Zones: Then and Now at Pykes Myrniong, Victoria, Australia
By Tag-a1ong on 06-Mar-16. Waypoint GC6CP12

A great day out on lake Pykes with Tiz13 in our Kayaks. Solving puzzles and finding caches. It was about a 3 hour trip around the lake which included about 10 caches and this Earthcache. Photos taken and answers answered to the best of our ability. Fingers crossed they are ok. Great day out and love getting out in my kayak and caching. Thanks for placing this Earthcache for everyone to enjoy.

The Earthcache discussion continued on between Slowdog and I as we paddled back to shore...Google was also able to provide some further interesting information about the construction of this lake.

today we found it tricky to stay dryimpossible, reallyhere was hardthe treasure demands we face in one direction and peer scientifically at the cliff face but the waves are turning us like corkscrewsbreaching our broadsides dragging us sidewaysand threatening to wreck us onto the rockswe are no experts in geologybut found it much harder to make our observations when bobbing up and down in the chopthe cliffs heaving the rocks spinningthe ground rolling, seasicklucky we brought a friend with a clear head and a steady eyeor else we would be out of luck

Visited 14/1/23 and logged with permission 15/1/23.

With eight T/5 caches targeted on the lake, catnap777 and I snaffled them all up in one glorious day out on our 'yaks.
A super early start in the day saw us cutting through morning fog on the glassy water [^], but with the posted coords to the Earth Cache being the last to reach, the scorching sun was beating down upon us by then and a hundred power boats were trying to see how much surrounding farmland they could erode while the lake was still at capacity.

With all the info gleaned from all three sites, cat' collated our colluded conclusions and and had them sent off for scrutiny the very next day. [:X]

Thanks 6Hinemoa2 for this super rare T/5 EarthCache and thanks for your very speedy reply with permission to log.

Answers sent to CO on behalf of dalerious and I, and approval to log granted.

This Earthcache was made interesting firstly by it's subject matter, and secondly by the questions that are put to the cacher.

It not only covers the geology of the area, but lets you investigate the steps that are taken to preserve its fragile ecosystem.

We deduced that more should be done to limit the damage created by wake creating watercraft and farming practices.

Thank you 6Hinemoa2 for providing the caches on this body of water, which we were glad to undertake, and happy not to visit again.
Too busy with powerboats for us to enjoy paddling about.

First in, best dressed .

Logging after sending answers to the CO, though I am not confident on this one.

Had a lovely day out on the yaks, after getting 3 other caches it was time to paddle across the other side and examine this geological feature and think about the land management of the area. It really did make me think!

Happy to see some tufted bluebells clinging to the cliffs out in bloom. Lots of yellow-tailed black cockatoos about as well.

Thanks for the cache!

A lovely afternoon spent out in the Kayaks on Pykes Creek Reservoir. Quite a few jets skies out on the water around but managed to keep out of their way.
Enjoyed the paddles out here with Bogonghazy. Answers were submitted by Bongonghazy on my behalf. Thanks

'Found' with LittleBoss2 after she had collected the two caches I'd already found here. The Island cache is the reason I found out about caching, as I found a personal Geocoin under a tree here and could only contact the owner by signing up to the website to try to return it to here.
This was a bit tricky to work out, but hopefully our answers are accepted by the CO. Please, please K, be nice to us EC's always get a fave, shame I can't give a second fave for the T5.
Amazing view from the water, and we understand why it can't and shouldn't be accessed from the freeway. Thanks again K&A

Logging with permission from the CO.

What a fantastic location for an Earthcache with interesting rock formations and the different surrounding landscapes. We also had the pleasure of watching an eagle gliding gracefully whilst searching for food.

I jumped back onto the JetSki with juzzmagic, figuring Crusty & Steve have this in hand, and had another few spins around the reservoir. Still only one other boat on the water, so we had a ball zipping around the island and speeding along from one end to the other, then eventually joined the boys to offer our help.

What a fantastic day we all had with plenty of laughs and great company.

Thanks so much Tag-a1ong and 6Hinemoa2 for an absolutely brilliant series.

Knight_shift, Juzzmagic and I spent time boating on Pykes Creek Reservoir. We located most of the puzzle caches that we had solved during covid lockdown. The weather was perfect for our excursion, and ideal for sitting off the shore, and observing the geology of the earthcache. After plenty of discussion, Steve was elected as scribe for the group, to send our answers to the questions. He has done a great job.
Thanks for the interesting earthcache Tag-a1ong.

