Set Oars On Somer Hazeldean, Queensland, Australia
By Gizmo's on 03-Aug-08. Waypoint GC1EVMP

An oldie on Somerset Dam! How good is that!TBU joined in a team to hire a boat and to tackle caches on the Somerset Dam.We started our journey from North so this was one of the first caches.Tftc Gizmo's

Peppa had a plan! Hes been banging on about boating on Somerset for the last year and finally today was the day. The weather was less than perfect but Peppa, wayn0, Beardman75 and I set off in karicka to see if we could outrun the rain. This was our first stop and the cache was found after a short search. Tftc Gizmo'sFind #5052

There was a plan Im not sure who first suggested the plan, but it involved Beardman75, Davinells, wayn0 and I aboard the recently renamed Karicka attempting to collect as many Lake Somerset caches as possibleDespite mother natures impressive light show we set off across the water and this was our first stopIt didnt take to long to find the latest throw downThanks Gizmo's

There was a plan, banging on, geo-buddies, lightning, water, a cool boat, rain, and of course geocaching. What there wasnt was me having a rain jacket.. Thanks for the cache Cheers

Breezy morning on the lakeCoordinates are a key

Coordinates are key as there are more logs then there use to be

Davidwazza and I spent a great morning on the lake today tracking down the last few we never collected yesterday. The hire boat has done us well. The fog has finally lifted here as it had been an almost white out for the others. We searched the whole area and came to the conclusion it has gone. A new one is now in position.
TFTC

Our final lake geocache for our trip, and it was then on a home stretch home. We walked through a small valley/field of debris which suggested that the lake's water had come up reasonably high. We found a Garmin cover, crabbing nets, and [stairman1](https://coord.info/PR4R27Z) found a buoy and rope.

We had a good search around this cache, and found a small frog nestled in mud underneath a log, but no sign of AtTheLakeHouse's recent replacement cache. Without any information on what the replacement was and where it was placed, and then exhausting the area including a complete 180-degree turn of the main log, we concluded that this geocache had somehow gone missing (?). We replaced the geocache in the middle of the main log covered by natural camouflage / bark, so we're thinking that this should last for now. The logbook was signed as Team "GSW" (as per [GurTheWanderer](https://coord.info/PRWMPWQ), [stairman1](https://coord.info/PR4R27Z), and David"W"azza). I also think that this D-T rating may be back-to-front given the need of a boat to visit this geocache. Thanks Gizmo's for the cache placement and ongoing maintenance.

----------

During this extended weekend, it was a trip north to find the 65 Roses geoart in Kilcoy, followed by two days boating on Lake Somerset to defeat the Dark Side series joined with [GurTheWanderer](https://coord.info/PRWMPWQ) and [stairman1](https://coord.info/PR4R27Z).

Today, we were back on the water and after defeating the dark series lord yesterday, our plan was to head north and detour past the small traditional caches subset. The lake was at 80% capacity with not too much boating muggles about. We launched the boat from the Day Visitor Area's eastern boat ramp early at 07:00 hr, and the lake was still shrouded in mist/fog, which made navigation interesting. Another few hours passed whilst driving the boat and shuttled between geocaches, before returning back to the boat ramp to return our hire boat. We started to return home south passing through Somerset Dam before splitting, and my route was then south through Bryden and Dundas, and then west through Mount Glorious. My final drive/adventure was then the Goat Track up to Mount Nebo Road, and a walk from Boombana in D'Aguilar National Park. A near-perfect Winter weather day!

This was one of my target caches while camping at the nearby holiday park. I set sail on my kayak on a very foggy morning but by the time I banked on the shore it was totally clear. It took me quite a while to find the container as it was a bit buried. I released the poor little lizard trapped inside and added an extra sheet of log paper. I have upgraded the mint tin too as you can you see from the pic it was in a very sorry state. Should be good to go for a few more years now. TFTC

27/1/22 Travelling down yesterday from Mackay to do some GeoArt caches. On our trip down lost a bearing buddy from boat trailer near Rocky. Then near Gin Gin blew a boat trailer tyre. Got both issues sorted as had spare parts. Arrived at Dam yesterday and was raining. Setup our camp at Somerset Camp Ground and got a good nights rest. Woke up 530am and on the water at 615am. Rain has moved on. First lot of caches supprised me on the landscape as different to other dams I have done. The water shoes definitely getting a work out. Found caches secured and gps co ordinates good. Have Geokid CAITLYN1105 hiking around with me which is good company. Thanks for the variety of puzzles to solve and some I did get assistance on as good value mysyeries. TFTCs Signed Logs.

Down visiting from Mackay with alphag_25. tftc.

Logging old caches originally found with alphag_25. Now have my own account and logging them separately so that I can claim the finds.

TFTC cache needs new log book only newbies at this so weren't equipped to fix it up sorry. Beautiful day on the lake. Win and Dave.

