Visitors to this former mining town are prone to falling in love with it's charm and beauty, and many speak of it with a glint in the eye for years to come. The town sprang up as a result of the 1873 gold rush, with almost 1500 prospectors massing to the ara within the year to seek their fortune. The gold held out for more than a hundred years! The beautiful fully restored town is now a national monument and visitors can explore the Old Print House, Miners House, St Mary's Anglican church, Joubert Bridge, the cemetary (with its infamous Robber's Grave) and Dredzan and Co's general dealer store

To get a taste of life as Pilgrim's rest prospector, try out panning for gold at the diggings siteon the banks of the pilgrim's creek. There are gold-panning demonstration to watch first if you don't want to risk throwing your name away. If you take panning like a duck to water, then stick around untill November for the annualNational gold panning Championships, a fun filled festival spread er five days. Each competitive receives a bucket of sand and a regulation gold pan. The officials know how many nuggets are in the buckets - competitors are penalised for nuggets missed. The 'prospector' who pans out the most nuggets in the shortest time is the winner.