𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐇 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐒

20/04/2024

Last weekend, I took the kids up to the Turon River for a gold fossicking adventure! 🌟 It was a picture-perfect day with sparkling waters, blue skies 🌞, perfect temps, and thankfully, not a snake in sight 🐍 (phew!). I showed the kids how to spot the best gold-hiding spots — inside bends of the river, behind big rocks, snuggled in tree roots, and a few other secret tips. They dove in like pros! 🕵️‍♂️🕵️‍♀️

After they each filled a few buckets, I taught them how to use the river sluice. This gave them a well-deserved break from all that digging. They looked pretty proud handling the 'big machinery'!

Lunch time rolled around, so we refueled with a yummy BBQ lunch of snags right by the river — nothing beats the great outdoors with a side of sizzling sausages! 🌭 Post-lunch, it was back to our feverish gold rush, washing more cons down the sluice to find the treasures. The day’s haul? A sparkling collection of the shiny yellow stuff! 💰 The Turon really does deliver.

Exhausted but excited, we ended our big day with a sweet treat — the best homemade ice cream at Annie’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlour in Bathurst 🍦. It’s on the corner of George and Church St if you're ever in the mood for a scoop (or two!).

What a top-notch day! Can’t wait for our next river adventure. 🚣‍♂️🧭

04/03/2024

🎉🏞️🔍 Gold Rush Alert in the Bush Blokes Camp! 🏞️🎉

Ladies and Gents, gather 'round as I spin you a yarn of adventure, gold, and the legendary Bush Blokes! Our very own James has officially caught the "yellow fever", and no, we're not talking about the tropical virus. After frolicking in the Windburndale and Turon rivers near Bathurst with nothing but hopes and dreams (and a few specs of gold to show for it), James and Andrew decided it was time to up their game in the gold prospecting world. While Andrew's been serenading the earth with his Minelab Gold Monster 1000 metal detector, James just got his hands on the "El Dorado" of sluices, the A52 model from Keene Engineering, Inc., all thanks to the fine folks at Reeds Prospecting.

Let's talk about this beauty for a sec - the A52 sluice by Keene Engineering is not just any sluice. It's the Indiana Jones of sluices - adventurous, reliable, and a looker. Crafted from lightweight aluminum and designed for the modern-day prospector, this 50" long masterpiece - nearly as tall as James - is like the Swiss Army knife of gold catching. With its wider flare for increased flow, longer body for greater capacity, and a detachable flare for those tight spots, it's no wonder this sluice is the talk of the rivers. And let's not forget, it's dressed to impress with a custom double ribbed carpet and expanded zinc plated steel for that top-notch gold retention.

So, as James sets off with his A52, freshly acquired from the gold-lover's paradise at Reeds Prospecting in Perth, we can't help but wonder: how much of that shiny yellow stuff will the Bush Blokes be bragging about next? Will the A52 be their golden ticket to prosperity, or just another tool in their ever-growing arsenal of gold hunting gadgets? Only time will tell, but one thing's for sure - the Bush Blokes are on a quest, and nothing's going to stop them now, not with the world's number one selling sluice in their hands.

Stay tuned for more tales of the Bush Blokes and their golden adventures. Will they strike it rich, or will they just have a blast trying? Either way, we're here for it! 💰🌈🍀

12/02/2024

🌲🪙 "Gumboot Diaries: The Bush Blokes' Turon Gold Quest! 🌟

👋 G'day, adventurers! The Bush Blokes are at it again, diving boot-first into the wilds of Turon State Forest, NSW, for a gold panning escapade that's more golden than a sunrise on a bushman's beard! 🌅

This episode isn't just about panning for that elusive yellow bling (though we do snag a few glittering specks! ✨). It's a full-blown adventure saga, where 'just a bit better than nothing' becomes a treasure trove of laughs and memories. 🎒💰

Strap on your gumboots and join us as we trek through Turon's rugged beauty, hunting for the next big find. But wait, there's a twist! We stumble upon a "side adventure" that's as unexpected as finding a koala in your kitchen! 🐨🍳

🎥 Watch our latest video for a wild ride through the bush, complete with gold dust, bushcraft, and a healthy dose of hillbilly shenanigans. It's an adventure you won't want to miss – unless you're allergic to fun... or koalas.

👉 Dive into the adventure here: https://youtu.be/V3JGRdDwLDg

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🌲🪙 "Gumboot Diaries: The Bush Blokes' Turon Gold Quest! 🌟👋 G'day, adventurers! The Bush Blokes are at it again, diving boot-first into the wilds of Turon...

21/01/2024

🌿🪙 Bush Blokes' Gold Panning Adventure at Sunny Corner!

Hey everyone! 👋 We just got back from an incredible trip to Sunny Corner in NSW, where history and adventure meet. 🏞️ This place isn't just a scenic state forest; it's a treasure trove from the gold rush days!

We tried our luck at gold panning, armed with our trusty Dream Mat Adventure Sluice. 🌊 This little gadget is a game-changer for gold prospecting, especially when you're hiking deep into the bush. 🎒

Though we didn't strike it rich, the gold flakes we found were worth their weight in memories. 💛

🎥 Check out our latest YouTube video to see every step of our journey, from navigating through the rough trails of Sunny Corner to the thrill of finding gold. You don't want to miss this!

