Forgotten Realm 4: Hawkan Forest Springwood, New South Wales, Australia
By NickoHeap on 30-Oct-11. Waypoint GC36E29

Glad to find the missing cache. Third time searched. After my DNF last December, I had another attempt last Saturday. Hmmm. Today I came back so I can say Gotcha!. TFTC NickoHeap. Just one find today before tackling house chores and other tasks. Extending my streak to 441 unbroken days of geocaching.

Thanks for the cache. Worth the hunt for it!

A new day, Springwood North to be explored. Lovely scenery for another geocache search. Alas couldnt find this after 20 mins. Will try another day, thanks

TYFTC!

Wow! Never knew this area was so pretty!! Thanks for taking me on this journey. Circled around for a little while before deciding on best places to begin the search. I think the cavern where this one is hidden has a distinct smell of orc today!

Found it!

Headed to Springwood today for some caches to up my calendar finds. I'm actually running two caching goals at the moment. My immediate goal (for 2023) is reaching 500 multi finds. My longer term goal is 25 by 25 - ie 25 calendar finds loops by the end of 2025. And that's going to take work and discipline. So any day I can raise my total finds to 25 is one more day in the bag.

And that's what I've managed today. HUZZAH!

However, the Caching Gods give and they taketh away. While I avenged a previous DNF, I added two more to my account - and one of them was a multi.
###END OF CUT AND PASTE SECTION###
Ended the day here.
Spectacular GZ but even with hint photos I came up empty. Even found a likely spot, but it was empty.

Time to head home.

It’s always an adventure with Kimbathelion. Found it eventually. Tftc

Had lunch near here with friends. Bit of fun getting to cache. Found after a bit of a look. Tftc

Enjoyed the walk and the creek, spotted no nasty surprises. TYFTC

Mr T headed out from home for a bush walk, as part of his SES fitness training. With lockdown, they can't group train, but still need to keep fit! Today he decided to walk in Birdwood Gully, and do some caches along the way. TFTC

Oops. Found this like 3 weeks ago and never logged. Silly me. But this was a bit hard. Took about 20 minutes to find. Still a great time. Tftc

Tftc - easy find slippery but fun ??

What a fantastic hide!! Love the book, love the waterfall ( walked here many times and didn’t know the waterfall was here!!) found with Storeyteller. TFTC . In good condition

Very pretty part of the world. TFTC

Beautiful spot. Riddle and photos were especially helpful as the GPS took us down and not around. TFTC!

Found with Hiker_Barbie11 and Moon Explorers. Riddle and photos were very helpful. TFTC!

Great hide! Beautiful area. TFTC!

Found after all this time.

Did feel a little like Bear Grylls running wild with cargo’s on and sporting a backpack as we were enroute to this cache. Geofamily in tow as we made our way down from the path to the creek. This place would look awesome with a massive flow of water off the edge. Phone a little bouncy so made sure that no-one going to proceed any closer to the very slippery edge, it’s a long drop, so the geokids played pebbling (skimming rocks on water - it’s what they call it) as I made my way down to lower levels. Mossy overhangs that really narrows it down to about 80m of mossy overhangs. Went under one in particular and really felt like Bear Grylls climbing and scrambling over things, I was in quite a precarious position to retrieve and sign this one. Duties done on this unloved cache. Forgot to grab the clue from this one. TFTC nickoheap

A quick find today, after a slow and painful DNF a couple of years ago. TFTC

We found the photos and rhyme helped us greatly. Great cache, beautiful spot, really special. TFTC!

Found with Mel_Adz during our walk today. Photos and poem were extremely useful in locating the cache. TftC

Thanks for your cache NickoHeap. The photos were a great help. It certainly felt we were in a "Forgotten Realm" down in that part of the Gully.

A great little hide off a track I've not been on for quite some years. The photo hints were well taken as my GPS swung wildly near GZ. A very pretty area. TFTC

TFTC

Well this was not on the agenda for today, but I found myself stuck in Springwood station for an unknown length of time due to a tree fallen across the track.
Then I remembered this cache and while I don't cache by phone this time it did come in handy. This time no problem finding the cache, don't know why I had so much trouble last time!
Thanks for the cache, still love the spot, well worth braving the freezing wind.

