Tower 126 Breakfast Creek, New South Wales, Australia
By The 2 Dogs on 06-May-03. Waypoint GCG2MB

Tftc, very long walk from gentlemens halt camp ground but got there in the end

Really enjoyed the walk out along canoelands trail, with family. Fdsawq alerted us to this 20 year old cache up a side trail. Took a little while to find it at ground level. TFTC!

Find #: 3,587Companions: dokes, jejmsMuggles: NoneWeather: Pleasant autumn afternoonCache condition: GoodI went for a bushwalk with my son, brother and sister-in-law along the Canoelands Ridge Walk, which was a lovely way to spend a public holiday, with a decent distance, bit of variety in terrain and some great views over the Hawkesbury. On the way back I convinced the others to detour up to Tower 126 (some were easier to convince than others!). Once there dokes and I headed into the bush, trying to decide what "new growth" would look like 21 years later, and eventually he found the container under a rock near a tree, based on good co-ords. Jejms then appeared, just as we were signing the log We signed and replaced before heading down the hill and finishing our 19km walk - thanks for sharing this attractive spot.

I last walked out along this trail long before geocaching was invented, so it was nice to come back out here again. Quickly found the cache and did the legals. FP awarded as this fits into my criteria of favourite caches. TFTCM cheers dkmacca

Invited to join Gatherer Hades #10 000th find, an extraordinary achievement. A good walk and talk about of all things about our much loved game.A short walk before the first descent, with many ups and downs.Out of the 5.5km walk, Id say the last 1.5kms was the most challenging.Allowed GH to approach into the GZ zone first, we then spied the container quite quickly with co-ords being spot on.Unfortunately shes holding a great deal of water, logbook continually bathed.Seeing and witnessing wildflowers in Blue Dampiera, smokebush, mountain devils, and yellow cone flowers at this late stage of the year is stunning.Cache maintenance performed, congratulations GH, and thanks The 2 Dogs

Find # 10000I've been hovering under 10,000 finds for far too long, and I had quickly decided what my milestone would be. And around the same time cache ownership was transferred to GCNSW - guaranteeing it's longevity.And that is important as the caches by **The 2 Dogs** are really a major part of NSW geocaching history. Early in my caching career I started searching out their hides - as they were so old and always interesting in one way or another.My first find by them was my 90th, Urban Oasis (GC865). After that I was hooked.So it was really an easy call for me to make one of their hides such a major milestone. And my eyes lit on this one - a good bushwalk, which I also enjoy.But it's a long hike and has some really steep bits. Not so enjoyable. So not one for me to do solo, as most of my finds have been.I put out feelers and a number of people expressed interest. Once the day was set - with cool weather - two caching heroes answered the call.So I had a great walk with **Brewmaker** and **martincousins**. Walking with them, I pushed through when alone I'd have stopped more - which can only be good for my fitness.And as we went a number of spots yielded fantastic views. Can't ask for more.The cache was reasonably quickly located. I had 4 metres, but **martincousins** had 0. Impressive coordinates for a 20 year old cache.As expected, the container was full of water. And unfortunately the log was soaked. Luckily a replacement for both was at hand.I signed BOTH the old and new log. Photos were taken, and then a pause to take in the view, some food and drink, and contemplate the return journey.So glad the long steep section was downhill this time, but the final uphill a few hundred metres from the car was cruel!But we came, we found, we conquered, and replaced.Thanks to **The 2 Dogs** for the original placement, GCNSW for adopting it and of course, my two companions on the day. Thanks guys.I don't think I need to mention that this gets a favourite from me.SLTNLNTFTC

Some months back, Gatherer Hade told me was approaching 10 000 finds and **Tower 126** was the one he was aiming for to achieve this milestone. Last weekend at an event, he said it was going to happen this Saturday. The weather forecast was for a pleasant Spring day, not too hot and not too cold. Along with Martin cousins and myself, this trio made the journey to GZ.After meeting at Dural Maccas for a coffee, we decided only one car was necessary. Finding a park at Porter Scenic Lookout, GH and MC left their vehicles safely parked there, and jumped into the Brewmobile. We made our way to the small carpark near the locked gate along Canoelands Rd, and started the walk around 9:00am.The forecast was spot-on and it was quite a pleasant walk, though the terrain really tested these old lads. Despite the many steep ups and downs along the way, we managed to make it to Tower 126, with the help of some rest stops along the way. The trail was in pretty good condition and after 5.5km and about 2h hiking we were at The Tower. We ventured into the bush and soon the familiar cry of "Found it!" was heard.Unfortunately, in the 2 years since it was last found, the cache has seriously deteriorated over time. The large crack in the lid, has meant plenty of water has filled it up and the once pristine logbook was ruined, along with most of the contents. I had brought a replacement, albeit a bit smaller, and a fresh log book. Completing the signing duties and some photos to recognise GH's #10 000, we put the new container in place then headed out to Tower the for a rest and snacks. Fortunately, the only snakes we saw were of the confectionary kind!On the return journey we passed a young woman doing a trail run, and she was coping far better than we were. A brief chat, and we all continued on our way. Not far from the carpark, we then saw a group of 5 young people carrying backbacks and looking like they were off for a night of camping somewhere. Finally after nearly 4 hours and 11km, we were back at the car. Exhausted, but pleased to have not only celebrated GH's milestone, but found this old The 2Dogs cache. With GCNSW now adopting it, and plenty of community volunteers to watch over it, this 20 year old cache will continue. TFTC

