Monday, 28 April 2014

A day out in Crestmead - Logan

Sunday, April 27, 2014


On Sunday we: Kevin, Adele, Mikayla, Angus and I went to our first CITO event.  CITO stands for Cache In Trash Out, which meant that besides caching we were going to do a clean-up.

Cleaning up Lovely Logan (CITO) (event cache)


The event site

I arrived at 10am, registered and waited for the rest of the family to arrive.  One after another people arrived, picked up bags and gloves and started picking up waste around the area.  I was a bit worried that there wouldn't be anything left by the time we would start, but...... I shouldn't have.  After the family's arrival and a cuppa together we only had to walk a bit further than the others to find two bags full of trash.  After a long walk in the heat of the day we returned just in time for the raffle.  We deposited the bags and sat down with a cool drink in waiting to receive a FTF, but that wasn't going to happen. :-(

A FTF, received in a raffle, is your chance to be a First To Find of a cache, of which you alone are given the co-ordinates well before others receive them, hence your best chance of a FTF.


Lovely Logan Crestmead Tour Whereigo (whereigo cache)



After the raffle we were going to enjoy a BBQ lunch, but the group doing the wherigo cache was leaving and asked if anybody wanted to join them.  As I am still learning I didn't mind joining in and I must say, it was worth doing so.

OrionJ and Patrol14 with the cache in hand

A cute camo!

Lovely Logan Traditional Lay Low (Traditional cache)


In the meantime Kevin and family went in search for a traditional cache, of which I hope to get pictures later (if they have taken any) and also a virtual cache.


Shoot the Hoop (virtual cache)


I returned to this one with Kevin later, because it was necessary to have my photograph taken.  Have a good look at the picture.  A thunderstorm is looming, but we avoided all the rain until we did our webcam cache, and even then it was a brief shower only.  We were lucky.

Don't believe for a moment I was trying for real..... ;-)

I returned from the wherigo cache at the moment the Kevin and crew started on their traditional cache, so I decided I'd have my late lunch.  I was starving! :-)

When they returned we were going to try our hands at a multi cache.

Lovely Logan Multi (multi cache)


As Adele didn't have much experience yet with the use of a GPS she was going to learn while I gave Mikayla mine, because she had not had much experience yet either.  It makes it so much more interesting for the children.  For this multi we had to find WPs (waypoints) along the track.  This was quite easy, as we didn't have to look for a cache at each site, just a tag with the co-ordinates for the next WP and there weren't too many of those.

Kevin with the cache which he found in a burnt-out tree stump


Next a cache that none of us had yet come across: a letterbox cache.

Lovely Logan Letterbox (letterbox cache)


Letterboxes existed before the onslaught of geocaches, because the former didn't need a GPS to find them.  The original 'letterboxing' started in England in the 1800s.  They are still around and the geocaching community uses the hybrid letterbox.

We went in search met with OrionJ and patrol14.  Two other cachers with whom I had done the wherigo.  The letterbox itself was soon discovered, but then we needed the key, which, according to the hint, was within a 6 m radius from the letterbox.  This time I was the lucky finder:

Marion with the key to the letterbox

The letterbox

Everyone signing the logbook

OrionJ and Patrol14, two delightful people to go caching with
Last on the list for the afternoon was a puzzle cache.  We didn't have enough time to solve the puzzle there and then, nor did I have coverage for my mobile, so our two fellow cachers invited us to come with them since the had already solved the puzzle.  I have done so later at home, checked GZ against the co-ordinates in Google Earth and I seemed to have had the correct answer. The puzzle asked a number of questions about the Logan area, which could be found on the internet.  The answers formed the second part of the co-ordinates.

Lovely Logan Puzzle (puzzle cache)


Adele, who's really getting the hang of it, found this cache

On the long walk back to the BBQ area we visited the wherigo cache so that everyone could have a look at the cute camouflage and when eventually back in our chairs all we longed for was a cool drink.

We had a good rest and after Kevin and I had quickly walked over to the basketball court for the 'virtual' picture we packed up to go home.  Dark clouds were gathering and we didn't want to pack up in the rain.

The organiser of the event then offered to come with us to the last cache of the day: the webcam in Mt Gravatt.  Together with another cacher we drove to the parking area, and had our picture taken by the traffic webcam.  He suggested we had a look close by for an easy cache, which wasn't so easy after all.  The woman with us had a fall, because she slipped on the wet grass and since the compass directed us in that slippery area we let it go.  Only one DNF for the day is not too bad.

Mt Gravatt-Capalaba Rd webcam (webcam cache)




You have to believe me if I tell you that the four of us were standing on the grassy bit on the right of the car.  The webcam resolution isn't the best to start off with, but it was raining at the time.  But we were there.  I am the white spot in the centre to another white spot with Kevin on my left...

