Splendor is in the Memories Cammeray, New South Wales, Australia
By GeoPiggies on 29-Mar-03. Waypoint GCEDEB

archive, for now

Disabling before a non-participating 'cacher' like i,riblit workshis/her nastiness again.

The great walks through bushland so close to home is one of the reasons we really enjoy Geocaching and the Wilsch Track was no exception. Glad there hasn't been lots of rain as GZ was approached as the rocks were slippery enough as it was.

A real surprise right near GZ - pity vandals have chosen the structure to deface - glad we didn't meet any of them while we were there.

Walked straight past the cleverly concealed container at least twice before the obvious became obvious - well done!

The container, however needs to be replaced ASAP. The logbook can surprisingly still be written in and is now in a new ziplock bag. All swaps are waterlogged/damaged and were placed in there own ziplock bag - left and took nothing. Drained water out of the container, replaced everything in it and then placed it in a large ziplock bag. Then placed that bag in the clever camoflage and returned it to its hiding spot.

Number one: it does help when it's not pouring rain.
Number two: don't stand next to the cache when you're taking a GPS reading and not look down.
I thought it was rubbish last time we met.
Put in nothing. Took nothing.

I came down here for a walk today intent on finding this cache, however the rain had been heavy just before arriving and consequently making my way down to the base of the hill was a waste of time on the dawson track as you must use the stepping stones to cross the now swollen creek. I made my way back up to the top and came down from the other side along the wilksch track approaching GZ the GPS began to stuff up and the canopy became so thick I lost all reception, I struggled on for a while checking all the obvious places and eventually spied what I had come for. The shopping bag it is in has deteriorated and there was a little water inside, unfortunately I had no sealable bags today or I would have replaced the log book bag. The one it is in is not big enough to house the book and only serves to keep the water around it. I have done away with the bag completely as the book was quite wet, The pages still open OK and the dampness was limited to the edges at this stage . I took some time to read through past logs and noticed that If is the last log in the book hmmmm I wonder where the recent finder signed his/her log? Anyway signed log but left no swaps or trackables Nice spot but shame about the local hoods and the mess they've made down here must have been much nicer when the cache was placed! Thanks for bringing me here Geo piggies!

Walked to a point where my GPS told me I was one metre away. Searched the area on high and low ground and found an excellent place to hide a cache above the stream, but all for nought. There were a heck of a lot of discarded spray cans and graffiti in the area. This one might have been muggled. Or I'm just losing it.

Woot, I'm 3 for 3 today. Just as the sun was disappearing making caches harder to find this was a one. Previously DNF, but now ticked off.

What an evil little cache [^]
Great area for a stroll though
After the stroll to the creek the cache was only about 40 metres away. So close, yet so far
After trying many different, sometimes slippery, ways to get closer to GZ I was ready to throw in the towel
This cache chase was not going well. Finally I found the way forward to an area very likely to conceal the cache
Another 15 frustrating minutes, then in desperation I widened the search area and there was the cache smugly sitting there in plain view [:o]
Can I claim two finds ? I feel I've earnt them
TFTC and a thorough exploration of a beautiful spot in the rain

After having some problems finding the correct track to this cache we got it quite easy. Some minor bush bashing was needed in our case. It's very true, the cache isn't particularly hidden, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Nice shadowed walk in a very sunny and hot spring afternoon. Took a dice and left a large paper clip. Signet the logbook, which still is wet.

Found it after lots of scrambling and searching. It is very nicely hidden!! The log is very wet and needs to be replaced. Most of the contents have seen better days.

Took - nothing
Left - Packet of Tang
Did not sign log...too much mildew!

Thanks for the Cache!!

My only DNF of the day. Finally located the correct path to the stream and walked up to the tunnel only to search around for 15 minutes to no avail....Lots of trash around, but the cache eluded me....Eight of Nine for the day can be considered by me as a success. Perhaps I'll give this one another shot on me next trip to SYD in Nov or Dec. The preserve was certainly a beautiful place to hike. Continued all the way through to the vast open space of green grass at the end. Thanks for bringing me here.

Logging a second time as per the instructions - please remove this log.