Quick walk down to creek. Had studied logs before coming, so knew where gz was. Quick find. Cache all good. Good spot for a cache. Thanks for placing and maintaining. Tftc

I'd just done the nearby letterbox cache and I was keen to find more caches. This looked like a challenge, especially just after 6 am. At GZ I used my phone's torch to look in some nooks and crannies, eventually finding the container. After this I thought I would try the nearby earth cache.
XN SL TFTC!

Tftc- nice walk / climb - I went down

Challenging with young kids due to steepness and off track nature. But found with marchaj.

Challenging to get to with younger kids but we did it. Found by dad. Joined on find by Glennus. Beautiful spot

After caching around penrith I wanted a few bush cache to finish off the day so I eyed off this and a few other nearby caches.
I had no worries with GPS reception or coords and spotted a place where I would hide it and bingo,there it was.
Awesome spot to visit down in here.
TFTC

I DNF'd this some time ago and I wish I had logged it. It could be the longest time between and DNF and a find for me. It was probably early 2014 and I came down with the geokids, but the leeches drove us away. We were pretty sure that the pots and pans were not a cache even at that early stage in our caching life.
This morning, I sat at my desk with the symptoms of the common cold. I thought my coughing, sneezing and sniffling would be best done out in the wilds where no one could hear it. Also, there was a TB in the cache that has been waiting 6 months to be liberated.
I made it to the side of the creek that we did not look at three years ago. Without the kids to worry about falling, (though they are older now), I ventured down to another level and made the find.
Everything seems to be in good condition, even without a ziplock bag, the log book is dry.
I save my favourite points for moments/caches like these. TFTC

This cache gave me a bit of trouble at first thanks too poor GPS reception, but the spoiler photos were excellent and led me straight to the cache. TFTC! Reluctantly dropped a TB that's been on some unforgettable adventures with me (see the item's page). I hope it continues on a wonderful adventures with other cachers. Greetings from Canada

Wow what a challenging walk for my knees, but well worth it because this is a beautiful part of Springwood, all dappled light and fresh air. Gets a fav for the scenery.
Finding the cache proved a challenge too but good buddy assisted, while geo-dog had a cold swim.
TFTC

Found the boulder with the billy and cup, but not the cache.

Although we found "not the cache", we did not succeed to find the cache itself.
Maybe we try one time more.

this was a great cache!
geocaching friends Ian and Penny and I wandered back and forth along the marked track before we decided Ian and I would just have to head off into the wilderness....
thumping down into the gully was easy enough, Ian decided to slide down a section whereas I decided to find a slightly less challenging way down that particular spot. get to the creek, no still have a little way to go, reception? yes so check out the spoiler photos and decide where to go from there - also read out the cache notes a couple of times before we made our move.
managed to get near GZ without falling over which is quite unusual for me, especially considering how slippery the area is. Ian enjoyed the atmosphere of the area while I made the find. we both say "this is why we cache..."
signed the log and made our way back Penny, I nearly fell over crossing the creek but managed to stay upright with difficulty, found the billy and other bits and pieces under a rock too, left them there for the next person who needs them.
went back up to the main track and headed off to the letterbox cache nearby.
tftc Nickoheap. fav point from me.

[font=Comic Sans MS]Hi there NickoHeap. We found your cache "Forgotten Realm 4: Hawkan Forest" at 1:28:00 PM today. This cache makes our find count 11866.
[Blue]
Today we joined up with Blissbaby for a fantastic day of caching, & as she knows the area much better than us she suggested our route. The day started off with a fine drizzle on the mountain but this cleared to a mainly fine but overcast day. We ended up logging 13 caches (and DNFing 0).

