Kitted out with plastic pans and wading gear, the group were up from Melbourne for a day of gold-panning.

Panning member Olly said the group of friends had found a few specks but nothing big enough to spark a gold rush.

“It’s a good area to come to, there’s some coarse specks in the creek,” he said.

“You’ve got to look for a while but there are small bits the old gold miners missed.”

With gold trading at about AU$1610 an ounce yesterday, Olly said every little bit was worth hanging on to.

“I usually get some small specks and melt them together myself, but it can take a while to collect enough worth melting down.”

Another panner, Hamish, said he’d been searching for gold since he was a child and had eventually found enough to make his wife’s wedding ring.

“There was about 30 to 40 years worth of specks I’d collected to melt down in the ring,” he said.

“I think my wife appreciated it.”

Hamish said the main attraction of gold panning was to get away in the bush and get some exercise.

“It’s all about just getting away and enjoying yourself,” he said.

“No one gets rich from this caper. But at the back of your mind there’s always that little bit of hope you might find something big.”

*The gold-panners requested the Bendigo Advertiser not print their surnames.