UP... GOLD CREEK?
05 NOVEMBER 2023
We Can't Go Over It, We Can't Go Under It, We Have To Go Through It!
The West Coast region in New Zealand is sitting on a whole lot of gold, and there are designated gold fossicking areas that are reasonably easy to, like Shamrock Creek near Hokitika where we had a lot of fun but didn't find any gold, and there are other areas where you need to walk up creek and know exactly where to look.
We had been to Shantytown in Greymouth just a few days before we decided to get our gold pan on (Shantytown is a fun and interactive historic town - great for kids!). We actually did some gold panning at Shantytown where the girls found REAL gold! None of this fake stuff here folks, it's fine little flakes of the real stuff from local rivers (although I doooo wonder if they may sprinkle a few flakes into the wheelbarrow full of stones - either way it's a lot of fun to find some real gold!).
We were staying in Greymouth for a few weeks and decided we'd find the closest river that allows gold panning, that wasn't difficult to get to, so we decided the Nelson Creeks was the best spot for us. As you know, we love walking and hiking, so I couldn't pass by the opportunity to do some hiking in the Nelson Creeks area! So before we tried our luck with gold panning in the creek, we hiked the Callaghans Track, which is an out and back trail, 3.9kms long.
It was an aaaabsolultey freezing winters morning when we decided to do the hike. It was one of those days where we had layers upon layers of clothes on, including gloves and scarves, yet we still were freezing our butts off! But this is the South Island in winter folks, brrr. It's a different kind of cold that you just need to get over, get more layers on and get out there! So we rugged up, had hot drinks ready in the back pack and off we went.
To get to the track, we passed through an old tunnel that was carved out a long time ago, I'm sure during the gold rush era. You can see all the pick axe marks and it reminds me of the Tunnel Terrace Track in Hokitika and the Tatare Tunnels Track in Franz Josef that we did, as they were also carved out during the gold era. But part of me wonders about the placement of some of these tunnels, as some of them have perfectly good bush or flat land either side of them and one wonders why they needed the tunnels in the first place! The tunnel isn't too long, but we did need our torch in the middle part just to see where we were walking, but if you've had your daily dose of carrots then you'll be sweet as ;)
We passed over a long swing bridge that took us over to where we could go left to the creek to gold pan, or right onto the start of the Callaghans Track. The girls were really cold and just wanted to go gold panning but we knew if we did the gold panning first that everyone's hand would be numb and someone would have got wet shoes or pants and we'd have to go home! It always happens... every time! So we carry a lot of extra clothes now, in our backpack and in the car - bring on summer when the water is warm and won't be an issue!
We had been to Shantytown in Greymouth just a few days before we decided to get our gold pan on (Shantytown is a fun and interactive historic town - great for kids!). We actually did some gold panning at Shantytown where the girls found REAL gold! None of this fake stuff here folks, it's fine little flakes of the real stuff from local rivers (although I doooo wonder if they may sprinkle a few flakes into the wheelbarrow full of stones - either way it's a lot of fun to find some real gold!).
We were staying in Greymouth for a few weeks and decided we'd find the closest river that allows gold panning, that wasn't difficult to get to, so we decided the Nelson Creeks was the best spot for us. As you know, we love walking and hiking, so I couldn't pass by the opportunity to do some hiking in the Nelson Creeks area! So before we tried our luck with gold panning in the creek, we hiked the Callaghans Track, which is an out and back trail, 3.9kms long.
It was an aaaabsolultey freezing winters morning when we decided to do the hike. It was one of those days where we had layers upon layers of clothes on, including gloves and scarves, yet we still were freezing our butts off! But this is the South Island in winter folks, brrr. It's a different kind of cold that you just need to get over, get more layers on and get out there! So we rugged up, had hot drinks ready in the back pack and off we went.
To get to the track, we passed through an old tunnel that was carved out a long time ago, I'm sure during the gold rush era. You can see all the pick axe marks and it reminds me of the Tunnel Terrace Track in Hokitika and the Tatare Tunnels Track in Franz Josef that we did, as they were also carved out during the gold era. But part of me wonders about the placement of some of these tunnels, as some of them have perfectly good bush or flat land either side of them and one wonders why they needed the tunnels in the first place! The tunnel isn't too long, but we did need our torch in the middle part just to see where we were walking, but if you've had your daily dose of carrots then you'll be sweet as ;)
We passed over a long swing bridge that took us over to where we could go left to the creek to gold pan, or right onto the start of the Callaghans Track. The girls were really cold and just wanted to go gold panning but we knew if we did the gold panning first that everyone's hand would be numb and someone would have got wet shoes or pants and we'd have to go home! It always happens... every time! So we carry a lot of extra clothes now, in our backpack and in the car - bring on summer when the water is warm and won't be an issue!
