Original subtitles

Isn't this totally insane? It is utterly beautiful.

So, we are in the most expensive suburb of Western Australia.

It's a place called Peppermint Grove.

I'm reliably told that, actually, this area,

the locals call it the Golden Triangle

because the suburbs are just crazy wealthy.

And you can see that the houses are enormous,

the boats are massive, private jetties, the works.

And what's interesting, I suppose, for me, is the idea

that this is one of the most isolated capital cities in the world.

So, I think it does beg the question, where is this wealth coming from?

And, actually, my understanding is,

if you strike gold in the desert, you're laughing.

So, listen, the plan is, I'm heading 300 miles that way.

I'm going into the Goldfields...

I've never been anywhere like this before, actually,

and I've travelled extensively. ...to find my own lump of gold.

And, listen, it's my birthday. I'm 39 today.

So, if anybody deserves to find a lump of gold, surely it's me.

Get myself a nice house.

Want to get away from it all?

I mean, really get away from it all...

This is bonkers.

Whoo!

...where the people think a little differently...

The most dangerous thing on a beach in North Queensland

isn't the crocodiles.

It's a coconut, cos that could fall on you.

...and life isn't exactly lived in the slow lane...

Ooh!

...more like no lane at all.

Never in my life did I think that I would be steering a chopper

over the Australian desert.

You have to get yourself to Australia.

This is the most wholesome thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

I have revelled in the rugged and the glorious landscapes.

Go. Push in... now. Oh, my...

Let's do it differently.

SHE SHRIEKS

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I love you, Australia!

This is Australia as few get to see her.

Come with me.

Stacey Dooley's Australia: Off The Beaten Track.

Australia's west has some seriously big money knocking about,

and much of that wealth is dug straight out of the ground.

Western Australia is loaded with minerals,

like iron ore, lithium and, of course, gold.

For more than a century,

dreamers and fortune-hunters have travelled here

from all over the world to strike it rich.

And when I heard there was gold in them hills,

I thought, "Dooley, let's see if we can get amongst it."

So, I am en route to Kalgoorlie.

I really hope I'm pronouncing that correctly,

else I'll have Australians cursing the telly.

But I'm going to go and search for this gold.

I actually thought it was going to be, like, a bigger, busier train.

There's literally two carriages and the journey's seven hours.

So, yeah, wish me luck.

Seven hours, and I'll still be in Western Australia.

It's time to get comfy.

This train runs between Perth and Kalgoorlie,

"Karlkurla" to its traditional custodians,

in the heart of the Goldfields.

While many people know this region for gold,

its story stretches back tens of thousands of years

through the culture and connection of indigenous peoples.

And on board for the epic trip is a real mix of tourists,

locals and people chasing their fortune, like me.

Hi. Hi. How are you? I'm good. How are you?

I'm good, ta, yeah. Thank you. What's your name?

Juanita. That's a pretty name. I'm Stacey. Thank you.

Lovely to meet you, Stacey. Likewise. Nice to meet you.

So, this is my first time ever being in Australia.

Oh, wow! And my first time taking a train in Australia.

You're heading home? You're...? I am heading home,

heading back home to Kalgoorlie... OK. ..to the red dirt.

So, what? You were home just visiting pals?

Just visiting the kids and the grandbabies.

Having a little birthday trip, actually, home for the weekend.

It's your birthday? Yeah. Today? Yeah.

It's MY birthday today. No way! No, I'm deadly...

I'm completely serious. That's crazy.

Babe, yes. Well, there you go. That's a good sign. Yeah, yeah.

Aw! And maybe it's a good sign that you're going have some luck

in Kalgoorlie as well.

Well, listen, there's something called beginner's luck, no?

There is, absolutely. Yeah.

Absolutely, much to the frustration of many lifelong prospectors,

who will take someone out with a detector

and then find that the newbie pulls out a piece of gold.

I could do with that. Yeah, look...

Really, honestly, I could do with that little nugget.

The price of gold is making it well worth it at the moment.

Kalgoorlie's gold rush kicked off in the 1890s,

and the promise of striking it rich drew people from all over the world -

China, Europe, Ireland and, of course, us Brits.

They talk about gold fever and gold sickness.

