The Bone Collector Wodonga, Victoria, Australia
By Marcus Vitruvius on 15-Apr-08. Waypoint GC1B9JW

Found itthank Christ2 years after staringbetter log to come.TFTC and SL at 15pmEDIT: First started this cache on a windy crappy day in October 2021 when we could not even find the first way point. It got fixed so back we went in 2022. Got the first one and then fell short.Months later, had another go after PAF and where able to get everything necessary. But did not go for GZ just yet. Tried that one in Feb 2023 but unprepared for the bush bash of overgrown shrub at GZ. Today was the day. Thanks to Haveanez for confirming the final coords we got there again and it was awful. Truly overgrown and tough. At one stage, I said, Why do we do this again?Like a previous finder noted, the coords need to be ignored, and just as I read that out loud Belinda said the words we all want to hear when we have had enoughIve got it! It was about 5-10m out to the left of the coords, a space I had checked but from the wrong side. Epic and very interesting. No doubt not one the CO assumed would take 2 years. Thanks again.

I started on this cache while on my drive home from Rutherglen.

My understanding of how this cache experience is constructed changed two or three times throughout my adventure.

Looking forward to returning with more time to focus on this cache!

Thought we might finish this one after 15 months but no luck at GZ so far. Don’t have the right pants or gloves or shoes for this one today. We will be back.

TFTC. Day 10 of our enforced layover in Albury as the Motorhome gets repairs. Hoping this would be the last day here, but apparently the Motorhome has other ideas.
We were not in the mood to travel far today so concentrated our efforts along the walking track along the River. We also sopped and had lunch and spent a few hours just watching the River. A pleasant day.
This was a puzzle we had stated quite some time combining finds and the odd PAF we had the final in hand. Walking along we made the find

Cache find no:13607

Over the past 2 weekends I’ve done (& wasted some time) doing a full maintenance check for the CO and finding containers that are said to be missing, some hidden very well, covered in debris, a rock, a branch etc.
I don’t mind doing the maintenance for a friend, but when the wp’s are there it’s kind of frustrating as it’s a lengthy cache.
The cache, WP’s and actual locations have changed or been switched at least 3 times over the past few years. (Constant flooding/muggle activity etc)
So just maybe the answers that have been handed out were in fact correct a few years back, but with locations needing to be changed they are no longer relevant, but hey, more than one way to get your name in the logbook right!?!

I switched the larger containers and now replaced them with smaller containers provided by CO as we thought they were missing.
If you can’t find a WP it doesn’t mean it’s not there, you may actually be in an incorrect location, or one that’s been switched.

A worthy cache that’s actually worth doing from start to finish.

Started this adventure a long time ago, with a few starts and stops along the way, due to missing WP3 and WP4, so we were required to gather the information from previous finders, a clever concept, it would be great to see it maintained for others to enjoy the entire experience, finally found the cache in fantastic condition in a bomb proof location, TFTC Marcus Vitruvius

And our streak of trying the tricky ones and failing at the first stage continues. This one not found for 2 years. Is the first clue still here? So overgrown that we couldn’t reach each place to even look. Thanks anyway.

If you need to fill a calendar hole why not do two caches! I had been looking at this one for a while but had made limited progress (pretty certain a WP is missing) so a few weeks ago when TS5 said they had been to GZ but didn’t really want to go there I took the opportunity to be chivalrous and offer yo brave the snakes.
This was the first day with a calendar hole for both of us so we met at a nearby car park and strolled along the path in the 35+ heat - 3 of TS5 (one on a bike), 1 of the TE5 and two geohounds. At GZ I led the way down the slope and after ignoring the gps found the hide well exposed (but unlikely to be discovered) - gerr appears to have split and the cache was in the open. I tossed the log in to ts5 who was halfway down the slope, and then I signed and found a spot to hide the container so a little less obvious.
TFTC Marcus Vitruvius and thanks to the_stephenson5 for the company. Now just need to work out what I will collect on January 4!

I started this cache some time ago and thoroughly enjoyed the concept. I made my way in to wp3 with geokid#2 when I came across the biggest redbelly black snake I had ever seen hiding under some leaf litter.. it was this moment that my fear of snakes became apparent. Whilst I froze to the one spot geokid made the run back to the car leaving me stranded!
From here my PAF came in to play to help me through some missing waypoints.
I looked at gz a few weeks back, but wasnt game to head in to locate the cache, but organised a time with Thewins5 on a day that we both needed a find. With Thewins5 leading the way it wasnt long until the cache was found and log signed. Thanks MV for the cache and happy to now have it completed.

This cache caused us so much grief, it took us three days of looking and back tracking and second guessing ourselves and finally with feeling that one of the way points was missing we PAF who helped us pass this point so that we could move on. At GZ I sent hubby for it as I felt that the terrain was a little beyond only to have him come back and tell me I could have managed it easily. SL TFTC

Found with PapaGrouch. I had started this puzzle almost 5 years ago. It has been a long process collecting the information at each waypoint, mostly I had to wait until PapaGrouch was with me and that we were in the area and had time to go looking. We didn't always remember either. We were held up when one waypoint went missing, we waited for it to be fixed but then had to ask for the information so we could continue. A while back we had the coordinates for GZ but didn't manage to get close enough to make the find. Finally today we had some time to kill while waiting for PapaGrouch's car to be serviced and we made our way to GZ. It was an interesting trek but the cache was found in good condition and the logbook is signed. TFTC

Hello all. I am after some assistance in the location of this cache.
I am not great at puzzle caches but have attempted this a few times with no success. I think that some of the way points may be missing, however it could just be that my caching skills are in need of fine tuning.
I have tried to contact the owner but I seem to be no good at that either.
So any help or information in any way would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

11:51 am #3249
On a weekend road trip with Papillon4506, GeoTurtle37 & ahomburg, with various solved puzzles, night caches & anything else that was on our path.
Started this one yesterday, and managed to complete it this morning. A couple of waypoints were missing, but with the help of a PAF, we were able to eventually finish it.
TFTC

Found on a long weekend road trip with Geoturtle37, ahomburg and OzHockeyChick. I take no credit for solving this puzzle, that honor goes to other cleverer members of our party. After travelling all around to solve the puzzles and collect the hints we were rewarded with a quick easy find at the final gz. Thanks for bringing us here and thanks for the cache.

