Monkey Puzzle Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, Australia
By Mr Darcy & Lizzie on 18-Sep-04. Waypoint GCKM2P

I was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago. I can no longer maintain the caches on a regular basis.

Further, the Local Council has closed the tracks around the cache so it is not accessible. So the cache is still there. It is not far from home so I will remove it as soon as the tracks are re-opened.

I can't believe any of the previous attempters didn't see there were more than several ways to get to WP2. I even did the Overcliff-Undercliff walk in between. It was only when I got to GZ I couldn't find it. Even taking in a lot of the previous clues and searching for a while, I was unsuccessful. Amazing first way points though.

Yes the walking track is closed, but it is entirely possible to get to all points, if with a little more difficulty. The March rains washed out some or all of the work repair work done after last year's washouts. Sigh.

The start can be seen from the fence.
WP 2 can be reached from the Falls carpark.
WP3 is unnecessary as you will need to use the alternate waypoint listed to access GZ legally.

I came to collect the information at the first waypoint, but that's as far as one can go at the moment. The walking track has been closed for many months, and is still barricaded. Hopefully, the remedial work will be done soon.

Apparently still closed.

Charles Darwin Walk was closed so we could not find it needs to be put off line until track reopens

Charles Darwin Walk was closed so we could not find it

Had to work hard for this one wouldn’t have found it without the hint

Yahoo!!! After my fifth attempt at this one. Just about to give up again and wammo there it was. However, the hiding place was not consistent with several of the earlier logs. I'm thinking that the spot has been changed for some reason. Not that I'm complaining as I can finally tick this one off.

A couple of days visiting the Blue Mountains area and we decided to park up and give this one a go as the walk looked very pleasant - even though the weather wasn't. Info gathered at WP1 and set of for WP2. Great stroll down to the second clue stage and after a further walk on to check out the waterfalls we made or way on to GZ - followed the instructions (I don't think we would have even reached GZ had we not) and soon found ourselves in search mode. Took a little while and with no hint many possible places to check. Viv eventually shouted 'found it' and the logbook was signed.
A great walk but a shame the weather was not so great as the views were marred by mist and rain
Still gets a fav point though
TFTC
Tim and Viv - ddm

While waiting for the mechanic to check the car for our pink slip we decided to do this cache. It was a pleasant day and a delightful walk to the view and back xcollecting all the information on the way for the final co-ords. Amazingly all the information was easily found and I didn't stuff up on anything as I usually do with multis. Cache contents was a little damp but otherwise in good order. TFTC

Liked this one. Got calculations, walked in his footsteps, very scenic and great spot for a cache along the walk. Liked waypoint 2. So much to explore another day there. Quick find at gz. Cache all good. Fav point. Tftc

A pleasant walk. Despite being a Thursday, there were still a few walkers along the track. Great placement for the cache, off a quiet side track. Took us 1h 40min at our leisurely senior's pace. TFTC and the great exercise.

A beautiful day for this walk. Have always avoided it before because of the crowds (and man it was busy!), but well worth it.

A nice little multi.

TFTC

#3964 (2 of 5 today)

Up in the Blue Mountains to try to complete a First2Find on a long multi started a few days ago. With that out of the way decision was made to grab another multi with a high-ish D/T rating, then finish off with some Park & Grabs.
We went for 6 and found 5 before heading home.
###END OF CUT AND PASTE SECTION###
After our big multi two of us decided to continue on and grab a few more caches before heading back. This one was both close and had a rarer D/T. I'm just glad I'm not as sore as I was yesterday...

We grabbed the info at the published coordinates and did our calculations. Looks logical. We took the quick way there... ah more steps!
Familiar area for the second waypoint. Grabbed that info and got a logical spot for GZ. Well, that's good.

The direct way was closed so we took an alternate trail for a short way.
Pleasant walk to GZ - and started the search... oh, it's sitting on the ground out in the open.

Made the grab - all good.
We completed signing duties and replaced - hopefully a little more securely.

I've survived another walk. Phew! Now for the P&Gs.

SLTNLN
TFTC

28/4/17 Found with Gatherer Hade. A nice walk on a perfect day in the Blue Mountains. I needed this cache to fill a spot in for the second loop towards my Fizzy Change (Difficulty / Terrain rating). Thanks For The Multi Cache.

Had got up here for an event at the conservation hut and had a few hours to spare as work had been finished early because of the rain, but when I got here there was a break in the tail of a cyclone. However 2 hours later I was pretty well much soaked. Loved following in the footsteps of Darwin. Some extra information along the way was good. Found the maths for wp1 a little confusing. Tftc tnln

First cache of a fantastic day in the Bluies! Stepped out of the train and straiw into a cloud! Wrapped up in a raincoat and hat donned, I really didnt care what the weather was going to throw at me today! Very pretty little park before decending onto a trail that looked out of Lord of the Rings with an eerie mist which always hung 30m in front. After gathering the information at WP2, I had to disappointingly turn back for the cache. After an easy find I came back to the top of the falls to admire the grand views of a... er ... complete white out! It was actually spectacular in its own right and gave the lower falls and 'endless top' when standing below them. TFTC!!!