Some people get so sort of obsessed with the gold.

Must be addictive. Yeah, yeah.

Lots of stories about friends who are no longer friends,

cos they've gone out together and someone's found a nugget

and then, someone's ended up down a mineshaft

or someone's, you know, stolen it from someone.

And I believe Kalgoorlie's the only place in the world

that has the gold police,

because the gold stealing is such a big thing,

so they have a designated police department.

Hilarious. Yeah. Wow.

This is nuts. I'm still only halfway across this massive state,

let alone the country.

Kalgoorlie is a town that was built on risk, hard work

and the promise of something more,

where people hope to make their dream

of a mansion in Peppermint Grove come true.

Welcome to Kalgoorlie. Oh, Carrie, thank you.

Carrie North runs one of the many pubs in town.

On our way, she's giving me the grand tour.

So, Carrie, listen, you'll be surprised to hear

that this is my first time in Kalgoorlie.

Well, it's not a huge surprise. I mean, what brought you here?

Well, the mines, pretty much. It's just the money.

Cos the money's huge, you know.

Like, everyone's probably on a minimum of 100 grand each.

The miners? Yeah, well, that's even... Entry level is 100,000.

Great. It's insane money.

I know plenty of young people in the UK who would pack up

and come here in an instant to get amongst that coin.

So, this is Hannan Street, which is the main drag. OK.

So, this is our illustrious shopping precinct.

Listen, a high street's a high street.

You know, it's really cool to see a high street that is still here

because most of the towns all had these but, then, you know,

the big supermarkets turn up and they bulldoze all of that

and take away all the history.

Cos there's so much history around the town.

Some of the pubs, they're built in the late 1800s.

Well, yeah. So, isn't it true

that they first found gold here in the late 1800s?

Yes. Yep. So, Paddy Hannon, and he found it.

And then, they had... Was he an Aussie or Irish? No, he was Irish.

Paddy Hannon didn't just discover gold.

He found the richest square mile on Earth, known as the Golden Mile.

Is it fair to say everyone that lives here,

directly or indirectly, they're involved with the gold...

Yes. ..they're involved with the mines? Yeah.

Everything here is to support that. I mean, even my pub,

that's just to keep people occupied. Yeah.

And here it is. This is one massive hole, the Super Pit.

Those little trucks carry tons of dirt each,

which may only offer a tiny bit of gold.

The scale is staggering.

There is a theory that there's more gold

underneath the town of Kalgoorlie than there is in the pit.

So, I don't know how true that is,

or whether it's just a conspiracy theory or whatever.

We need to start digging tunnels. Yeah. We need to grab a spade.

The Super Pit's got over 1,000 people working there

and churns out hundreds of thousands of ounces of gold every year,

and we're waiting to see a blast go off any second now.

I have never in my life seen a gold blast,

so I'm actually very excited.

But it is a treat to see the pit.

Like, you know, it's not every day you see a super pit, right?

No. And I think it's one of the largest man-made holes

that you can see from space.

So, next time you fly up to the moon, have a look down.

Yeah, next time I'm up there. I'll do some flashing lights for you,

so you know it's us. Carrie!

Who knew blowing up bits of earth could become a tourist attraction?

Hiya. Are you waiting for the boom?

Are you waiting for the blast? Oh, no. Oh, no. OK.

We thought it was one o'clock, yeah. OK. OK.

EXPLOSION Yay!

Oh, look, we missed it! Oh, my God, no!

Oh, my God. Did you see that?

Trust that. There you go, guys. I am an idiot.

Stood here for ages, waiting for the blast. There's another one at 5.30.

Well, I've got the gist of it now, ain't I?

THEY LAUGH

Well, good thing our director, Jake, got it.

Pubs are the beating heart of towns like this.

I'm excited. So, this is my little bar. Not so little.

Just look at this place. It's totally packed.

The Rec or Recreation Hotel is an institution

dating back to the gold rush days.

If it didn't happen here, it didn't happen in Kalgoorlie.

And then, we've got some larrikins over here

for you to chat to, including our Bluey.

Now, Bluey has lived next door for 63 years.

Bluey, how are you? I'm Stacey. I'm so pleased to get to meet you.