A big thank-you to the latest finders for bringing along a replacement cache and logbook.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find this one today, since it has last been found this area had accumulated quite a lot of ground cover and was very hard to search without doing environmental damage. After about 15mins of searching and it starting to rain I decided to give it a miss. I think this would be one of the oldest caches I have ever searched for but alas it could not be found. I came out here to collect the trig which you also can and log here on Geocaching Australia https://geocaching.com.au/cache/tp6246

Tower 126 was transferred from The 2 Dogs to user Geocaching NSW

Public holiday Monday and what better way to spend it than by going on an enjoyable hike with my littlest. This cache was first brought to my attention at a CCC when another cacher mentioned that given the walk and potential views it sounded up my alley and was also considered the loneliest cache in Hornsby. Who knew that a cache could be lonely?

The day was beautiful and sunny with a cooling breeze. The trail makes for a relatively easy walk and there are plenty of spots to stop for a breather with a view. I very much look forward to returning without my 15KG live weight to lug around so I can head to the end of the trail and visit the Canoelands Ridge look out - I believe there are some fantastics cliffs.

The lid of the cache is broken and it was full of water. I did my best to empty and dry off the swappable items. Fortunately the original log is nice and dry and shall hopefully remain so. Hopefully the next visitor to this lonely cache can bring a replacement container.

Nice walk up to the tower 126. After found the cache quickly we had a good rest and enjoyed the view. Then we kept going the track to the end and enjoyed the view over the river.
On the way we saw one echidna and one lyrebird.
Thanks to bring us there.
TFTC

It was a somewhat grey and drizzly morning when I put on the running shoes and set off down the trail. A shower or two, clearing, the forecast said. It did eventually, but it took a while.The GPS led me to exactly the right spot, where I found the cache straight away. After which I continued to the end of the trail before returning to the swampmobile. Of course there was enough fog to almost completely obliterate the views, but it was nice to get out into the bush anyway.

Today, us novos took advantage of a perfect winter's day to kick off this June long weekend: twenny degrees and sunny, no breeze, crisp... to do some waymarking and some geocaching . Today we found about five trigs on the way up from the cenny coast, and this one cache.

Just recently we found some caches nearby here via the waters down below and so we decided to come checkout tower 126 once and for all for our semi-regular family hike today.

In doing some prep/ homework, bikes were briefly considered before quickly opting out of our use of treadlies due to previous logs suggesting the ruts could make it more trouble than it's worth. Another cache we did nearby a few years back (GC5HR8G Point Of Some Regard) was a lesson in that there's fire trails and then there's *fire trails*... so hiking it was today. As it turned out though, the Canoelands Trail out to the tower (and likely beyond) was in excellent newly maintained condition; with evidence suggesting that very recently, a maintenance team had been thru and fixed the ENTIRE trail including (and especially) the steep bits, making this trail the *ideal* bike trek actually. We noticed on the Marramarra NP website during the week that there has been recent upgrading done out at the campgrounds so it is likely related to these activities as the fresh fill on the trail gave away quite a lot of tyre tracks. So if you are considering going out on bikes I can highly recommend that idea right now (some photos below of the trail condition). We could still see the fresh excavator tracks on the shoulders of much of the trail.

We came across a few other parties on our way back from GZ, heading into the camp area. This trail seems to be regularly utilised by hikers which is pleasing to see.

Today was just a really simple and enjoyable day out with the crew. Once at GZ we stopped for lunch to enjoy the views. From our vantage point we were surprised to spot afar the heavy traffic heading along the M1 around what appeared to be the Mt White area. Further north we could see Mangrove Mountain in the distance and then perhaps the banks of Spencer; a small community I only passed for the first time at the end of last year whilst heading over to Wisemans Ferry for a cache or two up that way. It never ceases to amaze me the many different points of view of basically the same areas that we constantly discover, even when travelling for hours at a time!