Date: 12 June 2017 Time: 11:45
Find #8635

Heading interstate for the Queens Birthday long weekend with OzHockeyChick, Geoturtle37 and Papillon4506 with the main aim an epic skullracing night cache as well as anything else we felt like doing along the way. The Weather was looking like it was going to be kind to us, despite winter being here, the sun was out most of the daylight hours.

Our last morning before heading for home, the main thing we wanted to achieve today was to complete the Bone Collector cache as well as a few puzzles we had managed to solve last night.

I actually did the first waypoint of this one back in 2012, but it wasn't until this weekend that I have had a chance to finish it off.

We started this one on Saturday evening and were super keen to finalize and convert into a smiley. Some tricky field puzzles here, but we eventually worked them all out. Cache at GZ was in A1 condition.

Many thanks to Marcus Vitruvius for the cache. TNLN.

--- Big things are happening! *Are you joining the fun?* [**THE**](http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC6GFDX) [**ALEXANDRA**](http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC6GFDX) [**EVENT 2017**](http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC6GFDX) *18th / 19th November 2017 – GC6GFDX – Alexandra – Victoria*

I think WP 3 is missing, could someone please confirm this?

Travelling around Australia.

A beautiful day today so we decided to head across the border with the GeoBikes on the back of the GeoCruiser.

A beautiful ride along the river enjoying the vista. We did encounter 1 snake as he slithered in our path but that was the only one today.

shame about the blue green algae. Caches were all very enjoyable and we thank you for placing them for us to enjoy today.

ok....so we are really glad to get this one off the list! I'm thinking that we may go down in the record for completing a cache from start to finish......almost 2 years!!! We got is wrong so many times! but boy are we glad to say that it is over. We have to give this one a FP as all the work you put into this Marcus was amazing! Thanks so much for the very long adventure! It was well worth it

The description said this one would take some time to complete, it wasn't wrong.
A very unusual puzzle multi, which really was quite fun to do.
Made our way to each waypoint until we came unstuck, so resorted to PAF, which got us back on track.
Arrived at GZ to find a great hide, in an area that suited the name of the cache perfectly.
What an amazing adventure, and well worth a favourite point from us.
Many thanks for placing this cache, Marcus Vitruvius, for us and others to find.

What an adventure! Soo glad we can finally tick this one off. Our trek started on the 12th January 2014 & we honestly thought we'd knock it over in a few hours not 4 months.... A couple of waypoints had gone missing/burnt which brought our great adventure to an abrupt halt. Much thanks to haveanez for maintaining these waypoints & getting the bc back in action for others to conquer (hint for wp 5 now needs updating). We won't spoil it for others but we enjoyed scrambling through dense bush (expecting a snake); a close encounter with a bee hive; & sliding (not voluntarily) into one of the hides! We walked away with a few scratches along with big grins on our faces because we "found all the bones" & pieced it together to claim the smilie. Highly recommend this one! Tftc

The waypoint in question has actually been maintained MV, but a thing called "life" came before geocaching (fancy that) & it slipped my mind to advise you it was up and running.
All waypoints are in place.
The cache does not (& will not) require archiving so the 'needs maintenance' log by Cristabel can be removed.
Cheers.

.

Thanks for the update Haveanez and Marcus Vitruvious. Good to see it's back in action!

Please maintain or archive this one. We have been trying for months to complete with no luck due to missing waypoints. We are trying to hide a cache and can't create it as one of the waypoints for this multi is in the vicinity. Once we find the waypoint (or it is archived) we will know where we can put our cache. Thanks

After 2 DNFs today I have decided I better log a note for this one we attempted to find earlier this year (12th January) - in case others are attempting to find it too. We were on a roll & pretty confident of getting to gz that day! we'd crawled through some really overgrown bush in 40+ degree heat only to stumble on the 4th waypoint. Seems council had done a clean up & removed the hidey hole. We phoned a friend and yes it had gone. It has since been replaced and after reading Jamin's log - appears it & the next waypoint has gone too! hopefully a better location for both is found.... so we can continue our trek to gz for the bone collector! we have really enjoyed this one (up until we made an abrupt halt)!!!

This was a fun little treasure hunt! Joined JaminAppleford for a Saturday afternoon mission. The first few bones were identified successfully without too much trouble. Some recent tree clearing had us stumped (sorry bad pun) temporarily, as did some recent arson activity, but with help from the CO and Haveanez we were back on track. A couple of the smaller bones were very tricky! Great idea for a cache, lots of work went into this one. Thanks for the cache, and for the discovery of some places I would never have found otherwise around A-W.

I first looked at this cache a few weeks ago when I found out that a cache I wanted to place was to close to one of the WP's for this cache. I made my way to WP1 and had a look at the start of it one evening, only to decide that it was going to be a little bit more challenging than I had time for that night.
A few weeks later and I have decided to make it a weekend adventure on a Saturday, and I've enlisted the help of Noctis77 to come around with me.
Yesterday a big thunderstorm hung around for most of the afternoon/ evening and we weren't sure what Saturday was going to look like. Luckily it has turned out to be a cracker of a day, perfect weather to be bouncing around town Geocaching!