Sent answers to the c.o.
I like this earth cache due to the location and the interesting ways of looking at the landscape. TFTC

sent answers to CEO TFTC

Back now with the restrictions eased.

This geocache is currently disabled for the duration of the Covid-19 crisis in compliance with current restrictions on non-essential travel.
For the welfare of all I feel there is no choice in the matter as the virus is transmitted by surface contact and geocaching by nature, is a game that involves touching.

Tftc Tag-a1ong. I did this today in windy, rainy and hail conditions. Oh the sun did pop out for a while. I paddled just under 5kms getting the caches I have had my eye on them foe a while.

Our last one for today.
We took in and commented on the variety of landscapes, rock cliffs, erosion and cleared paddocks in the area. We hovered here for sometime taking in the cliffs. and pine trees we see often coming down the freeway. Nice to see the other side of it.

It could easily be missed in a passing speed boat but in a yak you get to take in the wonders.
TFTEC. Will send through answers soon.

#2190

Found with Loci612 and buhfuhguh. More later...

Another day caching with Cankid and Loci612
Once again today's goal was to grab a few caches for the Canberran's whilst they are down this neck of the woods, targetting any counties, d/t or highly favorited caches whilst they are down this neck of the woods. With today being the more tamer of the days we managed to successfully tick off all the self-set objectives and a couple more drips and drabs along the way today. Either way thanks for the cache and the adventure.

Now today we were going after a stat I needed, the last remaining D/T I needed to finish my 1st loop, well took me long enough. So how were we to do it, simple a nice day of paddling on the pikes. With everything we needed organised we were off, well only one thing was not...... apparently we all forgot to pack sunscreen, and boy did i suffer the consequences on that one. Other than that all the caches were in top condition and I had an absolute blast finding them all. Thanks for the cache and the adventure.

**This Cache**:

This was a really cool Earthcache, never done a T5 one before! I don't do many at all in fact and this is my first one over a T3! We gathered our answers along the way at all the waypoints, and I have sent them through as a message to you. I have also uploaded a group selfie of us very close to the posted coordinates!

Thanks 6Hinemoa2, lots of fun and a unique experience that's for sure!

---

**Today:**

It was Day #4 of our Parkville Mega week, and plans were hatched with Cankid and buhfuhguh to primarily do the USM@Pykes puzzle caches to get some good D/T ratings. We had borrowed a canoe from n0worries who kindly trusted us with it, and bought some soft roof racks to transport it from Melbourne. We had 3 people however, so we also bought a cheap blow-up boat from Kmart and tied it to the back of the canoe which was dragged around to each cache It all worked out surprisingly well, despite all the troubles we had getting to this point and planning the trip!

We then continued on to Ballarat to grab some more high D/T caches, which were awesome fun, before heading back into Melbourne and using the quiet night time roads to clean up a few more virtuals.

Thanks to all the CO's for a huge day out and lots of fun!

Email on it's way...
One of my objective locations for this Mega weekend of caching. Brought my kayak to spend a few hours on the water.
Alas didn't launch until 1500hrs, despite being warned to "go first thing in morning"!
Anyways, everything went swimmingly. Apart from a cpl of DNFs most were easy to find.
Thanks For the adventure today, and the opportunity to add to my T5 count..
TNLNSL
Thanks

I have had this series on my radar for a long time. Even with 3 deg on the temperature gauge, I wasn't going to let the perfect kayaking conditions spoil my early morning start to finish the caches here at Pykes. I have paddled this area a few times now and even with fingers that were numb, I enjoyed my time on the water, launching just as the sun rise came up behind me. A great morning out on the water and I enjoyed learning about the location with this EC. The answers were noted as I explored around the reservoir. Answers sent to the CO.

**Thanks to Tag-a1ong and 6Hinemoa2 for placing this series for us to enjoy**
**A favourite from me**

Found on 12 March 2018 at 11:15:49 am. Find #2544. So today i decided to get out on this lovely lake that i have skied on in the past and have a bit of a paddle.
I really enjoyed getting to the waypoints and gathering the information.
A fantastic area and interesting cache.
Thanks for the adventure.

We too were part of the intrepid team PPP, and as with others did not realise that we had been given the "go" by the CO to log our "find".
It was at about GZ for this earthy that we realised that one of our vessels had began to keep its water on the inside rather than the outside, so during the paddle back to the ramp M almost got a look at what the aquatic zone looked like from the bottom up. A good day none the less, thanks to Chooknchunk for sending in our answers, to my teammates for leaving me to sink and to the CO for a great Earthy...