While we did find the cache and signed the log etc, we completely forgot to head in and locate the nearby Ivory trig!! We were halfway home in the car when it hit me lol. Suffering from a bit of jelly brain lately. Maybe we do have to come back to give the bikes a go afterall? Thanks 2 Dogs for another of your legendary retro caches. While the others sat happily in the sunlight taking in the vista I took some time to actually write a log in the book, old-skool style, and then to read through the (surprisingly few) previous entries recorded: we are just the 30th team to find this 17yo cache? We dipped our usual TBs including our [Jasmer Coin](https://coord.info/TB7AXHF) to record our second 5/03 square, and we also left a novo PT as we usually do for epic unloved caches. Today's find earned us (officially) the "[Memory Lane](https://www.geocaching.com/souvenir/?guid=1929bbaf-4bd4-4648-94ff-e5d66310a2d2)" souvenir which seems entirely appropriate.
#1140

A really good day for walking today! Had planned 3 hrs for this one, but only needed 2, and that included the trig as well. From previous logs I came prepared for some big hills, luckily not that bad! Enjoyed the views along the way and can only recommend this one to future adventurers.
TFTC Wilbert67

It's been a long time since my last 2 Dogs find and this one has been on the "must do it one day" list for as long as I've been geocaching.
Today was a truly glorious day to be in the bush, certainly not a traditional winter's day and the flowers are completely confused by the climate. I'd planned on dusting off the MTB but I probably would have finished up pushing it much of the way as the trail is deceptively hilly and badly rutted.
We arrived at the tower and followed the Garmin into the scrub. There wasn't an obvious hide at first but the one and only fireproof cover, right at 0m, delivered the old box. I read a few of the ancient logs while explaining the game to my muggle companion.
We continued on to the end of the trail, all the way to the cliff, enjoying many spectacular views on the way.
A top location that deserves a fave. Thanks The 2 Dogs.

Well this one has been on the list for a while with various discussion of when to go so when KRS rang mid week it was yes from us. We started at about 8.30am and parked at the National Parks Sign and along the track. A great day for it and we seemed to be making good time, taking in some great views and wondering where the big hills were. By this stage we had worked out the nice looking straight line track (with a couple of small bends) was in fact the gas pipe line clearing. and with under 1km as the crow flys we found the big dip and saw how our track weaved around to add multiples to the distance.
Anyway we were soon up the top and had a small break at 128 and could see 127 and 126 in short succession. A few puddles still on the track from the rain earlier in the week and we could see some lucky person had recently driven in. Off we went again and as 127 and 126 are so close we missed the turn off not realising they are both on the same side access road. KRS has some way points for future finders.
Great views as we neared 126 and then it was down to the business of finding the cache as the previous log being a DNF was a little concerning but KRS had a spare just in case. Well it was not needed and despite the thick regrowth we spotted the camo from about 5m out. The cache is in good shape with a little condensation which we dried out as we read the old logs and added out fresh ink. Job done.
We then started to head back down the fire trail only to remember we where going to see what is was like to get out to the Ivory Trig only 200m or so from cache. This turned out to be a bush bash with no track. The old stone circle base was soon spotted and its replacement had flopped in the fires leaving the vanes on the ground. Pictures taken and a bash back to 126. A recommended detour.
We took the gas pipeline for some of the trip back. KRS remarked it was a bit like a ski run but no snow. A lyre bird was spotted scurrying off the track as we neared the end. All up 3.15 hours with the detours.
A good walk. Not so sure about some of the non welcoming signs saying "wayout" and "no fruit sales any further" but then again was that a banjo twang we heard.
TFTC
A favourite point from us.

6/8/17. 10:06 AM. Cache #5261.
1 GC & 1 GCA today, in Canoelands.

The last few caches that I had left to find in Hornsby Shire had all been long bush walk caches that I had put off for way too long; I've gradually been picking them off one by one, with only "Ancient Orange" now left for me after this find. (Some others, such as "Hawkesbury Heights #8 Gentleman's Geometry" might also be hidden on this side of the river but have the smiley on the Central Coast side of the river). I put a call out to a few to see who was free and b@w put his hand up.

So, we arrived at the Nat Parks parking / locked gate (near S29.773 E05.178) at around 8:30am and set off. 2.9km straight line to the cache, by the time this straight line had dropped by half a km my vevo showed we had walked 1km so the twists and turns look like they just about double the straight line. Plenty of ups and downs along the way, too.

The satellite photo showed that about 750m SW of the cache, the pipeline heads uphill in a straight line while the track we were walking had some serious meandering to do before it rejoins the pipeline again. The gas trail was too steep to go up we thought, but we planned to use it on the way back.

The turnoff to T127/T126 is at S.988 E.995. We got a little carried away looking for possible aboriginal carvings and walked a few hundred metres past this via the main trail before realising our mistake and backtracking. Then used the small track via that turnoff and soon got to T126. Still a little distance to the cache and we had to head bush. We'd come prepared with a GZ photo from a past finder (because jmax's DNF log was something we didn't want to repeat). Just in case, I had an ammo can in my backpack, but the golf balls I had put in as swag were rattling around all day and were very annoying until I repacked. Anyway, the throw-down wasn't needed as b@w made the find at good co-ords. We read through past logs, then signed and replaced.

We started heading back after our brief stop, but then remembered we were also going to pick up the Ivory trig for GCA, so more back tracking needed to get back here, then time for a much longer and thicker bush bash to get to the trig (more details on that log). Reversed the bash back here and then time to go back via the main trail (except for the downhill section of pipeline that I mentioned before, which saved a lot of time).