This is a fantastic cache, loved every stage. It took us about 4 hours but that was including a casual lunch stop and a break for Geodog Rosie to have a splash around in the river and get clean from all the mud she'd enjoyed at one of the WPs.

With a bit of support we managed to get around to all of the correct WPs today, a very enjoyable day out. Both Noctis77 and I haven't done a lot of these multi stage puzzle caches and this one has given us a bit of an idea for one that we may set up around Beechworth.

Thanks for the cache MV, and Havenez for maintaining it!

1 down...

What an adventure took just over a week for this one, had to contact CO for confirmation I was on the right track and I was, the last bone had me, but with the information all ready gathered and google maps it was off to GZ, took the easy track in I thought a big tree must have come down in the the heavy winds we had a couple of weeks ago, so it was a scamble over the tree then the GPSr decided it didn't want to play due to the heavy tree cover and overcast weather, but I looked for the obvious spot, then the GPSr came to life and indicated I was 2 metres away after I done all the searching, the prize was found. This gets a favourite from me. TFTC, MV

We had a small group of us working our way through this one, thanks to them and Google we were able to successfully complete the cache first time around without any back tracking. Every one of the waypoints we did on our journey were totally fitting of the theme and a great time was had by all.
TFTC

How much fun is this climbing up hills and bushland. So very clever.We even learned something too.. well done

Tough to find at first but got there in the end. Great cache

Super day of fun thanks

Mystery Cache 100 for the Lost Wanderers!!!!!!


What a fantastic cache!!! We did it in 3 stages over about a month. Thanks for putting so much work into the waypoints and finding so many amazing places for them. Definitely gets a favourite point from us.

This was one of about 20ish finds for the day.. One of about 100 finds for the long weekend which also ticked off an epic night cache, 2 DT/P81 combos as well as a whole lot of favourites.. caught up with a bunch of mates as well as making new ones.. Thanks Team Oz Mega for all your efforts creating a great weekend.. I found this one with the hordes after the FlashMob.. I teamed up with DrJim+DrJosiey for this find.. a few small oversigts were made however we were soon back on the right track.. Thanks for the cache and find # 2380

With four and a half years of anatomy study between Spladem, josiey and myself, we were surprised to find ourselves on the wrong track pretty quickly. However we recovered from our desire to quit and gathered the correct information. The approach to GZ was hair-raising too, and the terrier was upset that she could not join us. Time for an osteology refresher course.

Found with Spladem and drjim7 and echo drjim's sentiments. The loyal West Highland terrier yapping at the top of the cliff was a memorable sight. TFTC.

Found WP1 on the way to OZ Mega.

On a group cache run in the Albury area, this is one of 7 that we found. TFTC and adventure while showing us about town.

Well we attempted it but we did not complete this famous cache. We were attempting it at night though so it became very difficult. Now I am back in Melbourne I realise our mistake and we were in fact on the right path. Next time I guess.....

Found at 11.35am GAFF5 in the company of a huge group - the geotrail is now set for a long while I would think. The clues were quite tricky - couldn't a match box be placed next to them . The final was a bit of a bush bash, but then we found the easy way out.
Thanks Marcus Vitruvius - a very nice cache that we have been wanting to do for a long time.

Found by Mary & David at 1135. Found in morning group assault while at Oz Mega. We'd started this puzzle a long while ago and, surprisingly, the nurse found it tougher than expected. Once on the trail to GZ, a couple of other teams joined in and the group spread out. With some approaching from above and some from below, the cache didn't stand a chance of remaining hidden. Our thanks to Marcus Vitruvius.

Found in the company of a very large caching group, I found the container which meant I had the honour of signing the log for everyone, had writers cramp when I finished lol. Thanks Marcus Vitruvious

Another find with Just a cacher and the geodog along with a host of other cachers after doing the nearby cache. A pleasant walk which the dog enjoyed.

Thanks for another cache Marcus Vitruvius

Another Mega group find in the Days of the Oz Mega

x] The Eyles Crew

Well, this has been a long time coming but there we were at the Mega and the oppotunity was there to pick it up.
The cache was found in the company of numerous other caches and a dog!
Many eyes made short work of the find.
TFTC MV

Found with Black Bunny on our OzMega odyssey. Candy Cane 101 accompanied us on the trip, but didn't show a lot of enthusiasm for caches - there was a lad within hailing distance. I had a few back problems related to the camp bed, I think, so I missed a few, too.

We had started this one years ago in the company of some locals and as Lady Morris has some vague and clearly outdated knowledge we managed to nail quite a few wpts at the time and then via email subsequently. Nice to be able to complete the hard work today. A great cache and its nice to have the time to do more than the drivebys. TFTC Warren

We found this one n the company of a large group (swarm?) of achers whilst attending the Meaga. TFTC

Found while attending the OZ Mega 2012, I guess you can call this a Mega cache for me, I started it on the way to Wagga Mega two years ago, but came unstuck, once back home the error was rectified so it feels good to finally finish the cache, by the look of the log book a big pack was here yesterday. Thanks for the cache Wazza!!!

The weather was just right to hunt down this very enjoyable cache. A knowledge of anatomy really didn't help at all, Well thought out - this one definately gets our favorite points.

Our last cache find before heading back to the caravan for lunch.

Thanks.

long walk....with all7, crank1, whitepaw9

We follow Everlasting who found it.
Found it with crank1, ALL7 and Laker63
Great hide
TFTC

Found with about twenty others. A very nice chat and wander. Next time possibly wouldn't wear thongs. Thanks for the cache.

