Whittle Field Murwillumbah South, New South Wales, Australia
By petan on 04-Sep-11. Waypoint GC33HDY

petan I found your cache Whittle Field on 30/9/2024, 9:35am. This is my find 7074 and find # 4 today. Gathered the required information and arrived at GZ for a quick and easy find. Thanks for the cache, mate! TNSLLN

Great Fun Cache to do with the Geokids. Kids took a sticker and swap each. We filled the cache with lots of swaps. TFTC.

Cache check today. Took the opportunity to double check the coordinates for Ground Zero, they were slightly out. Have updated the information to be collected and the checksum to reflect the change.

Check sum for XYZ = 20 otherwise you should remove the checksum.

Full time Nomads, travelling around Australia since 2014. We set out today for a nice drive in the countryside using Geocaching as our guide. Collected the info and then had a WTF moment and redid XYZ but nope we got same answers. So off to GZ we went.TFTC petan

Staying at Murwillumbah for a couple of days to do the rail trail with SusanDW and picking up a few extras on the way. Like others before us, we couldn't get the checksum to agree so after using the PAF option we had a good looking location and after a bit of scuttling around in the almost dark I finally had the cache in hand. Log signed B&S to save time and space. Thanks for an interesting and eventful multi.

Found despite check sum being out according to information provided on plaque.Thanks to Bobbiesgirl for finding it in near dark conditions. Off to the pub now for well earned dinner. Signed as BG & SDW caching together for a couple of days in the area. Tackling the rail trail tmrw. TFTC petan

Chose this as my 100th cache, and enjoyed it. tftc

Whittle FieldVisiting the Tweed LGA with chamad and geopup today to collect caches for a challenge. After collecting the info, final gz was worked out. At gz made a quick find here, log signed, all replaced as found. Took TBTFTC petan# 10131CheersWillis007

We like a multi and this was a nice one. At the posted coords we gathered the numbers but could not get the check sum for ABC to add up we were out by two. After checking and rechecking we headed off to our final coords the area looked right and a photo in the COs log soon led us to the cache. All good with this one, log signed and replaced as found. Thanks petan for the cache and a favourite for the multi.

Tftc petan, always like a nice easy multi Checksum for E was out by 2 ? Headed to our GZ and item in the hint was there Made the find , dropped a trackable here for the next visitor.

Found it while on the travels TFTC

I found this cache as I headed home to Adelaide after the QOGM events around Longreach.The plan was to be away for about a month. I travelled up to Longreach via Broken Hill, Cunnamulla, Charleville and Barcaldine, camping and finding caches of interest along the way. I intend to head home via Brisbane and the NSW coast to Sydney, then across to Adelaide. However my plans are pretty loose and subject to change, often on a whim!The weather so far has been good, albeit a little warm at times. I am hoping it stays that way for the rest of the trip.I have had to be quite selective with the caches I have found as there are so many that I am passing. As a result I have mostly targeted non-traditional cache types, although I have also grabbed a few Trads opportunistically here and there.Thanks petan for the cache, which has contributed to an interesting and enjoyable trip.

Overnight, a trip south was taken staying with family at Robina, which allowed me the opportunity to join an organised ride along the Northern Rivers Rail Trail (NRRT) starting in Murwillumbah. I started the day with Kirra parkrun at Coolangatta, and after meeting the group, we spent the day riding the 24 km NRRT route through terrific scenery with near-perfect weather. A highly recommended experience!

I stopped off at the posted coordinates and soon found the plaque in question. It was then a case of collecting the required numbers and plugging them into the GZ equation. For some reason, both my checksums didn't agree, and it felt like I double checked them twice for the record, my ABC came to 20, and XYZ came to 14). A previous log had mentioned a similar issue with the ABC checksum, so I decided to follow my coordinates as it seemed to indicate a plausible spot that aligned with the hint. Once I was at my calculation, I followed the advice of the hint and used the CO's previous photo to then find the spot and subsequently the cache. For me, the coordinates were about 20 m out, but I'm still not sure if there was some user error from my part. The cache container and logbook were in good shape. Thanks petan for the cache placement and ongoing maintenance.

Last time my family was on holiday in Kingscliff we did the leg work on this multi. We were all prepared to pick it up straight away but is was a work day and the mechanic shop close by was full to the brim like anyone after a day of free beer.

