Mettams Maw Trigg, Western Australia, Australia
By SharksXV on 28-Mar-07. Waypoint GC11R4J

One or more of the following has occurred:

No response from the cache owner.
No cache to find or log to sign.
It has been more than 28 days since the last owner note.

As a result I am archiving this cache to keep from continually showing up in search lists and to prevent it from blocking other cache placements.

If you wish to repair/replace/make available the cache sometime in the near future, just contact a reviewer (by email), and assuming it still meets the current

guidelines, the reviewer will be happy to unarchive it.

Should you replace the cache after 28 days has passed please create a new cache listing so it can be reviewed as a new cache.

It's time to decide, does it go or does it stay?

The Stirling City Council have made new rules for their Bushland, Coastal Dunes, Wetlands areas and includes any other area affected by dieback within the boundaries of the council local government area. These new rules can be found at [url=https://wiki.groundspeak.com/display/GEO/Western+Australia]https://wiki.groundspeak.com/display/GEO/Western+Australia[/url] and will affect already published caches within the council area.

This cache listing has been identified as being one of the approximately 85 existing caches that are located in one of the areas identified by the new rules and must be checked so is being temporarily disabled until the status of the cache is determined as complying or non complying with these new rules.

If this listing complies with the new rules then it can be enabled again but a note must be placed on the cache stating that the cache complies with the rules.

If it is determined that this cache does not comply then the owner is requested to remove the cache for the existing location and archive the listing.

If you wish to replace the cache at some other location within the Stirling City Council Local Government area that does comply with the new rules please submit a new cache listing for the new location.

Regards
John
inspicio
Volunteer Reviewer for Western Australia and Northern Territory

I have been watching this cache for some time and have become increasingly curious as to whether the waypoint and cache are actually still there. Weather conditions were fine and calm yesterday so I jumped into the diving gear and had a look for myself. The water was so icy and I didn't want to stay in too long, but I took a punt on the dive weight being some way through the tunnel rather than where it was indicated by the CO. To my surprise, I found it lodged in the side of the tunnel about halfway along! I had to bring it to the surface as it is pretty much impossible to read. I cleaned it up as much as I could, but it is still hard to make out the south coords. I returned today a lot drier and warmer to find the well constructed and perfectly waterproof cache. Awesome hide. Picked up The Machman pathtag... from over two years ago? Amazing! Shall return with my own pathtag soon. Fav awarded. Tftc

Was diving today, very cold. But I stumbled across it accidentally. It is yellow now and I think it may have been moved as it was hard work diving in there from a tunnel through the reef that I found and couldn't see the end of. Hard with with dive kit. But it was a good dive and a great spot to hide it if it's in the right place. Thanks.

Tried again but due to the swell couldn't enter the cave. We WILL return...

Had great fun snorkelling this morning but the swell was to big for us to safely enter the cave. Saw some great fish! Will return to site as soon as weather allows us...

found by fluke whilst diving the caves,however the colour of the tag is yellow not blue and is definately worth the effort

No luck for me today. Before entering the water I found myself some land based reference points to line up once I got in the water, once I got to what I believed to be the area of GZ I could not locate any caves with swim throughs. I increased my search area and found a nice hole with a swim through fitting the cross section diagram about 50 metres to the north of the GZ that is on the satellite view and spent a fair amount of time ducking down and searching but to no avail.
This will not be my last attempt at this one, I will be back and hopefully next time with more favourable conditions.

OK, so it took me three attempts to get a smiley with this one.
But I had great fun trying.. see my previous logs !!!

The winds were very strong this afternoon, so after I was out of the water,
I sat and watched the windsurfers desperately trying to stay on their boards
and finding it impossible to remount them after they had come to grief... it was
funny to watch, but I did feel for them.

I then went on a hunt for the final Cache, coords were good and lead me
straight there....Cache in good condition, very resilient container.

Left a V.2 Machman PathTag.

Cheers for keeping me busy over 3 days.
The Machman.

(NB. Should this Cache not be classified as a Multi???)

Had a perfect day for snorkelling, found the cave with ease after taking a bearing from
the beach.