Fantastic idea for a cache - loved the concept and final location. TFTC.

With Everlasting, Whitepaws9, Laker63 and All7
Everlasting helped us with it as she had been there before.
Found it
TFTC

With Whitepaws9, Laker63 and All7 advice by everlasting help us and easy to find as hide very well thanks

Well that was a fun adventure. Were planning to do the Spy vs Spy series today, but discovered it was archived as the owner was leaving town. Seeing that this one would take some time, & that's what we had today, it was decided to focus on this one. Geoson & Geodad arrived at WP1 at 1420. We left Geomum home at HQ to do some work, once we discovered what we needed to do, we realized she was the expert in this field. But with technology these days, we were able to make regular contact with HQ and include her along the way to either confirm our suspicions, or seek some guidance when we were stumped. WP4 certainly had us learning something new we never knew! Thanks MV Along the way we also discovered why a few parks that we had previously wondered why there was no cache there. Now we know that we can't put one there! Geoson managed to find all containers with the last container found at 1730 - so just over 3 hrs with no wrong turns & no Joe Blakes. However there were a few minor injuries & at one point, as we climbed out of the trees to a potentially popular muggle area, it felt like Hogan's Heroes breaking out of camp. Thanks Marcus for all your work & effort to both put this together & get it back online again.

When we arrived at the final location, based on the last log in the book, it seems a few friendly muggles had found the cache & signed the log. They didn't know what kind of treasure hunt it was, but they were interested. Looks like we might have some new cachers.

It’s a good day. Now that I have completed it, I place this one at the top of my favourites as it was quite emotive at the end. This cache took me a few weeks to complete, initial attempt got me over halfway in just a couple of hours, but out of time I had to suspend the search. Picked up the trail a fortnight later and quickly got to the stage of solving the final co-ordinates, again out of time I had to wait to explore my choice of final co-ordinates. Next weekend I confidently headed to the final cache, and spent a considerable time searching (which I can now happily say was exactly the right spot ) in the rain and fading light, only to come up empty handed with confidence somewhat shaken.
I revisited the find logs, and PM RoJenTil seeking re-assurance that I was on the right track, Thanks very much to RoJenTil for boosting my confidence that I was on the money. So again, filled with confidence I returned to the same place. Fail, they say a definition of stupidity is repeating the same actions and expecting a different outcome.
With wounded pride I again revisited the stages and choices I had made. Sure that I was right only made the ‘did not find’ more emotive. I stewed on it for a while and decided to let it alone for a time. But it ate away at my conscience , eventually I asked for help from my fellow local cachers. Thanks to all the local cachers that responded.
Today I revisited the site, and I’m not sure if there was divine intervention but, the cache was waiting in plain sight where I had previously sat contemplating where I had gone wrong.
Examination of the site leads me to believe that the cache was indeed well hidden and that nature had added several layers of material that made my previous nondestructive searches futile. It was collapse of supporting structure that made my find possible. Thanks again to those that supported my efforts, best Christmas present ever.

This entry was edited by branda1707 on Sunday, 25 December 2011 at 11:40:56 UTC.

Done over two days, took me about 5 hours all up. Was an entertaining journey doing all the waypoints, managed to hit them all without making a mis-step. Will admit to having a couple of tech toys with me in the car that really helped with research.

Would recommend to future cachers that you bring a camera to photograph the clues along the way, and secateurs for access to WP2. Also, be careful of Joe Blake while doing some waypoints. He was spotted at WP2 in the stump below the container. I had to be stealthy and extract/replace it from behind which was just a little bit awkward!

Thanks Marcus for an excellent puzzle cache! I had a great time doing it and the walk to the final GZ was enjoyable and muggle-free today, it's in a very nice spot. This cache deserves a favorite point. TNLN.

(Rated 5 stars with [url=http://www.gcvote.com]GCVote[/url])

Found with Rojentil Rojentil was very happy to see the cache enabled again. We made quick progress on the first few pieces but were held up with a few technical issues when we forgot the torches one night. Oh well, plenty of wine back at the house. We were then stumped with the final calculations and put the find on hold while waiting for a reply email from the owner. Started another mystery cache in the area and had a brain wave when similar calculations were required for it. Quickly grabbed the book and worked out the final coordinates. The final cache was a quick find and a nice walk on a Sunday morning. TFTC

Found while caching with Nearra.
I was very happy to see this cache was back up and going again as I have wanted to find it for months. Convinced Nearra that we had to do it before he returned to Qld, so a good start was made on the first day, but it got dark with only 4 w/p's done. Off home for Dinner the out again to get w/p5. Parked up close by and went to grab torches out of caching bag.........NO Torches. Many bad words said on the drive back home.
Left it untill next day and made a quick find. Tried to work out the gz, Head scraching and swearing did not get the figures we needed so we decided to fire off an e-mail to the owner to check the numbers. 2 days later and with no reply we had a brain wave while doing another multi, that made all the figures fall into place. Sunday morning off we went to find the final and another Marcus Vitruvius cache was done. Great fun. Fav point from us. TFTC

Just a log to clear the needs maintenance status.

Coordinates changed from:
S 36° 06.960 E 146° 52.693

Coordinates changed to:
S 36° 06.960 E 146° 52.679

Distance from original: 69 feet or 21 meters.

The Bone Collector is back! Big thanks to Haveanez who have worked hard to get this one up and running again.

Good to go.

Just a note to say that I'm still currently working out some new locations for WP's and will hopefully have it up and running soon. Sorry it has taken so long.

Gratias. M.V.

