Day 2, Sat 1 June 2019
Up early due to a FREEZING uncomfortable night, I did enjoy the sunrise however and watching some hot air balloons landing in a field nearby
I made myself a nice hot cup of tea and set off in to town to check out some caches and maybe find something for breakfast.
As I have a preference for finding the more interesting type of caches I had a look at a Wherigo in town and tried to get started with that.
I went to the listed coords for the starting point of the cache and loaded the Wherigo cartridge, it seems we need to go around finding different locations and collecting various items of interest in order to solve who had committed a crime, and with what weapon
So off I go, walking around to the nearest locations collecting items and information
This was quite time consuming and there was lots of walking to and from various locations
Time quickly slipped away and I soon realised it was nearly time to be at the local Rec centre for the start of the Event
I decided to leave it for the moment and go to the hall for the Event
WA Goes BIG in 2019 GC83X06
I was a bit early so luckily I was able to find a parking spot which were in short supply due to local footy games nearby and construction work
I entered the hall and got my registration pack, which was a bit disappointing compared to previous years but still not too bad
I did miss not being able to get a geocoin for this years event and I'm not a huge fan of pathtags so gave that option a miss
I wandered around chatting to various cachers and signing their competition sheets for them
I was not too bothered about trying to win any prizes as they were not really in my field of interest
I met up with Mistraluna and her friend Mark and got to discussing what caches they had planned to go find
There was a LAB cache in the nearby town of Toodyay, I had been trying for a couple of weeks to get this App working so I could go log some of these type of caches but could not get it to work and had given up on it in frustration
Today, when discussing the problem with some others, I decided to give it another go and to my astonishment it worked.
Well that was exciting, I can get to go try this cache type after all
I mentioned to Mistraluna how I wanted to go try the lab cache and we made a plan to give it a go.
I set off to find some breakfast at the local Maccas, this was a failure as I was too early to get a burger and I refuse to eat the crappy breakfast options
I had arranged to meet the others on the road out of town but there was a bit of confusion about where the meeting spot was. After a phone call we soon worked out where I needed to be and met up near a cache
We parked under the overpass bridge and headed up the slope through the bush to the cache container. Once we found the container it appeared that there was a technique to open it.
The cache consisted of a large block of concrete. On top was a large plastic tube which was free spinning and sprung loaded, also a smaller tube with a cap stuck on it. At one side towards the bottom was a tube set into the block.
It seemed that there was a way to release the tube from the top but after fiddling and twisting and prodding we resorted to reading the description.
OK, so we have to go find the TOTT nearby. once we found that we poked around trying to find the release but after a half hour of no luck we decided that it must be broken and would have to log a DNF
Disappointed and frustrated we carried on towards Toodyay
Along the way we stopped at a multi cache near a deep railway cutting.
It was a bit of a walk up the hill to the plaque where we needed to get the information, but worth it to see the cutting
Once we had the coords for GZ we went back down the hill and jumped in our cars for a short drive to sign the log then continued on our journey to Toodyay
Once we arrived in town it was quite busy with the weekend tourists and we needed to drive around to find a parking spot, eventually got a spot in the carpark behind the shops
We wanted to find a LAB cache here and made our way to the GZ near the old post office using the Adventure Lab phone app. under 'The Great West Oz Road Trip' title, 'Toodyay' item. We had to find a plaque nearby and answer a question to get the find. it was an interesting experience, something new and different. It was very much like a virtual really but using a separate app to navigate to and log the find. There are others around the state so I will try and pick up some more if I can.
While I was here I got a selfie in front of the former PO to log a visit of the waymark
Waymark - Toodyay (former), WA, 6566
TOURIST PRECINCT #6 -Self Raising or Plain GC7MXM7
Along the way we stopped at a multi cache near a deep railway cutting.
Windmill Hill Cutting GC43KV0
It was a bit of a walk up the hill to the plaque where we needed to get the information, but worth it to see the cutting
Once we had the coords for GZ we went back down the hill and jumped in our cars for a short drive to sign the log then continued on our journey to Toodyay
Once we arrived in town it was quite busy with the weekend tourists and we needed to drive around to find a parking spot, eventually got a spot in the carpark behind the shops
We wanted to find a LAB cache here and made our way to the GZ near the old post office using the Adventure Lab phone app. under 'The Great West Oz Road Trip' title, 'Toodyay' item. We had to find a plaque nearby and answer a question to get the find. it was an interesting experience, something new and different. It was very much like a virtual really but using a separate app to navigate to and log the find. There are others around the state so I will try and pick up some more if I can.
While I was here I got a selfie in front of the former PO to log a visit of the waymark
Waymark - Toodyay (former), WA, 6566
TOURIST PRECINCT #6 -Self Raising or Plain GC7MXM7
There were lots of choices for caches in and around town while we were here but it was not my mission to get every cache which was available. This one was nearby and gave me an excuse to have a bit of a stroll through the town to check out some of the sights.