Back to the car at around 11:45, so it was just a short bit longer than the 3 hrs return in the 2 Dogs description, and that takes into account the back tracking we had to do and the return detour to the trig. Another enjoyable adventure - nice sunny day in good company. Worthy of a fave point. TFTC.
} : )

Well that seriously sucks. That is way too far to walk for a DNF. Having spent the night at Gentleman's Halt it was my intention to pick up this cache on the way out. On arrival, my device couldn't even locate my position on either the Geocache app. or Commander Compass. Nevertheless, I searched diligently. No sign of any burnt stumps and the foliage was so thick at the edges I didn't know if I was even close. There has been some serious regrowth since this cache was placed and whilst I didn't want to stomp around in there too much there simply wasn't any sign of a cache near the edges. Very frustrating.

Spare day with enough time to tick off this great location. Left parking area at 10:50 on mtb and chewed up the meters to gz. Some fantastic views along the way and at the tower despite the misty rain. Easement had Benn recently cleared so feared the worst but gz far enough off line not to be threatened by the dozers. Signed and replaced. Might as well check out gentleman's halt while I'm here so headed down there to see what I could find. The walk down the cliffs and hawkesbury views were awesome and we'll worth the extra distance. Back at car at 3pm. Thanks for the great cache!

#852
Having spent the last 2 weeks caching in mostly suburban areas, it was great to get out into the middle of nowhere again. I'd planned on making an early start but didn't get away until 10am. Lucky it was a cool spring day - beautiful - not a cloud in the sky. The drive seemed to take for ever, eventually parking outside the gate at 10:45. Found a good walking stick and headed off down the fire trail.

I wasn't expecting to encounter any people in this remote part of the world, so got quite a surprise when I rounded a corner about 30 minutes in and saw a work ute approaching. Today was not only a good day to go for a long walk, but also a good day to check the power lines it seems. Some great views across the Hawkesbury to the west. It was interesting to see the route of gas pipeline, which preferred going up and down steep inclines in order to stay in a straight line. The cleared areas reminded me of ski fields in summer.

Got to tower 126 in just over an hour and decided to follow the iPhone needle straight to the cache. Very thankful for a quick find as the undergrowth has come back thick and strong. Enjoyed a quick snack and tried to find a good spot to take in the views. These were limited by the regrowth. Very briefly contemplated going the extra 200m to visit the trig but not today...

It's a great time of the year to walk the track as there are so many colourful flowers and its not too hot. Ventured off track a little to explore some rock outcrops and found some unexpected "LOVE" (see photo). Other than that, the return trip went quickly and I was again surprised to seen another vehicle approaching at the half way mark. This time it was the gas pipeline guy. Gee whiz - where do you have to go to get some solitude these days ?

All up, the round trip was 2.5 hours. I had contemplated bringing the mountain bike but in hindsight probably too many steep ups and downs - although plenty of flat sections as well.

Thanks the 2 Dogs for placing a cache out here. +1 fav

We had this cache on our list todo, it's also a grid filler for May 03. The weather was good for us, a cool 22 and then the wind came up and it dropped to 17. The walk was very hilly and slippery in spots, managed to generate a blister on return, apart from that all went well. The views are fantastic from the top. This is a real Geocache, old school. Over all very worth while . TFTC

The journey to this cache began on the 25th of January - a stinking hot day, the absolute opposite of what your ideal hiking temperature would be. But as this was the reason we came out here and a milestone cache for mrnoo17 we just had to deal with it. After getting the water ready and the packs out of the car we had a little chat to a couple that had just gotten back from Gentlemans Hault and they told us that the track ahead was going to be quite hilly in sections. They weren't wrong! We started the walk and about 1km in we could hear some motor bikes in the distance that sounded like they were coming closer. Mrnoo17 and I jokingly said to each other that if they came pass us we would knock them off and hi-jack' the bikes.
When we realised they were coming our direction and saw them we waved them down and asked curiously how they got their bikes around the gate. They lived close by and had some great local knowledge which they kindly shared with us, but they weren't sure if mrnoo17's Rav4 would make it through. We thought it was worth a shot so walked back to where the car was parked and went searching for this alternate way in. THe next thing we knew we were on the otherside of the gate giving the Rav4 a good test in all the hills (which it performed magnificently).
Driving in made it a lot more fun than walking in the heat and we had the luxury of drinking as much water as we needed and not have to ration it out. As we were flying along we drove past the turn off for tower 126 and kept going to 124 which had much better views. No yet content with a place to pitch the tent we kept driving as far as we could (tower 122) which provided marvellous sunset views over the hawkesbury. Funnily enough we were now exactly opposite where we camped not that long ago at Big Jim's Point on the other side. Got the tent pitched and the dinner cooking to cap off a fantastic day.
The next morning was Australia Day and sadly it was the polar opposite of the day before - cold and wet. This forced us to pack up earlier than planned and made us save the walk to Gentlemans Hault for another day. However we weren't going to drive pass this cache. Parked the car as close as we could to GZ (about 25m) and found the cache easily. Read through the old logs, then signed the log and replaced as quick as possible to get out of the rain. It's a great feeling to look at this cache and see a smiley now as I've been wanting it get out here for years now. Was tempted to drop a TB out here but figured it would stay there for too long.
Thanks 2 Dogs and happy Australia Day!