Will disable this one until I can replace a couple of WP's.

The WP1 one of this cache has gone missing due to recent flood water aroung the region in Dec 2010. the cache owner has been notified about this. We have check oll the location of this cache with the help of the cache owner via phone. (Cache owner out of state at moment). At least three point are missing.
Thanks for that. Just letting all know.
SNAKECATCHER

Found this cache, but not in the traditional way that it was designed to be done. All explained below.

Found this Cache after a Hot day caching with a Non-geocacging friend. Headed up north from Geelong to get this Mystery/Puzzle cache as it has been on my to do list for some time, as well as another Mystery/Puzzle cache that had came out last week,"Elapid Isle".
When we got to WP1 we could see that the area had been recently flooded with quite a bit of water, at lease 1mt to 1.5mts deep.(could tell by all the debre around and in the trees, the force must have been something as some of the sapplings are laid right backover.) We had a warning from DJ Rascal that morning after doing "Elapid Isle" and told him that this was the next cache on our list. That resent rains in the region over Dec. had WP1 flooded. Noticed that the last time that it had been logged as completed was in Oct. last year (2010). After searching the area throught the debre for 20-25mins in the "starting to heat up quickly" day, we headed for the local Maccas to cool down, have a bite to eat. and use their Wifi to send a message to the cache owner, Marcus Vitruvius. within a few mins, the phone rang, it was Marcus Vitruvius, saying that he was in Western Australia on holidays and was unable to get there to check on the cache.(Sorry Marcus Vitruviusfor disturbing you on your holidays.) After a quick chat we told him that we are here so we could check on the cache points if he likes. So he sent the next set of coords to me.

So as you can see, we found the cache onle because of checking on all the wp's that were being sent and our update of the locations to and from us and Marcus Vitruvius the cache owned. work ed our way through to GZ and finally got the cache signed at about 8pm. (not doing this all day we had a brake and went for a swim in the afternoon, and found a camping area for the night as well.)

after doing/ checking on this cache, Marcus Vitruvius said log it as a find. So we found it but with the help on the call and text messagers to and from the cache owner. Guess it would be a GAFF4+ almost a GAFF5.

There are some parts of this Cache that are not at the location they are meant to be due to heavy rains and flood waters to the region. The cache owner has been notified about all the are not there. WP1 is not there so you will not be able to go any from that point to be able to complete this cache at this point of time. Even thou some of the point were not there we had fun going around checking on this cache. My non-caching friend works in a field that deals with subject a has a great knowlage on the topic, so this would have helped me get through this cache, if they were all there. Took some great photos as we got up to some of our antics (which I wont post on he as they may show a location or two of this cache.)

This cache has given me new ideas that I will take back down to Geelong.
Loved the whole Concept of this cache and look forward to getting back up here and completing it the way that it was meant to be done.
Thanks, Marcus Vitruvius. TFTC. Will as post a nedds Maintance, so others don't get stuck as we did.

Well, I think that I can claim the slowest find on this one. Easily over a year, maybe two. Each time I found a waypoint I had to go home to look it up! (We didn't study Bones in Accountancy!)

One time I tried all four possibilities, including one twice on different trips. At the penultimate point today, as usual I had no idea, but a most fortuitous phone call helped me out! Thanks MV, but no more please!

Found it with iamdvs TNLNSLTFTC!! no wrong turns

Found this one with no wrong turns .. seems my nursing studies are finally paying off .. Thanks MV for such a well planed cache Loving your work !!
TNLNSL

Made a start here but soon realized it was probably going to take a while so postponed it untill later. This might be my "one to look forward to" after completing the two mysteries near home.
Thanks again MV

Hey Guys, Ive been chatting to Everlasting and here is the confusion. Her english is not perfect and she spent 5 days in Albury caching. What she meant was she had done most of it on a previous visit and finished it off today. Im pretty sure I saw her name in the logbook (I seemed to be following her around town a lot!) so all is well and she asked me to pass on her apologies for said confusion

"YaaawwwwwnnnN! Right. Time to finish off that nice little cache I started yesterday. What's that sounds... Holy Hmmm 150mm due today, flood warning, gale warning.. oh well Only got 2 stops to make away we go!"

Stop 1: "We regret to inform you the trail ends here. Go recheck earlier waypoints" Bugger, now which one did I mess up?! This is why I did Forensic Chemistry, not Bio!

Yesterday I was concentrating on Multi and Puzzle Caches around town. Knocked off a couple and started this as it came highly recommended, then ran out of light just as things were looking good. My first stop as you prolly gathered this morning pointed out the error of my ways... but which error?! There were 4 WP to check, two I was sure of, the other two I thought I was?!

"No no no that doesnt make sense, let's go back one more step. (HINT: PHOTOGRAPH ALL THE CLUES YOU FIND!!! Trust me!) ARGH! Schoolboy error, never assume, it makes an arse out of you and me! Hmm, brakes feel a little weird.. oh well."

It actually turns out I had an early error and had to visit a few false trails to work it out. Think careful or there are a LOT of useless km's you'll drive on this persuit! Finally I traced the error I shouldnt have made and was back on track. Luckily I didnt get bogged like some people (haha) as I kept the ute on the tarmac and walked the muddy bits. Thanks for the notes of encouragement left it on of the WP by earlier finders, helped me perservere.