Wow!! Logging this cache was a real adventure. The location at GZ is a true marvel of nature that not many people will get to see. We awarded this cache a favourite point for the adventure.
[/Blue]
Coordinate Accuracy: We found the cache around 2m from where the GPS said we should be looking.
Cache Condition: The container and log book are in good shape.
Took: Nothing.
Left: Smiley Badge.
Thanks for the hunt,
Regards
Ian & Penny.[font=Verdana]

From the letter box cache we headed over to this one. Reading the logs on the way we realised it had not been found for awhile and the last entry being a DNF was concerning. We switched the real GPSr on given the location and comments and got to a likely spot. A read of the riddle and after checking one location moved slightly to another that seemed to fit. A check around and the hid was soon found. We completed the signing duties and re hid. TFTC.


This entry was edited by bella at waggy on Saturday, 29 August 2015 at 00:28:29 UTC.

Looked all around. Found the rock. Nothing under there. Didn't find. Maybe it's been moved.

This area was the exact scene I pictured while reading the description. Right out of the Forgotten Realms. How it got here I have no know! Cross-dimension teleportation?
Slowly whittling my way through this series, I still have a couple more do go.
Thanks for the cache.

Found with JustR, whilst doing the nearby letterbox cache for the 7 Souvenirs of August Challenge. Lovely spot. TNLN TFTC

Found with Adam, Jimmy, Harry, Joni and Ella. Lovely spot! TFTC

After leaving the track, and heading downhill we came across a magnificent sight, surely a forgotten realm.
After a short scramble the treasure was located, and the logbook inscribed. TFTC.

The key to this cache was the poem, gps was crazy, children were bonkers....A lovely spot that was close to home, but never visited before, a great example of what you miss if you stick to the path. TFTC.

TFTC

Pretty spot, used to play here when i was younger.

I love geocaches that lead you to an awesome place. Thanks for sharing this grotto. Found with Phillxor

Well and truly dark when morebierplease and i arrived near GZ, resulting in us missing seeing a few large cliff edges until the last second . Well hidden and a bit spooky at GZ at night. Awesome hide. TFTC

Morry9, Paul the Hippy and I walked down from the Bush Mountains Letterbox but morry9 and I abandoned the search to tackle some other caches after about an hour. I was glad to see that Paul was successful not long after we left, congratulations!

Well that was an adventure that was very time consuming. Started searching with jords and mutray who gave up after about 45 mins. Our coords where out by about 20m but with the photo we soon narrowed it down. About 10m after they left the find was made. I had concentrated too much on the angles in the picture but really it was taken from the closest spot to allow light. Beautiful spot to walk into.
Tftc tnln

Great spot. Photos reqlly helped

there are plenty of safer ways to get to this cache but as usual jlewer92 and i chose the hardest and slipped all the way down. Lovely area though!

Had a great walk in to find this one. The kids loved playing around the forgotten realm, and climbing the enormous boulder. TFTC

First geocaching ever. Fantastic for a first time. Little hard to find but worth it.

We really enjoyed doing this cache particularly as we we could walk from home to do it. It was such a beautiful day for a walk. Found the cache quite quickly thanks to the photos. A lovely spot on the creek! TFTC

All fine!

Nice trek. Found a big water Dragon

Really nice spot. Would love to see it after heavy rain. Left GC. Having a torch was handy, even in the day time! Thanks for bringing me here. TFTC.

Tough trek through wet ferns to make it to this lovely secluded location.

Very slippery, almost fell a few times as it was so wet.

Had to look around for a while before finding the right spot (Used the pictures from the owner, they helped a lot).

Headed out and carefully climbed back up to the path.

Thanks for the cache!

We came in from Bednal Rd, but it would be shorter to come in from Boland Ave, either way it is a great place, and in the end you will end up at a magical place. Thanks NH, a fav point from me.

A trip to the place dark and unloved, desperate and devine. A place hidden in the misery of war and loss, heartbreak and heroism.
The cache lies unbeknown to us and forvever present as a reminder. I was reminded, and then got a bit claustophobic and promptly removed myself.

"Onto the next cache," I said.

And so we did.

TFTC

Fourth Forgotten Realm 4th cache for the day a bit of a acrobatic maneuver. TFTC.

