DM #25 Criss-Cross V2 Kilsyth, Victoria, Australia
By ahomburg on 18-Mar-18. Waypoint GC7KRB8

I bush bashed to GZ and found the cache only to realise I had lost yet ANOTHER pen by inadvertently donating it to another nearby cache. I hate to think how many pens I have lost by doing this.I took a photo to show I was there. Cache was in fine order and totally dry.

Everything in good condition here, except for my scratched up legs. Wish I knew about the easy path in before criss crossing my way through ferns and swordgrass for half an hour All part of the fun and adventure to sign this aptly named cache.

Like everyone else, I took the hard track in, and easy track out. Took some hunting and had to resort to spoiler photos, then it was an easy find. Tftc

Made my way thru the bracken sea to what I believe is the correct place for the cache. Nothing located upon searching. Msged CO for confirmation of likey muggling, but after no response I am logging a DNF. Will return.

A short trip up and down the mountain today to continue my finds for the Out and About monthly challenge.
I drove down from the top of the mountain which had a feels like temp of 4 degrees and found a good car park and headed on in to look for the nearby award winning cache then since I was here I headed over to this one as well. Geez the path was a bit overgrown with a lot of small sword grass plants nearly making you trip over. Eventually I made the find after taking a wide berth around a nearby homeless persons tent.
Thanks ahomburg for the cache, the adventure, the hunt and the fun.

Found tnx

Found with srresspoint

Well what an adventure this one was! When deciding on caches with quiet1_au for this arvo this group of DM caches had come up, but I wasn’t feeling like super long walks in the bush to do all in the area, however I had determined this one was not too far from the access point so would be ok…. Ummmmm….. It was really pretty, like really really pretty … but…. well… we started off ok and then there was a huge tree on the track so GMelb went off another way and to the point that I could only see his head and then we lost sight altogether and were communicating by coo-eeee’s q1 and I stayed on the “main track” and clambered over this first obstacle to be shortly greeted with another 3 HUUUGGEE trees down in a row… q1 was under and over quick smart but little legged me was not so quick! After waiting for q1 to determine the further track past the 3 trees, I went under the first one (it’s roots were so big it meant there was a gap between the fallen trunk and the ground) and started to make my way over the 2nd, whilst still communicating with GMelb via coo-ees lol … I got to the 3rd but the drop to the ground was more than my height or so it felt. By this time GMelb had made his way back to the main (haha) track and came back to me so I was able to ease myself down to the ground leaning on him . We continued on following the “track” for a few metres until it disappeared again and so we just started following the GPS to GZ through the bracken. We came to another huge fallen tree where q1 was over in quick measure and down the ravine and up again where he then started looking for the cache. I waited for a bit to determine if I really needed to traverse this bit (ie) which way were we going to find our way back out. We decided in the end that we did need to get over this tree no matter what, so that took some effort again with the descent from the fallen tree log being higher than myself Finally over q1 logged the cache for us (understand the name cache now) and then we tried to determine the best exit…. We decided to try the mountain bike track which looked promising after the huge descent into the ravine and back up again but then it eventually petered out to nothing as well!!! After this we just decided to head for the road, we could actually see a paddock on the opposite side of the road through the trees. There was lots of bracken but a few clearings here and there which we headed for, steadily making our way towards the road. We had to negotiate a couple more smaller ravines but finally we could see the actual road just up that next ravine!!! Finally we were on the road and heading back to where the cars were parked. GMelb spotted a tree goanna which added to the previous fauna we had spotted at our car, a gorgeous male blue wren, fluttering all over the place “attacking” it’s reflection in the car windows and mirror. I was really chuffed that I managed to negotiate the track …..with LOTS of help and not toooooo much complaining and was really glad I was wearing my Merry Boots. I only sustained 1 injury and whilst I am glad I saw the very pretty forest, I think that’s me done for DM caches…. GMelb and q1 will find the others without me hee hee hee

Back to the forest this time with G&J GJMMelb for a nice bush walk and quick cache grab. Err... Not quite... Had we read the previous logs we might have chosen a different cache but here we are. A little mix up as to the parking location had us both waiting at different spots - eventually a phone call had me jumping back in the car and 30 seconds later we were ready to go. But not before admiring a male Superb Fairy Wren in all it's glorious electric blue breeding plumage busily trying to chase off the invading males in both our cars' mirrors, windows, etc! Off we went and almost straight away came upon a large tree blocking the path, but this was easily bypassed. The walk along the track went well up until about the point of no return where we found another fallen tree. And another, and another, and... You get the idea. Coupled with those obstacles, the rain seemed to have given the bracken ferns a real boost so finding and following the right path wasn't always easy - and to be honest we may have followed a few alternative tracks, it was hard to tell. G' tried one route, J' and I another - eventually we got past the trees and neared GZ. This time a gully was the barrier - along with yet another tree - and while G helped J negotiate this I crossed over and had a look the cache. Like others have reported the coordinates seemed a bit off and/or trees played havoc with GPS reception but with the aid of the "spoiler" photo I spotted the hide and waited for G&J to join me. No trouble finding the cache, I tried to find the path marked on the GPS map back to the road to avoid the difficult path we had come by. Erm, no. it seemed to disappear so we tried our luck with the recently cleared bike jump (GRR!) and hoped that trail continued on. Nope, but taking a number of tracks, trails, and clearish patches we eventually made it to the road and back to the cars spotting a large tree goanna climbing up a gum tree on an adjacent property! TFTC a tough one to get to but still fun!

