Excel Yourself #2 Creswick, Victoria, Australia
By Pyrenees Kid on 05-Sep-03. Waypoint GCGV8X

Suscoe headed north of Ballarat to the Creswick area today in the great company of our mate Bushfire.
It was a cool Summer's day with plenty of cloud cover during the morning and as the day went by the sun poked through every now and again. It rained and drizzled early on but even that dried up during the later parts of the day.
We had a terrific time visiting caches and enjoyed the various hides, locations and containers.
This was our 25th find for the day.
A pleasant experience to put this series to bed.
Thanks to the Pyrenees Kid for the effort put into this series.

Caching in and around the Creswick district today with Wozzle68 and Bushfire we had this series on our to do list. Even though we have been sitting on the answers for such a long time , we haven't had the opportunity to search for them and add our name to the log. Its unfortunate that this series has since been archived as it is a very old, unique historical cache . All 4 caches are still in place and mostly in good condition.
Thanks Pyrenees Kid for your early innovative style of cache series.

After working out and locating #1 we headed off to the next where I thought it would be under the massive rock but no, all good with the cache but the log is a little damp.
Thanks to the Pyrenees Kid for placing these guys so long ago.

Found these long archived caches each still in tip top condition while in the area with some out of town cachers. It's a shame they could not have been maintained and went the way of the dinosaurs.

As part of a series with the first one already archived this one should be also.

GPS had us about 5m away. Geoson had the eagle eyes for this one. Cache could do with some TLC, all a bit wet. TFTC.

BEWARE BROWN SNAKE AT GZ

Out and about with Dutch Frangipani to do some more of the Ballarat and Creswick Caches. We both had our caching eyes wide open today as we found nearly all the caches.

Got the required number and headed to GZ.. Unfortunately when we got there Dutch Frangipani was confronted with a brown snake and we were out of there before signing the log. Dutch Frangipani is going to put a photo of GZ in her log and we hope you will accept this as found.

What did we do before excel. We ran out of time to find the others in this series and will return again to complete the series.


Thanks for the cache Pyrenees Kit

Found GZ for this one today with Sorceysal. I climbed down to retrieve the cache only to find more than I'd bargained for - a brown snake!! I wasn't hanging around to see what he would do so was unable to sign the log. I have added a photo of GZ and hope this will be ok for a find?
TFTC Pyrenees Kid.

Found with Sully1 after grabbing the cache only 70m away. Not sure how that works, but anyway...
Sully made the find after I climbed all over and under the large rock for about 10 minutes.
Thanks Pyrenees Kid

Cache was in hand after a short search with Bogonghazy on a days caching around Creswick and beyond. Thanks to Pyrenees Kid for this. Only 60 odd metres from a Traditional????? Weird.....

Sages4 of Creswick found the rock under the tree. Cache in metal bottle opener, cache out green egg.

Excel #2, #3 and the Bonus were found with help from 6Hinemoa2, who had the answers worked out from before. Of the original four, this one was in the best condition.

This was the last for in this group of caches.
It took quite a while as my GPS was pointing to about 5m away. Eventually Tag-along located the hide. There was no need to replace the log. It had been damp but you can sign it.
A muggle was running past as we searched. It must be a good area for training.
Happy to helput if needed.
TFTCPyrrenees kid.

(This NM log will be copied for all four caches in this series as it is based off the same Excel spreadsheet and waypoints)

Multiple waypoints have undergone changes since the creation of this series ten years ago and the spreadsheet has not been solved for almost a year - the most recent Found log before mine is based on answers obtained in the past.

The waypoints that have changed are:

WP5: Presumably refers to a sign, but only a pole remains.

WP10: Another sign that must have been removed. I obtained my answer through brute force - keying in every year since the town's creation to cache's year of publication.

WP15: *Might* be my fault? There is just one structure here, and I used every synonym I could find for it but could not obtain the answer. Note that I also tried the term(s) for it as it is also shown on the map of the area in the carpark a few hundred metres away and was still unable to get it right.

WP19: This information has been missing for at least a year, according to a previous log. There is a circular mark on the ground where a sign must have previously stood.

I also tried to use the 'monument cheat', however either the spreadsheet is bugged or my version of Excel is incompatible. Obtaining the random 'OK' answers only fills in the '?' with '0' for all the missing digits in cache coordinates.