I've heard so much about you. Yeah, bad?

No, all good. OK. So, you've lived here for over 60 years? Yes.

Wow. I'd say, "I'm going home."

They said, "Where are you going?"

I said, "I'm going home, I live there."

It'll take you, what, 30 seconds to get home?

I used to jump the fence one time, but now, I go through the gate.

Perfect! Yeah. Perfect.

I've just noticed this. Yes, we just go...

If anyone's sitting here and he comes in,

they must vacate. That is so iconic. Wow!

I've been here a long time, love. I see that, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I suppose, if anyone can flex this, it's you.

I never drank beer till I got married.

Well, listen, lots of people would echo that, I'm sure.

Yeah. Women included, actually. Yeah.

How long have you been married? 63...64 years.

My gosh! Yeah, 64 years, yeah.

That's incredible. You know, I saw them one day out the front.

Fay's over the fence, and Bluey's standing on the other side,

and the look of love between them, oh, it melted my heart.

It made me believe in love again.

And do you come to the pub every day?

Every day, twice a day. Twice a day? Yeah.

Maybe that's why you've survived, cos you're out the house so much.

So, do you want to come in and I'll show you how to pour a beer?

Yeah. And we can serve some people. Let me get Bluey a beer.

Do you know how to pour a beer? Do I know how to pour a pint?!

Oh, I don't know. Bluey! Let's go this way.

Aussies and cold beer go hand in hand in this town.

It's hot, thirsty work, digging your fortune.

This one will be for Blue. OK. So, straight on. It's like a flick.

I feel pressured because you're stood right there. I won't watch.

Not too bad.

A little bit of overspill, but not too bad. Are you happy with that?

I'm very happy with that. I'm a bit rusty.

It's been... What am I? It's probably been 20-odd years.

Yeah, right. Well, you did bloody well.

Let me give this to Bluey. It's like riding a bike.

Yeah, once you know, you know. You know, you know.

This is for Bluey. There you go. That's not bad, eh?

You've done this before. I've done this before.

Have you? Yeah. Yeah, my nan had pubs.

Listen, I genuinely loved working behind the bar.

Like, it is such a great gig. I loved it.

I used to work Christmas Day for my mum when I was tiny.

I would have been this big. And I used to have to make sure

all the Oranginas were facing the same way.

I had a little paintbrush. I'd go round cleaning the ashtrays out.

It was my happy space. I loved it.

I never thought I'd feel so at home.

What a great place to celebrate my birthday in Australia,

especially seeing as I'm over 9,000 miles away from home

back in Liverpool.

♪ Happy birthday to you... ♪ Oh, my word.

♪ Happy birthday to Stacey

♪ Happy birthday to you. ♪

Carrie!

I have never, in my life, had a gold mining cake.

That is so, so thoughtful. Thank you so much.

Carrie, you're an angel. Is there gold in this cake?

There so is, like, a great big nugget.

STACEY LAUGHS

I have had 39 birthdays, and this is certainly up there.

I'm actually so touched, do you know what I mean?

Because she came to pick me up from the train station.

There'd been a couple of phone calls,

but you never really know if you're going to hit it off.

Oh, my God! That is so good.

So, the plan for tomorrow is

I'm going to go further north, Leonora.

I'm going to go meet a married couple

who are, like, super keen prospectors.

And as I said, I'm feeling lucky. No, I am.

They call Kalgoorlie the heart of the Goldfields region

in Western Australia,

and now, it's my turn to get amongst the gold

and buy my way into Perth's ritzy Peppermint Grove.

Liz and Greg are prospectors

who've secured a lease in the desert and are trying their luck,

and they've agreed to show me the ropes.

So, this morning, the plan is

Greg and Liz are going to come and pick me up,

and then, I think it's a bit of a drive.

We're heading towards Leonora.

I say that with such certainty, like I'm so familiar...

...with the geography of Australia.

How am I going to survive in the outback?

I can't even do this case up.

Ta-da!

Right.

OK.

Wish me luck.

Hiya. Hello. Hello. You must be Greg.

Yes. Greg, I'm sorry, I brought the rain.

You did. I brought the British weather.

Yes. Thanks for having me. That's good, no.

