Magical Murrumbidgee II Cuppacumbalong, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
By Tankengine on 19-Oct-03. Waypoint GCH33C

Logsheet replaced! Container repaired.GOOD TO GO!!!

Hmmmm???

Found with Aussiepuschaks TFTC

Another favourite point for this splendid location. Found with Sophiescout. Would love to see the crazy yak drivers tackle these rapids. TFTC

A cool, overcast autumnal day with on and off drizzle - perfect fore another vampire hunting expedition! This time I targeted the caches to the east of Smiths Rd all the way down to the two TE hides on the Murrumbidgee for a 10km round trip.

I parked in the regular spot near Vampire #33 and had an easy walk through the grass up to the ridge. Great views all through here, both east over the river and west towards Mt Tennent, and as I progressed further north the truss bridge at Tharwa was visible.

After completing all the caches on the high part of the ridge, I turned back toward the southeast and sidled along the slope all the way to #48 before tackling the vampire caches to the east.

After I'd finished at Vampire #44 I was only about 200m from Murrumbidgee Meander II.2, which I found after a 20 minute descent from the hilltop. From II.2 I scrambled gently over the rocks parallel to the river, again slowly because the drizzle made everything very slippery. Great views of the river churning through the gorge, and some beautiful looking swimming holes (for summer, and calmer river).

Approaching GZ a stop to check the GPS, and I actually spotted the gash on top of the rock quite quickly. Further investigation confirmed that this was in fact GZ, so once I scrambled around to the correct side I was able to make a quick sign and replace.

Great to give this some love after almost 8 months between visits! Spectacular views of the river through an awesome gorge, and a real sense of achievement upon finding. Absolutely deserves a favourite point!

From here - now all today's targeted caches had been found - I decided against retracing my steps to the east, electing instead to climb directly up the hill in a broadly southerly direction. The scrub was annoying, and thicker then my approach to Meander II.2, but not too bad - took me about 15 minutes to gain the top of the ridge. I then altered to the southwest and eventually intercepted the Gigerline Boundary Fire Trail which took me all the way back to the car.

Thanks, Tankengine - a great adventure to get here.

Logged slightly out of order as my phone lost reception near the GZ and my ever unreliable GPS unit died at the sister cache 200m up river. I had a fantastic time, climbing over rocks and ducking under spiky bushes. A FP for the location. TFTC TE.

We rockhopped our way back along the river, stopping for this cache. It was a bit of a hunt here, resorting to the various clues and trying to make sense of it all. In the end we managed to spot it in its nook. Plenty of great rockhopping and awesome spots to explore out here. TFTC

Attempting to slowly clear out ACT's oldest caches, and Tankengine's hides always seem to pop up here and there on my list!

I noticed this one today, my second oldest unfound Tankengine cache, with the oldest one being closer and easier from home, so will save that for another time. I had some time up my sleeve after the morning went quicker than I had thought, so being such a nice day I followed the river along the track for about half the distance, and then some rock jumping and hopping later I soon arrived at GZ!

It took me about 20 minutes to uncover the hide, because of course I forgot to download the spoiler photo like I always do.....! It is very obvious when you are in the right spot however, there are just so many spots to search!

Thanks Tankengine! One of the best parts of the Murrumbidgee I have seen in my travels

Wow never mind Tankengine cache more like a rock hopper cache, we possibly did them wrong as came in from the top almost straight down then two caches and straight back up again what a climb / scramble. We did see a platypus though was great and was great to see the running water, we also came across some deer so was a great trip. Thank you for the challenge and caches.

A big day of caching with J+J.AU today. Starting in Mos Vale with a few quick aches just as light starts to appear. Then a long drive to and through Canberra to get to the part of the Murrumbidgy we were targeting today do finish of the vampire series. A lot of walking for some great d/t ratings and half of the time tracks were not really there! Of track is no problem however and enjoyed the day and perfect weather.
TFTC Wilbert67

Wilbert67 joined us today on a huge day of caching , our target was the vampire series and a few others along the way.
We left home super early and it was good to do some of the trails while it was cool.
The walk at the end our legs felt the effect of the day.
We spotted plenty of kangaroos and birds, occasional fly came to greet also.
Over all we felt quite accomplished with smileys we gathered.
Thanks for the placements of these.
This has been in the to do list for so long and today was the day. Yay
A great day out.

