Mon, 1st July, 2019 Bush camp near Upper Mosquito Creek Mining Centre, east of Nullagine, WA

6.30am 9.5 degrees, clear sky and no wind – heater on again.

Steve saw the dingo sniffing around Brian and Kerry’s truck, definitely think someone was feeding him for him to come back again.

Drove back to our spot from yesterday but only Steve scored a little bit.

I drove back to my old spot as Steve was doing a big walk again and would walk over the hill to me. I went further down the slope and got a rock that sung (but I can’t see any gold on it) near a couple of our old rock cairns. Further down I found one of Steve’s smiley faces from this trip and got a signal nearby. It is in white powdery dirt. I got out a little bit then after I had filled in the hole I got a signal right beside it. Dug out another one so I slowly gridded the area and pulled out more little bits.

Steve came back with a specimen too but you could see his gold and a few little bits.

Kerry and Brian came back but no joy for them.

Home for lunch. Steve crushed the quartz specimens to get out the bits of gold.

Bob and Margaret texted they were in Nullagine so we told them we would meet them at the turn off. Brian decided to go with Steve to help him get firewood and to do some track maintenance on the washed out bits. Kerry went back to her patch to clear more rocks and spinifex to see if the patch is bigger.

I got a text from Margaret that they were at the turn off but they couldn’t see Steve. After a while I realised that maybe they were at the wrong spot so sent off texts to see where they were. Luckily they had reception and we worked out they hadn’t come far enough out so I said to keep coming east and I got on the two way to Steve to let him know. He found them along the road and they all arrived back at camp. Unfortunately we noticed that Bob’s van had a bad lean and Steve worked out that he had broken a spring on the van. He had heard a bang as they were coming out. The boys checked it out but it will need a new one so he will just have to limp home.

The wind settled as we gathered around the fire for drinks to celebrate Margaret’s belated birthday. Margaret brought out huge marshmellows and Bob had made wire sticks so we could toast them. Yum Yum. I dished out the NoBake Cheesecake I made for Margaret’s birthday too.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Sun, 30th June, 2019 Bush camp near Upper Mosquito Creek Mining Centre, east of Nullagine, WA

6.45am 8.5 degrees, clear sky and no wind – time for the heater again.

Still have phone reception which is great. Only enough I think for text messages but that is fine. Sent the boys a text to let them know we are ok and having fun.

Drove with Kerry and Brian to another spot we had found gold at 3 years ago. Steve and I both got a few bits but Kerry and Brian missed out.

Home for lunch – after all the wind yesterday there is none now. The thermometer on the shady side of the van said 25 degrees but the one on the table in the sun read 38 degrees. Steve pulled out the awning and that temperature quickly dropped to 31.

Kaylene had rung so maybe I can make phone calls. I sent her a text back then the reception disappeared. It went in and out for a bit but I got the text sent. Rebecca’s birthday today – hope she is having a nice day.

Went detecting at another spot where Kerry scored with two bits. I had nothing after a big walk. I had a drink as it is quite warm though there is a light breeze. I walked over to the other side and was heading back when I got a bit next to a quartz blow. A bit further on I got another one but they were the only ones.

I had a cuppa, Steve was still on his ‘big’ walk. I walked over to check on Kerry. Steve appeared on the top of the hill where he got a signal, his first bit and then he got another one. As I walked back to the truck I saw a glint and picked up a bit of gold stuck onto a nice piece of white quartz. I am always looking down hoping to walk over a big nugget – well this will have to do.

Headed back to camp collecting some firewood along the way. Much nicer afternoon with just a light breeze and warmer temperature.

Sat around the fire for a while chatting while our dinner cooked on the fire. Cooling off about 7pm so closed up the van again.

Sat, 29th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek to Bush camp near Upper Mosquito Creek Mining Centre, east of Nullagine, WA

7.30am 13.7 degrees, clear sky and a strong wind which has been blowing all night.

Packed up camp – not the best time to roll in your awning with such a strong wind blowing but we got it in.

Ray and Carol will move over closer to Dave and Sue as they will overnight in Newman to get their tyres done and feel safer if the van is closer to them.

We headed down to Kerry and Brian. Set up camp. 

Steve spotted a dingo in the creek on the other side of Kerry and Brian’s truck. He slowly walked away from us. Maybe the other people had fed him.