My 1200th Cache!!! I like to have a bit of an interesting cache for my milestones, and this one certainly had it's perks. I have been looking at this one for almost 3 years now. As the crow flies this cache is a meer 28km from home, but as the car goes, it is about 128km! So with this planned for our weekend goal and my milestone in sight, we decided to give it a crack.

The plan was to start in the late afternoon (6ish) and camp out at the tower. Got to the beginning of the track with about 3litres of water each in the still 30 degree heat. Had a chat to some people who had just come back from Gentlemans halt and told us that the walk was very hilly. We don't mind hills or a little bit of heat so we set off. About 300m into the walk, we realised how stupid and pointless walking in the heat was, just to get dehydrated and find my 1200th piece of plastic in the bush. About 1km into our walk, we met some locals on their bikes who gave us some special information. Returning back to the car, we soon were back to were we met the bikers, but this time in (almost) air-conditioned comfort. Pigged out on salty biscuts and other things that we had forbidden ourselves from eating due to them making us thirsty. Passed tower 125, then saw the sign to tower 124... "hang on, have we missed it?" Drove the beast RAV4 (magic carpet of course!) up to 124 for some fantastic views, which we later found were much better than the ones at the cache. Continued, stopping at good photo places, one of which, we found some salty biscuts under a rock, unopened... Sweet! Putting the munchies at bay with our new found food, we continued right down to tower 122. From here, we could easily see tower 121, next to my cache Hawkesbury Heights #3 Big Jims point. About 6 months ago, we had joked about setting up a flying fox on the powerlines to do the tower 126 cache. Had dinner at this awesome location and were blessed with such a great sunset over one of Australia's most spectacular locations. However, our blessing shortly turned to a curse as a large flash of lightning, illuminated the pink clouds on the other bank. Looking up at tower 122, we decided that to move was an excellent idea.

26th January: Australia day! Woke up to a brilliantly overcast and wet day. Yesterday it was hot, dry and terrible. Today it was cold, wet and terrible. The fantastic views were clouded over and the trees very wet. We began to walk to Gentlemans halt but it was simply too wet. Took the magic carpet back over to 126, this time not missing it. The trees have certainly grown up since 2003! There are no views at GZ any more, and compared with towers 122 and 124, the view at 126 was a little mediocre. But still we had an excellent time out here. Signed our names in the log, taking our time writing an in log-book log whilst the rain began to wet us. Took the magic carpet back out with no worries. TFTC!!!!!

On a bushwalk today and luckily the group was keen to walk a bit further - as far as Ivory Trig. Only 200m from this cache to the trig so I was close enough for a quick detour! Yes, the bush is growing thicker every month but I managed to crash around enough to find the cache! A very quick visit with 10 people waiting for me to head back. TFTC 2 Dogs

Found this one this afternoon whilst out on the calendar gap and DT rating cache hunt which brought me back out to the Hills District.

As CJ is away, I did this one with my brother. The month has ticked over to winter and so has the weather. It is much cooler out here now, but bushwalking and geocaching are great ways to warm up.

We set out along the trail heading taking in the views along the steep up and down terrain. The walk was not too far and we soon arrived at the GZ. Tower 126 was in good form, but the surrounding terrian had grown rapidly since the last finder almost one year ago. Some of the nearby pines were about 6 metres in height and dense foliage one the shot bush bash to the cache. The coords are excellent, like all other 2 Dogs caches. We signed and replaced it exactly as I found it.

Anyway, you've gotta love an excuse to get out into the bush and find a cache. Thanks 2 Dogs for another of your caches. SL TNLN TFTC

A cool morning - the right time of day for this walk. The valleys were filled with cotton-wool clouds and some early spring flowers added splashes of colour to the trail.

A new layer of sandstone road base was recently put on the track and it hasn't compacted yet so in places it is soft and squelchy but this didn't dampen the spirits. There were bird calls and plenty of views out both sides.

I counted down the towers: 130, 129, puffed up the hill to 128, then over to the turn-off to 126 and 127. It took about an hour to get to Tower 126. The co-ordinates were spot on for me and the box was in reasonable shape and dry inside. I took the thong TB and set course for nearby Ivory trig. What a great bush walk - I wish there were more caches like this.

SL TFTC

Found at 8:29 AM

Another great day made this one look very inviting. Found the parking area easily enough - a group of scouts were momentarily very excited when I arrived thinking I was their lift. Even if I was, my 2 door hatch wouldn't quite have done the job.