Slow progress from the previous MM, but eventually got there and started looking around for items that matched the hints. No access to photos so just had to spend the time. Eventually looked in one spot and spotted the cache (found the gash after that!). Some great views from here as well.

Started heading back along the river climbing around countless rocks. Since I didn't come in via the river, I didn't know how difficult the route was going to be, so decided to head straight up the hill (followed a kangaroo actually) so that I could get clear of the rocks, gullies and prickly bushes. Once on top it was easy to find my original track.

Thanks,

Found at 10:39:00 AM

I'm pretty happy with ticking this off. One of my new goals is to finish off all the caches hidden before I started caching and this is one of those. TikvaNZ was happy to tick off a DNF and ZQX looked on as he had already found it. Getting down here was tough and if I had my time over I'd come from the other one to here. Much less bush bashing that way. Lovely spot on the river.

Thanks Tankengine

#9435 @1040
A day out cachng with ZQX, AngelG27, Bobl27 and Noikmeister, aiming for 50+ in a day, to collect all but the last of the Hidden Creatures souvenirs. Just under 7 hours to complete this area including the two Murrumbidgee Meanders. (Perfect rogaine training). The weather started off with a little drizzle but soon improved for a lovely day out in the hills. All caches easily found. Having DNF'd this one over 18 months ago, I was keen to turn this one into a smiley. I re-found the carabiner and left it in the cache. TFTC and for replacing it.

PS. My 500th Tankengine find!

After finding it's sister cache not far away I meandered over the rocks to GZ. Again, no spoilers, so was relying on accurate coordinates, which, 3 minutes later, I knew I had. Now to get out out of here. So pretty much straight up I went, through the thick scrub before skirting along the hillside until reaching the main trail a few hundred metres from the car park. Yes, didn't read about the fire trail access. Oh well, got a see two I assumed hungry eagles circling not far above. Favourite added. TNLNSL TFTC

Found with SA. TFTC

Normally satisfied with a cache a day when undertaking a long bushwalk we again thought that this latest arm of the Vampire series (DSD) was worth following as we headed down to the river for the Tankengine caches. We knew that we would find great rocky water views and we were not disappointed. The afternoon was cool and breezy and took just over 6km to do the round trip in a couple of hours walking briskly dodging prickly bushes, blackberries and a fun decent down to the river. Loved the steep hills as the jog up makes you feel alive.

Worth a favourite point (on both TE caches) for the fantastic locations and breathtaking views. Would love to see this place after heavy rains. Thx p2p. TFTC Tankengine.

So many new trails down south, and a tempter of a FTF in the air, so I snuck off early this afternoon so see if I could claim myself another TE FTF. It wasnt a good start however, as just as I was approaching the car park there were two cars leaving....hmmm, they looked familiar. I still have some reception so I check the hide again and dammit, they found it half an hour before! Oh well, I am already here so I will do the loop.

That loop looked real easy from the map, real easy! I can tell you that it wasnt. Getting down the river was messy, and I likely didnt go the smart way in either. But, like some others have logged, at least I did find the fire trail on the way out and that cheered me up somewhat. My phone health data says I climbed 65 stories today....and my legs agree. I hope no one else puts any more down there for the time being.

This was the ninth, and the first tricky find. The walk here from the vampire trail was harrowing.... but I must have surely come a very dumb way in. But, I got here alive and I wasnt going to leave empty handed after its recent maintenance. I was convinced another nearby rock that was flat and had an interesting cut away section was where I needed to be, and there was even a great spot under it... but no. So I started to leave and miracle of miracles, saw the tell tale wire. Yay!!

Attended this cache with All7 on the 16th of May 2018,while placing caches in the area. Sadly the cache was missing. All7 and I had the right spot but no cache. After searching the surrounding area for the missing cache for more than 40 minutes we contacted to CO and let him know. The cache has now been replaced. Thanks tankengine for allowing me to claim the find and for placing the cache. Its a wonderful part of the ACT to visit.

Decided to check on this today, and discovered that it was missing! I have replaced the cache. DSD and ALL7 are welcome to log as found, as from their description, they were in the right spot, and would have found it, had it been there.

Coordinates changed from:
S 35° 32.253 E 149° 5.873

Coordinates changed to:
S 35° 32.254 E 149° 5.872

Distance from original: 7.9 feet or 2.4 meters.