And that was the end of another enjoyable day.  Eight different caches of the ten that were originally listed.  The mentioned Earth cache was not available for some reason and a general event at 5:30pm we thought a bit too much to hang around for, so off home we went.

Caching in Narangba

Saturday, April 26, 2014


As Mikayla had to play a soccer match in Narangba, and I had never seen her play yet, I wanted to go and watch her.  It was a bright sunny day and hot again.  They played well and when the game had finished we had just a spare hour to look for a few caches in the area (after coffee!).  The caches were part of the Burpengary Loop and numbered.  As we only wanted to do the ones close by we started with:

#13 Log that Cache (Burpengary Loop)


(picture to follow)

The cache was at a short walk from the spot where we'd parked the car and a few metres into bushland.  The name of the cache pointed somehow to its hiding place, so was an easy find (for me). ;-)  As now Mikayla and Angus are also registered almost the whole family is signing: Kevin, Mikayla, Angus and I.

After a few muggles had passed on the busy walking tracke we walked on to the next one:

#14 Lake View (Burpengary Loop)


Adele helped looking for this one as well, but 5 pairs of eyes were not enough.  Well, make that 3 pairs, because after a hot morning Angus and Mikayla were not so very interested in the game.  Suffices to say that we didn't find this one, and then it was time to go home.



Saturday, 26 April 2014

Caloundra continued

Thursday, April 24, 2014



I was going to post the other cache finds, but while I had a look at past updates I became a bit philosophical. I remembered my time shortly after Frank had passed away last year and how lost I was.  In a response to a comment of a friend I said that I would try and keep going and that perhaps in the end I would find people to go geocaching with and at best I hoped to find a travel buddy again.  Well, it seems that when you give it time miracles do happen...  Next to Kevin and family, who of course don't have the spare time that I have, I have found other people to go caching with from time to time.  In The Netherlands friends and family came out playing with me occasionally and here I don't always have to go out by myself either.  Just look at the most recent few days: Patricia in Toowoomba and Heather in Brisbane!  How good is that!!!  Both have been fun to be with and I hope I'll be able to enjoy more of their company in the future from time to time.  As for a travel buddy: Patricia is going on a trip around Australia shortly and if all goes well I will be joining her on the last leg from Adelaide to Brisbane in November.  So, my blog may become my travel blog once more... I know that in my mind nobody will be able to replace Frank, but he will be travelling with me in my thoughts, like he did on my recent trip to The Netherlands.  And now back to caching!!!

We had some more walking to do.  Some places we needed the car for, considering the distance, but mostly we could walk from cache to cache and it really was a nice afternoon to do so.  A bit hot, but not unbearably so. 

A Tree Within A Tree


Never knew that a tree could produce such a pretty cache:

Preying Mantis on top of the container

The tree within a tree

Look what's hiding inside...

It helps if you're tall enough to reach...

It's a little creepy


Creepy alright, but not as creepy as the big, live rats in the city we encountered recently! ;-) This one was quite harmless...

Creepy indeed: a big fat redback!

And its hidey hole - nice camo for the unsuspected

Little Rocky River


Nice size container

Oh.... So good to have a caching
buddy with you for the awkward spaces.... :-) 

Reserved on Springbrook


I don't always include the DNFs (Did Not Finds), but since I have a funny photograph I might as well include one this time:

Me, trying to find (and reach if necessary) a very small cache...

Birds of Paradise


A short walk to this cache, which, unfortunately for us, was facing away from us and therefore not instantly discovered.  I was very fortunate however, that Heather discovered the little bird and called me over.  I would have otherwise walked over to a ring-barked tree and would have almost certainly walked into a wasps nest.  I discovered this when I was logging my find and read the few logs before us.  She unwittingly saved my day as I am very allergic to wasp stings!

A colourful camo

In full sight and still not easy to see

Peaceful Vista


This was another DNF and temporarily disabled after the CO (Cache Owner) read our log.  He is going to check on this one, because it was a rather sizeable cache, not easily overlooked.


And the last one of the day:

Shop & Rest


Small film roll container hidden behind the sign


A cache in full view of the car park of a shopping centre.  The cache was easily discovered, but putting it back was not so easy.  Too many muggles walking back towards their parked cars or newly arrived ones parking close by.  But hey, patience is a virtue and we were free to go home, or uhhhmmm, rather a bite to eat at a nearby Maccas.  I needed some sustenance before heading home after a very successful day.  At least for me!  The biggest haul: 20 caches in one day.  Thanks to Heather I hasten to say.