Hard path in...easy path out... I think this may have accidentally become my mantra....maybe I should get tshirts made....mhmmm....

Needed to grab a cache to keep my daily streak alive, and with today potentially being the last nice sunny weather day of the week I wanted to come out to the Dandenongs to get a nice wooded cache. Unfortunately my caching time was very limited today, so only one quick one and then back to running errands.

However, as I said in the top of my log I struggled to find the best way to GZ. With losing the trail, I ended up resorting to bush bashing too GZ. With a bit of searching, I initially came up empty.

So I resorted to the hint, and I am glad I did. My phone GPS had me 15-20M off from GZ and I don't think I would have made the find without the spoiler photo.

Armed with the spoiler photo, the correct beacon was quickly found and so was the cache. Thanks for the fresh air and adventure today and TFTC.

Cache Maintenance Status:

Cache container was in good shape and logbook was clean and dry with plenty of room for future cache finders to sign.

The journey there was somewhere between a bush bash and a path to gz (closer to a path) but once there it was a quick find - 20m north there was evidence of fun over lockdown with a mountain bike bowl. tftc

Forgot a bloody pencil. Needed the spoiler photo, GPS jumpy in trees.

Very apt name for this cache, as you could say we had a few problems finding the correct track. We criss crossed, backtracked, a little more criss crossing before we were finally moving in the right direction. The spoiler photo helped, not at first because I lead us to the wrong tree. Steve saved the day…..again.

Thanks ahomburg. Just the 4 caches today, but we’ll be back again soon to tackle more of this series. Cheers



——————————————————————————————————————-
Big things are continuing to happen! Are you joining the fun again in 2022?
**THE**
**WHITTLESEA**
**EVENT 2022**
19th / 20th November 2022 – GC8EW40 – Whittlesea – Victoria

Had a little time between jobs today, and decided a jaunt on the MTB to find a few caches might be fun.
Once up the first crazy steep track, the rest of the riding was more pleasant, notwithstanding the heat and humidity.
This was my last find for the day, and with no discernible access track to GZ, I tossed up whether to approach from the track above or the road.
Hoping the scrub would be thinner closer to the road, and the distance to travel shorter, I rode around that way.
Once level with GZ, and in off the road, I left my bike, and forged on through the undergrowth towards GZ, which was thankfully not too hard to find with the spoiler pic.
Cache found, log signed, and container rehidden, I back tracked towards the road, but somehow managed to miss where I'd left my MTB, even with a mapping app to help.
A few minutes of circling amongst the scrub ensued, before I was very relieved to see my trusty steed.
Back on the road, I still had that one last mongrel hill to climb before the descent to the van.
TFTC and the workout ahomburg

Out with my bushwalking group today and finished early. This one was quite close by and a challenge to get another DM tick for me. Which path to take where is it. Picked up one there’s another one there’s another one keep going over a fallen tree and fallen tree and got to GZ. Getting wiser, looked at the spoiler before I went in as you lose coverage under trees. Nice easy find. Love these challenges you give us Adrian thanks for bringing me here another DM one ticked off

*Found on the 29 Dec 2021 @ 4:53 pm.*
*Cache find # 12202.*

Well this one is certainly different to the previous few finds.
The map as tracks that lead straight the cache, easy but in reality there are no tracks as such, little bit and a bit more there, finding the cache was a lot easier than find the track to it.
Lots of trees down in the area.

**Thanks to ahomburg for placing this cache.**

Enjoyed the hint
Got me off the main track
Instead found remains of RC hot air balloon!

Quick find the other night whilst monitoring the local owls. Must have walked past this cache 20 times in the past months, but finally I remember to stop. Thanks for maintaining these cache AH, quite a task over the years for so many cache in this series across the mountain, but always a great place to escape. Cheers.

I remember being vaguely creeped out here with V1 as I've never seen another soul in this region of the park but there are such obvious signs of man-made jumps and berms. The paths really do criss-cross everywhere . . . after finding the cache we attempted to continue on the path and then come out further down Sheffield Rd. All the fallen trees and the many many goat tracks soon had us returning back the way we came. Ask dusk was falling it was better to be safe than sorry!