Took a number of readings over 15 minutes.

Thank you Tankengine... He put logs for me and Darksidedan... Cheers ...

DNF with Darksidedan ... pls check up .. thanks

The main focus for today's excursion was the caches between Tharwa, Nass Road, the ACT Border and the Monaro Highway. Lots of walking despite the heat. After completing the Vamp Trail I headed across the hills, then dropped down about 100m downstream of GZ, then and walked up the river. I quickly found the right spot according to the spoiler photos but couldn't find any cache. I did find a small carabiner wedged in the stones under the rock (See photo). I'm guessing a flood reached here and shattered the container.
I then climbed straight up from GZ and retraced my steps back to the end of the Vamp Trail, and then back to the car. An enjoyable walk despite coming away empty handed.

I led the way up hill and down for this one[:o)]. TFTC.

That is a scenic, but rough walk. Of course that wasn't helped by us taking the more challenging route via the hills above and then needing to descend from the above hills. (Decypter !) We took the easier lower route on the return.
I see there is lots of soapwort growing here. I'm not sure if that has a potential to be a problem weed in wetter areas, but if you are camping and forget your soap there is plenty there to use. I have successfully used it as shampoo. I munched it up in a blender. Of course everyone brings an electric blender camping...don't they ! (And a generator!)
We found the cache without any problems, due to the good spoiler photograph, which we printed out and brought with us; our Garmins not displaying spoiler photographs.
TFTC Tankengine.

#1496 13 of 16 today.

I decided to head down to the wilds of Thawa to tackle a few caches around the Vamp Trail series. I have driven past most of these in the past so a visit was long overdue. It was a lovely cool day for this time of year.

I must say I enjoy a cache that requires more than the usual effort to get to. Particularly when the destination is so worthwhile. Getting to this one was certainly not trivial or quick. But it was a sensational spot. There were even some canoeists attempting the rapids as I was there. Once there, I started my search for the cache, which was over fairly quickly with the clues provided. In fact the first rock I looked under was it !

Thanks for the cache Tankengine.

Found on a slightly rainy day with ZQX. We had started the day with the plan of doing Up the Scar but due to some unfortunate hijinx we changed plans and headed out for this one. We were able to park about 2.5km from GZ and for the most part it was a lovely stroll to GZ up until about 150 to go. Don't know if there is an easy way of getting down to GZ but if there is we definately didn't find it After some pretty heavy bushbashing we found ourselves standing right on top of GZ and then ZQX made a relatively quick find. Lovely spot with some great rapids with the recent rains. Thanks for the cache Tankengine.

Found with Dwarf Exploder on a day when we were hoping to find Up The Scar, but the wet weather, and a wrong turn, scared us off.

We parked at the Sandwash and found a way to get to the cache that may not have been the quickest, easiest or fastest way, but worked nonetheless. We both picked up a cache on the vamp trail as a bonus. Some bush bashing was involved, and I ended up with a splinter in my shin that I didn't notice until three hours later. But all good in the end.

At GZ I noticed the interesting gash so I knew that I had the right rock. I followed the instructions in the listing and had CIH (which, for new geocachers out there, stands for cache in hand [I'm still finding new geocaching acronyms 2.5 years after I started this game - the most recent is MKH - Magnetic Key Holder]) moments later.

I took a few snaps of the river and surrounding area. If I remember I'll add them to this log.

Tks TE!

TN LN SL.

Well, I must say this was a LOT of fun I made my way here after picking up several of the Vamp Trail series (I collected the rest later). The river here is beautiful and this little gorge is very special. Great rocks! I was suitably wary of snakes - it just seemed an ideal day for them to be out - but didn't see any. At one stage I saw the end of a big reptilian tail quickly disappearing under the rocks just below me, but I suspect it was an Eastern Water Dragon.

It did take me a good few minutes to find this one and I tried lots of places before I got it. In the end I used all the clues and in combination they worked very well, even if I did do some unnecessarily precarious rock scrambling above the river while ignoring clue number 4. There is plenty of potential hiding spots around here and I didn't recognise THE rock until I was looking down on it but once I saw it the little gash was immediately familiar from the photos. I did have to move one small rock, but figured an earlier cacher had put it there to help make sure the cache stayed in place, so I put it back as found it (the rock doesn't make it any harder to find). I seem to recall leaving behind the attractive olive green crayfish I collected from one of the Vamp Trail caches.