As a result, I had only enough information to locate Excel Yourself #1 and insufficient answers to 'trigger' the bonus questions which might have allowed me to find #2 and #3, let alone the Bonus.

Lastly, the Bonus cache's log is in the hands of Fergzster, another site member, who has been attempting to contact the CO without success so far.

This entry was edited by storchburp on Thursday, 02 May 2013 at 11:15:52 UTC.

DNF, see NM log.

Catching up on on a few hundred missed logs
Found with bucketeer
Thanks for the hunt

08/04/2013 17:48
I solved these virtually back in or before 2010 and haven't had the opportunity to attempt a find since...until now.
While on our way from Bendigo to Ballarat we stopped off to find all the caches in the series.
This one was well covered but has a little water in the container which I drained out and replaced the log book's bag as it was quite damp and manky. A watertight container is required here I think.
Thanks for this interesting challenge
Place holder log only.

Finally completed the co-ords, so ST37E and I set out to find them.

After some GPS accuracy issues cache was soon found.

TFTC!

Finally found my first cache in this series after some gps issues which threw us around quite a bit, this series was very enjoyable and hopefully the othe caches can be found by myself soon

TNLN

TFTC

Our last find in this series. We really enjoyed it - thanks for the brain workout and the sites/sights.
TFTC

A little over a month ago, my very patient boy friend accompanied me and the geoScotties on a day trip to Creswick from Melbourne for the day. We work away and drove around Creswick, very diligently collecting all the clues for Excel Yourself series. It was really very wet that day, all of us were very wet by the end of the day and unfortunately we had missed out on collecting two of the clues! Oh No! I emailed Pyrenees Kid, as I was fairly sure things had changed since 2003 when this excellent series was set up. A couple of pointers and a return visit today proved that at least one place has changed (I have emailed owner). Today could not have been more different from our last trip, as today was all sunshine and blue skies. We had a great little trip around the town and I am happy to say have been the first cacher to be able to pick up all four caches in the series since GJMMelb in September 2010. The GPS was starting to get a little flat when we arrived, either that or the tree cover was making things hard for us, but we found the cache in the end. Thanks sooooooo much for the series Pyrenees Kid

My final find for this unusual series that I started several years ago but had to abort when the laptop decided it wanted to have a sleep.

Thanks for the tour Pyrenees Kid.

An unusual caching concept loved the view at gz, thanks Pyrenees Kid

I'm sure the cache is still there. Had a quick search with the GPS jumping around and then running out of batteries. The remainder of my unassisted search was a bit fruitless. Finally terminated when muggles turned up to have a picnic nearby. Ahhh well, not to worry ... thanks for bringing us to this interesting part of the world.

MMelb was feeling quite a bit better today so we came back to get the rest of the series this morning.
The cache was well hidden (helped by fallen branches lol) however due to recent heavy rains it had quite a bit of water in it.
Log book was only a bit damp so we were able to log the cache.
The nearby water level was quite high and had evidence of being much higher due to the recent rains/floods
TFTC The Pyrenees Kid, it's a great series!!
GJMMelb

Spent longer than we should have searching for this one as we accidently had placed the wrong co-ords into our GPS, and we were searching around 30 metres away. After a long search the cache was found.
TNLN SL TFTC

Good concept

Find 12/12 for the day, took the long way to the cache (instead of driving right up to it) but got there in the end, did the collection of 4 caches in 1 day and can confirm they're all still active!

We are going to have to come back and do this one again when it is not about to absolutely pour with rain and have a really good search as our short search came up with nothing . However was a very cloudy day which did not help the GPSr which was jumping all over the place.

Found along with the last two Excell caches, a great series, this cache was dry ( obviously) and had a visit from a muggle in Jan 09, who signed off and rehid. I Rehid the cache better and signed off myself, I found the coord to about 8 M off today.

TFTC.

Found 1.30pm
Having worked out all the answers to the questions we grabbed this cache first. The GPSr had us scrambling around before we finally find it. The cache had a lot of water in it, we dried everything out as best we could and replaced the container back upside down to help prevent more water getting in.

TNLNSL

TFTC Pyrenees Kid

Visited Cache #2 this afternoon. There was quite a bit of water in the container, which I emptied out. Log book was dry, being in a plastic bag but most other stuff was damp. The container seemed to be closed OK but maybe the seal isn't fully waterproof. TNLN. Thanks for the cache. Two to go!

