First prospecting journey - Beechworth

[encapsu]

Headed to Beechworth next weekend for my friend and I's first rock-hounding/prospecting trip.  So far this is what I have planned out after a couple hours digging around online; if anyone can make some suggestions of what's worthwhile as we only have 2-3 days over the weekend to explore &  and if anyone has any really good recommendations for taking landscape or macro photographs would be awesome as I'll be looking to snap up some shots over the weekend ^_^

Equipment:
3+ larget sturdy buckets
Masonry Hammer (Estwing, flat)
Pan
Bug Spray
Sunscreen
Food
Water
Hat
Rake (Metal?) "Try scratching  around with a rake particularly around bushes and rocks."


Areas:
Reidy Creek (surface speckles)
pools upstream of Kangaroo Crossing (panning)
Sandy Beeches, Near Ford Crossing (smokey pointer & banded agate)
Gold Rumoured: Three Mile Creek, Good Luck Mine, Sunday Reef (http://www.prospectinglocations.com/regions.php?id=61)

Sight-seeing recommendations:
Driving through the Woolshed Valley towards Eldorado places of interest are
Kangaroo Crossing
Barry's Falls
Kelly Caves
Kelly Lookout - excellent views
Site of Sherritt's Hut
Site of Sebastopol
Woolshed Road Drive


or if anyone has any other great prospecting locations 1-3h from Melbourne feel free to share please

Cheers cheers cheers,
Jake

[Jimnyjerry]

Welcome to ALF encapsu.  Would also suggest a shovel or trenching shovel and light pick.  Locals should comment soon or do a search (see top Left of Forum screen) for info
  Jerry

[colza]

Hi & welcome encapsu.
Specialist equipment - sieves & gold pan - needed.
Out Eldorado way in streams s good. Under big rocks or the downstream side of rock bars, inside curves of banks are good collecting spots.
Always fill holes & leave places much as you found them.
Hard work & patience helps as does the right attitude: enjoy being out in nature, if you make finds then it's a bonus.
Cheers,
colza 

[Rusted]

A lot of the gold there is really fine, you will need a sucker bottle to get it out of your pan.
Plastic bottle with a hole in the lid to tightly fit a bit of plastic tube, squeeze the bottle and as it goes back to size suck up the powder gold.

[swirly]

hello i spend a lot of time in reedy crk  i live in wangaratta.any where abo you can still find fine gold but stones are a bit scarce as there has not been a decent flood for a while the main gear you need is a shovel gold pan small trowel a small bucket for concentrates, so as to pan of at home as there is a lot of black sand to contend with.any where above kangaroo crossing is a good place to start dig among the rocks.some of the stones i have found are agate,amethyst ,rock crystal citrine smoky quartz toumaline in quartz ,,sard carnelian, red, yellow,brown and black jasper, black tourmaline,small blue and white topaz, small sapphires and zircons,and barkalite.good luck with fossicking.

[harryopal]

A good thermos of tea.

[steve f]

tea

[Gerda]

Hi encapsu,
I enjoy a day in the bush specking along Ready creek, but it is a long time since i found any significant stones. The creek needs a good flood to turn over the gravel!
However, while in the district, you should visit the old Eldorado gold dredge. Also Eldorado has a small museum and amongst their displays is a collection of stones found in the creek.  Also, the Burke Museum in Beechworth has a much larger and very interesting display of local stones, including varieties of quartz and interesting agates. These displays would help you to know what you are looking for. I suggest that you take a spray bottle to dampen the gravel when you are specking. It is a significant help to make the quartz stand out from the other stones. Any day in the bush is a good day ,even if you don't find a treasure. Happy hunting.

[MALACHI]

Hi and welcome encapsu.  If you have sharp eyes, you'll do well there on Reedy Crk. Generally best time for specking is on a sunny morning or afternoon, the gemstones on the surface tend to glisten and reveal themselves.  Also have a scratch around on the upstream side of bushes and rocks.