I really appreciate this cache being here and giving me a reason to come to a fantastic spot I had never visited before and more than likely would never have found without Tankengine luring me here. Big TFTC

A Canberra Bushwalking Club amble up the Murrumbidgee and Gudgenby Rivers in the Gigerline Nature Reserve doing the Vamp Trail series. Plenty of water in flowing. Trip report at http://www.johnevans.id.au/wp/8-august-2015-gigerline-geocaching/ . Found with Chifleygrrrl. Now this is exactly why I enjoy geocaching! I’d never come to this lovely side of the river but to chase a cache. Great spot! A favourite from me. Found with ChifleyGrrrl. TFTC TE.

Well this was an excellent location! Lots of rushing water and great rocks making it very scenic. The highlight of a great caching day with JohnnyBoyACT. TFTC.

After remembering our fallen heroes on this significant day, I was in the mood to go for a drive and a hike

Deviating off the nearby Vamp trail, and off I went to start the hike to this old one It was lovely hiking along the flowing river and it is certainly a wombat's paradise as well! Lots of wombat holes and poo to navigate around along the way!

Definitely helps to wear sturdy hiking shoes and take hiking poles! The poles were invaluable with providing stability particularly towards the end as I found the rocks/boulders are quite damp and mossy.

The river had certainly turned into rapids by now near GZ! The GPS was a little swirly perhaps due to the cloudy weather so took a little while of searching for the right rock, but once found, it was an easy find of the cache from there (as it is most of the time! ). Then it started to rain! Luckily I packed the raincoat! So off I went for the trek back to continue on with the Vamp series.

Thanks for the hide at this scenic spot, Tankengine-fave from me!

My aim was to do the Vamp series of caches however since so close did this one as well. Nice rapids. TFTC.

Oh dear, another TE cache. No problem. Green-martian & I tackled the flats and the rocks with ease. Saw 7 wild pigs too along the way. I was right on GZ but overlooked the cache when Green-martian's sharp eyes spotted the cache. Great torrents of water here, including a beach with sand! Signed and replaced. Thanks TE.

Did the vamp series so why not continue to pick up this one. Easy going until the last 200m
when the terrain started getting very rocky and tricky. The fast flowing river near this cache is quite
spectacular and both me and TheSkype savoured the moment. Gingerline guardpost is not too "far"
from here but clearly we cannot cross here to get to it..... Great challenging cache:-)

Out this way with Captain Tomato doing the Vamp Trail. After completing the easy trail I saw that we werent to far away from this one. Walked along the river flats which was the easy part of this walk and then got to the rocks which always slow me down. Got to gz and with a previous finder's help made a quick find. Geez lucky I had him with me. On the way back saw some deer and a rock Wallaby TFTC

Thanks Boot! Looks like no maintenance needed.

3265. Pretty sure its not missing. I approached this one from downstream and kept as high as I could until the final assault. I was a little concerned with the last log and the time since the last find, but ventured forward regardless. I made the final assault with some bush pushing and rock hopping and then the search for the elusive gash began. For some reason I ignored the GPSr pointer and explored the rocks closer to the river. Maybe the wombat skull lured me to look elsewhere. Much to my delight, I eventually found that gash right where the GPSr wanted me to be and thought now I can see if it is really here or not. Much to my delight, the container was spotted safely tucked away in its hidey hole and all in good order. I relieved it of its contents so they could continue their travels. The cache guardian (see pic) wasn't too happy to have a visitor, but after he/she moved on, I replaced the container and made my way out via a creek. A little easier than my approach.
Thanks TE for yet another great adventure and consider the maintenance done.

Pretty sure it was missing, My companion and i spent about 20 mins looking for it. Great walk though.

I started to think it had been washed away again by rains or something. Great find in the end. With in reach but out of sight...
beautiful spot too, snakes are about , let them do their thing you you do yours finding the cache

A day off from work gave me the opportunity to bring a friend down to the south side of Canberra to find this cache that I missed out on a previous attempt. This time working our way along the river from the recommended car park.