👉 https://youtu.be/qAdIN75HjQs

Join the Bush Blokes on an exhilarating gold panning adventure at Sunny Corner in NSW, a place steeped in mining history. Tucked away in the ranges between B...

31/12/2023

Hi everyone!
I'm super thrilled to share something special with you all – my very own creation, the Naismith's Rule Calculator app. As the Scout Leader at 1st Blackheath Scout Group - and one half of the Bush Blokes - plus with a lifetime of adventures in the Blue Mountains, I've always been all about making hiking fun and safe. While Naismith's Rule has been a go-to for hike planning, I wanted to give it a modern, user-friendly twist, and voila – this app was born!
This isn't just another app. It's a fusion of my years of hiking experience, navigation know-how, and a sprinkle of tech magic. Whether you're just starting out or you're a seasoned hiker, this app makes hike planning a piece of cake. It calculates your hike time based on distance, climb, descent, and adjusts for different trail grades. Plus, it's super easy to use, so you can spend less time planning and more time enjoying the great outdoors. Best of all, it's completely free and without any of those annoying ads!
I'm stoked for you all to try it out. It's available on the Apple App Store, so give it a go and let me know what you think! Here's the link to get you started: [Naismith's Rule Calculator](https://apps.apple.com/.../naismiths-rule.../id6475137430...). Let's make those hiking adventures even more epic!
And if you find the app useful, please rate and review - as it really helps get the word out.
Cheers,
James Robinson 🌲🥾🏕️

16/09/2023

It's been a while since we posted our adventures, so here are some images from our exploring today.
We first trekked into Ngula Bulgarabang Regional Park, formerly Radiata Plateau, at Katoomba. We were trying to find a path down to what seems an awesome cave overlooking the Megalong Valley, but alas we couldn't find a safe route during today's trip, despite several off-track diversions. Next time we'll try from the north.
Our second trek for the day was a wander around the back of the Hydro Majestic Hotel at Medlow Bath. The Cave House was an interesting find. There are so many interesting tracks behind the Hydro; all worth an explore.
Snake sightings for the day = 1 - a baby black snake about 70cm's long.

03/07/2022

The current heavy rainfall in Sydney is a boon for the waterfalls in the Upper Blue Mountains. We took a look at Mermaids Cave this morning and weren’t disappointed!

16/01/2022

We explored the wilds of North Katoomba yesterday and went way off-track in search of the elusive Jersey Falls.

We were able to get to the same elevation as the upper cascade of the falls but couldn’t find a pass down to get under it. The scrub was very thick and hard going - and quite exhausting, especially the hanging swamp sections.

On the photo with the purple and yellow lines; the purple was our actual track - we were so close - and the yellow is what we propose as our route next time.

We eventually had to cut our losses. To get out we headed due east for a while, towards Minnehaha Falls, the SSE towards the Minnehaha car park, till we hit the sewer pipeline track, and crossed the creek, and then up to the Minnehaha track, where we bumped into our friend Sean, who was on the way down to the Minnehaha swimming hole.

And ain’t it interesting what you find in the bush. As we came down the pipeline track, just at the creek, we found an old boat. 1) how odd, 2) how did it get here?

Anyway, we got back to the Minnehaha picnic park, had a rest break and hiked back to the car.

All up 5km, but 3km of it was very rugged, steep, and thick scrub. We only averaged a tad over 1km/h.

So next time we’ll try a different route to get under the upper falls.

09/05/2021

Defender + Patriot Camper - WIN IT! CLICK HERE!

28/02/2021

We went for a brunch bushwalk to the start of the Grose River in Mount Victoria. We found a very old track and thought let’s follow that. Along the way we kept finding cairns along the way, which we found rather curious.

On arriving at the river - well at this point a creek - we found that there were bolts and draws on the cliff face, so clearly it’s an old climbing area. I say old as there was no chalk marks on the cliff and the base was quite overgrown.

We then decided to go off-track and bash our way back to the car - which was a bunch of fun.

26/02/2021

The Bush Blokes arent always about camping or getting out canoeing or driving or anything like that, we can also take a short couple of km hike to appreciate the pink flannel flowers.
These ones are in Mount Victoria and wow are they spectacular.

12/02/2021

Behind the Hydro Majestic Hotel in Medlow Bath, NSW, are some great little-used tracks. Some lead down to Megalong Valley, and some follow down under the cliff line. This video is me (𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐇 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐊𝐄 James) huffing and puffing to get to an amazing section called the Colosseum.
The Colosseum was found, and better established with stone walls and steps, by Mark Foy, the bloke who built the Hydro back in 1904. Back then, gentlemen and ladies in their big white dresses and parasols would stroll down to the Colosseum for morning tea and to take in the little waterfall.
But now it's quite hard to get to as a few years back there was a massive landslide behind the Hydro that destroyed part of the track to the Colosseum making it impossible to pass. To get to it now, you need to bash through some quite thick steep bush along a different rough track - hence me huffing and puffing. But after that effort, you come to this huge, secluded, and peaceful spot. Well worth it.