The Most Incredible Bird Song
The track is maintained by DOC (the Department of Conservation), as most walking tracks are in New Zealand, and we were surprised that it wasn't a well-worn track and, in some places, not a track at all! It was definitely the most "off the beaten track" tracks we've done on all of our hikes in New Zealand. Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't like we were in thick jungle, needing our machetes to get through thick vines and leaves, or expecting some gorillas to pass by, but most tracks in New Zealand are well formed tracks, either board walks or gravel, with no plants on them.... but this track was muddy and slippery in some pants and we were literally walking through knee high plants (or shoulder height to Sienna!), so it was quite the adventure!!
We couldn't find much information online about this track and once we had done it, we weren't surprised as it definitely wasn't a well hiked track and to be fair it wasn't that amazing. BUT I always love to look at the positives of a hike and one thing we were surprised at and loved was how much bird song there was! At one point it was almost deafening with the number of tuis around! The only other place in New Zealand where we have seen so many, is in Te Anau... but this was super impressive and definitely a highlight of the track. There were a few fantail (Piwakawaka in Te Reo language) on the track too, they are so curious and cheeky and always show us the way on our hikes and we did see a few little red mushrooms hiding in the banks.
We wound up through the hillside, listening to the birds (and the kids complaining about the cold - we couldn't blame them, really) and we could see evidence of the gold era, with the path being carved through the hillside, and rocks stacked up either side and a landscape filled with remnants of old tailraces and tailings. It's subtle, but if you understand the goldrush and you've been on lots of West Coast walks, you'll start to see all the subtle signs without even looking too hard.
The forest is mainly beech and it has a lot of the lush green moss which is one of the reasons we love hiking on the West Coast so much! As we climbed higher, we passed a lot of rimu, miro and rata trees.
We finally made it to the summit, after around 45 minutes, where we were greeted with uninterrupted views across the valley and across to the Southern Alps. We were super thankful to be back in the sunshine! We thawed out for a bit and enjoyed the peaceful views while we ate lunch and had our hot drinks. I always like to make sure we're doing hikes on a sunny day if there is a view from the top, because what's the point otherwise! The ground was mossy and soft for us to sit on and on a hot summers day I can imagine it would be really nice to stay up there for a few hours and chill, away from the hustle and bustle of life.
We couldn't find much information online about this track and once we had done it, we weren't surprised as it definitely wasn't a well hiked track and to be fair it wasn't that amazing. BUT I always love to look at the positives of a hike and one thing we were surprised at and loved was how much bird song there was! At one point it was almost deafening with the number of tuis around! The only other place in New Zealand where we have seen so many, is in Te Anau... but this was super impressive and definitely a highlight of the track. There were a few fantail (Piwakawaka in Te Reo language) on the track too, they are so curious and cheeky and always show us the way on our hikes and we did see a few little red mushrooms hiding in the banks.
We wound up through the hillside, listening to the birds (and the kids complaining about the cold - we couldn't blame them, really) and we could see evidence of the gold era, with the path being carved through the hillside, and rocks stacked up either side and a landscape filled with remnants of old tailraces and tailings. It's subtle, but if you understand the goldrush and you've been on lots of West Coast walks, you'll start to see all the subtle signs without even looking too hard.
The forest is mainly beech and it has a lot of the lush green moss which is one of the reasons we love hiking on the West Coast so much! As we climbed higher, we passed a lot of rimu, miro and rata trees.
We finally made it to the summit, after around 45 minutes, where we were greeted with uninterrupted views across the valley and across to the Southern Alps. We were super thankful to be back in the sunshine! We thawed out for a bit and enjoyed the peaceful views while we ate lunch and had our hot drinks. I always like to make sure we're doing hikes on a sunny day if there is a view from the top, because what's the point otherwise! The ground was mossy and soft for us to sit on and on a hot summers day I can imagine it would be really nice to stay up there for a few hours and chill, away from the hustle and bustle of life.
Time For A Treasure Hunt
After our little gold panning stint at Shantytown the week before, a gold pan and shovel in our hands, and some gold panning knowledge from the internet, we felt ready to conquer the creek and make ourselves rich!! We purchased our pans from Shantytown and got our shovels from Mitre 10.
We knew there is gold in the Nelson Creek and there is a map, but it's very vague (as are all the designated gold fossicking areas in New Zealand), so it's hard to know exactly where to go. Once we got back to the start of our hike up Callaghans Track, we turned right and found the gold panning sign by the creek. We tried a little gold panning right there but we didn't have any luck, so we pulled the map up on our phone and saw that we had to go up the creek a little. The creek bed was pretty dry in some places, so it wasn't actually too bad walking up it, but it was very confusing and we had no idea how far we had been walking for. It turns out we needed to head about 1km up creek, but I think we had only gone 200 - 300 meters!