Hello, Stacey. This is Liz. Hi, Liz. How are you, Liz? Not too bad.

This is Sookie. Sookie. Hi, Sookie. How's things?

Hey. Hello! Magic, all right.

Classic. They said, "Watch out for the heat,"

and, of course, it's raining.

This is pretty exciting. We're heading a few hours north

into the red dirt to Liz and Greg's place.

Leonora, here I come! I can't wait to see how you live.

Yeah, she's nothing flash. Nothing flash. But it works for us.

It's a basic prospectors' camp and we built it ourself.

There was nothing there when we went there.

Just what? Empty land? Yeah. Really, Greg? Yeah. Wow.

There was just nothing there.

And what is it about the basic living that you find so appealing?

It's simple. The simplicity is what you love? Yeah. Yeah.

It's just simple. There's no-one to hassle you.

You don't have any neighbours.

You're there by yourself most of the time.

You don't... It's quiet.

No traffic, no police sirens, ambulances screaming around.

The city life wouldn't be for you. Yeah. It's nice to go to the cities,

but we usually go, "Yeah, OK, let's go to Perth for the weekend,"

or "Let's go to Geraldton," or something.

And we're there for two or three days. "Nah, let's go home."

This is the Australia I always imagined -

glorious long roads that go on to an endless horizon.

Have you ever been to England? No. No.

Have you, Liz? No. No. I've never been overseas at all.

Greg's been to Singapore, but I've never been.

You've never left Australia? Never had any desire to.

You don't fancy it? No. Liz!

I haven't seen half of my own country.

On the way to Liz and Greg's lease in Leonora

is an abandoned gold mining town, Gwalia.

One day it was bustling, the next day, it was bust.

This is, yeah, um...

...incredibly remote, no?

You can imagine this, back in the very late 1800s,

this was a booming town in the middle of pretty much nowhere.

So, what? This is where the miners would have lived?

Yes. Yeah. There was 250 workers at the mine,

which is pretty much right behind that hill,

which you can actually see into the pit, massive big pit there.

The workers, they lived here.

Total population was about 1,200 here at the time.

Declining gold prices pretty much shut the place down in 1963,

and it went pretty much overnight from 1,200 down to 40 people.

Yeah, they just abandoned it.

Some of these huts, you walk in and have a look at them,

it's just like they've just closed the door and walked away.

It was pretty much what they did. Yeah, I mean, it makes sense.

If there's no gold, there's no use being here. No, that's right. Yep.

SOOKIE WHIMPERS

I'm going to go in. Yeah, have a look.

You can go first in case there's any boogeymen. I know, this is it.

LAUGHTER

Greg! If I get attacked, it's on your head.

This is unbelievable, guys.

Look at this. This would have been a bed.

This is crazy.

I've got one of those beds at my camp. You have?

Yeah. Oh, I look forward to trying it out.

Yeah, some of these miners had, like, nine or ten kids,

so you can just imagine all being cramped in here and...

Liz, none of this is staged? This is all...

No. No, this is real. Legit? Oh, yeah. Absolutely real.

Yep, 100% real. So, you know, in the 1920s,

he would have been making his dinner with this.

Yep, he probably would have had a... yeah, rabbit stew

or whatever they could find, yeah.

Yeah, there's plenty of rabbits here.

It's mind-blowing to see how volatile life is out here.

It's so isolated.

And on this red dirt, we're properly off the beaten track now.

Oh.

We're here. That was a long old journey. Oh, finally here.

People get bitten by the gold bug. They come out here to lease land

from the government so they can mine it,

and they can keep any gold they find.

So, here we are, my new home for a bit.

So, it's all outdoors living, really. Sort of really is, yeah.

Beautiful. This is the dining space? Yes. Yeah?

Can I have a tour, Greg? You can. This is our kitchen. Yeah, lovely.

Right.

It's simple, it's well constructed, but how on earth

did they build this out here in the middle of nowhere?

And you would have put all this up yourself.

That's quite impressive. Yeah.

I can't even put, you know, a shelf up. I really can't.

My boyfriend's no good either. This door...

Not that you can see much. It's a bit dark.

Where that light is out there, that's our toilet, flushing toilet.