I meet up with Green Geckos and Muggle65 today in the cold and wet. I had 24 to get, then home for me to finish my work
I found 23 caches today with one Dnf. The breakdown was 21 mystery and 2 traditional.
Oh what a wet day it was.

Sorry for the generic log

Gizmo’s *TFTC* 5448 *Finds*

A big day ahead on the lake. Muggle65 and I met Brislions at too early o'clock. It was freezing and raining. Rain did not let up till lunchtime. We are very lucky today to have a small poly boat and an outboard. We have a bit of a shortage of photos because of the rain but we did manage to get a couple of good ones. Cache was found in good order. Thank you so much for placing it

Who ordered the ️. Cold, wet awake early, not sure this was my best decisionNever the less we are here & the expectation is to have ffffun& enjoy the great outdoors. Cache in good condition now a few more to go.

I started just before 7am and finished my loop of 17km on kayak and walking on land after 4h15mins. It was quite windy by the time I came back to the launch point but I had a great time walking through the countryside and enjoying the quietness on the water.

TFTC

Georode

2/4/21 08:48 Heading to the Dayboro mega from Townsville. With lockdown happening we decided to head north from the airport to avoid any caching interruptions. Nice DT rating for this. Earned it overcoming a few boating issue. Off to do some geoArt now. Thanks for placing this Gizmo's

Down from Townsville for the mega we were up at the crack of dawn to collect the Dark Side series after solving those months in advance.

With the master Karicka at the helm and Padewans BenM70 and myself we aimed to complete the art in one hit but started with a few traditionals with interesting DT.
Had a little trouble with the outboard that almost had us paddling back to the ramp before we’d even started but once it was warmed up we made steady progress.

Big day in the water which was most enjoyable. Mission complete.

Thanks Gizmo's for the massive effort in creating and placing these for us to enjoy.

After a few false starts and an outboard that did not play we made it here.

Thank you for hiding this geocache Gizmo's
Find number 22024
R

Many thanks to my son-in-law who took us out in the boat while he did some fishing. I had a good day picking up some caches. Nice quick find.TFTC

Out for the day with our friends Steve (otherwise known as Urdera) and Michelle to see how many of these Dark side caches we could get plus a few other caches that were tantalizingly placed nearby. This being one of them. We were on the water by 8am and we left the water at 4pm. We were sunburnt, scratched, tired and had enjoyed a wonderful adventure. Each piece of headland was different to the last. Some quite hilly others nice and flat. Grass not too high but sometimes where no trail was evident it was bush bashing through head high lantana etc. We saw cows, lots of rabbits, a huge goanna, two snake skins and several turtles. We had leisurely stops in scenic spots as we enjoyed lunch and morning and afternoon tea on the boat. Our thanks to Gizmo's for placing this cache series and enhancing our enjoyment of the area and we would not have visited this area if it had not been for the caches.

Wow another awesome time caching, I just love getting out and caching, a big thanks to 4ando for this series.

A couple of weeks back I tried to organise a few regular suspects to come and grab the dark series. It wasn’t looking good as only one solid confirmation and three can’t confirm till last moment. Then it was a mad week to finish of the rest of the puzzle caches and be ready. A bunch of phone calls in between and a rough plan in place all of a sudden things changed and we had a group to attack this series. An overnight camp Friday, a few drinks and a few laughs. Saturday night brought the excitement and the stories to tell after the event.

A great day, a long and fun day, lots of laughs and some awesome caches. With Team Tyrrell setting off on kayak while we waited for the slow boat to be loaded and launched, then it was Willis007, Simber15 and CHAMAD following up in a “hasty” pace, we had turtles asking us if we needed a tow, we even got passed by a butterfly at one stage, however this was just added to the fun of the day. The caches took us all over the dam area with some great views and some nice cache placements. Mrs Simber15 cured her phobia of cows and Willis007 learnt how to deal with angry magpies. The bird life on the dam is remarkable, there were a couple of sightings of roos and rabbits but nothing could beat the views from the tops of the hills, just inspiring; surprisingly no DNF’s and all caches are in good condition.
I really had a great day, the memories of the day just added to the great caching experience. Thank you to all that came along and be ready for the next assault on the next geoart. Thank you to the CO for the time spent placing these and setting this up. If it took us a long day to collect them it must have taken you weeks to organise and to set them out.

Included in our day were a few Traditional caches, “can’t leave a man behind”, we grabbed these in our days boating as well, thanks for the placements.

Puzzles were solved and a plan was hatched. We were going boating! It didn't take long for the enormity of the task ahead to become clear and so we parked the idea and the second half of the puzzles for another day. A week ago some geocaching friends invited us along for a weekend of camping and caching. An opportunity we couldn't possibly refuse! A quick scramble over a few days and the final touches were made and puzzles solved that had been neglected. We arrived the night before and made a plan of attack allowing for changes as required based on the flavour of the wind. An early start by kayak followed by the SS Slow Boat resulted in 11.5 hours on the water after first launching before the final cache was signed. We couldn't possibly have achieved this task without the help, support, entertainment, laughs and all round fun of Chamad, Willis007 and Team Tyrell. The scenery was stunning and the bird life abundant. Views from some of the hills were magic and we couldn't help but stare in awe up at the bright stars from the campsite of an evening. Mrs Simber15's irrational fear of cows was overcome on a few occasions and a brief encounter with magpies completed. A few times we found ourselves beached or engine stalled and then Chamad would remind us "I know boats" and it wasn't long before we were up and running again. This was a weekend of caching we won't soon forget! Thankyou for adding to the enjoyment of our adventure Gizmo!

