Richter's Caves Ourimbah, New South Wales, Australia
By GroovyChook on 03-Jun-17. Waypoint GC76P3B

We have had our eye on this cache for a while, so when a group of muggle friends expressed a desire to head out to the forest for a drive we quickly suggested searching for these "lost" caves.

The trip started from the bottom of Red Hill Road, but was turned back halfway up when one of the vehicles lacked the clearance to make it over a large rutted hole left by a dried up mud bog flanked by two large trees. We turned around and took the kids for a walk down Middle Ridghe Road instead.

In the arvo we had a couple of errands to run up the mountain, so Dad and one of the geokids decided to tackle the trip solo, this time starting at the top of Bumble Hill Road. The dirt road was well maintained on this end, so after a short trip we turned down the second side track heading for the cache. This track almost instantly become narrow, rutted and muddy with trees touching both sides of the fourby for much of the track. We got to the campground, parked up and went for a walk.

We initially tried the straight line bash but came to the top of the caves with no clear way down. Back to the car for another go. We noticed a faint path leaving the camprground and followed it to a slippery "staircase" down below the contour line. We followed along the base of the cliffs over some reough terrain before spying the engraving, followed by a squeeze up through a whiole in the rocks to find the caves.

They are certainly impressive and we are glad we came back to finish the trip. After a scramble up into the caves and a look around we decided to seek out the hiding spot. With plenty of places to look it took Dad a little while, and he only found it after braving a slippery bit that the geochild was too young for,. Dad went for a slide on the way back, erasing the footprints, but almost sending him too far down.

A short scramble back to the car got the blood flowing and then we decided to try the other halfd of the loop road back out of the campground. Turns out this half is in much better condition. Wide, no real puddle or ruts and a much gentler slope. We certainly didnt make the easiest choices when navigating the cars to this cache, but that just added to the fun.

Thanks for the cache!

Hi

Been wanting to do this one for a long time but things never lined up. Last night I decided today would be the day with an overcast day forecast, an afternoon off, a 4WD ready, plus I really needed a "warm up" for next week's big day planned with Crash up in the Hunter.

Getting to the actual campground was the hardest part. I looked for a way in at Boyds Creek but was unable to see the Campbells Point Rd (east) junction which is so clearly indicated on my map? So I just continued up to Yarramalong and then entered the forest from Forest Road (whaddya know) via Bumble Hill Rd, which was actually a very pleasant drive. I think I've only been thru Yarramalong once before and it was for a wedding gig ages ago. I'd like to come back one day and continue up Bumble Hill Rd and see where it goes.

Once I'd gone in far enough, I found and turned up (or should I say down) a very rutty Campbells Point Road (ah it DOES exist... JUST) and was thankful for the 4WD as the "road" is very poor; the puddles and the mud along there up to the campground had me a little nervous but the Pathie bolted thru ok.

Now on foot, I proceeded to follow the ribbon trail to see where it went as I figured there were more than just geocachers frequenting the caves. The trail finished right at the staircase going down down down (see pics) and once down, the scale of the cliffs was evident as I picked up on the trail again, heading in the right direction to boot, which no doubt John Richter likely blazed himself. Pretty cool.

As I approached GZ, I was flicking leeches off by the minute. It was not wet but it was damp and sub-tropical in spots; a lovely walk! Once I reached the impressive caves, I decided to wonder up to the other end which went past GZ about another 40m, just to get a good sense of this place. What a fantastic find! Heading back to GZ, and continuing to flick leeches, I tried to locate the engraving but to no avail. Time to get out of leechville, go in and look around for this cache and once there, it took me about 15 mins to locate because, and unlike others before me, I was actually too high/ too far in. I was sure it was going to be up there - anyway I took some pics of the view instead (see pics). Once I expanded my search and started getting real intimate with the honeycomb, I finally spotted the well hidden cache! In saying that, the description is accurate I think I was just flying a little blind today and just working it out as I went.

Once I SL and replaced, I got back out to have another look for that engraving as I was really keen to find that. But I still couldn't find it. Then I realised that I was incorrectly looking to the WEST of the cave instead of the EAST - due to brain fade I think lol. The engraving is a lot larger than I thought and was really something to behold. What a spot. I left a novo PT for those who collect those. TFTC and for bringing me here, GroovyChook. This adventure had me pretty relaxed today - just what I needed. Thankyou, have a fave.
#1369

Cache is all nice and safe in it's hideout (I actually managed to forget where I'd hidden it in the cave). But it was all safe.

Found it.My 2nd attempt with BillHill531 today trying to get a smiley.First time we attempted it we were on the wrong contour level finding ourselves above the cave and couldnt find a way down. This time after turning off Red Hill Rd onto Campbells Pt Rd we made sure we were below the contour level.Even though we were only 230m away it took us 1hr 20min of bush bashing rock hopping and crawling through holes to finally reach our destination.It was a bit scary with shifting sand getting up into the cave but cache was quickly found. What a relief. Hugging the cliff face on the way back saw a section that could be traversed up to the top level.This made it easy to get back. Return trip 25mins. Thx for this cache and adventure GroovyChook. Definitely a favorite.