It was a beaut day and I decided to do have a crack at this one after "Happy Birthday Dad" nearby. This was a fun hunt! I bit tricker than I thought (I took the wrong angle in), but still enjoyable.

I live locally and use Tunks park a lot, but I never taken the time to walk through to this end before. Thanks for taking me here!

The cache is still pretty wet. The log book is sopping, and needs urgent attention. I spent an hour and half there while I ate lunch, and spread it out to dry, but it's still really wet. I was able to record a log, but I think it's days are numbered.

Took TB LNSL TFTC!

This one took longer to find than it should have. The GPS was convinced it was elsewhere and lead me a merry trail. Some kids who emerged from the Tunnel disturbed the search, but eventually we found the cache. Cool tunnel, the Geoboy wants to come back with a torch and see how far it goes

Took: Mercedes TB
Left: Tractor TB

TFTCSL

Nice easy find, will have to return at some point to explore the drain a bit more.

As already mentioned, the book hasn't dried out at all.

Very nice walk up the creek, interesting spot. The cache contents are wet.. TNLN

Found this one quite quickly this time after a previous DNF. The rocks are quite slippery after the recent rain so had to tread carefully. The cache was quite damp and the log book very wet. However, I was still able to record an entry so it's still usable.

[B)] Was a hard find. Not bad for my first cache though. When we found it, the container was 1/2 full of water. Placed container in a plastic bag now. Had some help from some of my crew, including Zak the dog. Photo to come.


Took: toy soldier
Left: sesame street bandaids
signed log as my first cache.


Thanks for the cache,
Pirate Jax & crew
xoxo

[This entry was edited by Pirate Jax on Friday, July 13, 2007 at 4:34:37 AM.]

It was quite a disappointing day in the park. First we DNF 'Happy Birthday Dad' not realising that it had already been logged as Muggled and then we failed to find 'Splendor is in the Memories'. With the amount of rain that we have had lately there is a good chance that it might had got washed away. The GPS said that we were in the right spot. It was very slippery which sounded like other peoples logs, we could clearly see the storm water drain but the cache that should have been in view wasn't.

A nice little walk and a day that was very hot for May.
Thanks Geopiggies.

Headed up to this one after visiting Happy Birthday Dad, good to see two great caches in the one park, Thanks for bringing us here
keener

This is one of the closest caches to where I live, so it has been on my “to do†list for quite a while. I have made many attempts but every time there have been muggles lurking around (up to no good I bet). Today the coast was clear, and found without too much trouble (though the tree cover was causing havoc with my GPS).

Picked up one of the TBs

Thanks GeoPiggies

Just dropped by to drop in a few TBs that have flown in from New Zealand.

Nimble Needle and Jaq! are travelling together. Please keep them together for a little longer.

TFTC (again).

This happens to be my second piggie cache. I came in the long way and soon was near the creek. One place was very slippery which caused me to dunk my gps but it's waterproof so no harm done. Trusted the gadget hardware and was rewarded with the thought, "whoop, i found it". The zip lock bag needs replacing and a waterproof container wouldn't go amiss either.
TNLN - good one piggies
Cheers
yagen

Made this a run with the geo-hound from the bridge with castles (if you've seen it you'll know it). Lots of water in the creek, and some in the cache box too. We drained it and wiped it dry as best we could, but as Team Webguy says the log bag cannot be sealed and it will go mouldy soon.

Took a small bull, left a die. Thanks for brinign us here piggies.

Quite a bush bash to get to the cache. Creek flowing briskly.

Kind of found it but to many muggles near by. I have no idea what they were doing. It seemed like they were camping in bush shelters down there. I'll be back!

3:48pm
Have been meaning to do this cache for soooo long, just never had the time whenever we were in the area, today, we made sure we had the time. Pretty wet and muddy in places along the track. Beautiful walk though.

Found the cache pretty easy, the cache is not waterproof, drained the water out, the logbook is starting to go mouldy as the ziplock bag is too small to close. Action needs to be taken asap so that the log is not lost.

Grabbed the milhouse and left a fluro highlighter pen. Interesting large drain here, waterfall was flowing quite well after the rain!