Today I was on a solo mission so came back to rectify things. It was a weekend so there was plenty of parking available close by and an even quicker find after kicking my toe on some rail tracks someone had conveniently left around. tftc

There’s an event in Murwillumbah tonight… so Chamad and I made the decision to come down and show our support for the Northern Rivers and drop some cash into the local economy…

We’ve already been through Murwillumbah, four times, but now we’re doing another tiny loop out and back…

Chamad has already been here, but graciously allowed us to stop so I could make the find… after crunching the numbers, the best sort of crunching, we arriving at GZ, and thanks to the hint, well part of it, I knew I was were I was meant to be…

Very happy to show this cache a little love today… thanks petan

A wet drizzly day greeted Eskies5 and I on our day trip to the area to pick up a list of caches. This was one of our stops. We crunched the numbers at the Waypoint and scratched our heads. With a little reading we went with our numbers at we were soon at GZ. Straightforward find made here. TFTC and bringing us to the area petan

A daytrip with Kestal from Toowoomba to Murwillumbah. The weather this morning wasn't great with almost constant drizzle but by the time we attacked this one it had cleared. We had a little moment when the checker didn't add up but we double checked the info and were sure we were correct...we then noted another log saying the checker should be 20 instead of 18 and to trust the coords. So off we went and we were spot on finding the cache with no issues. TFTC petan.

Fine weather, and space in the personal calendar enabled us to come down to Murwillumbah for spot of cache maintenance.

This cache was still in position, ie unaffected by the earlier floods, the internals dry, and while the staple on the logbook is rusting; we felt that the container was perfectly viable and have enabled this cache so its ok to be found.

Continual wet weekends have prevented me from travelling to Murwillumbah to check/replace this cache. I am also mindful that there are reports of significantly large potholes appearing/ reappearing in the Tweed Valley Way. It just won't stop raining!

Hopefully soon.

While its been almost two months since the major flood incident, I have left my Murwillumbah caches disabled to assist with recovery efforts.

It is my intention to travel to the area and check/replace caches as needed within the next four weeks.

It unknown whether the flood levels for the Tweed River would have risen high enough to affect the cache, the town is still experiencing major flooding.

Disabling this until the river levels settle and I can check the cache.

Originally one of Lady Sybil Ramkin's Swamp dragons. He was named Goodboy Bindle Featherstone of Quirm but was nicknamed Errol by Nobby Nobbs, who said he looked like his brother. Errol was a freak by swamp dragon standards, his wings were about the same size as his abnormally large eyebrows, with a face like an anteater, a pear-shaped body and gigantic nostrils. He couldn't flame or fly, and spent most of his time relaxing.

The plaque was hidden behind large spiky grass plants but we collected the required info quickly. Unfortunately we found a couple of sharps containers at GZ. Please be careful. Thanks for the cache

Our annual holiday trip to the Mexican state of New South Wales to catch up with outlaws and other family members. I like it because it is a chance to get in some caching for a few hours a day. A drive back to Murwillumbah today to pick up a bike from the repair shop. Great opportunity to finish off my caching from yesterday. I started in Stockers Siding and continued into Murwillumbah. Then over to Kingscliff for an adventure lab or two before heading back home. So many caches in out of the way spots, I enjoyed each cache and got to avenge a few dnf’s from yesterday. Thanks to the CO’s for today’s little run.

This was the next one on my list and after a search around here yesterday, in the heat, I had a dnf. I reached out to the CO who was quick to respond and the problem was found. The information from the plaque was correct and the coordinates were correct, the checker was not. I was in the right area just 40 metres out. The checker should be 20 not 18. Trust the information you get and go to those coordinates, it is an easy find from there. Thanks so much to the CO for helping sort out this one, it was a fun one to do. I signed the log and replaced as found and then moved onto the next on one on my list. Thanks for the hide.

Still not sure how people are calculating GZ as being 20-35m out from GZ.

Popped in today and rechecked the coordinates for GZ, only difference was a 2m variation which can be caused by the GPS user not holding their tongue correctly or proving insufficient deference to NavStar Gods. Looked at the questions again and reworded one slightly.