A long walk to spend a penny.

I've got to remember this because my sense of direction, Greg, is awful,

and if I need a wee in the middle of the night,

I don't want to get lost.

Right there. Just... Oh, yes. Yeah, yeah. It's fine, isn't it?

There won't be snakes or whatever. Yeah, yeah. No, that's fine. No, OK.

Just be careful. It's a bit wet.

Great. Thank you so much. Oh, you're a dream. Thank you.

"Please keep the toilet lid closed. It keeps out frogs and snakes."

This is our caravan. That's where we sleep.

Oh, I see, yeah. Am I allowed to look inside?

Yeah, you can have a look, yeah.

Oh, wow!

Before you became a full-time prospector... Mm-hmm.

...you lived in a house... Yeah. ...on a street in a suburb? Yep.

Well, I guess if you want the swanky house and luxury boat,

you've got to make some sacrifices.

Greg and Liz have a couple of mates living on the lease, Kim and Owen,

who are also making the most of what the land has to offer.

Liz!

This looks...

I just hope that meat's still warmish enough. ..knock-out.

Liz and Greg are fabulous hosts and they've got a great setup here.

I'm feeling very at home, actually. Beautiful roaring fire,

they've got pals round, Greg's given me the tour,

hot water, going to have a swag.

I'm laughing, yeah.

Where am I going to be sleeping? Wherever you like. Take your pick!

So, it's dark, we're in the middle of nowhere,

the nearest humans are miles away, and I'll be sleeping in a swag.

And I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

It's freezing! Oh, my...

Can I tell you something? I've been sold a lie.

All these years... SHE LAUGHS

...I was promised sunshine, heat.

I'm gonna go here.

Oh.

Right, listen.

I am a capable woman. This is going to be no hassle.

I've been camping before,

but I don't actually think I've ever had a swag.

I believe it's like a luxe sleeping bag,

so you can zip yourself in...

...and the dingoes, snakes...

...they won't get you.

So, look, this is where my head goes.

Oh, you're joking.

This a wind-up? SHE LAUGHS

I'm going to have to get Greg.

Greg? Yep, coming.

Greg to the rescue.

Last night's bed in the Rec Hotel is feeling a million miles away.

There you go. Brilliant. Greg, you're a dream.

No problem. Go and finish your beer.

I know what you're thinking - it's such a treat to be able to see

a pro in her natural sort of habitat.

SHE LAUGHS

OK, fine.

I'll see you in the morning...

...hopefully.

Night.

The Goldfields is proper Australian desert -

roasting hot during the day, freezing at night.

And you know, long before the days of the gold rush,

indigenous people not only survived, but they thrived on this harsh land.

SNORING

SIZZLING

SNORING CONTINUES

SOOKIE WHINES

SOOKIE BARKS

Morning. I have literally, just this second, opened my eyes

and it's a joy to see you. I slept brilliantly, but it was cold.

I had to go and get another spare blanket.

But that's all behind me, because today is the day

I get to have a go at striking it rich.

The very thought of it is warming me up.

Greg and Liz have promised a solid day of dry blowing.

Wish me luck, Liz. Good luck.

I'm not entirely sure what that entails.

Greg says there are mine shafts left over from the old-timers,

which I reckon could signal there's gold around.

I'll just take you over and show you roughly where it was.

Well, already, I feel disorientated. GREG LAUGHS

It's just there.

That hole there was a shaft.

So, back in the 1800s, people would have been here.

Yes. Yeah, there would have been somebody camped

under one of these trees somewhere. No way.

We found gold all through here. Oh, yeah?

Yeah, well, this has all been dug up.

The conditions are, when you have a lease, a mining lease,

a prospecting lease, you can dig the ground up,

but you must smooth it all back over again.

OK. It's called a rehabilitation,

and this is basically what we've done here.

We've just rehabbed it. And the mines department are quite happy

with what we've done here.

So, this is all your land? Yeah. Wow.

You obviously know your way back.

Oh, yeah. Point me anywhere in here, and I know exactly where we are.

This is all our equipment here. Wow. Yeah, it's...

And that's the dry blower? Yes, that's the dry blower.