Once the track panned out we found ourselves navigating through light bush but due to the river flooding earlier it was not too bad. The Murrumbidgee was still flowing quite strong from the recent rain. As we neared GZ we found some lovely rocky areas.

Unfortunately at GZ I spent much time trying to find the cache even though armed with all the necessary information and photos from Tankengine and eventually confirmed with TE that the cache indeed was gone - most likely washed away as there were signs of the river height getting higher than the cache location.

Anyhow - I was prepared for such a possibility and had brought along a spare cache with log and trackables to replace what was lost. Tankengine was happy to let me log this cache as found.

The cache locaion is really a great spot and well worth a cache and a walk. The rocky area is lovely to wander around and if I had spare time I would love to explore further upriver. Photos to follow.

Meander indeed. This one reminded us of the 'up spook hill' story: around the tree, through the wombat hole, over the fence, under the acacias, between the rocks, and up final outcrop. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the walk, and the riparian picnic we enjoyed at the GZ was worth the effort.
TNLN, TFTC.
(P.S. we had planned to head up to the 'guard' but the river crossing turned us off - look forward to that another day when we can cross the river at a more pleasant pace.)
(P.P.S. sorry about the late posting.)

rbirtles and I didn't find this cache today, but I'll leave it to him to tell the story...

A great day out caching with Tienhua and this one was our last for the day. After doing the Gigerline cache and trig we decided to get to this cache from the eastern side of the river.

Contour lines on the GPS showed a bit of a steep descent close to the cache and we were quite proud in our decision to head down a steep gulley to get to the river. Unfortunately this gulley ended in a steep drop about 170m from the cache and so we followed a fenceline along until we got within 100m of the cache.

Very steep/vertical drops were the main aspect here and as it was getting quite late in the afternoon and knowing we were not able to get to the western side of the Murrumbidgee (without gambling on our luck by walking further away from where our car was) we decided to hike back uphill and head back towards our crossing at the High and Dry cache.

Got back to the car just on darkness and although sad we didn't get this cache we promised that we will both come back and attempt it from the western side of the river next time.

This area was great for the views and we will be back for Closure on this cache.

This was my first score on today's adventure. Parked just where the road turns to dirt, which added bout 300m to the river. Nice wander along the track, taking things slowly and cautiously as I could see my second cache for the day in the distance, hot, limited water..

After a tolerable rock scramble, I had both the rapids and GZ in sight. Co-ords spot on for me. No issues in retrieving the cache, just made sure there were no wiggly things beneath with my trusty stick.

No visits in close to 6 months, cache is doing fine. Now the hard stuff starts. Onto Gigerline Guardpost.

Thanks for the Cache TE

What a great walk. The rapids were a sight. After half an hour of searching Princess Geogirl found it. The 'gash' clue was not what we expected.

T- Barnyard toy

L- Simpsons

787 - I really enjoy doing these riverside meanders that Tankengine and others put out.

This one was a bit of a scramble at times which is also a bit of fun. Located the cache, signed and returned and was just about to head off when Sol discovered he'd lost his #@&*% glasses AGAIN ! Backtracking he luckily found them !!

Enjoyed the walk - thanks!

TNLN - TFTC !!

Cheers....

Found with Fitzy_1965 on a sort of early morning walk.

Started from the suggested location and really just followed the GPS. Took about 35 minutes to get to the GZ and then about another 5 to find the cache. (Previously finder must of put the rock back at a slightly different angle.... ) Watched the water flow by for a minute, found my glasses, and then it was a leisurely walk back to the car.

Thanks Tankengine, that's another older one crossed off.

Cheers,

I opted to come in to Murrimbidgee Meander II via the mountain route, the direction that McPhan had initially explored from Smiths Road, then decided against. That was probably a wise move.

Anyway, after much scrabbling along the tops of cliffs and down steep slopes I made it to this beautiful, quiet spot. I found three TB's have been sitting in the cache for about 8 months, so took them all to move them on and left a water pistol. Took some pics, then scrabbled my way back up the mountain.

Thanks Tankengine for a neat cache in an area I had not explored before.

1030. I've had my eye on this one since the non b-i-l moved to Smith's Rd. Last weekend I wandered in from that road thinking about grabbing it then. The landscape very quickly became very steep and I thought I should come back with somebody else.