Have updated the hint to provide a few more clues as to location within the general GZ vicinity.

Also checked the cache itself, while I was there. It was a little damp inside - perhaps because it was lying on its side. Dried it out and added a few more silica gel packets and have propped it up with a couple of larger rocks to stop it from falling over.

Ms Maddy helped us with this one our coirds had us 35m out. Thanks

Great little multi as it took me out to see the planes ️

But I must have dropped an incorrect number into the solution as couldn’t find the cache at my GZ A nudge from the CO helped as I looked more widely and uncovered the cache about 20m from my coords. So all ended well

TFTC petan Dropping a FAVE point here.

Checked GZ today. Cache is still there and is nice and dry.

Reworked the East based questions so they are not so ambiguous.

Questions update to reflect the new Ground Zero. Ready to go.

We downloaded a border pass so we could come down for cache maintenance. Wow, poor tree. We looked for the original container but its long gone.

I had enough spares with me to create a new cache container and found a new hiding spot, but will need a little time to rejig the clues to reflect the new GZ.

Notifying that it might be a while before this cache is maintained and enabled. With the imminent closure of the Qld/NSW border, as a Queensland resident I doubt whether travel to Murwillumbah from home to replace a geocache would pass the pub test, or should that be Covid-19 travel test. Therefore it may be a number of months before this cache is back online. I apologize for that. Obviously as soon as travel reopens, repairing this - and I suspect several other owned Murwillumbah caches will be a priority.

Stay safe, and thank you for your patience.

After standing there for a very long time, withstanding a number of major floods, the tree which housed Ground Zero partially collapsed. A check by LizBeth1998 suggested that the ammo tin which was the container is missing.

We are disabling this until we work out our next course of action. Unfortunately, with one member of the team recovering from surgery, and the other caring for same; the replacement may be a number of weeks.

Thank you to LizBeth for the info and the photos. Vale magnificent tree.

We must have messed up the coordinates because we couldn’t find the box, will try again though.

Familiar plague, easy calculations, great gz and a cache I can see without glasses. Thanks petan!

Staying in the area overnight for the GIFF event. Found a few caches this morning before heading home.

We arrived here shortly after a few helicopters. I was hoping at least 1 might take off again while we were here so I could watch/experience it. But it looked like they were here for the day. A spwcial copter meet up perhaps.

Found the information needed and reluctantly headed off to GZ. Wandered up along the rails going it wasn't a camo micro sick to them, but we were pointed beyond, making me how even now it wasn't a micro. I loved at the cache information and was delighted to see it was regular sized, avg therefore we found it rather quickly. Phew.

TFTC

Thanks for another interesting cache. A few enthusiasts around today.
Cheers

Staying a couple of nights locally to catch some caches and attend the GIFF night at Murwullimbah.

A nice multi and we never knew of this airfield or even the industrial area or the majestic old tree. TFTC petan

Out for a drive to Murbah with interstate cousin great hide TFTC

Good puzzle nice find. Not too difficult and fun.

Back up at Crystal Creek after a few days at Brunswick Heads and thought I would make a start on the Mystery at the Museum series. Searched for the nearest easy Detective cache to get started (it seems that Android users may be able to plan easier than Apple users - or maybe I am just being a bit technologically confused). Then it was just a circuit of a few roads that I hadn’t been on (only had a couple of hours of light) - all caches found in good condition and even scored a few TBs today (didn’t bring enough to swap but will take them on my way south to add a few more kilometres).
Last one of the day and it was just starting to get dark. Have never actually been to the airfield though I knew it was here. Gathered the data quickly - thanks for the checker I reckon my maths would have been wrong without it, but once I plugged the numbers in the hint looked good.
Parked near GZ and wandered over. In the gloom there were too many holes to check so back to the car for a torch (thankfully always in my backpack). Back and i checked an initial hole, but looked to my left and there the nice sized container was found - perfect place for an ammo can. A couple of TBs in there so back to the car again to do a swap (I really should check beforehand). Only one more to swap (the other I bought wants to go to Queensland) so left it and grabbed two. Log signed and the whole kit returned to its hidey hole.
TFTC petan another favourite added as this was a nicely conceived cache.

Fun find and fitting tribute. TftC.