Up here to collect the Dark side series with a bunch of keen cacher's, Willis007 , Simba15 and Chamad. This was first on the list for the day and it took a little longer than it should of to locate. The land owner happened to drive over the hill and came over for a chat. He knew all about caching and the weird and wonderful people that follow their phones to find a little box

Anyway 1 collected. 0ver a hundred to go.

TFTC

A bunch of dedicated cachers - Team Tyrrell, CHAMAD, Simber15 - and our high tech transportation fleet of a super fast kayak and what has become affectionately known as the SS Slow Boat - came, saw and conquered some lovingly placed caches in the most beautiful of locations.
A lot of bird life and cattle were seen through the day, along with kangaroos, a rabbit and did I mention magpies?? Thankfully there were no snake encounters given the super long grass we walked through in some places.
A long but very satisfying day with some great company, a lot of laughs and scratches, a day which will always be remembered.
Thanks Gizmo's for placing this cache here for us to collect today.

Out doing Dark Side caches. Thought we'd clear these as well. Windy day on the lake. Getting wet in the little tinny.
Easy find.
TNLN, TFTC.

***COs- Currently in the process of catching up on my logging backlog- some of it, I'm embarrassed to say extends back a number of years.
I'm logging each cache on the date that I actually visited it, not the day I'm logging. Cheers??***

??????????
We'd been busy beavers solving the dark side puzzle series and could finally come and collect the goodies here. It took us 3 days in a slow boat but we had a great time out on the water and being away from home.
As Ratty?? said to Mole??...
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing–absolutely nothing–half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”
We didn't mess about too much though or we wouldn't have found them all in the time we had the boat.

The logs were signed as either team GERSH or sometimes GRESH, depending on the memory of the signee and the caches were where our coords led us and no issues were encountered.

The team consisted of...
GS1947, RoddyC, echocage1, Snickersallan and hatzofff.

We saw plenty of turtles and cows, both live and not so lively, also all sorts of birds. There must have been plenty of fish too by the number of muggles fishing. We had a good haul too but not of what you could have thrown in the pan.????

One highlight here was finally getting my first D/T loop with this series although sadly I wasn't aware of it at the time. Probably just as well as I may have capsized the tub in my excitement! No happy dancing possible in a plastic tinnie without soggy consequences!???????

I'm not a hundred percent sure but I think this is the cache where I achieved my first loop of the D/T grid. Still have some logging from before this one to do, but this will fill the last square.?? It's taken about 5 years to achieve so I'm pretty happy. Leaving this one a favourite point to celebrate.??

TFTC??

We decided to join forces for a few day's caching on Lake Somerset. Our first day, and we are motoring our boats to do the northern end on day two, where there are two traditional caches that we missed yesterday.

Signed the log book as "G.E.R.S.H." (Grannysmith1947, echocage1, RoddyC, Snickersallan and hatzofff).

Tied the boat and up the hill. Nice.

Cache located, log signed and all replaced as found. TFTC, Gizmo's, at 8:35 AM on September 4, 2020.

Another Great day out doors and on and around the water.

Great day, great weather, great company.


All caches signed as GERSH (Granny Smith 1947, echocage1, RoddyC, Snickersallan, hatzofff)

TFTC Gizmo's

Visiting from the Gold Coast and spending several days in the local area. This is our first day on the water after hiring a neat little tinnie to get us to and from the various islands and we certainly enjoyed every minute of it especially with the large volume of different types of birds flying around or just keeping a watchful eye on us combined with the herds of cows coming & going.
To save on paper, all our logs were signed as Team GERSH (grannysmith1947, echocage1, RoddyC, Snickersallan and hatzofff)
Well done CO, thank you.


TFTC Gizmo's
Found September 4, 2020

TFTC smile 7153 out and about with Hatzoff, RoddyC,Snickersallan, having a great time boating , walking, caching ,and thanks to my fur baby sitter without you I would be up the creek without a paddle favorite point for you



Thank you,Gizmos for placing this cache for our enjoyment.

Second weekend in a row the better half suggested a yak and bbq outing. We packed the car and headed north to enjoy the beautiful Somerset dam and pick up a few caches to boot.

I think I put in about 8kms of paddling in just over two hours.

Definitely felt it upon my return.

I’ll be back again soon to pick up some geo art caches.

Group effort around the lake today - all logs signed as "The Sith". A few traditionals to get us underway. Quick find at the GZ. TFTC!