Kerry was out detecting nearby. Brian helped Steve collect firewood and they got some tin and star pickets, to make a windshield, from the rubbish near the big dry blower which is on the other side of the hill. It is very windy so we aren’t putting the awning out of course.

Kerry has found a few bits of reef gold. She had walked the slopes and was heading back feeling dejected having not found anything when she had to choose to go a long way around a pile of spinifex or step over a few clumps to head back to camp. She stepped over some clumps then got a signal, then another, then another, so she has had a lovely morning.

After lunch Steve and I drove back to where we had found gold 3 years ago as Kerry and Brian were busy with their little patch. The track has been recently graded and as we had got gold off the track last time I went back over it. I got a few bits which was great. I went back to my slope where we had found heaps of quartz specimens full of gold that had been pushed aside by a dozer. Our rock cairns were still there where we had marked the spots we found gold. I got one bit straight off but then nothing. Sad not to find more but I was congratulating myself on doing such a good job when I got a target half way down the slope. I reckon I must have been tired when I did this bit as I had missed a fair few – oh well I have them now. I got a couple of specimens too which Steve will have to crush.

Steve found a few bits. One was very flat sided it must have been squashed between flat rocks.

Back home for weigh in and drinks. Kerry and Brian are very happy with their little haul which is reef gold, very prickly rather than smooth.

The wind settled at 6pm but it is certainly cooler than the previous night.

I had connected the phone to the van’s aerial and received a text from Margaret and Bob. They are heading to us on Monday from Port Hedland.

10pm down to 15 degrees with the van closed up.

Fri, 28th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

7am 11.8 degrees, clear sky and no wind.

Drove into Nullagine. Still a fair bit of water sitting in the waterhole at 20 Mile Sandy Creek from the recent storm.

Some of the burnt hills with the spinifex on the flats.

Sent off a text to Rochelle for her birthday tomorrow. Rang Erica then Mum. Rang Rebecca and wished her a happy birthday for the 30^th. Fran sent through a thank you text for the money I sent. She used it for a lovely massage. So nice to know she used it for something nice.

Uploaded my blog, did emails and banking. I noticed a cash advance fee and interest charge on the Visa card and amazingly got onto a chap at the bank who said that when Steve bought his magazines at the Newman Newsagency the lady must have used the card machine for lottery tickets. The government made it that if you purchase a lottery ticket using your credit card it is classed as a cash advance then you have to pay interest on it from when it was purchased. Luckily the fee was only 33 cents with 18 cents interest but the chap said he would refund it as we clearly hadn’t purchased any lottery tickets. Pays to check as it could have been a scam as they often try your card with little amounts before taking out a big whack. We have been very lucky but I am very careful with our credit cards and checking off the statements etc.

No 40E permits at the Post Office so I rang the Mines Dept and they have all been processed so we will be able to go onto the leases as of the 5^th July. I tried the Laverton Post Office as originally that is where we had them posted but I had asked the Marble Bar Registrar to change it to Nullagine since he had taken so long to process them. Obviously he didn’t as the letters were there at Laverton. The nice lady said she would redirect them for us and send them on Monday.

Exchanged a gas bottle ($55 compared to $26 at Bunnings) and topped up the fuel, $1.89/L. Got a few vegetables and fruit though the choice was limited even though they got their fortnightly delivery yesterday. The potatoes were very soft so will ask Margaret to get me some on their way here. Joys of living in remote areas. Glad we stocked on everything else in Newman.

Kerry and Brian arrived so we had lunch together then headed along the Skull Springs Road nearly to the turnoff to Mosquito Creek. We turned south in the MM leases and parked up on the pending lease. We had spotted the Unimog that we saw the other day. Steve was sure it was the chap with his mum that he met at Mt Dockerell near Halls Creek last year.

We found a good spot to park and after a cuppa left Kerry and Brian to set up camp. We will be back about lunchtime tomorrow once we pack up the van and head down.

The chap with the Unimog was detecting nearby as we drove out so we stopped to say hello. Tony remembers his mum saying about having a visitor last year. He did a lot of detecting up there and decided last year to do it professionally. I said had he heard about the increase in the 40E permit fees and he was not impressed. His mum and her partner were travelling with him and they were just staying a few days till they head south.