Parked at Flat Rock near the pool complex and started down the right track. Before long, I stupidly decided it was the wrong track, retraced my steps and proceeded the long way around via the other track. Finally got down to GZ via the river bed (only about 20 metres of it). GPS was spot on before entering the undergrowth, so I trusted it and was rewarded.

Incidentally, for those that are interested, that drain is pretty safe to explore. You can get as far as Artarmon (or maybe further) and it heads up underneath the new freeway work, but a fair bit of it is also open air.

Took rubber duck, left Milhouse (Atomic boy?).
TFTC!

Interesting spot once I found it! Disturbed budding artists at work but they were cool. Took Duck, Left Cow (cynchronicity there) Thanks Geopiggies

I found the location and the art but even though I searched high and low I couldn't find the cache.

I was on the verge of giving up when the satellite gods smiled on me and the needle pointed in a slightly different direction. Sixty seconds later I had the cache.

The Short Circuits took a few long circuits around this one! Got a few scratches on the way. In the end the spray cans were the thing that guided us to the spot.
SHORT CIRCUITS

Found at 11:19am #8 today
Found a trail which took me down to the creek and then followed the creek back up to the cache. Just gotta say that those rocks are slippery! Almost went into the drink a few times on my trek along the creek. Found the art before I found the cache. Had a blast finding this one. TFTC!

Found today in the fading light of the day. Replaced old ziplock bags with new ones. Took toys tractor and left cool green duck.

Found it after lengthy search......found the red river that Blinky the Fish could well reside in! We were kicking ourselves once we located the cache as we had circled around it perfectly! Nice hide.

The cache to be honest is full of rubbish now, nasty pieces of wax and rusting trinkets. It could be time for a clear out by the owner. The next visitor might also want to take a medium size zip-bag for the log as the container is okay but probably not water-tight.

Took nothing and left nothing.

not far from incinerator, and a nice place to have some lunch at the top.

Did this after the Incinerator took a few wrong paths but an interesting journey.

Very enjoyable. What a great spot. It's caches like this that make caching so enjoyable for us. Here with the Snavemaze team.

last of 9 caches for the day

well i followed that path in and was looking for a place that was about 20M away so i could start to bush bash in... hmmm not too be.

so i figured 40m whatever, just do it. so i did and i bashed through a bit of fairly dence bush only to end up almost where i started ... STUPID GPS ARROW!!!

and then i looked.. how hard could a cache sat out in the open be to find... with no cache located in the creek i decided to climb up for a better lock on the sats and there it was....

a lovley quiet area and a nice cache

Decided to try to find this one, despite its sorry state. Ducked into the local supermarket and grabbed a plastic container and went bush. Found it and replaced the container - not ideal, but better than what was there. Took Gold Coast Coin.

The cache container was made from non-UV-stable plastic, and after having been left out in the sun for so long, it managed to crumble to bits in my hands as I tried to unscrew the lid. ... Without a lid, the best I could do was place the cache upside down to keep the rain out. The contents were also slightly mouldy.
Not being a local to the area, I just had to leave the cache where it is, hoping that someone else can give it immediate attention.

This area is an interesting mix of contrasts, from the patch of beautiful rainforest with coachwoods, and a mini stone circle to the enormous storm water drain. The huge storm water drain opening came as a bit of a shock because branches hid it and the first thing we knew about it was a cold breeze, very noticeable in the hot summer air, and a smell: a cold, subterranean smell, like an uncleaned toilet in a cave. Then we got closer, looked under the branches and there it was - an enormous, rectangular, concrete hole, covered in graffiti and extending goodness knows how far into the hill.

After a bit of climbing, I found the cache. Unfortunately the container is no longer watertight, the plastic seems to have perished from being out in the sun and the logbook is mouldy. This cache really needs a service.

TNLN. Thanks GeoPiggies!

Found this cache without any problems. The cache lid has a crack in it and may need to be replaced. Took ball of string left a pig. Thanks GeoPiggies. Regards Philma.

By the time I arrived at the entrance to the park, it was getting close to sunset. I quickly made my way down the wrong path until I realised I was going somewhere else. I turned around and found what I thought was the right path, but which I doubt now.