Thanks a Homburg another Friday another cache, my wife will start to wonder what I've been up to. I'm geocaching honestly. Cache is in good condition, nice and dry. Regards from Victor.

A nice little walk on a footpad that kept disappearing, but was easy enough to follow anyway. The cache is nicely placed, being safe and secure but straightforward to find.

Onward and downwards/upwards. TFTC

Map shows a track here but I don't think it has been used for some time.. had to use the spoiler but got there nursing a twisted ankle
Thanks for the cache.

Found @07:37 #7458
A quick find found in the open, placed back as per the hint. Think I've been along here before many years ago probably for v1.
Anyway time to continue the exercise. No rain at this time which is nice. [^]

Day 95 of 366 completed.
TFTC ahomburg

Great walk through the woods. Kids loved it. Thanks

Find number 8400 at 2:36:59 pm
I had intended to go to the nearby Pen cache today but by the time I got moving it had started to rain near the GZ so I headed for the alternate which was this one.
I started off following a minor track that soon disappeared but as I pushed through another track appeared so I followed it. This pattern continued several times and eventually the GZ was under my nose. The ground to and from was totally water logged and flowing freely as I walked.
The cache was found in good nick.
Cache logged with sanitised hands.
**Thanks for placing this cache ahomburg**

---
Big things are continuing to happen in Victoria! *Are you joining in the fun?*
[**The Whittlesea Event 2020**](https://coord.info/GC8EW40)
*14th & 15th November 2020 - GC8EW40 - Whittlesea - Victoria*

The last one for today.

As a previous log says, a bit more to the south for the cache.

There is a growing list of Things That Have Bitten Me.
Much to the amusement of Geokid.
Today there was a hole in the ground near GZ that had a few webs blocking the way. Without wanting another bite I flicked them out the way with a small stick revealing a deeper hole than thought that dog shoved his whole head inside to see what all the fuss was about. Nope no cache there. Ha.

A small start to the series today but loving the whole outing experience. Coffee tastes so much better after a long walk.

Found on my 50th birthday after a long lull due to pandemic. Geodaughter and I went to get it while the boys stayed in the car. Initially, we went the wrong direction but we soon sound our way. Thanks for the cache.

We found this cache today on our "Finally back on the DM Trail" Afternoon. We came in from the northern entrance, today. The original cache we came in on a direct path but parking there is no longer an option so we had to take the long way in. The track we took looked like they were trying to discourage the use of by strewing logs and branches all over the track but after the first 100m, the trail became a lot easier to navigate. The spot where the GPS was pointing us had two possible spots but neither yielded a cache. A spot about 15m to the south did though and we had the cache fin in the bag. Almost exactly 5,800 cache finds since picking up the original cache. Thanks from D & H B-A.

Thought it was time I crossed this one off, it just never seemed to be on the way to anywhere. Nice easy find TFTC.

Great find

A beautiful afternoon to get out for a walk in the hills and collect a few more of this great series. I have almost done all of the ones west of the tourist road and will soon turn my gaze towards the east - especially all the puzzle caches. I found the mountain bike trail that led me to this cache which was a relief to not have to bush bash! The bike jump area here is so cool, I bet lots of youngsters have lots of fun here. Made the quick find in the cool location TFTC!

I headed across to this one after completing the "High on the Hill" multi and managed to find a few tracks to get near it without getting onto Sheffield Rd. Some of the tracks are obviously well used by mountain bikers and I came across an area where some obviously get up to a bit of "mischief" and from the look of the rubbish left behind don't subscribe to the concept of *if you can carry it in then you can carry it out!* Anyway I found it and decided to head for home as it was getting late so Mrs B would've been hungry for dinner and probably chewin' the kitchen table waiting for me to return!
TFTC

Found today with geoson. A good reason to get out on the trails for a run/ride. We got out before it got too hot. After setting off we soon found ourselves on a trail too far east, a quick 200m bush bash and we were back in the vicinity of GZ. Found and signed. TFTC.

I was out enjoying a walk in the Ranges and finding a few of the DM series along the route. For some reason this ended up being the most difficult to navigate towards, as I was a little reluctant to pick the most direct route (start of snake season). After heading to the road and finding another track back into the GZ area, I was able to locate the cache nicely tucked away. The track was a little overgrown but it didn't seem to deter a few riders flying down the path. Thankfully I was off the path as they made their way through. TFTC

3:02 pm #6490
Followed goat tracks from the road to find this well-hidden cache.
Cheers ahomburg

A combination of bush bashing and path trekking we got there from the road , thanks

Found it

Longest walk that dad and boy have done in recent months, and it definitely showed. By the time we made it to this- our fifth and final - we were pretty tired and footsore. But have had a great afternoon.

