Open Ground
The Arrow River Diggings
Free public panning · Arrowtown, New Zealand
Open to digThe prize. Flakes of Otago gold
Where. Arrowtown, New Zealand
Status. Open to dig
Where. Arrowtown, New Zealand
Status. Open to dig
The account
The Arrow River at Arrowtown ran so thick with gold in the 1860s that you can still pan it free today, a flake or two for an afternoon's work.
Leads, where the trail points now
- What you can keep: Flakes of Otago gold. Confirm the site's current rules and any day fee before you go.
- Where: Arrowtown, New Zealand. Search only the marked legal area, and bring the right pan, screen, or detector and a container for finds.
- Best practice: record anything notable, leave the ground as you found it, and check the latest access notices before you travel.
Open ground. You can legally search here and keep what you find, within the rules the site posts. Bring any day fee or licence it asks for.
The full hunt kit is in the fellowship
The starting brief, the gear, the legal picture for this exact ground, and a GPS chart pack you can load and go. The map stays free.
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