I rang Leonora office back and let her know what was happening and she offered to try and push it along. Luckily Ray has permission for a few other leases so we have somewhere to go, not that I was going to tell that bloke in Marble Bar. We have permits to submit for a couple of spots at Marble Bar so I think we will have to put them in early if he is going to take so long in processing them.

Ray and Carol headed off to check out a lease for us to camp at. We had lunch then headed along the good dirt road – maintained by all the mines. Found Virginia and Geoff where we had detected 3 years ago, about 6km out of town on a pending lease. They have had fun finding lots of little bits with their 2300. They are heading to a station near Port Hedland next week to help out. The owner said he has found gold there too so Geoff is hopeful.

We continued on Skull Springs Road and found Ray and Carol’s van in a cleared area – the spinifex has been burnt off which is good. We parked up near them. It is still very windy.

Nice view even if it is spinifex.

Ray was out detecting already while Carol was cleaning the van after all the dust we have been through. I have a good deal of wiping to do too – just the fine stuff that comes in through the 4 season vents on the roof and as the van is old it is coming up through the walls in a couple of places – no too bad really.

Another shelf in the fridge broke – it was the new one we bought for the old fridge. Luckily we had kept it as we have lost two shelves so far which  are being replaced under warranty and Margaret and Bob are picking up for us. Might have to put another claim in for the next one as they are over $100 to buy.

I had two over-ripe bananas so I tried Maralyn’s moist banana cake recipe – everything goes in a saucepan then I put it in patty cakes and it cooked beautifully.

Ray came back with a grin – a very nice nugget so we had drinks to celebrate a good start and I gave them some cakes for their dessert.

As the wind is still blowing and cold we headed inside early as we haven’t organised our fireplace yet. We played some games of Skipbo – we love this game. Had a nice warm shower, dinner then settled in for our movies.

Wed, 5th June, 2019 Bush camp near gravel pit, 50km south of Newman to RV Stop, Newman, WA

6.30am 9 degrees, clear sky. On with the heater.

8am headed into Newman. We were here 3 years ago after we explored Karijini NP and I did the iron ore mine tour so no need for more photos.

Parked near Woolies and did our shopping. Doing a big shop as this is our last ‘cheap’ grocery store for the next 3 months unless we drive 180km back to here or head up to Port Hedland when we are at Marble Bar later on.

Drove up to the Information Centre where there are parks for self-contained RVs for $10 a night. We parked up and started sorting the groceries etc.

Managed to get it all packed in. Erica rang to say David had sent us photos for her of the World Record RV line-up. She also spotted their van in a photo in the newspaper which she sent to me on my phone which I don’t know how to get off the phone.

Ray and Carol, via their computer, watched their grandson Rhys played for Qld in the U18 Rugby division before the State of Origin game tonight. He did very well, they are so proud of him.

Uploaded my blog and checked Facebook and emails. Got a message from Virginia and Geoff – they are in Nullagine again on the pending ground outside of town so we will catch up with them tomorrow on our way through to where we will be detecting.

Rang Kerry and Brian to see how they are going. Been to Exmouth where the wind was so strong and now there is rain predicted. The flies are so bad she had heaps in her coffee before she got it to her mouth!! Glad to say there are no flies or wind at the moment in Newman.

Bob rang about where we got our door hinge for the truck as he is putting one on the other side of his ute so they can get into the back and their new fridge easier. They will head up towards the end of the month as it is Margaret’s birthday on the 25^th and she was to have it up with us.

Rang Mum and Dad just before the State of Origin started. She said there was snow in Stanthorpe. She was glad that didn’t happen when they went there to be married 58 years ago on the 7^th. I wished them a happy anniversary in case we don’t have phone reception where we are headed.

Sent the boys and girls texts to let them know where we are and heading to. Jess is in Rocky doing her uni prac which she is enjoying and is doing very well too.

Chatted with a Victorian couple parked beside us. As the sun set the temperature dropped so we headed back into the van for a drink and a few games of Skipbo.

All the bays are full now and a couple more have parked up on the outer edge. The caravan park has closed in town so this is a popular spot.

The local hotel nearby had the music up loud – luckily we had the windows closed so it wasn’t too bad.