At this stage I still had not had much of a breakfast and it was almost lunch time so I thought I might be able to get a bite to eat at one of the local shops.
We passed the local bakery on the way to the cache but the queue to get served snaked around the inside of the shop, out the door and down the street. I thought that I would give it a miss as I did not want to wait an hour to get a pie. Ha ha
We carried on to the nearest cache
This took all three of us to find even though it was a fairly easy find in the end, ha ha.
The log was signed and container placed back in its hiding spot then we continued on to another nearby cache.
Bilya Bounty - Goomalling Bridge GC7T4H0
We parked near GZ in a gravel driveway and walked a short way to GZ, rock hopping around until we spotted the item mentioned in the hint. It could have taken a lot longer without the hint due to the gps jumping around a bit.
Log signed and off to the next cache
The walk/cycle track in the cache listing looks like fun and I would like to come back another time and spend more time in the area and explore
My caching companions wanted to grab some more caches but I decided to head back to Northam to grab some lunch and agreed to catch up later
On the way back I decided to take the scenic route, turning off the Northam - Toodyay Rd at Katrine road. There were a few nearby caches here but I decided to give them a miss for another time and continued on towards Northam
I did notice a few RVs parked by the river and looked on Wikicamps to see that it was a popular campsite, something to keep in mind when I come back this way
The drive along Katrine road was a pleasant drive through the countryside, there were several caches along the way but decided to leave them for another time
When I was passing under the Gt Eastern Hwy bridge crossing the river there were a few cars stopped here. I suspected that they would be geocachers looking for something nearby
Dorntj Koorliny - Avon View GC68QJP
I pulled over and saw that they were walking in the middle of the river bed, which was mostly dry luckily, and heading for the other side
It seemed a little strange but I jumped out and rushed over to join them. So with Team Balstholm, Jam1511 and Team Outnabout we bush bashed across to the other side of the river and up the embankment to GZ
I quickly spotted the hide and retrieved the container. The tricky puzzle took a bit of work but using the hint I was able to navigate a track to get it open
What a clever creation, I just wish I had time and equipment to make one similar, ha ha
Once we had all signed the log one of the other cachers navigated the container back together again and it was replaced in its hiding spot
The return back to the cars was an easier route, across the bridge of course, ha ha
The cache page mentions a 18k walk trail, that would take some effort.
I think I would prefer to tackle that on the bike myself, and that would still be a mission, ha ha
Maybe it's time to upgrade to an electric bike
I headed back into town to finally get a late lunch at a dodgy popular chicken fast food chain
While I was enjoying my meal, Mistraluna and Mark8183 joined me and we then headed off to grab a few caches for the afternoon
We revisited Northam Bypass cache as I had obtained some intel about how it worked and that we had been doing it wrong
On our return we quickly found the TOTT and soon had the cache open and log signed
The problem we had the first time was that a previous finder had tightened the lids so much that they were very difficult to open and we did not want to apply too much force and break something
This time I had brought a pair of pliers along which allowed me to remove the cap easily
I made sure that the lids were replaced only finger tight so the next finder would not have so much difficulty
We went off to the nearby cache which I had done previously but Mistraluna and Mark had not
We parked nearby on the shoulder of the highway and walked the short distance to the GZ
Mistraluna soon had the cache container in hand and opened
They signed the log and we carried on to another nearby cache
We found a park on the shoulder of the road and made the short walk to GZ. On the way we passed another couple of cachers who had just done the cache
Mistraluna quickly worked the levers to the correct position and the container popped open
Once we had signed the log we set off back into town for some more caches
I was keen to try and finish the Wherigo so we went back in to town and started looking for the clues and items needed. We were not having much luck with the process as it was a bit confusing and the instructions were very vague if non existent
After a while we were running out of time and decided to leave the completion of the cartridge and go straight to where we knew the GZ was and look for the container and sign the log
This was not to be however, after a thorough search in a few obvious spots we came to the conclusion that the container had fallen down out of reach
We resorted to a PAF and confirmed where the container should be and that it was not there anymore
While we were searching, a police officer from the police station across the road was sitting in his vehicle watching and was clearly baffled by our strange searching behaviour
I pointed this out to my fellow cachers and we nonchalantly wandered back to our cars trying not to look too suspicious, ha ha
While walking around the town I got a selfie in front of the amazing post office building
Waymark - Northam , WA, 6401
The day was getting late and we needed to get back to the hall for the evening part of the Event and to have our dinner which was being provided as part of the event
We found some seats at the tables and sat chatting with other cachers, exchanging stories of the weekends adventures so far and discussing plans for the next day
There were presentations for caching milestones and prizes drawn for the raffles then the various cachers started to filter off to their nights accomodations
It had been a very busy day and quite tiring, it was good to eventually get back to the local caravan park and have a nice hot shower then eventually get off to bed for a good nights sleep ready for another busy day tomorrow
At this stage I still had not had much of a breakfast and it was almost lunch time so I thought I might be able to get a bite to eat at one of the local shops.