Made atleast 10 good 90 seconds dives, focusing my search on the areas described
by the picture/plan. Came up with nothing on each occasion.

Returned home and emailed the owner and shared my experience.
Was told to enlarge my search to the cave floor.

So I returned the next day, however the conditions were shocking.
There was so much surge I could hardly stand and the vis was left than a foot.

Nevertheless I thought I would still make an attempt as I was there and was
very determined to do this Cache.

So I took a first dive into the Cave and hovered a few feet above the floor and shone
my dive torch in to the crevices, but could hardly see a thing due to the sand n silt.

I returned to the surface, and change my tactics and took a deeper dive to the base of the cave.
As I did so a huge surge knocked me into the cave wall. Enough was enough.

I have not admitted defeat on this one, I will return at a later date.

Really enjoyed this more extreme Cache Hunt...and not a Grass Tree in sight !!!

Sunday was a great day to get out snorkeling, in the water at 9:30. I took the GPS with me and eventually thought I found the hole. But I got scared, I wasn't going into there. Thanks anyway I enjoyed the area.

This entry was edited by SIDEandHEEK on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 10:54:52 AM UTC.

Tried again on a much calmer day, perfect conditions with a strong easterly wind. Not 100% convinced that I had the correct location of the waypoint as I didn't take the gps in the water this time either (probably the first mistake!!). Had someone on the beach with the gps make sure we had the right latitude. Searched and searched but couldn't find the marker. Beautiful spot with lots of colourful sea life. Unfortunately leaving WA so will have to try it again next time we are in the area. TFTH.

First attempt at this and intrigued by the challenge. Used to snorkel all over this reef as a kid and know many of the tunnels well. Unfortunately the swell came up quickly and it was too dangerous. Knocked around on the rocks. Didn't take the gps out in the water. Took a bearing from the beach and fairly sure we were in the right spot to find the waypoint. Will try again if we get the chance.

Swell was too strong to get in the hole - determined to try again later!

Went out with rosscomatic and mr-tap. Next time will only take snorkelling gear. Agree with his comments, from beach it looked easy....out there will full kit and we got smashed. Found the cave, awesome spot...but alas too dangerous to enter. Next time gadget. TFTH

Learnt that waves look much smaller when you're standing on the shore. Took SCUBA gear and got smashed! Found the hole but there was no way we were going in there...

FACED WITH A RANCOROUS SWELL AND UNFALTERING WINDS TEAM ZOL EMERGES FROM THE ICY DEPTHS VICTORIOUS ONCE AGAIN! A CERTAIN INCOMPETENT MEMBER REQUIRED DELISTING AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF A FAR SUPERIOR INDOMITABLE NEW RECRUIT. UTILIZING UNPARALLED DYNAMIC APNEA AND THE STREAMLINED PHYSIQUE OF A FRESHLY JUICED SEAL TEAM ZOL WAS ABLE TO TRAVERSE THE MURKY SALT-INFUSED WATERS AND CLAIM ETERNAL GLORIFICATION. FLEDGLING SNAKES PROVIDED NO OBSTACLE AS TEAM ZOL TRAIPSED ACROSS THE BEACH AND ASSERT ITS POSITION IN THE UPPER ECHELONS OF THE GEOCACHING COMMUNITY.

3 doxies coin amiss.
TNLNSL TFTH

The 3doxies coin has been in this cache for a while. Perhaps the owner would grab it out of the cache and move it along....I'm sure the GC owner would appreciate it very much!

Stopped by to check how the new waypoint is holding up. Happy to report that it's still in perfect condition and undisturbed by muggle scuba divers. Also had a particularly bountiful encounter with the local wildlife - apart from the usual array of fish, I was fortunate enough to get a close look at a sting ray, octopus, several port jackson sharks and a large school of enormous buffalo bream.

Convinced I've found the cave but the swell to much to scuba it. Need to pick my day. I WILL get this one!! Thanks again for the challenge!!

I think I found the cave but there was NO WAY I was going in it. Might try again soon. Thanks for the snorkle though!!!