I got within about 50 metres while still on the track, but could not get much closer. I tried a few abortive attempts along minor tracks and a bit of bush bashing, but the GPS pointed me to the other side of the creek. I eventually succumbed and crossed the creek, then slowly made my way towards GZ. Unfortunately, EPE was high, and was rarely below 20 metres, occasionally surpassing 70 metres. GZ was bouncing around and, in the fading light, (and without a torch), I may well have come close and not seen it.

Not wanting to be stuck down there in the dark, I abandoned my search, retraced my steps, and made it out of the park unscathed. A check of a Sydways map the next day indicated that there may be another track on the correct side of the creek but for now, I shall have to let it go. Thanks for the challenge, and for showing me this piece of urban bushland.

We knew there was a dark side to the history of Henry Lawson (having spent the last 15 years or so around Mudgee). It proved interesting to see the cave site on the way to the waterfall. Found the cache easily, in between passing muggles. Left Gold Coast Coin, took Boomerang Key Ring.

Started to run out of time on this cache so i had to run to GZ and i think i went the long way around, on arriving at GZ my god was it cold, compared to the 30'C i was running in a moment before hand, this water must be coming out of the earth from the last ice age.

Great cache and location, TNLN Ran back to the car.

This was the first ever find for the newly formed team The Devil Hates Kung Fu.

Found without too many problems. Great urban bushland location.

Picking wife up from airport today
Only to find there was a 1 hour delay
Kids in the car to do a cache we missed
I knew five was too bigger a list
With vary little time to spare
Dicing with time is always a dare
Pick up at 11 it was now 10 thirty
Crap the wife is going to be dirty
Found the cache easy enough
By this time I had run out of puff
Took ball and left a bike in the mix
Got back to the car at 10:56
Bugger!
Sped to the airport Grand prix driver
Found plane was delayed another 20 mins
So wife was none the wiser
God I’m good!

Now this one was a mission! We finally got it in the end but not without a lot of cuts, scratches and fights for the GPS...

Beautiful spot though, tbanks for the cache...

We were getting close, but it started to rain, so we headed back. Will be back to give it another go.

Don't understand this, but am going along with it. As a newbie (less than 30 caches) I'm logging it twice. This is the one to delete. Cheers, aussieangel

Approached this cache on a track from the south, only to find it didn't go near enough to the cache to be correct. Then took the right track, but in the last 50 metres or so made some wrong decisions and made life very difficult for myself. Almost impenetrable thorns and scratchy things, and dense canopy that interfered with GPS functioning. Anyway, found it eventually. Took nothing, left a boomerang keyring, signed the log. Thanks, Geopiggies...

Standing at the top of the hill only 110 meters away, I recalled the message in the introduction. Found the path and had a pleasant strole down the hill (although a bit longer). Stumbling around in the trees gave the GPS a hard time though. The area was very clean (I suspsct from recent rain washing through).
Took: Club Whistle, Left: Lime Candle.
Thanks, Robmc.

Bit of a climb in and out, stumbled on it after searching around the place. TNLNSL

5:15pm
Nice bit of urban bushland, and an interesting spot at the end of the walk. I started it off as a run but the snakes and spiders persuaded me to go a bit slower. Good cache although it still has some moisture inside.
Was surprised to find another entry in the logbook from earlier in the day.

Its weird, the cache hadn’t been logged for a few months but the place looks like it has had some traffic around it??? Anyway, this cache is thoroughly recommended and is another one of those once you get there you realise there’s a quick and easy exit?? Oh well...hunting through the wilderness is great fun and especially in a place like this...cheers GeoPiggies

WHat a beautiful spot!!! Waterfall was nice and there was a small amount of water flowing. Took abit of bush bashing around the place but we eventually uncovered it. Thanks for taking us to such a nice spot.
P.S - The log book is damp and mouldy:(

Nice easy find. I used to play in this spot when I was a primary school kid in the early 80's - Sunday mornings in the bush with mates, building camps, ambushing each other - those were the days! I hadn't been down here for about 15 yrs, the paved path etc was a surprise! Easy to find because as we neared the spot I knew what we were coming up to - and what recently-unknown heavy rain can do to it. Took nothing, left firies sticker. Thanks guys!

Went the long way in and the short way out.
snuck in and out at lunch time during work.

Left the wife and geokiddie in the car for more than half an hour (needless to say they were not very happy). GPS wasn't very co operative in the gully but found cache eventually.