A big day on the lake always needs a starting point and this was it. Conspired as part of The Sith to flush out all rebel opposition into the Lake and give the Red Claw something to feed on. Impressed to see a lot of wildlife around here, some native like the roos and possums, some imported like bunnies and Red Claw. Thanks for maintaining this cache Gizmo's.

To we who dwell in the Force, normal life is little more than pretense. Our only actions of significance are those we undertake in service to the dark side.
“To be a Sith is to taste freedom and to know victory.”
We were today The Sith and we indeed tasted the freedom of boating on the lake . At the end of a day where litres of sweat were lost we had claimed victory with the Dark Side conquered and a few traditionals as well !!! An enormous team effort and a few cows disturbed by the Force. A brilliant art and the trads were awesome too! Congratulations to Ardom on his 5000 find and 6th DT loop. Bestowing congrats on TeamARF for a 4000 target achieved ! What a day!!!

Out caching with a group of 6, plus one semi-muggle boat driver
With the Star Wars theme, 6 of us caching together today, and being Ardom’s 6th D/T loops we decided on the team name, The Sith!
The Lake was beautiful and quiet, I saw lots of turtles and turtle shells today - a ridiculous amount of inquisitive cows, and one cute little fox!
Another amazing adventure with an amazing team. Thanks for the caches and the effort that went into placing them

Finally come today has. Yes, hrrrm. Changed and evolved over the time plans have. Our name for the day the Sith was.. Yrsssss.. Found slowly caches were. Long and hot the day was. Hrmmm. Complete we are.

Enough Yoda! We truly had a fabulous day, the weather was perfect although very warm and humid. The dam ever so quiet thanks to the ban on ‘in water’ activities after the rains. We did get stopped by SEQ Water doing a check on all watercraft and thankfully we both passed being fully kitted out boats and four licensed drivers between the seven of us. I am thankful that we upgraded our motor last year as dang that spread is huge!!! Even though the second boat was much zipper than ours we still managed to hold our own and get the wind in our hair.

Huge thanks to my muggle husband who drove our boat and managed to get us in and out of some tricky spots. Lots of debris up the top end and we may have clunked on a couple of submerged trees. The turtles in the water were curious things almost as much as the cows who at one memorable point thundered past us and down the cow track to the skinny bit of the island about 2m from the front end of the boat where Mr JACS was having a catnap!

I was pleased to see the growing tick piles of caches done growing bigger and bigger, because I was done!!! So glad to be able to finally say this fabulous Geo-art is finished. Congratulations to both, Ardom who completed his 6th DT loop and 5000th Cache and Team ARF who achieved his 4000th Cache.

We thought we might have a quiet kayak today out on Lake Somerset, but no such luck. Apparently it’s what everyone does in their power boats on Australia Day!
Nonetheless, we enjoyed our paddle with just a small breeze throughout the morning. This was our first find for the day. The little old tin at GZ has seen better days, but is still safe in it’s hidey hole
Thanks
Domsky

How time flies! Can’t believe it’s over 2 years since we were last here and logged a DNF on this cache. The grass was green and knee-high back then. Quite a different scene here today. We had no trouble finding the cache today.

Thanks Gizmo. Your cache added more fun to our day on the water.
Then it was back to the kayaks and we were off to find us some more caches across the lake.

Mrs slow puncture and I had a plan today to turn Somerset dam into all smileys. We had gathered most of the caches here and mrs slow puncture only ended up needing I more and I needed 9. This was our first find today and the water was smooth as. You could see how far the water has dropped by the marking on the trees. Thanks for placing this cache here for us to enjoy

Out and about today with Brother Colin and Beardman finding Dark Side caches.
A little detour so that Beardman and I could find this cache as well.
Thanks for the cache.

Brother Colin, Grand Poobah and I were out collecting Dark Side puzzles in our kayaks and we made a small detour over here. Quick find and then we were back into the puzzles. Thanks for the cache

This trip had many targets but things changed due to fires, lack of boat hire times on a Friday and so on. The end result was dahumbug and B@W spent two days on the water instead of one on the water and one on the Bluff which due to the heat the number of steps taken was probably just as well as despite having a boat we covered plenty of ground on foot not helped by some very low water levels and that the hire boat so slow.
As a result of the leisurely opening times we headed back into town to brighten the start to our caching day although it was not without issue.
We picked up the boat at Somerset Caravan Park and lets just say the speed to get us in the water matched the speed of the boat but we were grateful we could get a craft and it had a sunshade cover.
So with the late launch we changed our plans to two days on the water and decided to get these ones up north before engaging with the art work.
Saw some roos, rabbits, cattle and bird life on the way round.
No problem making the finds, We completed the signing duties and re hid. TFTC

I found it. The container is pretty beaten up. Someone bring another. But tricky to find but it’s there.

Found didn’t sign log, forgot pen. Was a nice kayak with the family.

Easy find after a pleasant paddle on the lake.