Popped down this morning to replace WP1. Conditions were brilliant with the easterly wind ensuring a beautifully flat surface with minimal swell. Visibility was sensational and Mettams was just teeming with fish life.

The WP is back in its original place in the cave so hopefully it remains undisturbed by muggle divers for a little while! Also checked the cache on the beach which is still in perfect condition.

Will have to disable this cache for a couple days for maintenance.

A muggle scuba diver found the waypoint a few months back and, not knowing what it was, took it home with them and contacted me via the geocaching website to let me know they'd found something of mine

After explaining its function, they assured me it would be promptly returned but judging from the experience of JawsIX, it seems it hasn't been replaced. As luck would have it, I have a replacement WP already constructed so, conditions allowing, I should be able to get the cache back up and running this week.

Perfect conditions this morning - very small swell, very low tide, nice gentle easterly.

We arrived early (about 7am) before the crowds to get a car spot - entered the water to the north of the lagoon and swam along the outside of the reef to roughly where I figured the cave to be. We found the entrance to the cave within a few minutes of searching up on the reef flat.

After reading the previous logs, I decided to take along my dive torch - and I was glad I did. It's dark in there before your eyes adjust. I managed to do about 10 good long dives into the cave without finding the cache. I systematically looked and felt under each and every ledge below the level of the tunnel leading out to sea (as per the diagram). I also looked under nearly every other ledge. Unfortunately - no luck - perhaps it has been found by an abalone diver? Hence the "needs maintenance" suggestion.

Just a word of warning for anyone who wants to try and attempt this one. The cave is deeper and bigger than you might think. Be very careful and make sure you are a confident and proficient skin diver. Any sort of swell in or around here and you could get into a bit of trouble. Nice cave though. I am going to go back again with the SCUBA gear soon and stay in there until I find it (presuming it is still there of course).

Great idea for a cache. I thinking about putting in some myself further north around Ocean Reef.

Thanks for the hunt, and I look forward to returning again for another look after some confirmation it is still there. Cheers.

We (lazybees and myself) found the cave without much problems. However the tide came in and we were $%^ scared to go in a dark 1 meter hole. The currents made it hard to stay on top of the cave to look in, let alone try to go in.

We will try it again later this week and most likely bring a torch with us to have a better look around in the cave (so us scaredy cats won't be afraid in the dark).

Thanks for setting a great challenge, we failed today but will be back another time. Marius

Third attemps..... Still no luck for us anyway we have a good fun with snorkell - but will return back one day when I am ready hee!!

We tried to get to the first WP, but the currents were against us The visibility was also really bad so we had no chance. Unfortunately we have to leave Perth now so that we can't try again soon. Really love the idea!

Went diving with Shaun of El Cacholoco today to try for this cache. We had a good time, I think...lol, but it was a bit too rough for any success. We managed to find the hole out on the reef. Shaun had his gps in a ziplock bag and Jodi was wading around with her gps too, but the waves kept bowling us over, so after a few rolls across the reef it wasn't much fun any more. At least we know the gps units are reasonably waterproof! Shaun and I dived into the hole a couple of times but the swell kept pushing us around and it was just too difficult and a bit dangerous to get deeper into the hole so we will have to try this one again on a day when the waters are still and clear. Thanks for the fun and adventure SharksXV!

Enlisted the help of a couple of friends to snorkel their way out to the reef - but we were defeated by turbulent waters.

Well, this cache definitely deserves the difficulty rating.
On the plus side, I confirmed that my Garmin Legend works submersed in water. We were working together with our friends from 3be~ng and took some time locating the hole entrance. Reef shoes are a definite must. So we eventually found the entrance, but were unable to locate the tag because of the waves.
Since the cave is at the edge of the reef, the waves break right there. Needless to say we got thrown around quite a bit. This also creates a current flowing through the cave that makes getting into the cave tricky as the waves would alternately suck me in and spit me out. This did not leave me with much time to actually look for the tag.
I thought we still had some fun. I think to get this one, you need very calm conditions.

Finally found time and suitable conditions to visit for a maintenance check and to replace WP1 with my (hopefully) more permanent solution.