So very sorry, I hadn't logged this as I didn't realise we had got the "go" from the CO. I was part of the PPP team and thoroughly enjoyed the many discussions that went into the answers to put forward for this cache. Thanks also to ChooknChunk for sending the answers on behalf of us all. This was a great day out. Thanks so much for the cache and bringing us here.

As part of the PPP Team, we had paddled Pykes in an anti-clockwise direction today. However we had done enough preparation to know to stop at the waypoints in reverse along the way. At each waypoint we would all sit in our kayaks and discuss our observations. We all appreciated the learning involved and the completely different geology and riparian zone management that was visible at each of the waypoints. Answers sent on behalf of the PPP Team and CO approval of answers granted. Many thanks to Tag-a1ong and 6Hinemoa2 for a fun day of paddling and a very interesting earthcache.

I am sure that it is illegal to get asked to start caching this early but am very pleased we did. By the time we finished a few hours later, the crowds were queuing to launch their wake making machines.
Nine of us set out this morning and nine of us returned with minimal drownings, either deliberate or not, so must have been a good day.
This was very interesting to learn about. Would never have realised what we were looking at had it not been for this cache. We must have been quite a sight as we all lounged around in our water craft and debated the answers to this cache. So as there aren't 9 answers all very similar, one of the PPPTeam is sending the answers on behalf of us all.
Thanks for the cache, the education and bringing us to this great place.

12:00 pm #5311
A fantastic day paddling around Pykes finding caches and locating the wps and discussing the various questions and answers to this EC. It put a whole new perspective on things. Thanks for making us stop to look around, 6Hinemoa2
Answers sent by one member of the team on behalf of all of us.
Now logged with permission from CO.

The was a perfect day to get the Yak out for a paddle. I was very glad that we changed the time for a early start to miss the heat of the day. We did the earth cache as a team. At each way point we had a group chat about the lay of the land and the answers. Thanks for the paddle.

**Find #: 5716**
**Time: 11:29 am**
**Date: Sun 4 Feb 2018**
A group of us paddled around Pykes today, and this is one of the caches we found. To avoid clogging up the log books we signed as PPPTeam, the probably inappropriate but motivating Perfect Pykes Paddling Team.
Always love a nice earthcache, and this one gave us some good insight into the geological goings on here over the years.
The main problem was remembering to stop at the waypoints in between caches.
Answers sent off, hope they get me a pass mark.
**Thanks for placing this cache 6Hinemoa2**

Final trip to Pykes to finish the last four caches including the earth cache in the series. 2 1/2 hour paddle up the left side to get these highly regarded caches. Excellent series which originally caused me to purchase a kayak over a year ago. FP CIGC TNLN TFTC Taga1ong and 6Hinemoa2.

A great day paddling with n0w0rries, Sims_family and Ausfox;

Answers sent by Ausfox;

Thank you

The trip to Pykes has been on my to do list for so long. Firstly before hand all the puzzles needed to be solved. So last year we got a group together to work on them. Once they were solved and all coordinates were gathered finding a time that suited all. That proved to be the hardest thing. In the end a day was found during the summer holidays even if it was minus one of the solve team.
With kayaks loaded up we arranged to me N0w0rris at the boat ramp not long after sun up to beat the worst of the heat of the day. Making some good time as we made our way around the reservoir finding all of the caches along the way.
During our journey around we also stopped at the stages of taking note of what was required. The Answers were sent by Ausfox;.
Thank you Tag-a1ong for the effort gone into this Earthcache an the whole series

Logging with the approval of the CO
Been planning for awhile to attempt Pykes creek but waiting for a suitable day for all involved Simsfamily, Neville Devil and No Worries.
Up before the sparrows to get on the water before the heat of the day kicked in to spend a great day Paddling with 16/16 cache finds on Pykes creek for the day.
A Fantastic paddle around Pykes creek gathering all the required information.

Thanks for the Earthcache Tag-1ong
#3,753

A fantastic day out on the water with AusFox; Sims-family & Neville_devil.
We paddled from dawn till almost lunchtime and this was our 14th find.
We had gathered information during the morning and then sat here at GZ for a while, discussing our observations.
A quick paddle straight back to the boat ramp and time to pack up and return home.
Logged with permission.
Thanks for a top day out Tag-a1ong and 6Hinemoa2.