Dora the Explorer!, Phil serenity and I headed out onto the lake on a jetski to grab the caches that we did not get last time we were here on a kayak.

On parking the ski and heading up to GZ it was not too long before the cache was in hand.

Find #1959

TFTC ***Gizmo's***

Out on the jetski with geowife Dora the Explorer and CDAH55. Overcaste but cooler day after hot weather earlier in the week. Reached gz and soon found cache

Quick and easy find this time on the jetski

Found it love it for riding a boat with geofriend TFTC

Hired boat today at Somerset dam. Thanks Rob

I had the kayak set up on the car yesterday, all ready to head to Somerset Dam on Friday, when a new batch of puzzle caches got published. So I zoomed around Kilcoy and got a few FTFs and then headed to Villeneuve to the launch area there. But it was a bit breezy so I made my way back around to the day area at the caravan park and set off from there.

The weather was perfect and the water was glassy. It truly does not get better than this! I paddled to this cache first and found it safe and sound and dry. Thanks for the cache, Gizmo's!

Today we were headed up to Somerset for a day of tubing madness to celebrate Easter. We set ourselves up right on the dam with jetski, tube and kayaks. Mrs 4ando and muggle dad thought they would take a paddle out to find this cache. The paddle gave Mrs 4ando’s arms a brake from hanging on for dear life on the tube, this was a bit slower pace for the day.

We were having a pleasant paddle out with a few waves from nearby jetskis and power boats. Every so often Mr 4ando and one of our muggle teens would come zooming by on the jetski to see our paddle progress. Thankfully our muggle daughter wasn’t left to her own devices on the ski as she was keen to give us some real chop, and seeing how fast our muggle teens can now go on the geo-jet we would surely not be a pretty sight in our yaks, thank you Mr 4ando for saving us!

Arriving at GZ, we parked our yaks and headed up for the find. The clue was given to muggle dad for him to help the search. So why’ll we were looking in logs, Mr 4ando was pointing us in the right direction from the water. Muggle dad seems to be getting into it and is working like a cacher seeing geo-trails and logs that have been moved. It wasn’t long until we found the cache and added our name. Now time to paddle back for some more tubing and jetskiing plus a BBQ, we have worked up an appetite…

Tftc Gizmo's

We are nomads. Having left Perth WA in February 2014 we now live in our caravan and go wherever the will or caches take us.

catching up with El_Peregrinos for a few days so up to Toogoolawah we moved. Dratz so did the wet weather. Still the boys headed out onto Somerset Dam at 0630 for a morning of fun.

TFTC Gizmo's

It was an early start to the morning with FelixII to grab the caches on Somerset Dam
The good thing was the rain held off so it wasnt a really wet morning.
Thanks for placing the caches. Somerset Dam is an old favourite place of ours.

Found Ok

Christmas holidays wouldn't be the best choice for a kayak on Somerset but we'd arrived reasonably early. We launched from the day camp due to not knowing anywhere else. Conditions can change in a blink on dams but as of now, there was very little breeze. A few boats giving kids thrills on tubes were creating waves but paddling was easy as we rowed to this as our first cache. Pulled the kayak up and walked to GZ...not a lot of places to hide a cache so it was a quick find. One down, three to go. TFTC Gizmo's.

Having paddled from the Westvale Road launch point, the journey so far had been perfect, with barely a ripple on the water to impede progress. As I left from the Somer Island cache I could see a rain storm falling in the mountains around Mt Mee in the distance. This seemed to be funneling a strong breeze down the valley and across the dam. As a result, as I neared this cache I was now paddling into a decent headwind with a head-on chop starting to slow progress. I was almost able to surf onto shore as I turned towards the cache and the swell now behind me.

Beaching the kayak, I headed to GZ. I had read the last few logs noting that the cache may have been missing. I had therefore brought a spare container with me just in case it indeed needed to be placed. With a fairly specific clue, I searched the obvious places thoroughly and also came away without the find. I grabbed the spare container out of my bag and, as I was placing a new log sheet inside, glanced down at my feet and spotted an eclipse tin lurking in the long grass. With my heart quickening a beat I grabbed the now battered container and pried open the lid. Sure enough, inside was a look book, still safe and dry and took great delight in signing my name (see photo). With the old container still in play (after a quick bash with a stick to gain some semblance of shape back to it) I replaced it in the described spot and put away my own container for another day. TFTC. All safe and sound here, and 18 months unlovedness to add to my collection.

This geocacher reported that there is a problem with this cache.

We believe this one is missing. We searched for ages with no luck.
Unfortunately we didn't have a replacement with us else we would've left one.

Not Today

Thanks girls for replacing the cache! Great job!