Found at 1200. After working out all the coords, a short walk later had the cache in hand.

TNLN. TFTC.

Found by flyjabiru1 and family, with fozzy778 and co looking on. Rounded up all the clues last night. Ran out of time, had to get back to pick up jnrFJ1 from school. Will be back to find the other Excels soon. TFTC. L:Smiley face badge. T: weight scales.

Found by McAdies.
Did this one after no. 1. I would have loved a swim here but no time as was on lunch break for work.
Thanks PK for the cache. TNLN

cache # 8 of 12 today while out touring around with Mrs acts2.. We enjoyed watching a rower at this location.
My thanks to Pyrenees Kid for the cache.

Finally got to clean this one up today. The road that I wanted to take in had two small tress fallen across it. Whilst they were small, they were two big for me to be able to move, so I had to find out how to come in from the other end.

I had been out here to look for this cache once before. Last time I only had a few minutes to spare and couldn't find the cache. This time the GPS pointed to a spot about 10m from where I was last time, and there was the cache.

The container looked like it has had water in it at some point, but was pretty dry today.

No swaps. Thanks for the cache.

Found @ 2.30pm with GeoLoch
Find # 287.
Cache was well hidden, but pretty much empty!!
I added several things to the cache to try and refill it a bit.
TNL:2 workers, 2 dominos and a fozzycard and a flag
Thanks for this series. (only wish the bonus cache was up and running again!!)

Found at 3:45pm on our clean up around Ballarat afternoon. Nice easy cache.
tnlnsl tftc
-sandar10

Was nice to be back in the area again. I used to work with the forestry and came to this town on several occasions to the forestry school here so it was a bit of nostalgia for me. Had a bit of trouble with magellan overshoot but once that settled we soon had the cache in hand.
Thanks

Great puzzle. Spent a bit of time on this one.
A nice area to walk around, and very quiet today.
Thanks, Robmc.

found With Dan I can't beleave I live close to another cache I have been looking for these ones Sints I started and I have my first one.

ThanX Pyrenees Kid

Once the gps settled it took me almost right to this one. Antoher nice hide but not too hard to find. thanks again Pyrenees kid for the work in setting up this great series.

3rd find for the day, 2nd excell find, TNLN
Cheers Pyrenees Kid.
Highrod.

Ill be back to complete my 3rd and bonus Excell's

Another quick find once the computer decided I had enough information to attempt. TNLN thanks pyrenees kid.

Geo mum wasn't too impressed about the road on this one but good find anyway! Kept Geo mum and Geo todd locked safely in the car while Geo dad went to find.
Took: eraser Left: kids ring

Dear Pyrenees Kid,

We found your cache today at 11:25am as the second of eighteen on our Circumference de Ballarat Tour II. We had been looking forward to completing this cache series for some time now. A great concept an a fun tour. A nice spot for this cache too. Thanks for our 1st Pyrenees Kid cache.

Kind Regards,

D & H B-A

found it in the end but we parked in an odd place and had to go bushbashing nice little lake tho.

Again in the company of the Coffee Clan and the Pyrenees kid we approached this one slightly from the wrong angle which meant a little bit of extra energy was required before locating the cache,
We took in the nice views fro gz as we filled in the log book and then headed on to the next one

With local knowledge on our side and a good set of maps we made our way to this cache via the scenic route.
With one of the members of Team Crackers wanting to do “NUMBER 3†the trip to GZ was a bit longer than normal. We finally arrived at the GZ and to be certain we had found the cache at our feet we called the other members up the hill with their GPS units just to be sure.
TNLN.
Many thanks PK for the cache and lunch earlier in the day.
Regards Mr.Coffee and the “Number 4 would have done it†Clan.

Great view from this location, enjoyed immensley.

TNLN

R + B

Found at 6:05pm with assistance from the Mrs. as Navigator and Scribe.
4th find out of 6 for the day.
I didnt want to walk too far so I parked the car in a spot that maybe wasnt all that good
thinking that not many cars would use this road too often a 4WD police car flew past
lucky for me he was in a hurry.
In: Car, Out: Mondo, Signed Log.
Thanks Pyrenees Kid....