Friday, 25 April 2014

Caching in Caloundra

Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014


Before we go to Caloundra I mention one cache Kevin and I went in search of because it keeps bugging us.  We had a moment spare to look again for 

A Sandy Bridge - Finale


We had a thorough search, but still couldn't find the d... thing.  We suspected a certain spot, but it was on the corner of the huge bush turkey nest and we didn't want to disturb it unnecessarily.  After logging it again as a DNF the next thing I knew I received an email from the CO to tell us that he had checked the cache and it was still there.  He even sent us a picture, and when I compared it with mine I knew we had been in the right spot.  Back again some day!

Thursday, April 24, 2014


At one of the events I talked with a fellow cacher called Heather and she told me she wouldn't mind going out caching together from time to time.  She often goes with other cachers and likes 'playing' together with others.  So, I finally took the plunge and asked if she would be available this week.  She was and her preferred area was Caloundra. We met at 10:30 at McDonald's on the highway and searched for our first cache in the parking lot:

Mac Attack


Guess what? No picture!  Isn't that unusual??? ;-)  

With all the talking I took a while longer before I realised that I was supposed to take pictures of my finds, so I mention the first few by name only.

I've rectified this and taken a picture when I next passed the area.  Won't do that in a hurry with the Caloundra caches, but this one is sort of down the road...

Mac Attack under cover of a big tree


On the buses


A cache on a roundabout near a bus depot.  Easy find under the bushes, but alas they were of the prickly kind again. :-(  The picture I pinched from the internet:



Industrial Roundabout

No picture of this one.  We came across two of this type and I will have a picture of a similar cache later. It was the top of a fence.

Industrial Wetlands


A big container hidden in an opening in the rocks of a retaining wall.  Easy find again.

Horses 4 Courses


No idea how the name covers the cache, but it may have had something to do with for corners and on one of the corners we discovered a metal sign with... a magnetic cache.

Which one Steve


On our way to the next lot we took a wrong turn-off and had to get back via an arterial road on which we noticed a big sign of Steve Irwin and a crocodile. We were on Steve Irwin Way, close to Australia Zoo. A magnetic cache was hidden at the back of the sign and the picture was again pinched from the internet.




Maggies Retreat


This cache is the beginning of a few walks in the parks surrounding a new housing estate.  The word 'maggies' refers to the magpies that breed in the trees in the park.


The cache in its covered state

The cache uncovered
(it contains a bison tube with logbook inside)

Maggies Hideway


Whoever prepared this series went to a lot of trouble creating caches with a difference.

Spot the container

Hidden in the tree trunk

Maggies en Masse


Forgotten to take a picture of this one.  It was a clever container.  It consisted of a thick piece of a branch cut into two halves with a bison tube hidden inside.  Only some bright paint at the seam was a dead giveaway...

Horsin' Around


This was a multi cache with two WPs (waypoints) and each of them was easily found.

Sarting point with new WP details
("standing tall" was the hint!)

The final - It's there...

See the little blue 'dot'?

Bellvista Trail


I was so glad to have an agile buddy with me.  It was a real crawl and stretch to retrieve the cache from its dark hiding place.

Yep, the cache was right at the back in a dark corner

Heather is happily playing with both GPS devices

Under the bridge in a corner

O'Reilly's Rest


A short walk into the bush and the cache was in hand.

Where could this cache be hidden...???

The sun is slowly going down...

Peek-A-Boo


A fence post cache
I mentioned this one earlier

The second one was the right one

Again a beautiful spot and isn't the weather just perfect?

Meridan Multi


Well, it's in the name!  Not too hard and a nice long walk, although for the last one we took the car and drove around the houses to the other side of the park to shorten all the walking just a little bit.  The photographs are not all in the right order, but I couldn't be bothered any more after this long list. :-)

Heather signs the log at the final

It's under....

Heather retrieves the co-ordinates for the first WP

Isn't that a beautiful corner?

Retrieving the WP for the Final
The hint was "Knife & Fork"
We just couldn't work out why...

Jill's Puzzle


The puzzle I would never have solved without Heather's help.  I have always been staring at numbers and could never make sense of anything, but... there seems to be an internet site and an app for the tablet/phone that you use to solve the most intricate puzzles.  And now I can!

The pictures show you that we needed a password for this one:

A container within a container to protect
 the workings of the lock from the elements

Heather is good at this!

Yeah, at the base of a tree again!

It was an easy find in itself, the cache being so big, but the walk was up and down a steep slope and partially along a very rocky path.  A bit tiring near the end of an afternoon of caching...

At this stage there are seven more caches to cover, but it's late and I am having a busy day ahead of me, so the next lot will follow soon.