"Right I definately know the next one let's go... WHat ThE?! Why does my brake peddle touch the floor? Oh Dear. Looks like I'll have to abandon the adventure and find a mechanic... on a Saturday arvo. "

With little to no stopping power I began to crawl off into the monsoon... only to be cut off 200m down the track by a flash flood 60cm deep by the markers and about 100 wide. Couldnt risk a crossing so I had to retrace my steps the long way into town using the gears to slow down. Long story short obviously not being able to find a mechanic open on a Sat arvo I got all MacGyver, got some advice, and clamped the faulty brake line leading to what must be a leaking salve cylinder to restore stopping power... with liberal use of duct tape!

"Damn it, all that lost time and Im losing light again! Now, I could go back to my hostel, but I think I should test my work before heading down to Melb tomoz (wont be able to get it fixed on a sunday in Albury!) Success! made it to the final WP!!! Damn, that's a lot of water moving! But what's that bone? This, nope unlikely co-ords, how about this? Bingo. That's gotta be GZ. Now to get there without killing myself with only 3 working brake units

On the final approach, in the pouring rain, at about 5pm after setting out at noon today to "quickly wrap up" this cache I had a spring in my step and song in my heart. Hearing the Rattle when I grabbed the cache hinting more then just another bone picture inside I hoped MV was not cruel enough to have thought of this and filled a flase cache with rocks NOPE! That's the Ticket!!!! Unfortunately in the rain I couldnt add too much to the log or worse read the torment of previous finders as I didnt want things to get wet. So here is my story, now to read the others.

Do. This. Cache. Just start early, on a good clear day, and use logic to compliment any anatomical skills you may have. Even if you get every answer correct you will be covering some decent ground, not one for walkers haha.

Well MV - This is 1200 GC.com finds (just a shade over 1300 Total with GCA) and may I say while I cursed your name more then once in broken Latin the end product is an extremely memorable hunt. Every cache I came across (including two ways to false ends!) appear in good nick. So now, only one question... you HAVE read the book yes?!

Cheers from Sydney. Recommened on GCA '*****'

Rated: for Overall Experience

What an amazing adventure this takes you on and such a well put together cache, we cannot imagine the time and work gone into this one.

Sunday afternoon....raining, we went for a maintenance run around our caches, then on our way back into Wodonga, Mrs H said let's have a go at the 'Bone Collector' as it's been on the 'to do' list for some time now......so Big Ez's arm was twisted and we were off to WP1 around 3pm!

The adventure starts here.....
Get to WP1 and it starts to pour.....Big Ez runs to get the container and back to the car......we chose our next destination and just as we were about to put it back muggles walked into the area....in shorts.....in the pouring rain.....so we had to sit...and wait....and wait......for at least 20 mins to return the container!!
The next 2 WP's were done in good time - (thank-you iPhone & Googlemaps).
Just past 4pm on our way to WP4, we pass a few blokes who seem to have got themselves stuck in the mud....Big Ez decided to do the right thing and go tow them out..........Big mistake! We got stuck too!!!!! A quick call to our trusty towing company with all the right gear... 'SkullRacer Towing' for help....hmmm...out of town......oh ohh!
After a couple of quick phonecalls, the neighbour was on his way and we were out in no time and back on track - there was no way we weren't finishing this today!!
Our next move was our first and only wrong move for the day. After choosing 2 possibilities, we went to the closer destination first.....wrong......so we moved onto our second choice and BINGO! It was now dark and the GeoKids were starting to get hungry!
Once again, we chose 2 possibilities for GZ, so did a quick drive by one and knew it wasn't there, so it was flat out to GZ and Big Ez was out in the dark & pouring rain! After a thorough search, Big Ez got his hands on it just after 6.30pm! Whoop Whoop!

We had an absolute blast doing this cache, even in the rain & getting bogged! It's all apart of the adventure on tracking down the cache. This is going on our 'Highly Recommended' list for sure!

It was Macca's on the way home for tea, we were dirty, muddy & wet, but with happy faces!

Two Thumbs from Team Haveanez for a top cache! Thanks to Marcus for another great adventure!

(Replaced bags at WP3 & GZ )

I would have to wonder about the latest find also.
It took me two attempts to get this one, and there was NO way I could have guessed any of it,
NOR could you solve ANY of the WP's BEFORE arriving at WP1.
Maybe the log was meant for another puzzle cache owned by MV???

How is it possible to solve this one before coming to Albury?

Had homework with my friend - before come to Albury. My friend enjoyed your puzzle, he think it was excellent one. Wow enjoyed myself wander along to the GZ. No swap. SL. Thanks Marcus Vitruvius

We decided to have a go at this one this afternoon and we're glad we did. This was an interesting little adventure.We didn't have too much trouble with this one as one of us is a nurse and remembered them all although we did stumble on the last one as the one 'we thought it was' was wrong and unfortunately we got held up by a woman who was walking around and wanted a chat and wouldn't stop talking! Finally moved on from that site and went to the next one we thought it was as BINGO! We enjoyed the places this one bought us too, we even went to one that we hadn't been too which was great. We signed the log but did not take or leave anything. Thanks for the cache MV.

#331 Found at 5.25pm. Where to start??? We thought that we would blitz some of the questions given Dad's history of motorbike/lawn mower racing which has given us an intimate knowledge of bones over the years. NOT SO!!

We thought that we would commence this one last weekend (late Sunday arvo on 30/05/10) - we managed to find the 1st WP in the daytime, then the excitement became too much for us and it was night time caching from then on in.....made it even more interesting! We only went astray on the very first WP but a quick check had us back on track for WP2. We didn't have anyone in the healthcare profession close so it was all done by visiting the cache, then going home to visit my dear friend "google". It then became an exercise in learning and patience (had to wait until after work to find the next WP!).