Visibility was pretty good and with the tide being so low I was able to easily wade to the entry point. Fortunately the location is well protected by the reef so there were no fears of coming across the swarms of sharks the media would have us believe are invading our beaches. News Flash: If you look that hard for sharks, you'll probably find them!

Anyhoo, I've uploaded a picture of the new WP which is a modification of the original.

Thanks Sharks XV. We were down there the other day and saw that we could have walked out, but decided against it because of the former logs.

Phew, after two attempts at this one the holiday is finished and we won't be able to try any further.

On Dec 23 my brother-in-law and I took our snorkeling gear and walked as far as we could go with the GPS - until about 30m from GZ for the cave. We were waist deep and the waves started breaking, although it was only 10h30. I went back to put away the GPS. The visibility wasn't that good (about 5m) and we knew it was a bit rough, but it took a lot of organizing to get together, so we decided to carry on. We lined up with the road, but in hindsigth, and studying Google maps further, we saw that we probably were too far to the north. We planned to go back with scuba gear, but he unfortunately fell sick.

Today everything was much calmer, with no waves breaking and the tide very low. I went to the cave GZ area and made use of the good weather and snorkelers everywhere. But alas - I couldn't find the cave (just like a week ago). This time I made sure I was just south of the point (in front of the shaded, sitting area with the showers and wheelchair ramp) - straight aligned with the northern part of the beach just next toMettam's Pool. I went to the drop-off side of the reef and swam up and down to try and find the place. It is very overgrown with see plants that have big leaves with pointy sides. There was a bit of a surge, but it didn't bother that much. The visibility was about 9-10m. The water wasn't cold at all and I nevertheless had a great time with the family watching from the side. Afterwards I took my twin boys (6yrs) for a semi-snorkel in the shallows of Mettams Pool. We had a lot of fun!

No doubt the difficulty rating could be notched up a bit because of the difficulty to find the cave, but just my opinion.

Thanks for an awesome idea and a great time that we had. We'll have to come back for this one in about two years when we visit Perth again. Hopefully there'll be more of these type of caches around, because we love them!

PS. Please provide some hints to help locate the cave a bit easier when you're in the water (top-down reef drawing maybe and some sandy patches to look out for etc).

When replacing the WP, I left the original weight at the entrance to the cave (forgot to take it back with me), which is what Infamous Five found.

The new WP was still in the correct location at the bottom of the cave when it was last checked (about 3 weeks ago) so hopefully it's still there!

Hi Brother,
I and a mate tried for this cache today. We were determined to get one before going to Melbourne as I have a travel bug I want to photograph here. The conditions were atrocious and viz = sand storm but we did find the weight with the shackle. However the blue tag with the numbers is missing. It is not inside the cave either but on top at the start of the hole. Had the devils own time trying to stay still enough to photograph it. I must admit snorkeling down into that cave wouldn't have happened either. WE SHALL BE BACK with kayaks and tanks.... Please please please fix it up. This is an awesome cache idea......!!! I really want this one and plan to put Snappy Head TB here with photos...

Visited the cache on Good Friday morning to replace WP1 and encountered absolutely sensational conditions! With the north easterly breezing in, visibility seemed to go on for miles and the abundance of sea life was just breath-taking.

After replacing the WP, I took advantage of the beautiful conditions and swam over to a little cave that is often inhabited by Port Jackson Sharks and was rewarded by a close-up sighting of not one nor two but seven sharks, one of which even allowed me to gently stroke it. Magnificent stuff!

As for the WP, I've attached a non-corrosive (so I'm told) alloy tag to the same lead weight. I haven't updated the photograph as I'm still working on a more permanent solution for this WP.

Good luck and if you've been thinking of tackling this one, certainly act fast to take advantage of the last few days of warm weather before the cold sets in.

Well, it's back to the drawing board! Thanks to The Hallows for checking on the cache for me. I have another idea so hopefully the cache will be in play (again) within a week or two.

Dropped in (so to speak) as we were having a snorkle on this beaut morning with a friend who has shown a keen interest in both snorkling and caching. Unfortunately although one part of the underwater "cache" is still there the important part with the required numbers is not.