This big machine uses air to sift the lighter dirt

and reveal the heavier gold.

See the floor up here is moving?

That's OK. WHIRRING

It's noisy. Now, I want to pick up some dirt and drop into the top.

Got you. Yeah. Now, when you do that,

make sure you're standing downwind. OK. Otherwise, you'll end up filthy.

I don't know how to know when it's downwind.

Wind's blowing that way. OK. So, we'll stand over here.

The idea that there could be

nuggets of gold in the basket of that digger is wild.

And I guess, to make the money,

you've got to spend the money on this kind of machinery.

I think I could do that.

I mean, I'm sure there's an element of skill to it.

Yeah, it's just getting it coordinated right.

Yeah. Yeah, just...

Yeah, yeah. GREG LAUGHS

It's a wonder Greg has agreed to let me behind the wheel

of this big, expensive digger.

But don't worry, Greg is sticking to my side, so I'm in safe hands.

Are you coming in with me? Yes, I certainly am.

All right.

Put your foot on the brake. The little red switch, that's...

Goes forward. That goes forward, and that one goes backwards.

Just turn it this way.

Right. Whoopsie. Yep. Now, just go reverse.

- Reverse? - Yep. Go backwards, yep. REVERSE INDICATORS BEEP

My boyfriend will find this hilarious, Greg,

cos I'm such a terrible driver.

Righty ho, stop there. Where am I going, by the way?

Just go down between these two trees here. Oh, OK.

Don't run my buggy over. No, I don't want to.

I can't afford to replace any of this posh equipment.

I haven't got enough Aussie dollars with me.

There you go. Straighten it up. Yep, there you go, straight through.

It feels funny cos it doesn't steer like a car. Whoops. Turn this way.

Have you got good life insurance, Greg?

HE CHUCKLES

Not too bad, actually.

Once you get used to it, it's quite easy. Yeah.

Turns out I'm not too bad behind the wheel.

But I don't think I'll make my fortune with this lot.

What about that, Liz? Pretty good. Not too shabby.

I could come as work experience. Yeah, yeah.

Righty ho, we're going to show you how the detector goes.

This bit, I'm very excited about.

Greg's machine approach is great, but very dusty.

I reckon the way Liz searches for gold might be more my speed.

OK. You just put that belt on. Look at this.

Thanks, Liz. So, it's that higher pitch you're after, isn't it? Yes.

DETECTOR WHINES

HIGHER PITCH Oh, guys!

Found the loader. That's the loader. I've found something.

No, that's the loader. Oh!

LAUGHTER

Yeah, they're pretty... They're pretty... What a plonker!

They're pretty sensitive. What a plonker!

DETECTOR WHINES

You hear all the rumours, Liz... Mm.

...and it's, like, oh, there was a period

where you would just stumble over a nugget.

That is true. '80s, early '90s, it was like that.

Just tripping over it. You'd just trip over it.

"Oh, I went to the toilet and my dog was running around the bush

"and come back, running back to me

"with a big lump of gold in its mouth."

And you hear it all the time. So, they're probably true.

The gold is still out there, big gold.

You've just got to find it, walk over it.

Liz assures me this land has never been explored for gold,

and I'm the first to have a go at it with a metal detector.

This is real, folks. I might strike it rich.

I have got the fever. I've caught the bug. Although...

...I am so impatient, I know if I don't find a nugget

in about ten minutes, my prospecting career will be over.

This plot of land is huge, 145 hectares.

That's about 200 football pitches.

So, what are the chances of me actually finding gold?

HIGHER PITCH Oh!

What have we found? Here we go.

Woohoo! You listen for the loudest point,

which is probably about there. About there.

So, I would be... Shall I dig here?

Yeah, I'd be looking probably in this area here.

OK. No problem.

You grab your pick... Yeah. ...and then, just put it on there

and just scrape, scrape the top stuff off to start with. Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Yep, that'll do for now. Yep, now... I can see some gold. Really?

Oh, hello. Here we go. Could life be about to change?

No. Oh. No. Oh, there's yellow rocks here called limonite.

Yeah, they look so much like gold.

Oh! Oh, hang on a minute. No. What about that?

No. Oh. You'll see it when you see it.