Found with Shaneo58 doing some around the Central Coast, this is our second visit here, as on the first one we were above the cave and could not see a way down. this time we parked on Campbells road on the same contour line as the cache and tryed to follow it to the cave, but need to detour up or down to make progress, taking 1hour and 20 mins to get there. What a magnificent view from up here. The way back was a lot faster as we found a way up and over the top.
Log signed and caches replaced as found.

**Thanks For The Cache** GroovyChook.

This is the 1st cache of 2 for today.
Cache number 2570 at 10:39:00 AM on Thu 1Oct2020

Richters Cave

Wow! What a geocache! Took us two attempts. The kids flipped out when we found it. Back nice and safe. TFTC

I had hoped to get this cache for my 1st anniversary. Accompanied by Taylapearce3, PhelpTip, Mad-Dawg and GeoJess, we drove and parked near where Campbells Point rd splits. We looked for some sort of way to GZ but it was just too thick or treacherous for a 9 yr old. I will have to do some more planning before we attempt again. If anyone else reads this and wishes to attempt the cache, send me a message and we can team up.

Cache is snuggled up, safe and awaiting more visitors.

Yay! Took a bit of scrambling but finally found it. Lots of mozzies for company!

Found on a beautiful fresh Wednesday morning while enjoying the beautiful mountains of the Central Coast and collecting a couple of caches. I really enjoyed these caves and the rock formations, and the surrounding forest. TFTC

Out today with my bush walking club. The oldies sat and ate their lunch while I went to find this cache. Had fun sliding down the sandy bottom of the cave. Took alittle time as was not looking in the right place for a bit. Have been to this cave a few times now with the bushwalking club always a lovely spot to visit tftc

WoW
What a Great Spot for this Cache.
TFTC Groovy Chook.
Now we just gotta climb back up and Out of here

With my 900th find milestone looming, I started looking around for a suitable candidate and quickly settled on this one, so after finding number 899 this morning, I headed off after an early lunch. Studying the satellite images and reading the earlier logs, I decided to drive down Red Hill Road from Kulnura and leave the car at Campbells Point Road, walking out to a point just north of the cache where I hoped to find an easy way down to the right level. Red Hill Road is a bit dodgy at that end although the RAV4 didn't have too much trouble. I wouldn't try it in a 2WD though.

I chose to follow the attire of Elev8!on and seaeagles1997, namely shorts, no jumper and definitely no shoes! With the mild sunny weather, the tee shirt was probably overkill too, although it did cool off a bit in the shade of the cliff. Heading down, I found what was almost a track, but ended up going too low and having to backtrack a bit to get up under the cliff. Once there, it was easy-going through the tunnel and up the tight squeeze to the base of the cave.

Putting my headtorch on, I spent the best part of an hour searching the honeycombing to no avail. There was a part of the cave I was a bit reluctant to explore, noting the slope, loose sand and big drop below, but after getting no response to my PAF call, I found a way across that I was comfortable enough with and, turning my head, immediately spotted the cache. Phew! I'd have hated to have gone all this way for a DNF, particularly on a milestone.

So all's well that ends well, and I even found an easier way back to the road - isn't that always the case? Once back at the car, I decided to continue down along Red Hill Road, finding that roadworks are currently underway with it freshly graded all the way down to the bottom. I'd recommend coming in that way until the Kulnura end is fixed.

Many thanks for a great hide and for bringing me to this amazing location. An FP is awarded.

Apparently I went over the word limit! It must have been good!

This was a great adventure with great friends. FP from me. TNLN TFTC

Found with Mighty Minions and the_garbageman. I love caves, so this has been on my list since it was published, but waited until today, as it is better/safer with friends. Accidentally meeting up with Mighty Minions on a wrong turn we both took, I jumped in her car and met the others at the real turn off. We all had a nice walk in making the most of it, by going the furthest out of our way as possible. Getting to do a lot more rock hoping and climbing. My favorite bit was going through a rock tunnel, to avoid some tough climbing, very fun. GZ was huge! Very happy the cache was located (just had to wait for the_garbageman to get up first). Feeling a little tired we took a shorter route out.
Thanks for the walk, climb, tunnel, caves and cache!

The garbageman suggested a trip out to grab this cache this afternoon and I was keen. it is in my 30km radius and I really didn't want to do it alone, so thanks to the garbageman and Tombi for allowing me to tag along with them. After a false start listening to my car gps and ending up in the wrong location and then taking a wrong turn and going down the wrong road, We met up at the parking spot. The road in was a little much for my outlander in places so I was glad we made the decision to walk in . It was a nice walk along the fire trail at first until we got to the point Mrs garbageman and the girls decided to wait for us , Then it was a pretty decent bush bash with some blood spilled by the attacking spikey plants. after some rock hopping and tunnel crawling through we found J.E Richter's writing on the wall and knew we were close. Up in the cave there were lots of places the cache could be , we checked most of those before finding the cache . I would suggest a little more to the right facing the cave than the back of the cave. Then as always seems to be the case, The guys found a MUCH easier way back to the car and they cut out the hill climb again legends. Thanks for the cache GroovyChook tnln replaced as found sl .