Spent a great afternoon at pykes reservor also swimming even it was not advised but refreshing
For the EC we researches too less so only a write note log

9/12/2017 1:09:34 PM
Day 2 of a 3 day kayaking trip and after visiting the 3 stages and discussing a few possibilities for some of the questions I formed a few ideas, which seemed to be OK according to the CO who gave me permission to log.
Thanks

Found with sedgewickdave and ahomburg.
Very pleasurable experience just meeting these guys and discussing our answers for the EC questions.

Answers to come.

Thanks Tag-a1ong

Found @ 09:27 # 6343
Been super keen to take a paddle around Pykes for many years and finally with some luck the conditions allowed for a peaceful clam paddle thru the various stages of this cache.

Interesting geology and quite an eye opener for me. Answers to questions have been submitted to the CO.

Thank you so much for bringing me out here today. Was paddling on Pykes with ahomburg and dahumbug. Awesome puzzle series too by the way.[^]

TFTC Tag-a1ong

Date: 11 November 2017 Time: 09:47
Find #8984

These puzzles came out the weekend of the Buller event held by gmj3191 in 2016. There were a lot of keen puzzlers and we all sat around on the Saturday night solving these puzzles. 10 brains are better then 1 right?

So along with sedgwickDave, we had an attempt at these a month or so back but upon arriving, the wind was fierce at around 35-40km/h so wisely we decided to give it a miss.

During the week we planned and kept an eye on the winds and they looked pretty much perfect, so a 7am start had us in the car park by 8.45am. I spotted a familiar vehicle in the car park and it was none other than Da Humbug, so we headed out together. It really was a pleasant day on the water with only a couple of muggles about on jet skis, which meant a calm start. It was not long until we bumped into beckNmonts as well.

Hopefully my answers for this one are correct. a fantastic spot for an Earthcache.

Many thanks to Tag-a1ong for the cache. TNLN.

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

Today started with an early morning as I wanted to be at Pykes early, before the jet ski’s and speed boats came out. That turned out to be a good decision as the water was calm and peaceful before the boats came out. By chance I met with aHomberg and SegwickDave while out on the water. Who did they have with them, but my very late caching buddy for the day, deHumbug. Better late than never I suppose! TFTC 6Hinemoa2

answers sent...
Started out today at sunrise, inflatable boat and oars... arrgg... hit the water at sunrise, fish jumping all over the mirror smooth surface... not another soul in sight.
half way across the wind started picking up from the north, causing me to drift south... more effort needed to head north along the shoreline.... by the time i hit the 3rd stage waves were peaking at 1 to 1.5 ft.... glad the return trip was mostly with the wind, floating sideways.

thanks to Tag-along and 6Hinemoa2 for this series

A great day paddling around Pykes Creek with the geokid. This was the final cache we had to get as we did waypoint 3 first given the direction we were paddling. It was good to learn a bit more of the history and take time to understand the techniques behind management of the riparian land. Thanks again Tag-a1ong and 6Hinemoa2 for the series.

Logged with permission.

Zones: Then and Now at Pykes was transferred from Tag-a1ong to user 6Hinemoa2

The Pyke's puzzles have been sitting in the "solved but not collected" pile for quite a while. The problem was arranging a time between us all when the reservoir wouldn't be too busy, but also not too cold.
The Morris brought their water craft down, and after a few caches at South Werribee yesterday, we and Phetlern headed off to Pykes.
A windy but lovely day pottering around on the water collecting caches.

Thanks to Phertlern for recording and c=submitting all the unlikely answers we came up with.
It is always interesting to really look at the rocks, instead of just a cursory glance.
Thanks, Robmc.

13:35
*Previously we have Paddled on Pykes. Today along with Robmc, we were treated to Power on Pykes, in the comfort of The Morris craft.*

We had a great day, including much discussion about the possibilities of this earthcache. Logged with an OK from the CO.

Thanks to for the puzzles and the placements.
18739

Fortunately Phetlern were very vigilant and made sue we stopped at every waypoint to collect the information. We didn't always agree but we reached a consensus on the answers and now we have the green light. TFTC Tag-a1ong

Reperio at 0640.

As I continued to make my way across Victoria on a lengthy trip to Alice Springs, I decided to stop off and find a few select caches along the way. I got up early this morning to find conditions perfect for paddling, and this was a great cache to start the day. Plenty of photos taken and wildlife seen while out on the water, I recorded my answers and collected the puzzle series throughout the morning. Really enjoyed the paddle. Answers sent.

Gratias Tag-a1ong.

No need to lick the rocks today. There is plenty of water to go round. Interesting earthcache proposition. We learned about the local geology and the landscape. The farmer had placed some cows in position so we could see their effect on the landscape.