Hide a boat with HRH54 today to go around the lake and find these water based caches! First one ticked! Nice hide, TFTC

On the lake for the day finding these caches that have haunted me as live lakeside This is our 1st TFTC

Out for a morning on the lake with stortigirls, Nurseyjulie and our captain, Trumanato. Our captin put us ashore here and we went up the hill to GZ. We searched and searched. There was evidence that a lot of the logs here have been overturned. We turned them back. Still no cache. There was other evidence of muggles having been here, too. We expanded our search, turning things back as we went. Eventually, it was decided that the cache was missing. Luckily, between us, we had the necessary items to replace the cache for future finders. We returned to GZ, and left it in the spot that we think was the most appropriate GZ. Thanks Gizmo's for bringing us here.

Gone

Me and phil looked for ages and couldn't find. Then another 4 people joined us they couldn't find it either.

On the water for a few caches. Four sets of eyes and a check on the previous logs led us to believe this is missing. We noted logs had been turned over and washed up debris too. We replaced the container for future finders. Tftc

A great day spent on the water today with Selva Girls, Nursey Julie and Trumanato in his very impressive boat The goal for today was a particular cache, but of course why not make use of the opportunity to clear the area of caches the other CO's had so kindly placed and maintained? Beautiful scenery and good company made for an enjoyable morning of finds . Tftc Gizmo's

Searched all possible places but no luck.

Found with barbbowman and fasted59 having a family day on the dams.

After clearing up Wivenhoe we were so far ahead of schedule we decided to head to Somerset and clear up this dam.

This was the first for here. After dodging all the weekend warriors that have no idea of the rules of the water, we soon closed in on GZ and docked the boat.

Cache was soon in hand and log signed. It was then time to avoid the stampede as the cows all took of towards the girls.

Everything replaced, it was on to the next.

TFTC

nice easy find ... saw container as we neared GZ

bubba watched the cows as i signed the log
they are watching us ...
they are taking small steps ...
they are coming ... RUN

cache and log in our hands and RUN we do ... down the hill and behind a tree
cows take off up the hill and out of site
names signed and back up the hill to return cache

that was fun [B)][B)][B)]

I went out camping with my mum mnance05 and sister Pinkypie05.
We suggested to got caching while we're here. TFTC.

While camping at the Lake, my daughter pinkypie05, my son mazza151 and myself decided to do some of the lake caches in our blow up boat. What a hike to get to this one! Thankfully the wind had settled down. TFTC!

While camping being at Somerset Lake, my mum mnance101, my brother mazza151 and myself decided to do this cache. TFTC!

Number 2 for the day. Easy find. Thanks

Found it. We found the cache sitting in paddock in a clear grass area out in the open. Not hidden at all. We returned it to what we think was its intended hiding place.

Good fun find

Good fun find

With only a handful of empty spots remaining on my DT grid, a plan was set in place to find some of the rare DT combos residing in this Dam. Slow Puncture was available for a trip, and when I found I could bring the boat rather than paddle, things were looking up! We got going early on a cold morning, the car said outside temp was just 8 Deg C and I believe it! Found a good place to beach the tinnie, and a short stroll to warm up the legs was nice. Cache was found soon after, all in good condition here, TFTC

1188

Saturday. Slow Puncture ventured out with Cap'n Kieran to retrive a few caches around the Somerset area.

SP had found this one before, so an observer role was undertaken this time. We moored the boat, and set off up the gradiant. GPS was bouncing a lot. SP had a recollection of where the cache was found last time, and in time, we got there. Man, the grass here has grown a LOT since January 2014.

Thanks [Blue]Gizmo's[/Blue], for showing us this interesting place. Again

Gotcha !!! Paddled the Kayaks about 15Km today with my sister and Poodleman Muggle in search of a few specially D/T rated caches I need to complete my grid. Picked up a few others on the way. TFTC A fav. point from me. Replaced log container with a micro plastic container, new log sheet as suggested by previous finder, this one won't rust.

Out on the water after hiring a yak from roscoes. Great little 2 seater vessel which got us to where we needed to go. The water was lovely and the Eagles flying over we're just amazing. Paddling into the wind didn't deter us and eventually we got to GZ. Cache log is a soggy mess . We squeezed out as much water as we could but unfortunately we didn't have a replacement on us. TFTC

We were very happy to find this on the 7 year anniversary of ftf.... but unfortunately we couldn't log our name as the log book was completely soaked also the lid doesn't close due to rust.

After a day out kayaking on Wivenhoe yesterday, I hadn't got around to taking the kayak off the roof racks. So my solution to this, was to go kayaking on Somerset today. Truth be told, I was pretty keen to pick up a certain rare D/T combination found nearby to fill one of the two remaining blank spots on my grid.

It was hot, but oh-so-pleasant to be on the water again today. It was even better when I paddled past the 6 knot markers and the chance of getting run over by a ski boat was much reduced.

I decided to do the long paddle to Rabbit Island and then return with shorter paddles between caches on the way back. So, this was the third and last cache for the day. It also proved the most elusive of the three, as there were a couple of options and Mr Garmin preferred the other bigger one today.

Eventually, I made the find. Sorry to report that the log book was a wet sodden mess and the tin has seen better days. Perhaps the next cacher could bring a small container to replace it? I tried to write my name, and only managed soem illegible initials on the back page. In the end, I also took a photo.

