WanAus 216 - Darwin ICEM - Mindil Cliffs The Gardens, Northern Territory, Australia
By WanderingAus on 10-Aug-12. Waypoint GA4538

Should be an easy find near one of WanderingAus' favourite places.
I've Cached Everywhere, Man is the largest cache series hidden in Australia. It is made up of the locations made famous by Lucky Star in the song "I've been everywhere" in 1962, lyrics by Geoff Mack, as well as other towns mentioned in verses made up by geocachers.

Darwin is the seventeenth place mentioned in the song, at Line five in Verse one.

Having visited Darwin four times since I discovered geocaching I own a few Darwin caches and have found quite a lot. Having "found a cache" there I could then place an ICEM cache there too. (I won't place an ICEM cache in any place where I haven't found a cache of some sort first - my rule for me only).

Cached in:
Tullamore, Seymour, Lismore, Mooloolaba,
Nambour, Maroochydore, Kilmore, Murwillumbah,
Birdsville, Emmaville, Wallaville, Cunnamulla,
Condamine, Strathpine, Proserpine, Ulladulla,
Darwin, Gin Gin, Deniliquin, Muckadilla,
Wallumbilla, Boggabilla, Kumbarilla,
I'm a killer.

Having decided to place an ICEM cache in Darwin the next decision was where to place it. I have plenty of favourite spots in and around Darwin, so I put all the names in a list and narrowed it down to the best six, put those six in a hat, and pulled them all out.

The coastal cliffs just north of Mindil Beach consist of sedimentary rock which has been naturally eroded, largely by wave action from the ocean, to form gently undulating bedded strata of varying colours.

There is a lookout at the top of the cliff near Darwin High School, which overlooks Mindil Beach, and the Larrakia Coastal Plant Use Walk starts not far away at S12° 26.461' E130° 49.957', and leads down to Mindil Beach. The cache should be approached from the Larrakia Coastal Plant Use Walk, turning off the formed trail opposite the 'Cluster Fig' sign.

You can start the Larrakia Coastal Plant Use Walk from either end. When the school is open you can park at S12° 26.402  E130° 50.051. If the school is closed the road is blocked by a boom gate but you can park at S12° 26.402'  E130° 50.051'. Some cachers might like to start from the Mindil Beach end, walking uphill first, and ending with a leisurely down hill and along the flat return to Mindil Beach. If the Thursday evening or Sunday evening Mindil Beach Markets aren't operating you can park at S12° 26.610'  E130° 49.941', which is very close to the southern end of the Larrakia Coastal Plant Use Walk, but at market time you will need to park a bit further away. 

This cache is a drab camo'd 1 Kg screw top plastic fruit container with a log, 2 pencils, and a sharpener, protected from crushing by a drab camo'd 1 Kg Milo Tin. Please be sure to put the lid on tightly and conceal it as found, with the opening of the Milo tin angled downward to avoid water accumulation, and watch out for muggles.

The cache is hidden in a pile of rocks, and some of the rocks need to be removed to access the container. The rocks need to be replaced as found taking care not to crush the Milo tin or the plastic container.

Swaggies are not tradeable items. Please feel free to take them without making a trade, but please leave a note in the logbook and your online log, and do log them online. Grounspeak Trackables (geocoins and travel bugs) can NOT be logged into this cache, or any other GCA cache. Please don't drop any Grounspeak Trackables in this cache, and if you find any in this cache please remove them and log a "Grab it from somewhere else" log for the trackable.

Additional Waypoints:

Mindil Cliffs Parking 1 S12° 26.435'  E130° 49.950' - Use when school is open.
Mindil Cliffs Parking 2 S12° 26.402'  E130° 50.051' - Use when school is closed and road is blocked by boom gate.
Mindil Cliffs Trailhead S12° 26.461' E130° 49.957'  - Start of the Larrakia Coastal Plant Use Walk.
Mindil Cliffs Parking 3 S12° 26.610'  E130° 49.941' - Park here to walk from Mindil Beach end.
 

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