OK. We're on a bit of a hill. It's windy. Can I give you that?

My hair's going to get in the way, but... Oh, well.

Oh, imagine it was that. Oh, it'd be nice.

Oh, my...

Is that it? No.

You probably won't see it initially

because it'll be all covered in dirt. Oh, I see. Yeah.

Limonite. Limonite.

Oh, this is painstaking, isn't it?

Hang on. A-ha!

Really? Where?

I've found a bit.

Oh, my God! Oh, check that out!

SHE SQUEALS How good is that?

Oh, I'm made up with that. Wow, wow!

I am absolutely thrilled with that.

That's an awesome piece.

LAUGHTER

Woohoo!

Shall we weigh it, Liz?

Amazing. I'm not sure there's enough gold to retire on,

but there's only one way to find out.

I can't believe it.

I didn't think it would happen that quickly. No. No.

There you go. There you go.

0.501. Half-grammer, wow! Half a grammer.

Awesome. That's 150 bucks. Yeah.

Stop! Yeah, yeah. It's true. 150 bucks? Yeah. Yeah.

Awesome! Where can I cash it? In Kalgoorlie, probably.

What am I gonna buy, Liz? Woohoo! LAUGHTER

Do you know what? This probably pays for my accommodation.

I am absolutely blown away. That is awesome.

I can totally see how this becomes addictive.

I wonder if there's more. Quite possibly.

I've just made $150. And you've only been here five minutes.

I know. Basically, this morning, we've identified a location.

Yes. Yes. And so, now, for the next few days,

the next couple of weeks, you guys will focus on this patch.

Yes, we will, yes.

And that's basically what we do all around the whole lease. Yeah.

We find the gold and then concentrate on that bit.

Once we've got all the gold, then we move on to the next bit.

I can't believe it.

And for all you sceptics out there, this is 100% a genuine find.

They won't believe it, will they?

I found gold.

You'd better take me back to camp before I find all the gold.

LAUGHTER Put you back on your plane.

You'll have nothing left. That's pretty cool.

And they're very generously letting me keep it. What a pair!

I thought I was going to the outback.

And I can't tell you, Liz, they were, like,

"You have to be prepared. There might not be any water.

"There might not be any electricity.

"You might have a generator for an hour."

I've found gold, and now I'm having a hot cuppa.

Beginner's luck? It is a thing.

So, what we have learnt from this morning

is that I'm exceptional at prospecting.

It's a treat to sort of see it all play out in real time.

You know, it's evident. Greg, Liz, they love this.

Like, this is what makes them tick.

Like, this is what it's all about for them.

So, the idea that I am sort of able to tag along

and see things for myself, that's exciting.

Finding gold is possible in the right place

with the right people, but it's a slow, exhausting process,

so that's it for today.

Let's go. No wheelies now.

I've found my gold, I'm off.

You may never see me again.

Sleeping under the stars, 146 miles from the nearest town,

in the Goldfields in Western Australia,

is a pretty incredible experience.

SHE YAWNS Oh-la-la.

There's nothing but you and the wildlife...

...and Greg and Liz and Owen and Kim, Sookie the dog... You get the drift.

Ah.

I actually would not last a second out here if I got stranded,

not one second, because the panic would kill me.

It's just so isolated.

It's obviously so beautiful, and it's such a gear change

for me to be able to spend time in a place like this.

I couldn't do it forever,

but because I know I'm only here for a short period of time,

you're sort of desperate to soak it all up.

Morning. Good morning. Hiya, Stacey.

Greg, are you ready to go pour?

Yeah, yeah, we're going to pour a little gold bar today.

The stuff that we can't really sell,

because a lot of people don't like buying just scrap gold,

so we just pour it into a bar to make a nice, solid piece,

so people can actually see that it's actual gold.

Do you think we could...?

We couldn't do anything with my bits of gold, could we?

There's not quite enough.

No. If you've got nuggets... They're worth more as nuggets

than they are actually in a bar, believe it or not.

Oh. Gold's been in the ground for 2.7 billion years,

so a nugget is very unique. Yeah. It's one of a kind,

and they all have different characters.

You look at it and go, "Oh, that looks like a frog."

Or it might look like something else, you know,

and this is what values them.