We passed the local bakery on the way to the cache but the queue to get served snaked around the inside of the shop, out the door and down the street. I thought that I would give it a miss as I did not want to wait an hour to get a pie. Ha ha
We carried on to the nearest cache
The log was signed and container placed back in its hiding spot then we continued on to another nearby cache.
Bilya Bounty - Goomalling Bridge GC7T4H0
We parked near GZ in a gravel driveway and walked a short way to GZ, rock hopping around until we spotted the item mentioned in the hint. It could have taken a lot longer without the hint due to the gps jumping around a bit.
Log signed and off to the next cache
The walk/cycle track in the cache listing looks like fun and I would like to come back another time and spend more time in the area and explore
My caching companions wanted to grab some more caches but I decided to head back to Northam to grab some lunch and agreed to catch up later
On the way back I decided to take the scenic route, turning off the Northam - Toodyay Rd at Katrine road. There were a few nearby caches here but I decided to give them a miss for another time and continued on towards Northam
I did notice a few RVs parked by the river and looked on Wikicamps to see that it was a popular campsite, something to keep in mind when I come back this way
The drive along Katrine road was a pleasant drive through the countryside, there were several caches along the way but decided to leave them for another time
When I was passing under the Gt Eastern Hwy bridge crossing the river there were a few cars stopped here. I suspected that they would be geocachers looking for something nearby
Dorntj Koorliny - Avon View GC68QJP
I pulled over and saw that they were walking in the middle of the river bed, which was mostly dry luckily, and heading for the other side
It seemed a little strange but I jumped out and rushed over to join them. So with Team Balstholm, Jam1511 and Team Outnabout we bush bashed across to the other side of the river and up the embankment to GZ
I quickly spotted the hide and retrieved the container. The tricky puzzle took a bit of work but using the hint I was able to navigate a track to get it open
What a clever creation, I just wish I had time and equipment to make one similar, ha ha
Once we had all signed the log one of the other cachers navigated the container back together again and it was replaced in its hiding spot
The return back to the cars was an easier route, across the bridge of course, ha ha
The cache page mentions a 18k walk trail, that would take some effort.
I think I would prefer to tackle that on the bike myself, and that would still be a mission, ha ha
Maybe it's time to upgrade to an electric bike
I headed back into town to finally get a late lunch at a dodgy popular chicken fast food chain
While I was enjoying my meal, Mistraluna and Mark8183 joined me and we then headed off to grab a few caches for the afternoon
We revisited Northam Bypass cache as I had obtained some intel about how it worked and that we had been doing it wrong
On our return we quickly found the TOTT and soon had the cache open and log signed
The problem we had the first time was that a previous finder had tightened the lids so much that they were very difficult to open and we did not want to apply too much force and break something
This time I had brought a pair of pliers along which allowed me to remove the cap easily
I made sure that the lids were replaced only finger tight so the next finder would not have so much difficulty
We went off to the nearby cache which I had done previously but Mistraluna and Mark had not
We parked nearby on the shoulder of the highway and walked the short distance to the GZ
Mistraluna soon had the cache container in hand and opened
They signed the log and we carried on to another nearby cache
Clear Prop GC6YJCE
We found a park on the shoulder of the road and made the short walk to GZ. On the way we passed another couple of cachers who had just done the cache
Mistraluna quickly worked the levers to the correct position and the container popped open
Once we had signed the log we set off back into town for some more caches
I was keen to try and finish the Wherigo so we went back in to town and started looking for the clues and items needed. We were not having much luck with the process as it was a bit confusing and the instructions were very vague if non existent
After a while we were running out of time and decided to leave the completion of the cartridge and go straight to where we knew the GZ was and look for the container and sign the log
This was not to be however, after a thorough search in a few obvious spots we came to the conclusion that the container had fallen down out of reach
We resorted to a PAF and confirmed where the container should be and that it was not there anymore
While we were searching, a police officer from the police station across the road was sitting in his vehicle watching and was clearly baffled by our strange searching behaviour
I pointed this out to my fellow cachers and we nonchalantly wandered back to our cars trying not to look too suspicious, ha ha
While walking around the town I got a selfie in front of the amazing post office building
Waymark - Northam , WA, 6401
The day was getting late and we needed to get back to the hall for the evening part of the Event and to have our dinner which was being provided as part of the event
We found some seats at the tables and sat chatting with other cachers, exchanging stories of the weekends adventures so far and discussing plans for the next day
There were presentations for caching milestones and prizes drawn for the raffles then the various cachers started to filter off to their nights accomodations
It had been a very busy day and quite tiring, it was good to eventually get back to the local caravan park and have a nice hot shower then eventually get off to bed for a good nights sleep ready for another busy day tomorrow
Comments
Post a Comment