Found at 1.50pm GAFF1. Very beautiful area. It was hot and humid and we would have loved to have used the facilities here. Thanks PK tn/ln

Found by Roma and Max.
As with Excel Yourself #1 the same difficulties were experienced, although this containers contents were very wet. We dried items as best we could.
We took a Measuring Spoon Set and left a Mondo Figurine.
Thanks again Pyrenees Kid,
From Romax.

found by bevfre 3.00pm left toy took toy
Enjoyed this area good for a picnic

Really enjoyed this series and the bonus (where we found a travel bug).
Took Push Pins
Left Soccer Snoopy figurine

[This entry was edited by 2Dudez on Saturday, July 16, 2005 at 6:54:30 AM.]

Found it. Can't remember when, but we did.
TNLN

Very indigenous way to create a mystery cache [^] I had solved the coordinates with the help of internet and deductive thinking back home - 15000 km away. Today cycled from Ballarat to these sites. Very charming place.

Found by caughtatwork and brother-in-law at 11:15am.
Another few false starts to get to the beginning of this one and the overhead trees sure do put a strain on the EPE here.
I finally located the cache site and after letting the GPSr settle for a few minutes, I was still 12M away (supposedly).
Ah well, it wasn't all that hard to find really.
Thanks PK. We're on to Number 3.

Aha found the last one in fading light! Not too hard to find despite the rather erratic GZ under the trees. Great series of caches Pyrenees Kid, thanks.
TNLN

Found 12:10, our second visit to this interesting area, took hair tie set and left Dubbo Duck, sorry to Team 80 for hanging on to him for such a long time.

Thanks Pyrenees Kid.

After answering all questions around Creswick we found this one after entering the right Co-ords.. Dosent help when you enter lat of 1 excel and the long of another excel.

Left whistle took dubbo duck

Found first of mystery cache after slight mix up with some other co ordinates & a lovely walk up the hill.located easily once our mistake realised.took rubber bands left puzzle maze.

Had trouble figuring out what was walking track and what was driving track, so we parked the car on a walking/driving track and soon found the cache. Swapped a magnetic fridge clip out for a Children's hair clip set. The Niece had visited here with her school and spent her time reminiscing.

Found at 4.50pm
What an interesting area!! Totem poles, tiles in the dirt!!
The area seems unused now.
Found after a short search, the GPS was a little erratic under the heavy tree cover
No exchange made
Thanks for all your work PK
K&M

After gathering the last clue, this cache turned out to be the closest, so I did it first.

Like everything else about this series of caches, this was an enjoyable experience.

OUT: Dice key ring
IN: Fridge magnet clip

We found this one. Loved the near by artwork. Its a great little spot i never knew exsisted. Cant remember what we took or left. Andrew had a ball choosing though.

Thanks Darryn

This was the first one of the four we found. Again, the log book said that this was #1.

After a quick search around, we found this one (Alan-san, Kiwideb and myself) with Alan-san being the chief procurer. Shortly after opening it, a young local girl who was picnicing with her family came along to find out what was going on. It seemed as though she would never leave, and we even packed the cache into one of our backpacks, expecting to have to replace it later. Fortunately she left, and the cache was successfully replaced.

I took a glue stick and left a combination padlock. Thanks, Pyrenees Kid, for a great set of caches and an enjoyable tour of the town.

Led the guys the wrong way 1st off then we found the right track. Dashed our separate ways to try and find the cache. Alansan beat Muzza and I. We filled out the log 1450 swapped chalk for a flintsone car.
A little girl decided to check us out and wanted to know what we were doing. She took ages to leave. Muzza gave her a lolly and sent her on her way.
Thanks for the cache Pyrenees Kid.

Found at 2:50. Originally I spotted the most obvious area, but it took a second look to confirm and retrieve it ahead of Muzza and Kiwideb. At a nearby barbeque area there was a family enjoying the river views, then when we turned up on the scene looking high and low the young girl came over to see what we were up to. She was interested in out box of treasures and the GPS devices, needless to say we were tied to the area for about 20 minutes not being able to hide the cache, not until she got bored with us three oldies (compared to her that is). My swap was corn holders out for an incense burning tray thing in.

Found by Mary & David at 1310. Found after a truly fascinating morning 'doing' Creswick. You have certainly added a new twist to caching with this series PK! The od domestic along the way as M & D swapped roles, with M driving the GeoCalais and D sitting alongside with the laptop and GPSr. A lovely spot for the cache too. Took bath fizz, left photo frame. Many thanks to Pyrenees Kid.