If you've got something that really looks nice,

people will pay more money than what it's actually worth.

That's the plan. Yeah. OK, let's see you in action.

So, OK. Yeah, I'll get you to put your safety glasses on.

OK. Not that anything's going to happen, but...

Well, we don't want to take any risks, do we? No.

I'm a long way from the doctor. Yes. So, what we've got here...

How do I look? Oh, perfect! Stunning. Beautiful.

So, what we've got here,

this is just some crushings that's come from out of rock.

So, Greg does a bit of science trickery

to prep the gold dust, and then, it goes into this small furnace.

Oh, this is bringing me back to my chemistry days,

100 years ago, when I used to go to school.

So, place that in there. Yeah.

The furnace gets super hot...

I'll just get you to step back a little bit.

...and then, the gold dust will become liquid.

Ooh! FLAME ROARS

Quite noisy. How long must we leave that?

Probably about 20 minutes. OK.

This is going to be an interesting episode, guys.

We're going to stand here for the full 20 minutes.

LAUGHTER

Just kidding. We'll fast-forward 20 minutes.

And have a look at this, will you?

Come on, out you come. There you go.

Perfect.

Are you happy with that, Greg?

Yeah, yeah, once the glass goes hard, which it has now.

Yeah. See if we can get him out of there.

There he is.

Right, the bar's in there. I'll just go and cool that off.

OK. Even though it doesn't look like a bar.

HISSING

Hmm. That should be cool now.

There you go!

It's still hot.

Greg! So impressive.

Yeah, that's nice and cool now. Can I have a look? There you go.

Oh, you'd be thrilled with that.

So, Greg, in your expert opinion, what do you think that is?

I reckon it's going to be...

...25g. Let me feel.

24.2.

LAUGHTER

Let's see.

Oh, there you go. Actually, I've changed my mind.

LAUGHTER

That's over an ounce. Wow! 34.5g.

31.1 grams to the ounce in gold value.

So, that's probably worth about $7,500.

Stop it! Yep. Well, you must be thrilled with that.

Yeah, it's all right. Yeah, it's pretty good.

Well, it's just nice to know you've got it, isn't it? Yes.

You know why it was worth me seeing that?

Because when we were, you know, going through the stones... Yeah.

...I was thinking, "God, this feels so taxing."

Yeah. "Is it worth it?" Obviously, it is.

You just have to have patience. Yes, perseverance.

Yeah, you have to play it... You're, like, in it for the long haul. Yes.

Nice! That was worth about 7,500 Aussie dollars.

That's about £4,000.

The thing is, with this lifestyle, is I love it,

and I'm so grateful for about... three or four days.

And then, I'm, like, "Do you know what? I think that's me done."

Cos, you know, the first night in the swag is... it's exciting, isn't it?

Because it feels entirely different to what you're used to,

and you're swept up in the fact

that you're in the middle of the bush and the silence and...

But I can't fib. I'm... I'm ready for a bed.

I'm ready for a hot bath...

...and a bed.

Oh, that's a workout.

Right, gang, that's me. Are you going? Are you off?

I'm going. It was so nice to meet you all.

It's been lovely. Very nice to meet you. Thanks for everything.

Thanks, Kim. Lovely to meet you.

Bye, mate. All the best. Good luck. Bye, guys.

Liz! LAUGHTER

Oh, Liz, you've been a dream. Not at all.

Thank you. It's been great. Thanks, Greg.

Yeah, three days, it's been awesome.

Everything I know about gold is thanks to you.

Liz, this is your jacket. Thank you. Bye, mate.

Be lucky. Yes. Yes. Find a load of gold. Stay safe.

Look after that Dooley patch. Yes. Yes, we definitely will.

ALL SAY THEIR GOODBYES

This is a real lifestyle choice.

For these prospectors, the quest for gold never ends.

Maybe they've simply grown accustomed to this life.

I can understand how addictive it can be.

I may not have found my life-changing fortune,

but I'm leaving with every prospector's dream...

...gold in my pocket.

Everyone's sort of so chill about the fact

that they could just get their head caved in.

Get a hold! Get a hold! Get around!

Oh! Oh, my God, is he all right?

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