Camels and Gold on the Coast

It was an early start for the boys, who decided it was the day to tackle Mt Gulaga (formerly Dromedary) for their long run. Their plan involved a car shuffle, running up the southern side then back down the popular eastern side finishing in Tilba. While they were bushbashing having an adventure (read about it here or here) we opted for a walk with the kids to Camel Rock.

Our trail to Camel Rock began the same way we'd travelled for the previous two days adventures out towards Murunna Headland.  As we approached the point a text came through on my phone - with a photo of Rob at the trig on top of Mt Gulaga. The timing couldn't be better, as we pointed out the tall peak of Mt Gulaga to the kids where the Daddy's were. We promptly waved and sent a photo back too!

We turned south taking a little single track through the long grass, spotting a lone surfer out on break. As per normal there were various children having their moments but nothing really disastrous and we made good progress. The track wound its way through the melalucas with the occasional glimpses of the steep rocky cliffs and the waves crashing below.  At one of these windows we took the opportunity to stop for a well earnt break.

From here it was a short distance downhill with views overlooking Haywards Beach before arriving at the viewing platform. The kids glanced at Camel Rock before hunger took over and then the beach called! With a fierce breeze I had thought we wouldn't last long at the beach. I was proved wrong as the kids discovered a steep sand dune and subsequently played on it for nearly 40 minutes!

The hike home was shorter thanks to the cross country option we discovered. We arrived home for the first time minus wet nude children(!) to find that the Dad's had beaten us back.

After lunch and a few hours of playing/recovery time a quick spur of the moment decision saw us heading off to the Montreal Goldfields to see what they had to offer. Only a few kilometres down the road, we arrived for the 2pm tour. Our lot made up half of the tour group and we set off with the tour guide in the misty rain.

Over the next two hours mostly importantly we didn't manage to lose any children down the deep mine shafts but also we all learnt a thing or two about golding mining in this area. The Montreal gold rush began in 1880 when a Canadian by the name of Henry Williams discovered alluvial gold in the shingle on the beach. History states that within 3 weeks, the population of Bermagui rose from 5 families to 2000 miners!!

The Montreal Goldfields is an alluvial gold deposit. Originating from Gulaga, the gold was washed from the veins of the rocks and carried by the water along the ancient river towards the sea. Miners would obtain a licence for a 12 foot (3.6m) square area in which to mine. A rectangular shaft was dug to a depth of around 30 foot (9m) to the bed of the ancient stream. The thin coarse gravel layer, the wash zone, located at the base of the river bed is where the gold was deposited.

Miners would 'wash' this layer in a cradle to break up the clay and hope to discover the gold.  Within 4 months of finding gold the population of Montreal had dropped to 700 people with 400 of those mining for gold. Approximately 250kg of gold was found within this area, over a three year period, which in today's market would be worth $14 million!

The tour was capped off with the children testing their own prospecting skills using divining rods. Don't think that any of them were convinced...