Many thanks, Gizmo

Pete

#2,133

After visiting Somer Island, we decided to pull in here to break up the trip back to our Kirkleagh base. A short stroll was complemented by near-perfect coordinates. On approach, I thought this may require a lot of searching here and there, but instead I found it in the first spot I tried. The cache is in reasonable condition and another good reason for a little paddle around this part of the amazing Somerset waters. TFTC: all good.

Great intro to Geocaching for me.

Perfect weather ( maybe a little windy ) for a kayak and great fun! Chased by some cows!

I quite enjoy caching with Captain Terror, there are a lot of reasons but the main one is that he also filters his caches quite significantly and we both prefer going out for the paddle type of caches. We have been getting quite a few of them lately as it is a little more pleasant paddling in winter than with the boiling sun in summer. This cache and the one nearby had been on my radar for quite some time now and today we had the chance to grab them.

We left my house in the Rolla with the Captain's canoe, affectionately referred to as 'The Roo' strapped onto the roof. It was quite a windy day, there was a westerly wind blowing about a constant 20 knots, gusting to about 30, occasionally 40 according to The Captain. The poor little Rolla had its work cut out for it but we eventually made it without getting blown off the road!

We put the Roo in at Kirkleigh and started paddling. It was going to be a very challenging day though the first part was quite pleasant. Soon we were in open water and it was quite gusty. We charged along in the Roo and decided to pull up on the closest bank, turns out it was the bank near the first cache. We were going to do them in reverse order, the furthest first but it turned out it wasn't quite going to work that way.

We walked across to GZ from where we left the canoe. It was an easy find once there. I signed my name in the logbook and replaced the cache as found. Thanks for the cache Gizmo's

Decided to set sail for Somerset and found this one not too far along from where I parked. It was good to get the arms pumping again on the old trusty kayak. I did happen to find a GCA moveable cache first which by the looks of it is the cache that the last two finders have signed. Anyhoo, the moveable one was picked up and the original was logged.

Thanks Gizmos for the paddle.

Tftc. Quick find

Found it

Found with that rowdy bunch, longer log to follow

After leaving Somer's Isle, our little group row, row, rowed our canoes back toward the way we had come.

I was starting to get the hang of this canoeing caper and we were no longer the last canoe (competitive spirit much )

Saying goodbye to the poor old cow who had made it to Somer Isle but had not found her way back, we paddled closer to the shore past some wonderful dead trees. If it weren't for the fact that I was pretty scared the whole time, I would have tried to get some photos but that would mean letting go of the oar (a pretence of control)

Arrived on another little piece of land and while everyone was watching and helping Anglea get her canoe to shore, I headed up to GZ and soon had this one in hand.

Unfortunately on the way back home, we had a speed boat who obviously had not read the "road" rules and cut us all off , leaving some big waves (well big to the scaredy cat). All I could do was put the oar down and hold on and hope.

Pointing our noses to home, we soon could see the final destination. All in all a wonderful day out. So glad we got invited.

TFTC

I love going out with a group and this was going to be interesting. Thanks Nyssa and Lady Membsec for organising it!

We were out on Somerset in some rented canoes. We'd just gotten our first cache and were on-route to our second.

Some of us had never been in a canoe before and it showed.

By the time we neared this cache, some frustrations had come to the surface. Dave decided to bail on the canoe quite a distance to the landing area and I was left sitting in a canoe. I used the oars to push it along a bit, trying to get to the landing area on my own. Unfortunately the bottom dropped out and I was left paddling on my own, in a two person canoe.

Even more unfortunately, someone mentioned the word video camera and the whole scene was filmed.

Eventually I back paddled the canoe, getting it close enough to land that Dave grabbed the back and pulled it in.

Then everyone went back to finding the cache before the log was handed out for all to sign.

Thankyou Simon for trading places with me, letting me use your kayak and having to suffer through all those old canoeing memories as you took my place in the canoe. Second time we've cached together and the second time you've looked after me. I really appreciate it. And I really need to get a kayak.

TFTC

Out at Somerset Dam for an excellent caching morning in canoes, with thanks to Nyssa Flutterby and Membsec for organising!

Also present were Angela & Dave, Swellerfungus, (P)Prime, Jimmyprojects and Dav81.

The two members of our team had not been in a canoe in (A) 33 years, and (B) never! After having paddled this way and that to Somer Island, we were getting the hang of it, so our trip to this cache was much smoother.

A quick scamper up the shore and onto solid ground soon saw the cache in hand and signed.

TFTC !

During the week it was suggested by our illustrious leader (points finger at Nyssabutterfly and half a membsec) that we plan an assault on Somereset Dam caches for a D/T matrix cleanup. I eagerly accepted, as some recent kayaking experiences have been most enjoyable.