Day 76 Mainland trip
Out and about caching with Tassie Trekkers in Murwillumbah and this was one we found. A nice little airport. After solving the multi, a quick find at GZ. TFTC

Caching in the area with whitewebbs and this was one we found.

A straight forward multi and an easy find at GZ, cache and contents were in good condition.

Thanks for placing and maintaining this cache for our enjoyment.

Woohooo.... TFTC .... x

Very 1st geocache yeah

Thanks for this one. Also thanks to this man for what he did for us and the people here at Murwillumbah

Having an overnight stop at a nice Air BnB and attended a Christening service in Tweed, we began caching our way towards Lismore where we have a couple of our own caches to check out. But some caches needed converting to yellow simleys along the way.

Your cache, petan, was one of the ones we found. We enjoyed the history, as we always do with geocaching. Mr RoddyC made a quick find at GZ.


Log signed and replaced as found on 10.02.2019 at 1.00pm. TFTC

Out on a weekend caching run in the area with RoddyC, Hatzofff & Snickersallan.
At the first WP we gathered the numbers needed then with new coords, off to the final. Stopped nearby then ventured in to find this cache. A quick find by RoddyC. SL then returned as found. Interesting location.

Found on 10 February 2019 at 12.05pm. TFTC, petan.

Day 2 of my trip in the NSW countryside with geo friends. After arriving at the first WP we gathered the required information before inspecting the nearby aircraft then after sums worked out we moved on.
At GZ we thought we'd be in for a long search but RoddyC found the hide rather quickly thank goodness.

TFTC petan
Found February 10, 2019

Found while out with Snickersallan Patrol 14 and RoddyC.
TFTC.

This was fun hard to find untill you figure it out

Nice little hunt tricky at first but good for the family

The X-Trailers and I really enjoyed doing your little multi and especially the final . A fav point today. TFTC which was in good condition.

Nice simple multi to finish of the day
Loved the history and loved gz
Found with Earthlight
Tftc

Watawieh from Norfolk Island South Pacific.
In a past life I have been a commercial charter pilot. As a result I love aviation & airport caches. I had visited Whittle field and gathered the answers but never got the chance to find the cache. This afternoon I was in the area and thanks to the great photo from Samboo & Max the cache was quickly in hand.
This cache deserves a rare endeavour3 Favourite Point for its great aviation theme.

Out for a milestone day of caching with stortigirls. I still needed to find a few caches to make the milestone, so we stopped by this multi. We gathered the required information, then set off for GZ. Surprisingly, we made a quick find there. Having added our names to the log, we headed off to the next one. TFTC

Selva Girls and I were on the way to meet up with friends to celebrate a milestone find for her, and of course needed to pick up a few smilies on the way. We enjoyed this short multi and made an unexpectedly quick find. Tftc petan

Staying at the Krishna Village for the weekend and decided to take a bit of time out to do some nearby geocaches. This for our first target for the day. It was rather quiet out on the airfield today (mind you it was a rather damp and drizzly day). We sat in the car gathering our answers before heading off the GZ. Mrs EMC and Chikinlittle headed out to find it. We were very surprised by this lovely cache. Did some swaps. Feel that one day this cache might even get eaten LOL. TFTC. Fav Pt from us.

The Kids had dinner from the nearby well known burger place and now it was completely dark. We grabbed the info off the plaque in torch light and then set off for the WP. Our only Ammo tin of the day. Well hid. Kids made some swaps and we were on our way back to Alstonville to Grandmas. Thanks Petan!!!

Found it. we didn’t use our torch on the way in so no one would notice us

My first amo can geocache took a crocadile and swaped it for a carrot

I'd had a PM from a seeker saying they couldn't find the cache, while there had been two 'finds' since the floods I wasn't 100% sure if they related to the time after the flood or if indeed they had been proper "find the container, sign the logbook type finds" considering one "finder" was the same cacher who sent the PM. I shouldn't have been so mistrusting.

Since we were in the area today I called in the check. There was multiple evidences of the flood around GZ but I was somewhat surprised to see the ammo can sitting there in plain sight. What's more, the insides showed no evidence of water penetration. O hail the mighty ammo can!

So counting this as an Owner Check, all is good. Container is rehidden in its hiding spot covered with a pile of sticks.