Having read all the previous logs I was avoiding this cache for quite a while. It is actually quite easy to find. I remembered some details from the spoiler pictures and found the GPSr was generally pointing me in the right direction once it had time to settle. Just had to look in a slightly restricted space. This completes the series for me which I had started over 6 weeks ago. I am sure I will be back with azazzlenic soon. TFTC.

Not at the correct T/D place or missing !

I did expect this one to be a problem for me, and I was not disappointed!
Mind you I did find a cache of sorts very close to GZ, and old billy containing a cup and pamphlet and close to it a bit of rope and a small ball. Go figure why this is here, I took some photos and replaced it all exactly as found, but be warned this is not the cache you are looking for.
I spent 45 minutes all over GZ, up and down and sideways, all to no avail. The only place that looked promising was in fact so dangerous that I was not game to brave the film of water flowing over the a reddish mud on the sandstone platform, this proved to be so slippery that it could well have proved fatal.
In the end I remembered the famous words of the great philosopher Homer: "You tried and failed miserably, the lesson here is.. Never to try!"
After all what is another DNF added to my long list, I can live with it.
Thanks for the great spot and the lovely walk.

The dense growth and gully walls were too much for my gps. Whenever I would get a decent signal, I would still be a couple hundred feet away from GZ. Not finding any resemblence of a path to take me off the trail to the cache, and with poor satellite reception, I had to give up. . But overall, I did enjoy the hike on the trails.

Nice cache. A little difficult to get there but worth it.
Amazingly, GPS was suprisingly accurate.

Cheers

8 June 2012 11:42

Great that it is still there- now I won't head out and check it like I had intended, for the moment anyway.

The only DNF of the day for Steeba, The Rats and I. Not a bad strike rate, but disappointing in this magic little spot. I really enjoyed the walk above GZ through the open area, magic!! Alas at GZ the GPSrs were going haywire, and with no mobile reception the clue was not much good to us. Looking online at the clues now I suspect that we concentrated too much on the wrong side of the creek. Oh well, we will know for next time!

This was our only disappointment for the day and it was probably more to do with human error. We didnt come armed with the pics of GZ. So after an extensive search and with no phone reception to view the pics we left with a DNF
Maybe next time

This one will remain on the unfound list after our attempt today .

We'd been along the Birdwood Gully track quite a number of times doing other caches in the area and it's always a pleasure. Parked in Bednall and entered via the track head there and made our way along the path to the point closest to the cache. About 70m or so down the slope through very open bush. Nearing the creek the leaf litter atop the rocks makes it quite slippery in places. It was quite a sunny day but getting close to the cache it became very dark and gloomy due to the nature of the area - dropping down a bit further into the gully and with the increasing tree canopy. After a few minutes of searching Lady Altaire had the cache located. Very nice spot indeed.

A beautiful, but slippery place to visit in Springwood. Lucky I had phone reception here and was able to pull up the images and finally figure out where they were taken from.

I was here solo with Webby Jnr a long ways away still taking photos so had to be careful.

Grabbed a coin from this one.

Cheers

The battle continues..... but for how long. As I started my mission, this battle didn't seem to bad, easy to navigate your way on a clear path without the demons or dragons to halt your progress. But as I closed in on the forest, it had struck me, I then realised the battle was about to begin. With the wet weather making the battlefield somewhat difficult, that was the least of my worries. The battle was upon, but who the fended off first, who could be the hardest, who could be the softest. Well, it all happened so fast, I didn't know who or what I fending off, I had forgotten who I was at war with. My focus was the treasure, and to get it quickly. With desperation and determination, I fought my way through the beasts and the titans to hold the treasure in my hands. The battle declared a winner. the battle comes to a close....... or is the war still to continue?? Time will tell, but for now, Victory shall be mine!! TFTC

Finally got some free time today to go look for the latest Forgotten Realm cache.

I chose to start from the Bednal Road entrance to the track, mostly because it's the one part of this track that I haven't walked before. Good choice I think, the scenery was wonderful & I think there were less steps to climb on the way out .