After our FTF dash to Wangaratta last night it was back to Albury to do what we originally intended - see if we could locate WP5. Again the torches were put to good use and we nearly thought that we weren't going to have a smiley face but after 20mins of searching the Queen found it [^] - what a relief! Today the Queen could hardly contain herself - we were SO CLOSE and a call was made to Dad during the day to see if he could sneak out for a while.....unfortunately not.....so patience had to be called upon again. Then Dad made the call at 4.30pm for a quick dash after work before we picked up the GeoPrincess. Just as well, true to our caching form we took the hardest possible way to locate GZ - in work clothes!! High heels and slopes don't mix and then we had to go back the way we came to get the GeoGolf.....the HARD way!

Cache fever then set in and the Queen located a likely hide and wasn't disappointed. Dad mentioned that the Queen becomes extremely nimble and a caching machine when GZ comes in sight - I must admit it's true! He didn't have a chance.

Now it's complete we don't know what to do with ourselves - we feel a little like we did after Bill & Hams Excellent Adventure....what now?

TNLNSL (we didn't have our caching bag with us). TFTC MV this was a memorable, enjoyable, educational (we have bones that I didn't know exist!) and thoroughly all consuming. What a wonderful few days we've had thanks to your efforts

This entry was edited by skullracer1 on Wednesday, 02 June 2010 at 19:06:58.

OMG!!!

What a great day Geo-Caching. This is without a doubt the best and most difficult cache we have ever accompilished.

On the start of this one we picked up COs daughter, a REG Div 2 Nurse, and her finacee, with books about bones and books about anatomy,we all thought this would be done in a few hours.......................MAX..............Not even close.

WP1 was easy, WP2 was easy. But let me tell you here and now, it got really tough after this point.

Expect this one to take longer than you think, as Marcus said at the start.


The Time,The Effort and The Logistics to put this cache together is a true credit to the Legend who put this together.
.
Thank you Marcus. for this FAB cache.................Lostmonster & Co...TNLNSL.

Back online.

Offline to do some maintenance....

We picked up the first bone in early October while we were passing through on our way to do fireworks for the Wagga show. Not knowing much about anatomy we emailed a photo back to the Uni student to sort out the answers. Unfortunately the picture quality was not fantastic and we had to revisit on the way back from Wagga with firm instructions that the photos must not be so blurry that you wouldn't be able to tell if it was a bone or thumb print.
We had another fireworks show in Wagga the next week and armed with the coordinates the Uni student had supplied us with we headed for waypoint 2. Unfortunately we were unable to locate the cache here and doubting the Uni students info we emailed the owner who confirmed the cache was missing (Keeping the Uni student's reputation in tact...so far) while also informing us that the replacement would be in place by the time we were passing through again the next day. On our return we not only found the cache but the cache owner and more pictures were taken for the uni student and we headed off.
Our next opportunity to complete more of this cache presented itself when we needed to deliver fireworks equipment to Yarrawonga for their Christmas and New Years shows. The uni student was on holidays and she was keen to finish this one off and prove that the $50,000 dollar debt was worth it in some way so we allowed time to hopefully finish this one on our return. We located the next set of information but a wrong selection here had us on a wild goose chase for an hour or so (what was I saying about the Uni student's reputation being intact?! She maintains that if she could have picked up the bone she would have known the correct answer instantly) Once we had rectified this we were back underway.
At the fourth waypoint we had to mount a war against some over protective guardians of the cache. You really shouldn't underestimate the battle savvy of several platoons of ants! Once we broke through their defences and while they we regrouping for a second charge, we liberated the Unite for diabetes TB that had been their hostage for months. With the Uni student trying to regain some of her credibility she confidently (?) ascertained the next set of coordinates.

When we were unable to locate the next set of clues the uni student was seriously considered quitting university and working at MacDonald's. For the Uni student's sake a phone call was made to Marcus Vitruvius (she says "in a rather patronizing manner") who confirmed that it sounded like the waypoint had gone missing and, fortunately, was gracious enough to give us the information that we required to find the final location.
Once again the cache gods were against us as after a couple of false starts on the wrong tracks the GPSr beeped 'Approaching GZ', we were elated but only briefly as when we were 10m from the cache it shut down with flat batteries. In our excitement to find this one we forgot to bring the caching supplies so we had no spare batteries and so started an ever expanding search (there was no way that we were going home without this one!). After about half an hour the well hidden cache gave itself up and we breathed a collective sigh of relief but in the time that it took to do this a reconnaissance team of ants were exploring CrackerDad.
We took both of the geocoins to add to the TB
Thanks Marcus Vitruvius for all the assistance, the fantastic novel idea for a cache and all the work that must have gone into it to make it work like this.
When we were typing this log we realized because of three earlier DNFs this was our 5000th cache and what a fitting way to bring this milestone up.
Dad's saying you don't know you're a@8e from your elbow may have some truth.

Found by baby&Mrs gopher at 1200,noon if you like.After starting this cache yesterday we were at it early this morning to finish it.This is cache 1000 and we both thought an appropriate way to gain this landmark number.baby finished up saoking wet last evening but that made us all the more determined.With a drive to some out of the way places and a couple of walks with rain jacket and gumboots all the locations were found except the last! Muggled bugger! a phone call to the owner and some hints taken and we were both off to what we hoped was GZ.The last part we had intermittent sunshine and rain.There was plenty of birdlife"the ones that don't get me into trouble says baby"with cache in hand at the end.
Here we must both say thanks to Mr. Tate,Mr.Seeley,Mr.Stephens and a mention to Ms.Wilson.without these people to refere to we would have been hobbled.Took Coin and Left 2xCoins and a Diabetes TB in the system somewhere.
Must say Tnx to Warren for some very interesting and brain teasing work put into the placement of this Puzzle Cache
Tnx Marcus Vitruvius

[This entry was edited by baby&Mrs gopher on Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 5:58:47 PM.]