The non b-i-l accompanied me today and we went from the suggested way. Tough going in bits but a nice spot in the end. Interestingly we headed up the steep bit I wouldn't come down last weekend and after a calf busting climb, the way back was much easier than the way in.

TFTC and this very secluded watery spot.

Rated: for Overall Experience

Went there today with Secret Squirrel and Captain Tomato, just to check! Surely it couldn’t have been muggled? – Well, I don’t know about being muggled, but it definitely wasn’t there! Luckily I had a spare! – Cache is now confirmed back!

798 8:40am with Captain Tomato and Tankengine.

I was a bit worried that we might come up red-faced today - but we didn't. A lovely easy stroll down the riverbank with pleasant company was topped off by the great vista of boulders and rapids at the mini-gorge. This is a great location - see photos I took last year when I was here last.

Thanks Tankengine for the cache replacement, the location and the company.

Dropped off 2 TBs and a geocoin
Discovered Canadian coin

*Overall Experience: 5*
http://wiki.geocaching.com.au/wiki/Rating

Rated: for Overall Experience

Found with Secretquirrel-BJC and Tankengine.

Previous logs say it all. We were very pleased to be able to head back out to this GZ with TE. SS and I were both a bit apprehensive that it may have just been our caching skills that were wanting last visit, but alas the cache had definitely gone missing and a new one was quickly installed. Once again the walk and the company was enjoyable and the mystery (whilst not solved) has been rectified.

Thanks Tankengine for taking the time to follow this up and let us tag along.

Great walk and fantastic location for a cache. SS-BJC said it all. Couldn't find the cache although we now know we were in the exact right spot. We looked, we poked, we reached and prodded, we hung suspended upside down for a better view then did it all again and again. I'd love to get some of that invisibility camo!

Oh well, now we get to enjoy the same walk all over again.....sometime in the future.

Hi Tankengine

Captain Tomato will be contacting you too.

Attempted Murrumbidgee Meander II today. We didn't have the clue pics but everything else took us right to the rock. Coords were spot on. 6M away. Right elevation. What threw us for a while was that the obvious gash wasn't 10cm long! It looks only 5cm long.

We searched and poked thoroughly. CT is a better and more thorough searcher than I tend to be. And then spread the search and then came back to it and did the rock again.

We don't think it is there.

So CT took some photos of the correct rock (not directly of the gash because we thought at the time that it was perhaps too small)

We will have to log a DNF and put the cache on maintenance note. If the cache is really not there when you get around to checking, can we claim a "virtual"? (Cheeky!)

First time I have had an overall experience of 5 and a DNF simultaneously - I loved the location - it was awesome especially with a good flow of water.

*Overall Experience: 5*
http://wiki.geocaching.com.au/wiki/Rating

Rated: for Overall Experience

Is it really there?

Man, I'm tired now. I don't think the hike was as taxing as Molongo Meander, but it still took it out of me. I made good time until the last couple of hundred metres, where I had to scramble over the rocks. It was about then I started questioning my sanity in doing this one alone and not letting anyone know where I was going, as I started to get concerned about slipping and hurting myself.

Still, that didn't happen, and I lived to tell the tale

Lovely little spot. The water level in the river is quite low at the moment, so I wouldn't exactly say they're rapids right now. Still, there was enough water flowing over the rocks to make a very pleasant and relaxing burbling noise, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

TNLNSL TFTC!

VERY VERY TIRED!!! Ok glad I got that off my chest. it was a very interesting cache...trying to climb down a mountainous slop and finding a 10 metre drop at the end, walking a lot further than we had to by wrong turns, and the rocks at the end even challenged geofriend and I let alone Tealby!
anyway...
TNLN.
Sort of TFTC...

I can honestly say I am glad that this cache is behind me - I did not enjoy it! My first mistake was scheduling this after already doing a substantial hike to find The Wind & the Willows. My second (& biggest) mistake is not taking any water with me - I felt like I was going to expire by the time I reached the cache & I still had to get back to the start point. My third mistake was taking along 2 grumbling teens - although this is one cache I would not like to tackle alone.

Nevertheless, after going off track & ending up the hill, then bum-sliding down to be stopped by a sheer cliff, scrambling back up again, then back tracking before we could proceed, we finally made it! I was very thankful for the great picture clue & accurate coords, otherwise I doubt I would have had the energy for a long search. I didn't even have the energy to head over to the rapids - I just had to enjoy from afar. I "only" suffered 2 falls along the way & 1 bumped head & now have a collection of bruises & some sunburn to show for my efforts.