Anyway, off I went at a good clip. Lovely walk, great views - what more could you ask? Working up a sweat, it took just on an hour to get to the tower. The foliage around the cache is pretty thick. A 10 minute search turned up the cache. Dropped Jonnosan's Thong Slug TB, as it was craving some solitude in a remote and rarely visited cache.

I then moved on to the GCA trig some 200 metres away. Only a short distance but boy, that was some serious untracked bushwalking. Took me back to some of my more memorable educational meanders such as Alien Abduction (North) and the more despairing moments of In the Loop.

I took it slower on the walk back but was rewarded with a rather large dark wallaby hopping across the track right in front of me. Always good to do a 2 Dogs cache. They rarely disappoint.

After reading Yurt's inspiring log, I put this on the to do list. This afternoon L0ckSmith and I loaded up the pushies and headed out to Canoelands. After a couple of navigational hiccups we found the car park at the head of the Canoelands trail, mounted the bikes and were off in pursuit of this fabled treasure.
The track is quite tough and steep in places necessitating quite a bit of walking uphill and careful but fun descending. Oh I should mention we picked a day that was 35 degrees!!!

The views from the tower are fantastic and well worth the effort out here. We found the cache nicely hidden reasonably quickly even though the bush is quite dense around GZ.

The cache is in good condition and still chock full of goodies.

I agree this one is worth 100 mint tins or nanos. Gets a favourite

SL TFTC

This is one of those "special event" caches that sits on the watch list and you look for an opportunity to do it but there never seems to be the time. Had my eye on it last year and was going to do it for the GCA locationless "2 Years Unfound" but was beaten to it by Team Lego Men. Amazing it was found twice in a week after almost three years in the dark. Well another nine months have gone by and this cache is now 9 years old and averages less than two finds per year.

Parked at the gate and got the car into an out of the way spot. Then a 4WD ute comes in and does a 20 point turn to park behind me. We headed down the track before they emerged from their darkened vehicle so I don't know who they were. The first bit was nice and level and it was an overcast day in June so not warm at all. In fact the geoboy complained of the cold at the start.

The first down and up was soon out of the way and we headed along a good level trail with nice views appearing now and again. The clearing made for the gas and oil pipeline is a sight to behold. I was impressed with the 2Dogs description of installing the power lines but this pipeline is also amazing in how they just dug a trench and dropped it in not worrying about ridges and gullies. The geoboy was tempted to follow the 'direct' trail until he realised how steep it would be. We reached the big dipper that took us from 260 metre heights to 160 metres depths in a short time and then the big climb up to Tower 128. Had a break on the open rock shelf near there to see if we could spot any Aboriginal carvings but none apparent.

The rest of the walk to Tower 126 was pretty easy. A sign which says '126/7' indicates the correct track to take and soon we were at the aforementioned tower. The bush has certainly recovered in the past nine years. It's only 30 metres to GZ from the tower and quickly we found a likely spot. It's well covered and the weathering makes it even harder to spot but a cache that's found once or twice a year isn't going to have flashing lights. Contents reasonably dry, signed the log and didn't take or add.

We didn't think it was all that hard a walk so pushed on to the newly published trig 'Ivory' http://geocaching.com.au/cache/tp6246 (S33° 28.998' E151° 7.332') which was hard walk and a bushbash but only another 200 odd metres. Then took the long walk back to the car as the rain drizzled down. Not long after getting back to the car it poured all the way home.

A great morning out. Can't believe more people don't do this one. It beats 100 mint tins.
Thanks!!! (favourite)

Found today with Imgettingannoyed.

Well, he bush bashed to the GZ while I waited on the path! My attempt to join him on the bush bash ended with my being attached by the Ants he had disturbed on his way though and they ran up my legs biting me! So I chicked out and ran from the bush to de-ant my stinging legs!!

Lovely walk thorugh the national park, the flowers are all in bloom and the colours were beautiful!

TFTC

So this cache doesn't get found for nearly 3 years and then its found twice within 7 days!

This has been on my to do list for as long as I can remember. So today was the day, the conditions were perfect for a lovely walk in the bush.

Such a lovely piece of almost untouched bushland

the trip took us 3.5 hours with a stop for morning tea and lunch.

The bush was quite dense between the track and GZ so was a bit tougher than I had first thought. As usual with all of the caches by the 2 dogs the co-ords were spot on.

Really enjoyed this one and a very fitting cache for my 1000th find

This one had been on my watch list for about twelve months. Today we had the perfect excuse to tackle it.

What a great walk. The views along the way down to the Hawkesbury were fantastic and the wildflowers were really putting on a show. Heaps of boronia, eriostemons, grevilleas etc.

Can't believe that the last found date for this was 17 August 2008. At least that also allowed us to claim a GCA Unloved cache - 2 years.

Probably not a walk I'd recommend in the middle of summer but any other time thoroughly recommended. Cache was in great condition after all this time.