Easy find using the spoiler. TFTC AHomburg

"SORRY FOR THE LATE LOG"
somehow I forgot to sign this log back in 2018 but better late than never.
Always funny when you find a cache and you remember finding it in the past.
I'm sure that my geo pal Happy pants should of reminded me!
Cheers for the cache.

Found this one today while grabbing a few smilies in the area with omegaman1971 and we returned to this spot that we have been before in the past ,Sept 2014 for me personally. We enjoyed a pleasant walk in to the gz and luckily had no muggles on their mountain bikes around today which meant we could search with no problems. Our gps's had us off a little bit but thanks to the hint we soon extended our search area and had the cache in hand. Many thanks ahomburg for the hide and the chance to reminisce about previously visiting and exploring the area.

With the GPS spinning a bit we checked the spoiler and found a nicely hidden container thank you for bringing us to this picturesque part of Victoria.

Nice stroll in the bush on a long week end . Thanks. Look forward to more bush hides from you sometime soon

So many trees and the technology not helping much. We extended our search radius and eventually resorted to a spoiler pic. Thanks Ahomburg

Hmm , I wonder which Tree its at . Checked a few locations at the gps indicated spot , but no luck . finally resorted to the spoiler photo and soon had the cache in our hands .
T4TC

Got sick of cleaning my garage and knew of this new hide near home so I asked Raymo my muggle neighbour to come on the hunt. After much searching my muggle mate spotted the likely hide as I was about to spit the dummy. My gps was saying it was about 16mtrs further to the north but persistence pays off in the long run. TFTC

GPS was way out on this one pic was very helpful tftc

A great afternoon for a cache so I thought I would clear some of my 15km zone.... which is mainly in the hills thanks to homburg... and also close in on my 4000th. The spoiler helped as I had 10m out on my phone. Thanks to ahomburg for placing this cache.

Wow. What a walk. Nice afternoon for it though. Was happy it had a spoiler image

Yesterdays rain has freshened up the bush so its nice to walk in again. GZ a bit out so had to check all of "them" before coming up with the goods.

Saw this one pop up the other night not far from home, but I had just gone to bed and was too lazy to go after it. Arrived at gz too find plenty of ahomburg type hiding places nearby. Let's start here. Nope. Not that one either. Ahhh, there you are, third time lucky. Thanks for bringing us here and thanks for the cache Adriaan. Dropped off a TB while I was there.

2nd TF wishing for first to find. As they say you snooze you lose. Haha!
I got the message from a geo mate that there’s a FTF in my hood. By this time of night I’m in my PJ’s and there is no way I’ll find it in the dark. I have to hope for the best and get up early. Gee, it’s dark this time of year in the morning. I waited till just light. You wait to long and you miss out. As I drove to the spot there was a car already there. As I walked into the forest I was waiting for someone the bounce out and sure enough it was The Welder with that FTF smile all over his face. Being that gentleman that he is he escorted me back to the cache where I put my name under his and then walked back to our cars. It is always nice meeting up with other cachers and catching up on the world of geocaching
Thanks heaps for places I love it around here.

I saw this pop up last night, so called by this morning. Thanks for the walk to the cache.

FTF @ 6.55am
#1382

An unexpected 90's flashback...

"Kris Kross'll make ya jump,
jump.
Uh-huh, uh-huh.
Jump, jump..."

That was an unexpected song to have on my brain in the wee hours of the morning.
But it wasn't as unexpected as a brand new DM! This famous series had been a well entrenched feature on the Melbourne geocaching map long before I knew the difference between a DNF and a FTF. And here was a rare chance to claim one...
I'd missed the actual publishing time by some hours, as I was rather sleep lagged from a fun time down Hastings way the night before. But as I had some voluntary Uber duties to perform at 4am, I happened to be in the area when I heard the blank logbook of this DM calling to me...
But my passenger didn't share my enthusiasm! So I delivered my fare and chased smileys in Burwood before I returned to investigate.
My pre-dawn raid meant travelling by torchlight on OSM paths that didn't actually exist. The overnight rain still clung to the overgrown foliage, dampening my attire but not my spirit.
Eventually I stumbled upon a trail in the darkness that led me to GZ. Thanks to a bouncy signal, I tried many candidate options before the penny dropped and the song started playing on my brain again...

Uh-huh, uh-huh!
Jump, jump!!

The dawn twilight was just taking hold as I signed in. And in the growing daylight, I could really appreciate my surrounds. It occurred to me how invigorating for the soul it would be to enjoy a bushwalk like this every morning before I start my day.

As I left, I startled a few wallabies which then crashed heavily through the bush. And then I sensed another luminous soul here. She was familiar, but different...
It was Jentrek the White. It had been many moons since our last encounter among the trees. So together we walked and talked and savoured the precious dawn delights of the forest.

Such a wonderful way to start the day...

Thanks ahomburg, for encouraging me to go play in the rain again. At least that's another DM (criss) crossed off my list.

Published