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| Shelley Beach in a heat haze. |
During the lads after work drinks the discussion inevitably found it's way to metal detecting. The fever kicked in or did it ever leave? Shelley Beach was mentioned and a quick check on the tides meant we could be there for low tide at 11.30pm. I cooked up a quick feed, sweet and sour prawns with a bit of spice to hopefully get the boys sweating. The meal disappointingly wasn't that hot but outside, even at our set off time of 8.30pm, it was still very warm.
It is a 40 km trip out to Shelley Beach and after a gas stop we arrived about an hour later. A few camper vans were parked up for the night, a few pale faces peeking out to see the magnificent three don their headlights, tune their sticks and disappear seawards into the night. Otherwise the beach area was empty.
A reasonable sized bark playground was spotted at the southern end of the beach, you could hear it calling softly, "Don't forget me". We won't, seductive young park.
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Ritchies first ring and of course the silver
earring he found that day in the park.
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Shelley beach is on the Kaipara Harbour, the biggest and muddiest harbour in the world. Though having white shelled sand at the top end of the beach it soon turns to mud the closer one gets to the low tide mark. As usual I headed for that very wet sand while Garfy patrolled the dry. Ritchie hit the barked playground first, conveniently placed on the reserve just for him and the yelling I heard soon after was Ritchie first ever ring. Picture soon. See above left.
I too had success with my first dig. A jewelled crucifix on a chain with another pendant that later was determined could be gold.
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| Cross my Heart you beauty |
I then dug up a succession of washers, brass bits of boats, bolts, and the fugly iron lumps that could be anything. The mud was everywhere and my thought to wear gumboots was a good one. I might have ruined a tee shirt and some shorts though. That mud stinks.
My next find worth keeping was my last. I hit the playground looking for my 'Go Home' coin and managed a single dollar, my solitary coin of the night.
I certainly hope my Cobra Beach Magnet is waterproof as I definitely gave it a good test out there.
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| A Token effort |
Gareth it turned out had a cool find too. Well, two cool finds actually. Both the same. They were both shiny nickle tokens from Abberfield Industries. On further investigation I found the company provides 'Innovative solutions for revenue collecting equipment'. Based in NSW, Australia they have been in business for 47 years and they mint personalised tokens for companies for use in parking meters, vending machines and the like. There are three designs all different sizes for the full set of generic tokens. Outside of that there are a myriad of tokens the company has produced for others that look quite collectable. Cool huh.
Getting in on the Jewellery act Garfy managed to release a stainless steel pendant with a snazzy design from it's sandy prison. About inch and 'arf and quite heavy. The design look's like a Sonny Bill Williams tattoo, so lucky for Gareth that he found it before the twelth hour otherwise it might have been beaten flat.
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| Once owned by Bruce Lee |
Well done that man.
Richard meanwhile was coining it. His loaned Garrett Ace150 was the coin devourer of the night. He ended up with $6.80 plus the ring and a few old decimals. A happy lad.
We wound up at just after 1am and after washing ourselves and equipment down with a handily placed water hose we wendled our way home. Ritchie hit the sack but Garfy and I sat with a coffee to muse over the evenings events with our sore bleary old eyes trying valiantly to find a hall mark on my pendant and doing so, faint numbers!! At 2.15 it was 'Rose gold' and at 2.30am it was 'Russian Gold'. Hmmmm.
This morning though the numbers we saw through wearied eyes, were looked at through a huge magnifying glass and are indeed just scratches that mean SFA and it is not my first gold. But a nice find none the less. And of course the sparkly bits of the crucifix might be diamonds :). Not.
So another great night time adventure and Ritchie's first ring. Yet to find what type, it was gold and covered in jewels but is it the real thing. We will have another look when he comes over after work. Gareth has already called in and wants an afternoon sortie to somewhere yet unknown.
See you out there.