Thanks 2 Dogs for bringing us to this lovely spot.

Re-visited an old favourite today while in the park on an MOU working Party from my 4WD Club. One of the other workers also signed the log.

Ideal day for a bushwalk before the weather heats up too much. Got a bit concerned around Tower 128 when the track starting going every which way but the one I wanted but after a while it started heading the right direction again. Found the track to the top and quickly had the cache in hand. Beautiful views of the Hawkesbury from up here.


Left a geocoin. Thanks 2 Dogs and Altaire for the maintenance.

"The Tower" as this one has been affectionately called by team bloopy has been on the to do list for some time. Today proved to be the day and what a perfect day it was to be out in the sunshine enjoying the walk along the fire trail. Throw in some great views and having it all to ourselves - we were a very happy couple of bloopys. The only downside was the bull ant attack on mrs bloopy just as mr bloopy called bingo at GZ. But then again, it wouldn't be a bush cache without some battlescars. Cache is nice and dry and in good condition - we highly recommend more people come out and find him soon as it is well worth the effort. Thanks for a great cache!

Out with some bushwalking buddies to do the 20km round trip out to Gentlemans Halt. This walk offers stunning views over the Hawkesbury River. Walking on the fire trail is hard on the feet and while there are some steep ascents and descents, we completed the 20km in 6 hours including our morning tea and lunch breaks.
Picked up this cache on the way back. It was only a 300 m detour. The views from the cache location are spectacular but it's amazing to see how much regrowth has occurred since the photos posted from a few years back. The views can still be seen but are now partially obscurred by trees.
Altaire did a fantastic job of replacing the cache. It's chock a block full of goodies. Found it relatively easily, but the burnt tree stumps mentioned in the cache page are no longer visible. Nature has reclaimed itself and repaired the scarred ground.
This is a wonderful walk and I agree with altaire that it was not hard but I guess that depends on your level of fitness and how much bushwalking you do!
Thanks 2 dogs for another quality cache location.

Rated: for Overall Experience

We’ll go for a stroll most anytime, however winter is probably our favourite time of the year. Particularly on a day like this – sunny but cool, no wind and no bugs. Just the sort of day to do a cache like this. Things have changed a little since this cache was set. The fire trail is now called the Gentleman’s Halt track and is a designated NPWS walking route. According to their web site, cycling on this and other management tracks is allowed.

If we’d known that we may well have chosen to ride as fire trail walking is not our favourite thing. However we were walking today and at least a fire trail makes for a quick trip. This one wasn’t too bad in that it largely follows a ridge line and from most places there are pleasing views over the Hawkesbury river and on into Dharug national park. Though there are a few minor ups & downs this is a pretty easy walk and in less than an hour we were at the tower in question. Shortly afterwards the sadly decrepit cache was located.

The container was badly cracked and had some large holes. All the contents were wet to varying degrees except for the double bagged log book. We dried out those contents that we could and removed those items which were either too wet or damaged. Forewarned by a couple of previous logs we had brought a replacement container along with a number of items to re-stock the cache. A cache in a spot like this deserves looking after.

Despite the re-growth there are still quite nice views from the tower location where we tarried whilst doing the cache thing. Thanks 2 Dogs – nice spot!

Following our somewhat epic last weekend with the Cloudmaker cache, this proved to be a wonderful "walk in the park" - how nice is it to have an 8-foot wide path! Of course, the cooler weather would also have made it a lot more pleasant compared to some of the previous log reports. As with nearly all 2 Dogs caches, the coords checked out perfectly. Not taking in too much of the scenery, we managed the return trip to the car in under two hours, so you don't need to spend all day out there if you don't want to. This is probably the best 2 Dogs cache (and believe me when I say that we have done quite a few of theirs), so thanks for that 2 Dogs - keep up the good work. As reported by GIN51E, the cache container is however in need of some repair or replacement. TNLN.

What can i say except what a walk!

With the Temp being in the mid to high 20's and the sun burning us, we began our walk. wasn't too long until i was already fed up with all the flies and the Aeroguard Sunscreen wasn't doing its job,

after 1hour and 15min we made it to GZ and after walking that far i really didn't feel like walking off into the scrub to look for a cache but that is what i was here for. so off i went and found it in no time, at which i realised i forgot to pack my swaps container into my new bag so i left a spare notebook i had and took nothing, noticed a few cracks starting to form on the lid of the cache due to the UV damage so i replaced the cache upside down in hope it will reduce the chance of moisture getting in, maybe the next cacher could take some Tape out and patch her up.

But after doing the norm and signing the log we had a look around for half an hour and had some sugar and carb's ready for the trip back. can't remember some of those hills being so big but not to fear i think the trick is to not stop and have a rest and just keep the momentum up. and soon enough we were back at the car which had been baking in the sun for the last 3 hours [:-(!]