Nice find! First multi cache for me and Callum185 and helen_71 first ever cache! Got lost in a way but used our friend Google Earth and was put right on the spot! TFTC!!!

Ground Zero for this cache is close to the creek, photos on social media suggest severe flooding in the area. While it is an ammo can and its hiding position does tend to 'lock it in place', the cache may be compromised with the flooding occurring in Murwillumbah due to exTC Debbie. Will check on this in few days after the river levels drop.

After our roadtrip thruogh New Zealand, we had a couple of days to spend in Australia at the Gold Coast. We had a very good time and we also did some geocaches. This was one of those geocaches.

This short multi was nice to do. At the location there where some workers doing their work at the road. So we made a view pictures from the plaque and after a short calculation we found the geocache at a nice location.

petan hartelijk dank voor het leggen en onderhouden van deze cache.

Groetjes,
Team Geo Meijer
(We loggen vaak met TGM or TGMeijer)

Dit was onze: 6697 gevonden cache

Found at 12:23 PM GAFF1.
The airfield is so lovely looking - so green and lush. The co-ords that we worked out showed that the cache was 13 metres further on, but we managed to spot a structure that yielded the prize!
Thanks petan.

Awesome multi, great view of mountains at WP1, and amazing tree at GZ. Loved the cache too, not seen one of those before.
TFTC

Great little cache

Making my way down through the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers, to stay overnight at the base of Mt Warning, with plans to make a sunrise climb to the summit in the morning.

Of course I couldn't resist making the most of my day, and sampling all these tasty treats on offer on the way down .

This multi has been unfound for too long, time someone found it! A multi that ticks all the boxes for me... Interesting place, great subject matter and a beaut container. Got to see a light plane take off just as I was leaving, its so intense beibg this close to the runway, and not a fence in sight!!!

Well done, love a good ammo can, getting a little weary of rolling nanos today FP from me.

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This cache was found in good condition, and adds to our total of 2359 smilies. Thanks **petan** for showing us this spot. This log is trackable... discover our code TGQNRV, and please mention where you saw it.

Dropped in to check on cache - all is good.

TFTC.

Found it grate find thanks

Heading towards the CITO event at Stokers this morning.
This was a pleasant surprise discovering this airfield. A nice looking twin engine tail dragger over the other side of the field.
TFTC

TFTC. Nice airfield too.

Yep I'd done the first Whittle Field cache and thought we would do the second. Simple multi and we soon had co-ords which looked reasonable. SO we headed off and found the cache. I let Cricketski to do the log signing as I was being eaten by mozzies. I got 3 with one slap on my leg and 2 with another one.

I like caches where I learn something, so thank you. Puzzle easily solved. Park near new GZ found. I think this is the largest cache I have found so far, but sadly no travellers to help along their way. My ankles are both very itchy thanks to mozzie squadrons. I'm resisting the temptation to scratch. One of the few downsides of caching late in the day. TFTC

Finally got a morning on our Queensland holiday to do a bit of caching and to pick up a combination of a few different types of caches for a challenge I am slowly working on back in Melbourne. I grabbed one puzzle in Queensland before heading down this way for a few in NSW. It was very humid and 35 degrees today which is weather I am so not used to being from Melbourne!
A deserted airport on a Sunday made the clue gathering easy, a quick calculation was made and after finding a parking spot just down the road from GZ the nice large cache was found a couple of minutes later.
Thanks petan for the cache, the hunt and the fun.

Got this time. Always muggles at previous visits. If you know the recent history of this area you know why.

Great multi-cache. Not the easiest parking at GZ for people not from the area. Easy find. Took travel bug.