This was a real suprise, a bushland regeneration success story, an urban oasis. A whip bird teamed up with a water dragon to show me the way.

There is no need to do any bush bashing. A hint for future seekers is to walk the whole circuit, half of the bushland has been marvellously regenerated and a superb track with sandstone steps winds you down into the gully. The other half still needs work

Thanks Geopiggies

We've always wondered what happens to Flat Rock Creek! There is a long way to go for the bush regen guys, but they're doing an amazing job at the top. We saw a water dragon and a fire tail, which was exciting. We had no real trouble finding the cache, which is a miracle given our poor record!

Took: tennis ball
Left: Xmas decoration

Spent half an hour looking with no joy. GPS said I was at GZ but nothing to find. Nice bush though. Except at GZ which was horrible and stinky!

Nice walk on a beautiful day, cache was nice and easy to find but still a bit damp.

Team J.A.C.K.A

Went round the circle twice...Noddy is not a quitter...Found it eventually. The cache was as wet as me. Both need a good dry out. Did my best with both. Saw my first red river here. I am not sure but there might have been a three eyed fish there too.

The trail was hardly there anymore so it was quite an adventure...Wandered around GZ for a while and then I found it.
It's still a bit damp, so I dryed it out a bit..

Took: Rocket (cap gun 'rocket')
Left: police Badge.

As the Doggies intimated, it's quite likely that the reason that the "beauteous yesterday is fading" is because it is
being washed away by all the water in the container!

Did a welfare check and maintenance visit on this cache today, and found it right where I left it, but quite damp. I've re-containerised the cache as suggested. It's now in what has become the standard GeoPiggies caching container - a 20cm-ish tall by 10cm-ish diameter screw-top in clear plastic, but otherwise it's all the same.

Here we go round the mulberry bush, the lantana bush, the asparagus fern and assorted other bracken. For almost an hour we trod, tramped, scraped and crawled around in circles, finally finding the well faded target hidden like piggy in the middle. Emptied out some water and dried out the log book while doing the usual stuff. Hey Mr Pig get your trotters into gear and fix the container.
Good challenging cache location.

Found the right track down on my second attempt... not a bad little bush area on the whole... difficult to get reception in the gully and the GPS led me a merry dance for a while, but I eventually stumbled across it... There was a little bit of water in the cache, but the log-book is dry (if a little bent)...

Thanks again geo-piggies...

My third cache find and my second of the day! On a roll! This was a pretty difficult one, due to the terrain, but a challenge none the less. Enjoyed it and went off route on many ocassions. All part of the fun I guess.

Condition of the cache is not good. Water filled the bottom third of the container. And the lid is not so red anymore because of the sun.

Didn't take anything, but left a ticket stub from the France v Scotland Rugby World Cup 2003 game!

Moving onto my third of the day....

Found this early in the morning. Took the wrong track at first but got on the right one in the end. Track was pretty overgrown but found it eventually. Took the Eco team key ring and left some floss
Thanx

Had an hour or so to kill and was in the area! Thanks for a nice little walk that is not to far from home! Took the seahorse and left metal toy. Thanks MRG

Found it after walking around in circles
good to see the fantastic drain structures Mindsocket was talking about at gobledocs entrance.
Norse_man made a nusance of himself with the harmonica so we took that in exchange for a ring

My very first found cache in this bizarre but delightful adventure sport. Thanks to the hiders of this one that took me into an area I've driven past hundreds of times but never explored. I took the well-trodden path with a bit of bush bashing at the end. Nice waterfall, shame about the colour. Thanks again folks...where to next?
(Took nothing but left a seahorse).

[last edit: 9/7/2003 7:42:46 AM PST]

I like visiting Sydney in winter, despite the rain it's not cold. It's a nice leafy spot. Only the roar of a 747 overhead or the smell of the paint thinners from the creek give away the fact you are in the 'burbs. A map of the walking tracks would help for this cache.

Left a working pen and a penguin from my zoo - go forth my minion . Collected a 'cache card' that originated at the Wilson cache by MRG. It shall be deposited this week in a location a good distance away!

It surely won't be there, will it? Well yes it is.