Popped in to drop off the 3doxies GC for a sea-side holiday.

This one has been on my to-do list for a long time! I'm glad the underwater part was replaced and hope it lasts longer this time.
Enjoyed the snorkel, and even saw some big fishies . The water was very flat this morning, and I had no trouble finding the actual cache.
Took the GC, thanks for the excellent cache!

SUCCESS!!!! I finally got it! An FTF at its new location - you beauty! This has been one of our most challenging finds - and personally the most rewarding. We have been working away at this for weeks - and together last evening we were finally able to locate the elusive cache. The extra eyes and different thinking of the other Hallows members certainly came into play.
ARRIVED - Cache Critters GC
DEPARTED : Nothing.
Thanks for the adventure SharksXV

What a great idea. Fantastic spot to hide the coords. Got them okay but unfortunately couldn't put them to good use! Searched all over but to no avail. Oh well, I'll have to have another go when I've got a bit more time. Part one is done - I will get this thing!!!!!
Thanks again for the great opportunity for a snorkel, SharksXV. As they say in the classics - I'll be back.....

The cache is back in place. Please note, some fairly substantial changes needed to be made to ensure the cache is longer lasting and less susceptible to muggle-divers/snorkellers.

Unlike regular land muggles, the water version is a far more dangerous animal as they tend to look in every nook and cranny by default, making hiding anything a real chore!

The cache is essentially a multi now with the first waypoint constructed of UV-stabilised plastic to ensure it's longevity in salt-water.



[This entry was edited by SharksXV on Sunday, February 10, 2008 at 4:57:41 PM.]

I conducted the first maintenance check of the cache this year and unfortunately, the constant sea currents have degraded the cache to such an extent that it has broken away from it's mooring and is no longer in place.

I am rethinking the best way to place this cache and some changes will need to be made to ensure it is longer lasting.

Time and weather permitting, the cache will be back in play within the next couple weeks.

I came hunting this cache today with Shenbot. We were a bit disappointed that we couldn't find it.
I'm really looking forward to finding this one when it has been replaced. Cheers

What a beautiful day for a snorkle! Went down there at around 10.30 - probably a bit late really - the swell picked up after about an hour and made it tough to get under overhangs etc so we ended up pulling up stumps. However - we did have a great time and although we didn't find it we intend returning very soon to have another crack at it. Thanks for the opportunity to don the gear and go for a dip!

I was down at Mettams, where I go regularly, and noticed that the tide was the lowest I'd seen and the ocean the calmest. Unfortunately, I didn't have the details of the cache with me (pre CacheMate days)so I had to go on memory (a failing commodity these days) and a previous survey. Mrs B and I lined it up with our shoreline marker and had a delightful dive. I also didn't have a weight belt so the dive was pretty limited. Notwithstanding it was a wonderful excursion and I'm very thankful for the cache. I'll have to return.

Shows you how out of touch I am.
Well done cousin on your cache.
You seem to have frightenend the locals though !!!
Good luck with one.
I wish we could do something similar here in Natal.

Well done cuz, looks great. Hopefully lots of cachers find & enjoy, including hopefully me one day.

Finally at 9.40am. This cache was to be a nice simple one and our fitst FTF.

Our first attempt was last night after collecting the other half of Team Wizbang we became first responder to a car accident and rendered first aid and assistance and then waited till Police and Ambulance officer had finished with us. After that it was dusk and we thought it was best left for daylight.

This morning I finished my chores and went down for a swim and look-see. A gorgeous day, sunny with only a slight breeze from the north and a small surge onto the reef/beach.
The water was a bit milky but still a decent 10+m visibility. Eagle rays and lots of fish big & small, heaps of them everywhere.

I have to admit I cheated and used scuba gear but this is the perfect spot for snorkelling. I found the cache after 20mins or so. There are lots of holes and over hangs and grottos and it took me a while to find "the one".

I took nothing but in keeping with the theme I clipped on a SS Clip for scuba divers.

Thanks heaps for the cache, not only is it our first FTF but it was a awesome dive.
Edit: got the date wrong.

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