At the southern edge of Gympie, hemmed between the Bruce Highway and Brisbane Road, a stretch of Deep Creek is set aside for recreational gold panning. The gold washes down from the weathered reefs that once made Gympie a rich field, and pans are the only tool allowed, with no sluices, dredges or digging in the banks. The best colour tends to settle in the creek bed on the inside of the bends. A Queensland fossicking licence is required.