Freddo, Brad&Janet and Malco! journeyed east from wet and windy Adelaide to find sun and adventure along the Limestone Coast and the Goldfields of Ballarat and beyond.

Along the way we climbed trees, ventured underground in drains and caverns, kayaked on lakes, ate Thai food, slept in modest accommodations and generally had a good time. We all achieved personal milestone in the form of D/T loops achieved and physical challenges met. We all lost various items, only to find them again. We got wet, muddy, bruised, tired, battered, caffeine deprived and over-dosed. We used various items such as telescoping ladders, one and two man kayaks, ropes, multi-tools and 4x4 vehicles. We went off-road up forest tracks and over sand dunes. We visited caravan parks, lake-side campsites, city centres, ports, small towns, medium towns & big towns.

This was an early target on our water adventure and we discussed the questions posed by the CO and came to a common consensus to the answers. Quite educational with some wild theories thrown around. Feedback from the CO confirmed that our answers were good enough to earn a tick. Great place on a fine weekend.

Thanks for the cache, Tag-a1ong & 6hinemoa2

Freddo, Malco!, and Brad have come to Victoria from South Australia for the weekend.

Yesterday we came through Portsea and grabbed a number of great caches. But that was yesterday.

Today was our big day in and around Ballarat. We started from Blackwood where we had spent the night and moved to our primary target which was Pykes Reservoir and the 13 T5s there. From there we moved to Lake Wendourie where we relaunched the kayaks for more T5s and some T4.5s. And then we went underground for a while and then climbed some trees and other structures. And finally we picked up a few specific DT combos that we wanted as well as some targets of opportunity.

This was an obvious target while out on Pykes. The information was gathered together and will be sent in shortly by Freddo. A great day on the lake. And an excellent Earthcache

TNLNSL
TFTEC Tag-a1ong

Well Suscoe and the Well known Red Ant we certainly up with the sparrows this morning.
A big day out was in order and we were keen to take on this challenge of challenges and the Earth Cache.
Not very many T5 EC's around and so this one was a special one for Suscoe and the 6 legged red chap.

It was a pretty good day early on but later on the wind got up a little bit.

Well this EC got us into some in depth discussions as we worked through the questions and locations. We had some great chats about what it all meant, and this, that and the other thing. We certainly expanded out knowledge of all things Then and Now. We also proposed some interesting theories and observations about the forces of nature and in the end we are glad we were here today and not a long time ago in a different geological era. Some of those rocks seemed like they would have been hot at times.

Anyway enough of that, we are logging this with the kind permission of the owner of this Earth Cache. Thanks to Tag-along for showing us things we might never have looked at twice.
Another favourite from us for your efforts.

The ageing Bushfire and suscoe were up very early today and ventured up again to this lovely area to hunt for all these new caches that have popped up recently.
On our last visit we paddled all around the lower areas including the island and had a clean slate of the caches.
Well that all changed some time ago with all these new guys so we set about working out the answers and today was the day to see if we were correct with our co-ords plus grab my 79th E.C. if we get permission from the CO to do so.
The weather was cool but calm waters at the start of our day but later on the winds picked up but we had them on our backs.
Permission has been given, you only need to touch the shore at one location up the other end and then only because of the nearby cache.
Ross and I enjoyed working out the well thought questions that you don't have to have a degree in Geology to answer but just your powers of observation.
Thanks guys for making us take notice of our surroundings and learning a little more about the area.
Another F.P, gee I will be running out if I keep this up.

I was most fortunate indeed to have as my guide today on the water none other than the CO herself.
As a result even though I had done the hard yards on the solves I was not going home with anything less than the full14 caches on offer out here.
Lets start with the earthcache which was kind of first found after a perilous crossing from the boat ramp. At this point a number of questions needed to be answered and throughout the day this cache kept popping up that an hour or two later we were still discussing aspects such as the 'white stuff'
It was very relaxing that I could not 'fail' this cache.
A few casual estimates here and there and I had the 'green light' to log this one and it is with great pleasure that my first ever terrain 5 earthcache was in the bag.
Thanks Karena for these caches and of course your company and keeping me safe out here!
It goes without saying that a favourite cache is awarded.

I was out kayaking with Alansee to collect the nine new puzzle geocaches here, so this was a bonus. We did the waypoints in reverse order, hopefully working out the right answers as we went. I have submitted my answers, and hopefully will be allowed to keep my find.

Thanks to Tag-a1ong for the cache and the lesson on riparian land.