On the return journey I was wondering if a float back downstream would have been much easier! At least we had plenty of water & a picnic lunch to enjoy when we got back to the car. No energy left for swaps! Thanks anyway (I think!) for the adventure Tankengine.

Rated: for Overall Experience

Just popped by to perform minor maintenance...

I decided to do both the numbered Murrumbidgee meanders this weekend maybe not such a great idea.
Made the trek up to this one over the rough and uneven ground, The GPS must have been having a hard time in the valley as it was pointing to the other side close to the cache, thankfully it settled down while I was looking for a way across. Found the cache fairly easy after that. swapped a duck and sheep for some tabs and a pin.
I took the high way back out as it was easier than clambering back over all the rocks and making a path through the bushes.
TFTC thats another one down.

This one is definitely no 'meander', and not for the geokids!
After first successfully visiting the "Tharwa'nd Away" cache, we worked our way half way up on the right river bank along an existing path before deciding to cross over to the left bank when the path petered out and the long dry grass got a bit much.
I think it was a mistake however as the last 300 metres was a torturous rock climb and crossing back over to the right hand side river bank would have entailed a swim in deep water. Fortunately at the location of the cache there were some boulders enabling us to rock hop over to the other side.
We didn't have the photos of the cache location to guide us, however it was fairly easy to find using the hint "You can only see it with your head near the ground.".

The trip back was along the right bank, and although we got covered in 'black' charcoal, scratched and bleeding, and our socks looked like porcupines from the grass seeds, we made it back in half the time.

I think if I was to try this one again I would try coming in on one of the fire trails.

Chan Clan

found this with Kiwijam

Well that was an adventure.
I must still be a newbie at heart, because we arrived at the carpark with a printout of page 1 of the cache, and off we headed.
Never having seen the photos, which would have saved an hour's searching (I think it was just a lack of blood sugar that meant we couldn't "think like Thomas" when pondering the clues). We finally found it well after we'd both given up (but couldn't stop looking ).
And never read the logs, which at least would have made us take it a bit more seriously. Food and drink springs to mind. The Hill 4's log seems familiar!
One of our group gave up halfway (admittedly was meandering without footwear and half-paddling the river ), but two of us made it to the zone, having fun copying Sam & Frodo in Emyn Muil...
Only a few cuts and bruises, but the vegetation is starting to thrive along the river bank. But the wombat we met on the way back made it all worthwhile (for us foreign types).
Thanks Thomas for quite an adventure for us 'urban cachers'.
Took truck, left truck.

Of course, if one approaches the GZ from the SW, one can easily ride one's mountain bike to the edge of the rocky escarpment, then a mere clamber down of 30m or so and one is there. And then back again to the bike & riding again back to the fire trail.
The pine forest SW of GZ has lots of fire trails easily accessible by MTB, off Smith's road.

My the river is LOW after seeing the latest photos!

This was another one of those caches that has been on my to-do list for quiet a long time, so you know how it goes. Have holiday, go caching.

I had read the log notes for this cache before I set off but they did not sink in. This was really hard work and I should have not done it by myself, but you know us crazy cachers. Always in for a challenge.
The river is getting very low so I was able to cross back and forth a few times on my way up the river to try and find the best way, not sure if I was very successful. On one of the crossing I fell over and landed heavily on one of my fingers, which really swelled up the next day.
At the cache location I grabbed the cache quickly. All those hints where a winner.

On my walk back I went up onto the hill along the edge of the river and followed the fence line home. Much easier. But not as pretty.

I left a toy snake in the cache and took nothing.

I'm wondering if this cache is getting harder as the vegetation returns since the fires … If it is now anything like ‘Going Commando’ then maybe the terrain rating should go up a little!!! Well done 2 Leg Drive!