Headed back up to Mosquito Creek. Ray and Carol weren’t back yet which was unusual but Dave wasn’t either so hopefully they are together and ok.

We got the fire going and poured a drink when they drove in. They had a terrible afternoon. Got some gold in the morning and decided to head back early when Ray staked his tyre. The tyres that came with the new vehicle aren’t suited  to this country and he is now wishing he had changed them. Unfortunately too while he was putting the safety stand underneath the car the jack slipped and he smashed his thumb. Luckily he pulled it out quickly enough otherwise he would have lost it completely. To top it off the other chap, Kevin, who we saw detecting in that area too accused them of following him. He is supposed to be a friend of Dave and Ray’s but they have seen his true colours now. Dave joined us for drinks and we had a big discussion about Kevin.

Ray and Carol decided to go to Newman and buy new tyres as they can’t afford to stake another one as they can’t be repaired with the usual plugs.

Nice cool breeze has picked up though by 9pm it was blowing strongly.

Thurs, 27th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA

7am 11.3 degrees, clear sky and no wind. Amazingly we don’t need to put the heater on as there is no chill in the air.

Tried another area. We got one bit each then we went exploring hoping to find the ‘magic’ spot.

Tried a spot closer to where the vans are and I got 2 bits and Steve found one.

Home for a cuppa then I washed my hair in rain water. It is so soft now that I am going to keep any rainwater just for hair washing.

Put on the generator and did the washing and wrote my blog. We are heading into Nullagine tomorrow so will fill up with water again. Steve pumped water into the van’s tanks so it is full again.

No more ‘special’ ones for Ray and Carol though he used his bigger coil in case there were more down deep.

Steve went off and collected more firewood – didn’t want to leave Ray and Carol without any as we will probably head down to the MM leases once we get Kerry and Brian settled.

Had a nice afternoon chatting around the fire. Ray got a notice from the WA Prospectors stating that the Mines Dept is increasing the fee for 40E permit from $25 to $90 each. We are glad this is our last year detecting here for a while. This will kill it for a lot of travellers just wanting to have a go and probably the old hands will just go back to winging it and hoping they don’t get caught. Also the lease holders will probably get a lot more requests to detect rather than pay the 40E permit fee.

Cooled off so into the van for dinner and movies.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

Wed, 26th June, 2019 Bush camp near Mosquito Creek, east of Nullagine, WA (Fran’s birthday)

7am 12.5 degrees, clear sky and no wind. Hope Fran has a lovely birthday.

Drove back out to the dry blowing area. Steve went down the creek and got a few bits – one was a 1 gram nugget – yeah. He couldn’t continue down the creek to far as it was full of spinifex.

We drove down the steep hill to the old camp then turned onto an area nearby which had been scraped. I wandered over that while Steve walked back up the creek he had been detecting. Nothing for me so I put the detector in the truck and wandered up the creek looking for Steve. I found a couple of spots where he had been digging then I found him in the creek digging out a bit of gold. He had a few bits so he wanted to dig it out more. We walked back to the truck and drove back up the steep hill – I am slowly getting over my fear after our scare at Desert Queen Baths last year.

We then drove down the creek where he had first been and then he wove his way down to where he was detecting. Had a cuppa then Steve dug out the creek and I used my 2300 to check for more gold. I got a few bits. Steve dug some more and I wandered on the flat area beside the creek and got two bits from the one hole. I turned around and got a loud signal which of course I thought was rubbish but Steve came over and started to dig. Out came a lovely nugget. We were very excited. Then I went a couple more feet and got another loud signal and out came another lovely nugget though this one has a big more quartz in it. I gave this one to Steve as it was his patch – of course we share it all but we keep a tally of his detector versus my detector as a laugh.

Steve cleared all the dead tree branches etc away from the little area we were in and I went over it very carefully but no more gold. Checked his creek diggings but no more there either. Steve put on his big coil to check for deeper gold but no joy there either.

Happy with our few bits we headed back up the creek then drove around to see if Ray and Carol had a good day too. They were busy filling in a big hole – they both had a very good day.

Headed back home through the very bulldusty track – getting worse as the musterers are going back and forward with their trucks.

Had a great time around the fire comparing our nuggets – icecream for us tonight. The gusty wind during the day has settled and it is still quite warm – 30 degrees in the van.

NO PHOTOS TODAY.

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.