Done with Muzza. We both had a fair level on agreement on the answers which was comforting. Sent them off to the CO for consideration. The questions raised some interesting issues about land management for us both.

Answers sent. Having the necessary floatation craft we had passed the dam a number of times before and thought we should grab the traditional caches we knew where there only to realise there were a number of T 5 puzzles and an earth cache so with little time we solved all but a couple the night before. An enjoyed time at the dam and some contrast in geology at different points. TFTEC

# That was fun! #

Visited the spots indicated on cache page, gatherd what information I could and took lots of photos. Now to formulate some answers , but the task ahead looks harder than the puzzle caches just completed.
Well Ive passed and now logged
Thx for the day out on the water and this Earth cache



Merci beaucoup
Cheers
Teamaky

Found during a wonderful day out at Pykes Creek Reservoir with The Tritonz, DAB, McLookers and 6Hinemoa2.
This was the first find of the day and a great way to start - an earthcache ! As noted in the cache page, the currently low water levels enabled us to get close to the rocks to make the necessary observations. The faulting and effects of glacial activity were very evident, and the WPs highlighted the difference effects that land management has on riparian land. The untouched areas are wilder and more interesting in my view.
Answers emailed and promptly confirmed by the CO.
Thanks, Tag-a1ong - a FP from me!

When we first seen these puzzles get published we got straight to work on solving them.
With other plans we did not get to pick them up as soon as we wanted.
We decided a mini assault was in order so we got a team together consisting of ThePacman, DAB, McLookers and 6Hinemoa2.
We decided on a early start to make the most of the calm morning.
After organizing ourselves and setting up the kayaks we were soon off and sailing.
We always love a good earth cache, this one really opened our eyes to what was once here, we could never imagine what this reservoir was capable of and what nature has done to this area.
Thanks to Tag-a1ong for showing us this spot.

Out with The Tritonz, McLookers, DAB and ThePacman to have fun on Pykes. My aim was to check out these caches. It was an early start and a perfect day even though the wind became stronger as the morning past.
Thanks for your company everyone and another thanks Mclooker for the refreshing morning tea provided after our fun.

With a day planned grabbing all of the mysteries and trads here, we couldn't leave without grabbing this one. The geology here was quite diverse, something different to spot in every direction. The questions weren't over the top either, so we didn't require a degree to answer them. Thanks for an entertaining earthcache. Answers have been sent via email. TFTEC Tag-a1ong

Wow, what an interesting geological specimen. We paddled to the areas and made our observations. Even learning about one of the answers while getting another cache a bit later. Thanks Tag-a1ong, answers e-mailed.

I had worked on these puzzles when they were published and had almost managed to complete them all when a T5 Mission was mooted. I got onto sorting the remaining puzzles and I was good to go. Early this morning, ThePacman, DAB, The Tritonz and 6Hinemoa2 assembled at the waters edge (oh dear, at 30% capacity, things are looking grim). Off we went in kayak convoy. I loved the cache camo's and I loved that they tied in so well with each of the puzzles. The variety of puzzles are amazing and some were quite the challenge. Thanks Tag-a1ong, ripper puzzles, ripper series and a ripper spot. We really enjoyed our paddle today.

I hadn't been out on the yak for a while so started to look for a good place to go for a paddle. That's when I came across the new series of caches at Pykes Creek Reservoir. This was great, not only were there caches to find but also puzzles to solve to discover the coords for each GZ. Perfect, so I spent the next couple of days working my way through the puzzles until I had them solved.
I planned an early start on this fine Saturday morning, leaving home around 5:30 am and arrived at the boat ramp at around 7:00 am. There was one loan boat on the water, as it turns out a couple of guys trying their luck with some fishing. I unloaded the yak, put on my PFD, grabbed my paddle and some gear and hit the water. Over the next two hours I paddled around the reservoir, making for land where I had to and go find each cache. The water was very calm, and like glass in some spots, it was so peaceful. Each cache was unique in its own way and I loved the theme behind each. The puzzles were great too, some straight forward while others took some real thinking and some time to work out. I was actually a little surprised to eventually end up with 6 FTF too as many had been logged the night before.
A great effort in placing these caches and thanks Tag-a1ong.

When the bananas did this the rain had been persistant and the dam wall was gently over flowing. Completely different to the pictures.
The wind was kind and the snags offered little resistance to straight line travel.
It was so hot the water tempted swimming like all those years ago when triathlons were raced here.
But not today
The agenda was different
But with Captain B2 steering the course or first challenge was here.
We answered the questions and thought.
What would this be like empty?

Published