Tues, 4th June, 2019 Bush camp north-west of Peak Hill to Bush camp near gravel pit, 50km south of Newman, WA

7am 10.9 degrees again, clear sky and the strong wind is still blowing.

Said farewell to Muriel and Syd. Hopefully we will see them around Nullagine somewhere.

We were going to detect where Ray got his little piece yesterday but it was so cold we decided to play Skipbo inside instead. Carol had done her washing late so she was waiting for it to dry while Ray mixed up his homebrew spirits.

After smoko we packed up and headed back to the highway then headed north to Newman.

Stopped for lunch at the rest area near south branch of the Gascoyne River. A text came through that Jeff had rung so we rang him and Lyn back. It was 3 years ago that we were here with him. He might be over again next year so we might catch up with him in the Kimberleys somewhere.

Still very windy as we continued north. A truck went by and ‘crack’ – a stone hit the top of the windscreen. Our first one since getting the windscreen replaced in Cairns last year. Not bad I suppose considering the miles we do.

Further along another road train went by with a big rush of wind and the little UHF aerial snapped off. Bob had found it on the ground whilst detecting and it had worked fine till now. Ray called up so we knew the UHF was still working without the top part of the aerial. Will find a replacement in Newman.

Pulled into a rest stop for a cuppa and Steve put our old aerial back on.

Continued north till 4pm – a lot of cattle beside the road. We pulled into a gravel pit area and continued further off the road to park up for the night. There was so much rubbish left around the gravel pit, it is disgusting.

As it was cold and we weren’t having a fire we stayed in our vans for drinks and Steve and I continued with a few more games of Skipbo.

Early shower, dinner then some more movies.

Mon, 3rd June, 2019 Bush camp north-west of Peak Hill, WA

7am 10.9 degrees, a few clouds but mostly sunny and no wind. Must be getting used to the cold as we got up and had breakfast without putting on the heater.

Drove around and detected some other spots but no joy. The wind has come up and is strong and cold.

After lunch I did our washing while Steve got some more exercise waving his detector about.

At last a bit of gold has been found by Ray but that was the only one.

I started a new book as it was too cold and there isn’t the gold about to make me want to go detecting.

The wind settled as we gathered around the fire again for drinks. It was very pleasant out that we sat there chatting till 7pm. Spotted 4 satellites.

The wind was back by 9pm.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sun, 2nd June, 2019 Bush camp south of Peak Hill to Bush camp north-west of Peak Hill, WA

7am 12 degrees, cloudy with a strong gusty wind. Ray got onto the geologist for this mining lease and he said we can camp anywhere and gave us a few suggestions on where to detect.

We all packed up and moved onto the lease. First we checked out the old township of Peak Hill. Steve and I had been here in 2016 and nothing has changed since then. The wind is cold and blowing hard though the sun is peeking through the clouds now.

Drove back to the airstrip for a cuppa to work out where to camp. Muriel and Syd joined us in the van as the wind and flies were both very annoying. Worked out a track to get across the creek to where the geologist suggested and set up camp.

I caught up on my blog as it was too windy and cold to detect. Steve got the fireplace organised – lots of huge lumps of quartz to make his firepit.

After a warm lunch we took our detectors for a walk. I got a bullet projectile and lots of exercise – nothing for the others except rubbish. At least we are cleaning up Australia.

The wind is still blowing strongly at 2pm, 22 degrees in the van. Muriel brought over her jewellery she makes while travelling. Lovely pieces.

After a cuppa we played a few games of Skipbo to pass the time since the gold wasn’t jumping out of the ground!!

At last the wind settled as we gathered around the fireplace for drinks and chats.

Ray and Carol’s grandson is playing in the Qld U18 Rugby team on Wednesday before the State of Origin game so they are hoping to be able to watch it on the computer as it will be live streamed on the internet. So if we don’t find gold here we will be continuing on to Newman so they can watch it and we can top up our food supplies at the Woolies before heading to Nullagine, as that is the last ‘good’ shop we will have.

As the fire died we all headed into our vans to have showers and cook dinner before the cold got to us. The van is closed up again of course.

The wind came back about 9pm but we were angled into it so it isn’t rocking the van about.