When 29 year-old “tradie lady” Hayley isn’t painting ceilings or building decks, she’s out prospecting for gold with her two rainbow lorikeets. As our October Detectorist of the Month, Hayley shares how she started detecting – and why she hasn’t missed a single weekend out in over two years!

Who or what inspired you to get into detecting?

I’ve always been fascinated in history and finding relics, since discovering an old bottle dump at a hobby farm my family have. A friend invited me to a fossicking area in South Australia to try my luck one Saturday and here we are. I haven’t missed a weekend out in two years!

What prompted you to buy your first detector?

My mum bought me a basic metal detector around five years ago, and I became interested in metal detecting quite quickly after finding a few items with history.   Everyone loves the thought of finding someone’s lost treasure at some point in their life! What have I got to lose?!

When did you first use your Coiltek coil?

The first time I used a Coiltek GOLDHAWK, I was lucky enough to go prospecting at a friend’s private property. There they had a GPX 6000 with a 10×5” GOLDHAWK – and we found a fair few pieces of gold that day! That was it for me! I now use all three sizes of the GOLDHAWK.

How has detecting benefitted your lifestyle?

Whether you live for the working week or look forward to a weekend relaxing, metal detecting and gold prospecting for me personally benefits mental health, connecting with nature and wildlife, and of course finding that piece of gold that no other human has ever laid eyes on – not to mention the group of friends I’ve gained from this unique but very fulfilling hobby.

What advice would you give someone to get started?

My advice for someone wanting to start this unique hobby is to join some gold and relic Facebook groups that are relevant to your state and read some of our stories. If you have the patience and perseverance, gold and relics will come to anyone – you’ve just gotta give it a go!

What have been your best finds so far?

My most memorable find to date was a 2.7 gram nugget buried very deep under a tree root in the forest I go detecting in. It was the last target for the day, and I heard a little change in tone. I thought perhaps it was just my machine reacting with some EMI, but you never know. I scraped the surface anyway. It got louder and louder the deeper I dug. Then, GOLD! I was using the round 9” GOLDHAWK coil and the target was around 8 inches deep.