Found quick and easy beautiful big old tree. Found with Diamonjs. TFTC

Loved this multi and enjoyed reading about Mr Whittle I knew him when I was a child. Funny both my muggle hubs and and I come from Murwillumbah originally and I was sitting working multi out when he rang, I said I was sitting at the airfield his first words were "there's a airfield at weed valley". See caching makes you learn new things all the time. Easy find of the cache but a gorgeous big fig. TFTC

I walked an entirely useless amount of steps for this cache. If I'd read the cache description correctly the first time, it would have saved some time thats for sure. Typical of me - making my caching harder than it has to be. It was great to find a big container at the end for my dramas. Good Multi, tftc Petan

Going for a drive to Muwillimbah and noted this multi nearby. Found the clues at the airstrip (watched a light plane land & take off). Went for a walk in the direction of the new coords but soon realised that this was a longer trip. Found the spot and logged the cache. Nice multi. TFTC

Geohubby wanted to stop here and check out any aircraft movements. The required info was easily spotted then off to GZ after geohubby had seen one land then take off again. SL TFTC petan

Another one of those places you know are there but you never go to look at. Richmond Lad and I visited there today to solve this multi and were lucky to see a small plane take off. Thanks for a great cache petan.

The last cache of the day and I have never been to the Murwillumbah Airfields before. Great location for the cache. TFTC

first ever multi cache
TFTC

Very Clever! Love the airfield

Tftc

When IolantheK suggested that we head off for a weekend to do an assault on Mt Warning for her 4000 th find I recall my response was in the affirmative almost immediately. So IolantheK, T-Tech, Brother Colin, LadySim and myself set off on this early morning adventure, teamdfl joined us at the base of the mountain.

The remainder of the day was spent geocaching around the area with the mountain the centre of attention throughout. Swellerfungus and T-Teck joined me to travel the sights of the lolly bag loop and other caches along the way.

Later that night (in the rain) Swellerfungus and myself went in search of more delights. After a check of the plague we were on our way to the cache

Late in the evening, after a sumptuous supper mady by one T-Tech, Ruzzlez and I decided that there we each had a few unfound icons scattered through the local area. We donned our gear once again and set off for some finds. Ruzzlez commented that if he got silent he may well be asleep – I think the 3:30am start to climb Mt Warning this morning has taken its toll!

I had tried to solve this one from home in anticipation of a trip here this weekend, and surprisingly found little information of the topics required. Surprising because the man has a very interesting history. As the rain poured down we headed out to the airfield. We found the plaque and attempted to park close enough to read it without having to get out of the car. Sadly this was just not possible, so we got out and wet!

We soon had some likely looking (if somewhat surprising) coordinates and scooted off in Zoomin Shroom.

Arriving at GZ we divided and conquered. After regrouping we soon made the find at exactly the same time. Log signed and returned. All is in good condition. Nice little multi thanks.

Day off from work today. IolantheK and I went down through the Numinbah Valley over the border into NSW to Murwillumbah [^]
This was one of a number of caches IolantheK needed to get her numbers right for her mile stone 4000 at 'Cloud Catcher', Mt Warning
Great multi, nice easy find
The cache is dry and good condition [^]
TFTC petan

T-Tech and I are heading to Murwillumbah for a milestone-smashing adventure at Mt Warning this weekend. I needed 17 more finds to get my numbers right, and as T-Tech wanted to travel down through the Numinbah Valley, I had no trouble getting enough done [^]

I enjoyed coming to the airport, and finding the info was very easy. GZ plotted and we made our way over, but I was a little worried the search could take a while here Happily, T-Tech made a pretty quick find. A neat little multi. TFTC, petan.

This entry was edited by IolantheK on Sunday, 18 May 2014 at 12:24:20 UTC.

Visited the airfield...... Bob Whittle taught my Dad how to fly in a tiger moth in 1949. He got a kick out of finding this cache. TFTC

Out for a bit of a run today and the nearest group of caches that weren't smiling were down here so I drove the hour to do some of my favourite game.

This was a great bit of history and a pretty easy cache.

I did make a small error at the start with one figure but the check sum helped to alert me.

Talk about a track to nowhere, this certainly was, but the cache was my goal and I succeeded in that so I took the other track out of there for some more caching.

Thanks Petan TFTC SL TNLN

Very fun find.

Nice quality cache. Was great to find the air field! TFTC

Dannza and I had a couple of days off work, so what better way to spend it then a caching road trip to Byron Bay. We had found the original Whittle on a previous trip but we were very happy to hunt for another Whittle. Dannza looked rather official with her clipboard so the muggles at the airfield did not bother us as we collected the required data for the find. Cache in good condition and well hidden. TFTC petan

I LOVE a good clip board.... no one even looks at you once they see it they just think you are a nerd or an official, now we just need some hi vis gear. LOL