In short a very enjoyable 10.24km walk and one to be proud of, all i can say is if the sun is out make sure you have plenty of fluids. i managed to suck the last out of my 3L camelback just 100m from the end.

Cheers for a great cache 2 Dogs, just don't make too many more of them [;-)]

Well, after having Sydney's collective geocaching manhood called into question by Hounddog in the forums a few days earlier, there was only one way to respond to this! Let's attempt one of the biggest and nastiest geocaches going around - Tower 126! A cache so fearsome, it had not seen a visitor in over 18 months! Cheeeeese2001 and Mousey were kind (or foolish) enough to join me on this folly.

We parked the car and set off at 10:30 and began the twisty, steep and mountainous 4WD track to the cache. Along the way battling flies, heat, humidity, more flies, sweat, and yet more flies again. After just over 1 1/2 hours, we made it to GZ and found the container in no time flat. The cache is still in excellent condition and sealing well. Took the candles and stand, left a red dive torch. After about 30 minutes enjoying the view and doing all the photo's and logbook stuff, we headed back the way we came and made it back the car and the Wisemans Ferry pub for a late lunch.

I recommed more people make the effort for a cache such as this, for the incredible views along the way, and the great sense of satisfaction of having completed one of Sydney's most exclusive caches. (only five visitors in almost 2 1/2 years!) Thanks Two Dogs! Another top job!

Well, what a way to celebrate my return to the Sydney caching scene, after my three month visit to far north Queensland (refer my logs for interest).

Today was supposed to be a relaxing day, the main activity to be a picnic. However, while out bowling (the new Blacktown AMF is great) last night, BigMickB suggested we have a crack at this beauty. We felt it would be a considerable achievement and a worthy pursuit for a nice day. Shaggys and Abuseme couldn't make it, so myself, Mousie and Mick headed out in Mousie's car, giving the GeoPatrol a break.

OK, so I knew it was going to be a tough one and the previous logs will attest to this fact, so I will not repeat the comments. I do, however, feel that it took longer to get back. Maybe it was just my perception.

We took no wrong turns, because the detailed maps on my MAGELLAN are fantastic and showed us exactly where we were going. A topographic map I printed was equally helpful.

After much walking, we found ourselves in the right place and the cache was soon in hand. We enjoyed the area for about half an hour while being swarmed by flies and I think we did some swaps but I am too tired to remember.

Great view and an altogether great caching experience. I also do not feel guilty about missing the gym for the next two days.

Thanks Doggies - this was one of the best.

Did not think we would be able to go caching today after the weather forecast last night but with clear skies in the morning and a check of the weather radar we where on our way.
Once we started walking we noticed all this pink ribbon tied to trees and wondered if this was an alternate route for the gay Mardi Gras tonight that Fred does not know about.
Once out on the ridge you get some great views of the river and surrounds and the track has been recently bulldozed so it’s easy walking.
Everybody ready for another strange tale from the cache? On the way out we noticed some boot tracks but thought nothing of them. That is until (suspense) one set of tracks turned off to go up to the cache location and then stopped next to the cache. We expected to see a recent name in logbook, but on checking the book there was no name but. Maybe Hounddog on a maintenance trip?
Did all the caching stuff and left a clock thingy and took the mini MMs.
Walked back down the track to have a nice picnic on some very comfortable rocks.

I don't recomend this cache for anyone with a weak heart. The walk is likely to kill you. Its so far! but what a great location! spent a good 1/2 hour just taking in the surroundings, while my heart rate came back to normal, and my leg muscles recovered.

found the cache, logged it and gathered my reslove for the trek back to ON-the-run... lets hope he's easir to find this time.
In honor of Tangles 500+ finds... did the whole trek in the nude! LOL! ( photos to follow ( ewww!)

total round trip 3 hours!

[last edit: 8/8/2003 3:09:45 AM PST]

Found it, will complete a full log report later
ok Now it is later.....

We left the truck at the the gate and commenced our walk, the first klm goes quite quickly. then we hit the first hill. Only a small rise, not to bad. We hit the first side track to a tower, no sign of our goal. down the next slope and is that Tower 126 we can see now? around the corner, up the next hill, It would have to be the worst hill on the track. We took a break at Tower 128, are yes there is our goal now not too far away. Off we walk nearly there now.........

Oh bugger I think we were suppose to turn back there, that must be tower 125 I can see now. SO we back track and look at the sign again.

yup

Right turn Clyde

Up the final short rise and there is Tower 126. ok a quick search and the virgin cache is ours. 2 hours out to here so now it is LUNCH TIME!!!!!!

We started back and I am sure now that none of the slopes we came down were so steep as they are now as we head back to the truck. Nothing too dramatic on the way out, just that it was a bit quicker time for the return walk 1.75hrs and with 0.5hrs for lunch, this cache took us 4.25 hours.

Well done dogs.......
http://swampgecko.geocaching.com.au/CachesFound/tower/onetwosix.htm


[last edit: 6/21/2003 6:09:34 PM PST]