Let me add to The Hill 4's hints: Don't wear white pants. They weren't all that white by the time I got back. The thought of snakes concerned me for a while.
When I was learning about bushwalking, long ago, I was told that unless you corner a snake they will generally slither away long before you reach them. A few times I certainly hoped that the snakes in this area also knew that.
This was certainly an energy sapping walk, in an area I had never been to before. Although I cursed some of the way in and some of the way out when I finally got back to the car I felt a great sense of satisfaction. Thanks goes to ThomasS. TNLN.s

Having just done Tharwa'nd Away and being in need of drying time, we had to do this as it was nearby (Sort of). Hint #1- do not wear silly strappy shoes when attempting this cache. They ripped apart and we were still 1 km from the cache! Still, we didn't think we'd be doing all this caching today. Hint #2- Look at photos of the site BEFORE you go there, NOT AFTER as we did! Hint #3- Don't start this an hour before sunset! All said and done, what a great cache! Left bouncy ball from Tharwa'nd Away, took Maximillian stubby holder.

Beautiful day for the walk and nice spot. Eventually found it after a little bit of searching. I thought I saw bike tracks going to it (amazing) and read where Mtbikeroz had got to it a few days before.

Took the froggie stick figure and left some PostIt page tabs.

I think the best way to do this cache would be in a Kayak as it would be a nice paddle along a nice stretch of water. But not having a boat I plodded along the river following guess who’s tyre tracks. Very nice location just wanted to jump in and get wet but checking my watch I realized I had an hour to get back to the city for a course.

Ahh - a true challenge for MTBIKEROZ to get his bike to that one, but get it there he did. And rode 1.2km of the 2.0km from the gate. The rest was either push through (burnt) shrubbery or carry uphill & over humungus rocks.

Found some jelly beans in the cache - yum - left a highlighter. An energy swap for a picture thingy - fair.

This region is familar to me, as I have often ridden in the forests just SW of here, thus knowing where I was, I decided to take the EASIER route back home. I knew just over the crest of the hill above me, there was an old forest trail, so, I carried my bike up the hill, rode 200m across the grass & found the track, just where I knew it would be. It was then an easy ride to ride to Smith's road, and COOOEEE down the hill to have another shot at Panic's Tharw'nd Away.

PS - I think that rock is more like 4 tonnes.

The Canberra Geocaching Dictionary defines the word 'meander' as 'a pleasant walk polluted with rocks, sure to test one's ankles'. I will know what to expect the next time a cache with the word 'meander' in its title appears.

The first 600 metres is easy, but then the fun begins. There the rocks climb over, followed by the aimless wandering (where's the track?) through the burnt trees that leave black marks all over your clothes. Did I mention the numerous wombat holes? [B)] Scattered around are numerous flowers including Paterson's curse and california poppy.

The last 100 metres is the hardest, but the view is worth it in the end.

Thanks for the jelly beans Underhill. I didn't eat them all as I had a museli bar as well. Left a froggie plant tie and a lollipop.

Oh - as I was packing up the thunder rolled in and the sky went dark. Damn that's a big storm. That lightning is above my head1 To cut a long story short, I made it into the car and fifteen seconds later the rain belted down. Phew!

My first virgin cache!! The cliffs shuddered to my barbaric YAWP!! I am glad I did this on friday rather than waiting till the weekend as the saturday storms may have forced me into more aquatic transport. An easy enough find once I tested my endurance levels. Sturdy shoes and a drink a must for this one. Thanks ThomasS for exposure to another of the ACT's great hidden treasures. Took Pooh Bear stickers left jelly beans( I think somebody might appreciate these after the walk ).

Ahh, I see. I knew there would be a simple explanation. No wonder it took you 1.5 hours to do Photogenic, you didn't have the final coords and had to follow those photos.

How can I ever compete with Thomas S? I mean he has a car that has more computers and technology built into it than my PC. I drive a glorified tractor with a casette radio. He has a GPSr with a joystick on it and maps installed. I have basic E-Trex. He has software that allows him to plot the location of geocaches. I resort to my topo maps and the street directory.
But all that's nothing. Now he has some sort of smart technology that can tell him which rocks weigh two tonnes. Okay, I give up now, I just can't compete.

That’s just a side effect of my teleporter… To conserve the law of momentum, it can only teleport to a place where an equal amount of mass can be displaced! – The weight of the teleporter + myself currently equals 2 tons! this means that the rock was actually at my home whilst I was at the cache. – I needed to get my wife to photograph the rock in the driveway. (I never actually saw it). I expect the gash in the rock was caused by a minor glitch in the space-time continuum during the teleportation process.

This is the 100th cache within 100 miles of my home location.....

well I guess that's only cool if your me...