This one was second on our list for Somerset, and it was this part of the trip when the real 'children' of the group started their slashing, as well as teams trying their hardest to 'get their paddling mojo'. As the muscles start to ache, and the breath gets short it is not always easy. It is here that I MAY have rubbed it in that I was in a single seater kayak for a reason! Oops.

We arrived safely at the beach nearby GZ, and waited for the last few canoes to round the corner, only to see one canoe going backward....Angela what where you doing??? So funny!

We headed up to GZ and once again where surprised to come this far for this size cache! Haha. We all signed the log and returned to its home.

I swapped into a canoe for the trip home, confirming my memory of how much harder they are than a kayak.

Thanks again Gizmo. A great reason to come and take a paddle around this beautiful lake. (even the rain held off for us). Off to Wyvenhoe now to clear a couple left there! Thanks to the team of adventurers who came with me!

One of my goals this year is to finally tick all the boxes on the Difficulty/Terrain grid - only four to go now, and on this piece of water there are options for two of those boxes. So I contacted Ms Nyssa to see if she wanted to go as well. Little did I know a whole posse had been looking at exactly this about now, so I joined the party. With Nyssaflutterby, Dav81, Jimmyproject, Team LJCC, Angela&Dave, Swellerfungus and Lady Membsec a small flotilla launched nearby for what ended up being 7km in canoes, both caches found, two and a half hours of immense fun and two D/T boxes left to go.

Having set off rather early the dam was very quiet still, a few fishering boats in the distance, no wind, no sun, no rain, no waves. It was rather gorgeous actually. Lots of birdlife, ducks, pelicans, cormorants, and some others. And the dead trees in the early morning quiet was spectacular too. Well, not so quiet with us noisy paddlers passing by but otherwise ...

After finding the other cache first, the return journey was via here. After, eventually, successfully beaching all boats, the short walk to stretch the legs was welcome, and a quick find ensued.

By now the water was a little noisier - both from us as well as from more powerboats, and the sprinkling rain and more wind on the water made it a slightly tougher paddle back to where we started, but nothing we couldn't handle.

Thanks for placing this cache, Gizmo's. Found in good condition.
{Overall find #2460}
Check out [url=http://www.facebook.com/groups/303346609684914/]The online home of geocaching in South East Queensland on Facebook[/url]
[img]http://www.qldmega.com/templates/phoneapps-tg/images/logo.png[/img] Will I see you at [url=http://www.qldmega.com]QLD MEGA 2015[/url]?
Easter weekend 2nd-6th April 2015 in Stanthorpe, QLD.

Row, row, row, your boat gently along the dam, merrily we were, at least at the start of this venture. Male membsec and I were hoping to do this cache for our 7000th but unfortunately circumstances halted that venture so when I received a message that we might be doing this one this weekend I jumped at the idea, knowing that male membsec wouldn't be able to attend but we really wanted this cache to fill our D/T grid!! He had other things to do like entertain muggle son and two grandchildren.

Plan in motion and we really wanted 4 couples to fill the 4 canoes so we could get a trailer to carry them. Suddenly we had 4 canoes occupied, banana boat and 1 kayak. Originally the weather was suppose to be hot so we decided to go early to beat the heat plus some had to be else where later in the day.

With canoes and kayaks organised, transport organised we all headed to Somerset Dam. It was great to see the canoes all ready for us to jump in and head off. Thanks to Nyssaflutterby and Dave81 who towed the trailer for us. I had the great pleasure of being in a canoe with Pprime........who promised the world but gave nothing!

We decided to head for the furthermost cache, as we thought that would stop people from pulling out. It worked like a dream. Team LJCC, Jimmyproject, Angela and Dave and Swellerfungus along with Nyssaflutterby, Dave81 and Pprime all made it to this special little island with energy to spare, some more than others and some made it in a straighter line than others.

With Jimmyproject leading the way! Lady membsec, being competitive couldn't let them lead the way and it felt as though I was doing all the hard work as Pprime occasionally placed a paddle into the water as we zig- zagged our way to this cache.

We loved the dead trees out in the dam and we just had to check some of them out before we made a bee line for the next cache. We could hear lots of laughter happening behind us and the next moment Nyssaflutterby and Dave81 are canoeing right up to us, Nyssa still laughing. Not too sure why this happens but for some reason Nyssa always misses out on the consequences of her actions. Splashing Angela, Angela retaliated but only got Dave81, hence the paddling like crazy! "CHILD!"

Once again beaching, we waited for the rest to arrive, some walking with their canoes and Angela seemed to be minus Dave.....how unusual!!!!! Unfortunately we were not quick enough to video the drama that Angela was having being in a 2 person canoe on her own. Lets just say that at one stage, paddling backwards was the only thing she could manage.

By this stage one member of Jimmyproject had already reached GZ and waited for the rest of us.

Cache found quickly and back in the canoes for our venture home. Yes we did it. Thanks Pprime for the crooked several miles and for making it hard for me!!! I wanted some extra muscles!

TFTC Gizmo's and for the great D/T rating!!! Another one ticked off!