The creek was interesting today due to someone depositing some sort of soap or detergent into the creek. Bubbles everywhere.

No swaps.

Thanks Piggies.

[last edit: 7/27/2003 10:06:15 PM PST]

Forgot to log this one twice, bieng a newbie and all, every log helps. This one can be deleted once I am no longer eligible for newbie status.

ZijerPhil

Nice area. Amazing what you find when you get off the roads and intl the scrub. Well hidden cache. Took a while to work out how to get in, but once on the track, just followed my nose (and the GPS of course). Went around in circles for a while and was about to give up when I thought to myself I'll just see whats over there, and, lo and behold, success!

Took pack of cards. Left a belt clip and Wilson 000008 card.

Ah, the birds chirping, the waterfalls, and the sweet smell of sewage! *gag*

After a failed attempt at another Piggie cache a few hours earlier, we hoped we could resurrect some pride and find this one. It turned out to be pretty easy once we found the way in. The GPS was playing silly buggers all day, but luckily the final hiding spot was fairly obvious without much help from the GPS.

Left an EcoTeam keyring.
Interesting if somewhat disgusting smelling stormwater drain. Lots of people around, and plenty of dead-end tracks.
Nice enough area despite the smell, we enjoyed the walk, thanks Piggies.

Found at about 8.30pm. Must be a very interesting area in the daylight!!! Took the g-clamp and left something in its place. Not sure what tracks I should be on, as the signs said -No People- , then again, what track?

Took a little while to find this one but a great little spot, I was on a cache mission today so didn't visit the othher areas.

Interested in visiting the area, to explore the tunnels.

Swapped a G-Clamp for a Tennis Ball.

I don’t know if we are suppose to log this as a find or what, now that it has been changed to Newbie V2.0.
Anyway what a pleasant surprise this area is, well worth a visit. Had a wander around the place and went into some dark scary place next to the cache. Once read that people who visit these places claim they smell the same as a cave, don’t think so. Failing to find anything scary in the dark we returned to daylight and explored the above ground before heading off to a party.

Logged the log book. When I can log a find on the site, I'll share the interesting stories and map that I have.

Meanwhile, anyone wishing to join me in exploring GobbleDox can contact me privately.

- Mind Socket, KitPie and newbie Kaska

Update - 02APR03 - Apologies if I've caused offense by expressing my opinion on the newbie cache rule. I should have been more diplomatic.

Here are my hopefully interesting stories ... GobbleDox is the biiiiig drain nearby to this cache, and is well known and somewhat well documented by the Cave Clan. I have an 1899 Parish map of the Willoughby parish that depicts the whole area including the original Flat Rock Creek before it was turned into a stormwater drain and landfill (will upload soon). A lot of work has been put into restoring the area to some of it's former splendor , but there are still parts that are changed beyond repair, as an exploration of some areas nearby to the cache reveal. Since visiting this area on the weekend (something I've always been meaning to do) and seeing the state it's in, I've enquired with Landcare about joining the bushcare group for this area. Unfortunately, no reply has been forthcoming ... yet.

The cache itself took us a while to find, I gave Kaska the GPS and she searched for a while before giving up and letting me have a crack at it. I had no better luck, and got lucky as the sunlight faded with the old I'll just check over there and then we'll go method.

Watch out for spiky trees.

Update - 03APR03 - Maps:
Open spaces map
http://roger.mindsocket.com.au/images/geocaching/Parks%20and%20Reserves%20Location%20Map%20-%20Willoughby.gif
http://roger.mindsocket.com.au/images/geocaching/Willoughby-CC.map

Stormwater map (doesn't quite have the cache on it)
http://roger.mindsocket.com.au/images/geocaching/long_bay_storm_map.jpg
http://roger.mindsocket.com.au/images/geocaching/long_bay_storm_map.map

Parish map (6Mb!!! May not view properly in web browser - use right click -> Save As and view using an image browser)
http://roger.mindsocket.com.au/images/geocaching/willoughby_14019merged.gif
http://roger.mindsocket.com.au/images/geocaching/Willoughby_14019merged.map

Update - 06APR03 - Converted to a find w/ GPs' persmission - Thank you

[last edit: 4/5/2003 10:56:23 PM PST]