Rated: for Overall Experience

after 3 days and 3 wrong turns, we got to the end of this one. great puzzle and some long walks in the end we resorted to useing the lowered geo-truck. not so great with the big potholes in some of the roads.
solved this one with the help of kiwi's in port

left the Massachusetts Geo coin

TFTC

What a great cache. We did it over 3 days with Bezza23. had great fun working out the bones, and got to see a bit more of the area in the process!! TNLN. Thanks, look foward some moer of your puzzles on another visit

Finally! This one has taken a while.

I had manged to solve most of the puzzle quite a while back and had never managed to complete it. I had 4 possible locations for GZ (3 correct, and one a fair way off in hindsight)

Three of the final locations I had checked a number of times, with no luck, so I put it off for another day.

The other day, WazzaAndWenches suggested that we try again while he was in town. We put our heads together and decided on two possible GZ's. The first came up empty handed, and after a lengthy search at the second - Bingo.

This is a fantastic cache. Many thanks to Marcus, a lot of effort has been put into this one.

Found at 1745, TNLN,SL. Thanks.

After a number of work trips to the district over recent weeks, I was determined to find this cache during one of my stayover trips.

Found WP1-3 easily and confirmed the body parts via the net.
WP4 and 5 proved a little bit tricky but educated guesses (and a bit of surfing) gave me a reasonably accurate WP4 and then it was a process of elimination for WP5.

A very brief look in the vicinity of GZ early today (7am) failed to turn up the cache. A discussion with another cacher during the day and a joint effort was arranged.

JT was also at the same point as me, so we teamed up and searched one other possible spot before heading to the final GZ.

A decent search eventually allowed JT to grab the cache from its hiding spot (I had given it a feeble look over earlier!).

Log duly signed at 1745hrs and cache returned to its spot to frustrate future searchers.


Thanks MV for such an interesting and challenging cache. No swaps made.

Glad I can tick this one off my to-do list.

TB Log

In the fresh light of day, with no clouds in sight, we went back to finish this one off. We thought we might have been going to the wrong final GZ, but wanted to eliminate it to be sure. And we found it! Great sense of satisfaction Thanks for a great cache MV!

We found the first two caches fairly easily, but found evidence that made us think that the third had been muggled. MV assured us it was still in place, so we returned and found it after a more thorough search. We followed the rest of the trail and ended up at the GZ coordinates just as a large storm was coming through. The area didnt feel quite right, but we searched anyway, coming up empty handed. The weather managed to scare us off, so we'll need to go back and double check all our coordinates and have another try, another day.

I have to thank Bogong for the starting push and Roostaman for the finish or the clue to keep searching where I thought it should be. This puzzle showed areas that I never knew existed and also some magnificient tree specimens.Thanks Marcus for the research and effort. I might have to start on the art puzzle now.

I started this one a while ago and took a wrong turn, so it was on top of the list for this trip. I arranged to have the right resources which proved to be very handy. With help from Fred6603, we had some healthy discussion at some points and managed to get there without any wrong turns, although the last wp was very interesting.
The cache was the highlight of our weekend trek around the area and well worth the effort and highly recommended.
Thanks again Marcus V for an excellent idea & fantastic cache,
Roostaman.

I have wanted to do this cache since first reading the cache description months ago and finally got a chance to attempt it. This cache would have to be the most challenging cache that I have done to date. It really helped to have a good reference book with us. We (Roostaman and the Fred6603 team) started this one late in the morning, had a break for lunch and reached GZ at 1530. Thanks Marcus for a very enjoyable cache which kept us entertained for quite a few hours. We really appreciate the time and effort that you put into your caches. Excellent work on this one.

Last cache for the day and indeed it did take longer than I expected! I got off to a good start the night before and started collecting more clues this morning. When things started getting a bit harder I grabbed my sister on her lunch break and used her expertise to help me out. I got to the last waypoint and wasn't sure. I plugged some info in and almost fluked the right answer, but it wasn't until meeting up with M.V. later in the day that he confirmed the final piece.

We headed off to GZ discussing the high quality of caches in the area and I mentioned that I liked the fact all his puzzles are original and well put together. I'm really glad this was terrain 2, I didn't want to be making mistakes on big hills today!

Thanks for the challenge and lesson, I learnt a lot and had a ball completing it!

Cheers,

R + K - B

If I said thanks for a very frustrating cache, people might think I'm being sarcastic which I'm not. This was a very frustrating cache that took us several attempts to do. Day 1 got to a sorry box; how frustrating. Day 2 did a bit more. Got a hint from Marcus V that made me realise I'd transcribed a number wrongly. Day 3 finally found it. By the way, those weren't full days above.
This was geowife's first cache and my 15th or so. We both enjoyed the challenge and got to visit some lovely sights around town.

Thanks Marcus for a very challenging time. You must have spent days planning and setting up this one. Some of your clues were more cryptic that I thought; was that intended or just us?
Grabbed Golfer travel Bug to move closer to a golf course.
As we approached cache, said to wife that I should have brought some bones to place in cache. Might return one day with some.

This was a great caching experience, educational and informative, a brief Anatomy lesson.

The bushtrakker family did this over a few nights as sporting commitments etc takes up our time during the week.

We had one hiccup, but after finding a box with sorry this is not the cache, We worked out where the bone should belong.

We don't have much time in our busy lives to do many multi caches, but we thought this one was worth ago.

Thanks Marcus for the work you put into this cache

Found at 1815

T= happy holiday coin to move it on.

Cheers

Bushtrakker/s