I was enjoying my walk & not really paying attention to where I was going until I glanced down at the GPS & saw that my distance to GZ was increasing instead of decreasing. Yep, I'd walked too far & had to back track a little.

Approaching GZ I saw a fair number of places the cache could be stashed in & thought I might be in for a long search. Checked a few places, then realised I was on the wrong side (reading the cache notes earlier might have helped ). Crossed over & found even more places to search . So I pulled up the photos & looked around until I'd found the right general spot. Once I had that I looked in one obvious spot with no luck, then moved on to my next possible spot & was rewarded with a glimpse of the container.

Great hide in one of my favourite places to walk in Springwood. Thanks NickoHeap .

Sad to say, after looking in vain for this cache in the wrong spot due to some co-ord mix up! I decided to stay high up on the track while pjmpjm disappeared into the scrub, after quite some time I heard the unmistakable "Bingo!". Still thought I had better not try to venture into the uncharted Hawkan Forest and waited for him to return victorious!

After a day of meetings and a pointless horse race, I needed some caching to ease my mind.

So, after work I parked in the street named after a famous Pioneer. Soon I had changed my shoes and I was off down the path covered in a thick layer of leaves.

Eventually I turned of the track and bush bashed down to the lovely creek.

From there I descended down the waterfall and eventually made a find of the treasure.

A short and fun bush cache.

TNLNSL. TFTC.

2TF!

Wandered down this familiar track with rogerw3 while on other geocaching business. Was happy that another Forgotten Realm beckoned for exploration.

Little did I know at first, but I had entered wrong digit or two in the GPSr, and we both struggled to find landmarks that really fit the clues.

After about 15 minutes, I re-entered the coordinates and found that we were still 60 metres away from GZ. Then I encountered the genuine three star terrain and spent nearly half an hour in a damp and mysterious and somewhat gloomy realm until I found the clever Hawkan Forest hiding place. A beautiful spot!

Didn't have the CO's photos handy and indeed they'd be a help in this area. Nevertheless, the published coordinates were accurate and perseverance finally paid off . . .

All was in good order. TNLNSL.

Many thanks to NickoHeap for another Blue Mountains geocache adventure!

So there I was, sitting at Echo Bluff, logging my find on "Echoes From Above The Empire", when I did a quick email check and saw the latest "Forgotten Realm" installment had just gone live. What to do? I was at least an hour away, and I was still a bit embarrassed by my previous attempt at a FRFTF, but I figured it was worth a shot so I packed away the ipad and did a brisk walk back to my car, then on to Springwood for the 2nd time today.

I wasn't quite sure where to start from, having never entered Birdwood Gully before. Google maps suggested Perry Ave might be a good place to start from, but after a quick drive by, and not seeing any obvious way in to the bush through the houses, I decided to follow the street signs to Birdwood Gully and parked on Lucinda Ave. It was a bit after 6:00 when I set off, and I figured I had about an hour to get in and out before it got too dark, so I was walking pretty quickly.

When I got near GZ, my GPSr was indeed going crazy so I resorted to the clue. Even then, I started out in the direction my GPS was suggesting, and ended up walking on some very steep and slippery rocks - this is determinately not a cache for small children or night time caching! Anyway I stomped around for about 30 minutes, looking in every nook and cranny, even those that had no chance of matching the clue, and was just about at my self-imposed deadline of 7:00PM when I decided to take a photo from what I thought was GZ just to prove to myself that it really matched. Suddenly I had a flash of inspiration, and decided to check just one more time a place I had looked a few times already, and this time I must have been in just the right angle, because there it was!

But what would I see when I opened the front cover? Aha! still blank {*FTF*} So time for a quick journal entry, grab a geocoin, and return the container to it's resting place, ready for the next intrepid warrior to venture forth.

Then back the way I came.

Thanks for a great adventure, NickoHeap. Looking forward to the next episode!

This entry was edited by jonnosan on Monday, 31 October 2011 at 09:08:15 UTC.

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