What an adventure this was! This cache has been on my ‘to do’ list since it was published but it wasn’t until today that we got to come and check it out. I brought the entire geofamily for the drive but the kids and wife sat the bulk of this one out.

Not so Mighty Minions and Tombi, who met up with us at the Campbells Point Rd turnoff. We could possibly have driven as far as the camping area (about another 500m) but not knowing what was in front of us we figured a few extra steps on foot wouldn’t hurt.

We got as close as 140m at the campground, but we had it in our heads we needed to go ‘wider’ and ‘lower’ so we followed the fire trail further down the point, only to realise that it was getting further and further away. It’s ok, it’s only 230m in a straight line... so we abandoned my wife and kids and went bush. Roughly 20 minutes later, the GPS still says 210m. Ha ha best short cut ever! We basically walked the contour around the whole point. We got stuck a few times and had to up or down climb around objects or clusters of flesh eating lawyer vines, and eventually when we got to about 80m away, we climbed back up to the base of the cliff and discovered what may as well have been a highway compared to what we were on. Still, the cuts, scrapes, splinters, blisters (some kind of reaction to a plant) are all part of the adventure... I reckon we went close in sections to making this a T4.5, and best of all, it was all pretty much completely unnecessary! Ha ha

The walk along under the cliff is great. We found a cool little tunnel in some rocks on the way to GZ and crawled through, we managed to find the inscription (would have been hard for Elevation and SeaEagles to spot in the dark) and then we made the climb easily up the little crack into GZ. Well 2 of 3 did. My fat belly wouldn’t fit. It took me a few minutes but I managed to throw myself up and over this in the end!

We took a few minutes to find the cache but once we got high enough and far back enough we made an easy find. Amazingly 3 muggles found the cache only days after it was first found. Everything is fine though - hooray for respectful muggles.

We made the trip in reverse about 400m and half an hour shorter by climbing out about 100m from the cave onto a quite exposed rock platform, not too far from the camping area. Almost stepped on a goanna as I was not paying much attention - glad it chose to retreat up a tree instead of defending itself

Geofamily by this time had got sick of waiting and gone back to the car. I don’t blame them - We were gone MUCH longer than we said we would!

This was a great adventure with great friends. FP from me. TNLN TFTC

Joint **FTF** at 6:00pm (yes in the dark)
Well what a way to come out of the wilderness, by going in to the wilderness to claim my first FTF in years!
Elev8tion showed me the cache description and it looked very interesting and our type of cache, with initial plans to tackle it on Friday. As the day got on we both found ourselves sitting around doing nothing, so thought what the heck and spontaneously took off to GZ even though the sun was due to set any minute now.
After a miscommunication on the meet up spot we eventually found each other and headed over to the correct side of the state forest. The final roads to GZ got very dark and scary so I parked my non 4x4 car aside and jumped in Elevations mobile. In switching cars I forgot to get shoes, a jumper or a head torch, leaving me with just my phone.
Elevation wasn't any more prepared than me, but the walk didn't seem that bad... and we managed to drive within 150m of the cache. It was pretty easy going under torch/moon light until we got within 20m of the cache. We were at the wrong elevation and woah that's a long drop down. There was no obvious option for getting to the bottom of the cliff either. It was seeming like it was gonna have to require a re-entry on another day but we followed the cliff line for a bit over 100m and found an easy, non-life threatening route down. Was quite a fascinating cliff line with a few notable caves before reaching the GZ cave, one of which looked perfect to camp in! (Next time for sure)
After the pleasant evening wander through the bush we climbed up into the correct cave and the search was on. There a plenty of potential hideyholes amongst the sandstone honeycomb, but hot on the trail of some fresh shoe prints in the sand, Elevation found it and confirmed it was a FTF!
After signing the cache some extreme night time bouldering was done further along at the next cave, before deciding it was time to head back. Sadly we didn't find the engraving tonight, but it sure is an interesting story on the history of these caves. Who on Earth would have been wandering through here in the 1800's... They are some very interesting formations, even beautiful in the dark.

Thanks Groovychook, for once again placing a great cache in a location I would have never explored. Was a memorable one!

After an almost sleepless weekend of assignments, I needed to get out of the house. As Seaeagles mentioned, we didnt have any intentions of getting ftf as we were going to leave it for friday, but why not do it now? We wasted a precious daylight by a mishap in thr meeting location details, but it meant I got to take the new car for a spin Without any phone reception we had to guess where we met up the top, turns out I timed it perfectlu as I came from the south meeting Seaeagles coming from the north without a second between us! Onto gz, shoes? Nup. Long pants? No way torches? Ahh, the phones will do! But the jumper and the writing stick I brought I didnt even need! Followed the big cliff and contemplated doing a firemans pole style decent, but Seaeagles wasnt too keen on that! Eventually found a very easy way down before a little scrambling to reach the cache. Not the biggest or most interesting sandstone cave, but certainly a very unique shaped one with some beautiful banding and some of the largest honeycoming we've seen. Cache found and signed with a little night bouldering to be done! After pushing the limit of torch in mouth style climbing, we returned calling it a night. TFTC!!!!

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