Hello sead,
You've picked the middle of winter to visit our lovely shores so be certain to pack warm clothes. The Goldfields to the west of Sydney were -1C degrees yesterday so even I'm not heading out there until it warms up a little. The nearest Goldfields are probably going to be just beyond the Blue Mountains in the Bathurst region. I am currently writing a book on them for local prospectors so if you think you might be tempted to go there, be sure to contact me for tips on safety and places to explore. It is certainly wonderful out there but it was snowing there last week.
Map Showing Route To NSW Turon Goldfields
Click on the link above to gauge the distances involved.
Above is the route to the Goldfields from Sydney. There are places to prospect just outside of Bathurst, however you may find that it's worth going a few extra miles North of Bathurst to get to Sofala or Hill End where many of the old buildings stand and to see more of the countryside. Being arid, this area gets super hot in summer and very cold in winter. Plenty of kangaroos out that way so drive slow if you hire a car. I can put you in touch with a chap who rents a cabin out there ...with a fireplace. To get there, you will need to drive over the Blue Mountains and that's a spectacular tourist destination as it is. You could plan for a two or three day trip just to say you did it and to get some fantastic pictures.
Sydney's Blue Mountains as photographed from the Tourist Lookout at Katoomba
When you bring expensive items with you, it's a good idea to photocopy your receipt so that when you return home, you can prove that you bought it there and so you're not unfairly pressed into paying any sort of import duty. There's no problem with bringing your detector here. If anyone in customs asks, just tell them what you wrote here: That you're visiting for a friend's wedding and would like to spend a few hours detecting on the beaches here.
There is a little-known law that if you find something valuable like a gold diamond ring etc, that you should report it to the police station. If no-one claims it in a certain number of days, you get to keep it. Not handing in an item of value can result in a little-used enforcement law called "Theft by Finding". I've not heard of it being applied but otherwise there's no laws preventing detectorists from having fun here. Nobody follows this mantra of course (LOL!) although a good detectorist will always try to track down the owners of any engraved jewellery if they can. You should be fine to detect any of the beaches here. It's winter in Sydney and the average day is around 19+ degrees in sunlight so there won't be too many bathers to make you feel uncomfortable.
Which area are you likely to be staying in? Bondi is one of our most famous beaches and is about 15 minutes from the city by cab. I'd suggest a less populated beach for detecting though if you want to find good targets since the busier beaches attract other detectorists. Sydney has plenty of great beaches (HUNDREDS) and there's a lot less junk on our beaches than in other countries simply because Australians have been fed a diet of "Do the right thing" (with trash) since 1983. Be sure not to pick up anything that could contain our Blue Ringed Octopus. It only grows to a size of three or four inches but it's quite deadly. They end up hiding in bits off coral and tin cans or small shells and are often in the tidal pools.
I believe the X-Terras have been tested by Minelab for major impact but you'll want to protect your control box as best as you possibly can when you pack it. Place something hard across the front face and tape it into place... and be sure to remove batteries before travel.
Have a great visit!
Cheers!
Marco Nero
[size=small]Here's a typical council sign which you might see near a densely populated Sydney beach. This was photographed about an hour North of Sydney.[/size]
[size=small]It's relatively quiet on the beaches if you go there after lunchtime. This was shot at a location about an hour North of Sydney.[/size]