It really didn't help us that it was soooo cold and the sun had no chance of even hitting us that day, to thaw us out. We decided to stop walking once we came to a huge pile of logs and try out luck at gold panning in that spot. We knew that we had to hit bed rock for our best chance of finding gold, which is hard when you have a small gardening shovel! We also knew that our best bet is to dig around the base of big boulders and in the bend of the river, as this is where gold will settle as it's so heavy.
We tried for about 20-mins then Sienna managed to get wet AND she had forgotten to bring a jumper, just a jacket, so she was cold and miserable so we called it a day!! It was also really hard to have our hands in the water as it was ICY!! We have tried again since in Shamrock Creek in Hokitika, but with no luck again!
Most of the gold in these designated areas is just for recreation, so you'll mostly find alluvial gold (fine gold flakes far downstream from the real gold nuggets), but occasionally you can find small nuggets. You also aren't allowed to use any dredging machines, it's just a pan kind of a deal! We would have been happy just to find 1 or 2 small flakes, as we saw how excited the girls were when they found some in their pans at Shantytown. The creeks are also full of schist which has gold flakes, so sometimes it looks like there's gold EVERYWHERE!
If you've ever been hunting gold on the West Coast in New Zealand have been lucky enough to find some and would love to share your knowledge with us, please reach out!
We knew there is gold in the Nelson Creek and there is a map, but it's very vague (as are all the designated gold fossicking areas in New Zealand), so it's hard to know exactly where to go. Once we got back to the start of our hike up Callaghans Track, we turned right and found the gold panning sign by the creek. We tried a little gold panning right there but we didn't have any luck, so we pulled the map up on our phone and saw that we had to go up the creek a little. The creek bed was pretty dry in some places, so it wasn't actually too bad walking up it, but it was very confusing and we had no idea how far we had been walking for. It turns out we needed to head about 1km up creek, but I think we had only gone 200 - 300 meters!
It really didn't help us that it was soooo cold and the sun had no chance of even hitting us that day, to thaw us out. We decided to stop walking once we came to a huge pile of logs and try out luck at gold panning in that spot. We knew that we had to hit bed rock for our best chance of finding gold, which is hard when you have a small gardening shovel! We also knew that our best bet is to dig around the base of big boulders and in the bend of the river, as this is where gold will settle as it's so heavy.
We tried for about 20-mins then Sienna managed to get wet AND she had forgotten to bring a jumper, just a jacket, so she was cold and miserable so we called it a day!! It was also really hard to have our hands in the water as it was ICY!! We have tried again since in Shamrock Creek in Hokitika, but with no luck again!
Most of the gold in these designated areas is just for recreation, so you'll mostly find alluvial gold (fine gold flakes far downstream from the real gold nuggets), but occasionally you can find small nuggets. You also aren't allowed to use any dredging machines, it's just a pan kind of a deal! We would have been happy just to find 1 or 2 small flakes, as we saw how excited the girls were when they found some in their pans at Shantytown. The creeks are also full of schist which has gold flakes, so sometimes it looks like there's gold EVERYWHERE!
If you've ever been hunting gold on the West Coast in New Zealand have been lucky enough to find some and would love to share your knowledge with us, please reach out!
Know Before You Go
- The Callaghan Track is 3.9kms return and takes around 1.5 hours
- The track can be slippery and muddy in some places and it's not a well-formed track
- There are toilets at the carpark
- There is a playground beside the carpark
- This track is not suitable for prams or wheelchairs
- Look for the gold panning sign beside the Nelson Creek and try your luck at some gold panning!
How To Get To The Callaghans Track In Greymouth
Head north on State Highway 6 (SH6) from Greymouth. Look for the Nelson Creek Road sign and turn left onto Nelson Creek Road. Follow Nelson Creek Road until you reach the Nelson Creek area where you'll find a big parking lot and camp site, with toilets and a playground.
To get to the track, head over the bridge and keep going until you see the sign for the Callaghan Track.
To get to the track, head over the bridge and keep going until you see the sign for the Callaghan Track.
Conclusion
The track was less formed than we thought it would be, so it was harder to navigate than what we're used to, but what's a little adventure in the forest a?! There is beautiful bird song in the forest and stunning views from the top. It's not our favourite hike in New Zealand but if you're in the Nelson Creek area and need to stretch your legs, you might really enjoy this hike to the top.
More to do in New Zealand
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DAWSON FALLS
TARANAKI A beautiful waterfall set amongst an enchanted goblin forest up Mt Egmont and it's only a 2-minute walk from the carpark! |
SMUGGLERS BAY LOOP TRACK
NORTHLAND If you want to go to paradise, this is the place! Emerald water, clear rock pools and octopus encounters await you.
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