TFTC Thank you for going to the effort of hiding this cache. You have shown us a new place and have helped make geocaching an enjoyable activity.

#7329 @1500
In Katoomba for a conference. With a free afternoon, I made a beeline for this cache particularly for the D/T rating combination, but it was worth doing regardless. I chose the long option and thoroughly enjoyed the walk. Very impressed with the views near WP2. I hope I get another opportunity to return and explore further down. Those trails look interesting. Information easily collected, cache soon found. TFTC

This day was for a walk in and around Wentworth Falls. So we took the Darwin Walk down to the falls, to the National Pass, further on to conservation hut and to this EC, back to the Station via Darwin Walk.

This puzzled as. First we didn't get WP2 correct and standing on the wrong coordinates. Recalculating it and saw it was on the way. Went there to see, that a small way that would help is quicker. Struggleed then a bit with the questions, but decided, that one of the two options is better, so we decided to go for this.
The final still is 10m away from given coordinates, but after somer search we could find it.

So far seen on this trip: Thailand, New Zealand and Australia.

TFTC from a geocacher on his journey through the world.

Danke!

After a semester abroad in New Zealand, I travel around Sydney and the blue mountains with MMXX now. There are plenty of amazing spots to discover.
Thanks for placing a geocache here and sorry that I keep my logs short.

On a visit to Wentworth Falls we found this cache. We enjoyed the walk down the creek. Then we climbed up to Rocket Point.

Thanks for the cache.

Wow, that was quite a walk! No problems finding the info I needed at each of the waypoints, I think there were a few people thinking I was extremely lost but whatevs, the secret path was surprisingly easy to find, but the cache itself was a real struggle. I found it about 11 metres from where my GPS was pointing me too, but certainly a more logical position. Still in good condition. TFTC

Reperio at 0925.

Having grown up in the upper mountains, and being a fan of Charles Darwin, my wife has been meaning to visit this walk for quite a while, so when the chance to finally do so came this weekend, we both jumped at it. As we ventured down the trail, we started to recount the various travels of Darwin in Australia, and imagined him wandering down to the creek here in search of new species. As the day was perfect for walking, we passed by no less than 50-60 people all out enjoying the trail. At WP1, we collected the information required, and commenced our walk to WP2. The walk was fantastic, and we found many great spots to stop at along the way. At WP2, we carefully worked out the numbers needed, plotted our GZ, and then headed straight to it. We found the place to cross over, and then the hunt was on. The coords had us searching 10m from where the cache was, and I this undergrowth, that's quite a bit of ground to cover. After a decent search of the area, I read back over previous logs, and a couple stood out which helped us eventually locate the cache, much to our delight. Really enjoyed this walk.

Gratias Mr Darcy.

Seriously though, did it need to be so far from waypoint two?! I almost considered stopping after getting the final coordinates because it was a ways in the wrong direction, but I don't really know how to quit.

Believe it or not the search was interrupted by a muggle. I found it when I turned around to look at the source of the noise. The cache I found was marked as a replacement with a date of March. I thought the year was 2014, but I could be remembering that part incorrectly.

Nice walk. Upon reaching the cache coordinates took a while to find the cache, a mix of terrain difficulty and GPS inaccuracy. Found it seemingly accidentally, stepping down a ledge and my foot landing on top of the box. TFTC

We had a good hunt around but couldn't find it. Perhaps we'll come back tomorrow.

Attending the Bluies Autumn event and a mention by bisygisy and blissbaby that the elusive mr darcy was in attendance and there was a plan afoot to seek the whereabouts of Monkey Puzzle, all three of us having previously DNFed on the final WP.

An short exit from the event to adjourn to the other side of Wentworth Falls and a different track approach to a previously 'well searched' area for a further less enthused search awaiting the arrival of Mr Darcy with the requisite cache replacement.

Hmmm, the CO promptly stepped to where there had really been little heart in searching ... and though his initial response after a puzzled explore was the cache indeed was missing, it was blissbaby with a tap tap tap discovered the as it was undisturbed cache in excellent condition.

Thanks to bisygisy and blissbaby for the presence of mind to 'corner' Mr Darcy ... and of course Many Thanks to Mr Darcy for the patience and guidance to GZ, and, indeed, for the Multi that wound its way along a great mountains walkway. TFTC

(A belated log ... a catchup with GSAK database.)

I met blissbaby for the first time today and we managed to find Mr Darcy at the Autumn Bluies Event and we spoke to him about his Monkey puzzle cache. He said he would do a cache check with us and we went down the track where you start the Wentworth Falls night cache. I also had a DNF on this one as well. Once at the right spot we attempted to find again to no avail. Mr Darcy arrived a short time later and noticed we were close but not close enough. Mr Darcy went home first to get a replacement container. He attempted to find the cache but failed and blissbaby had a go and felt the container with whitemushrooms stick. So there was no need to replace and the mystery was finally solved. Thanks Mr Darcy, blissbaby and whitemushroom for a great time out geocaching.

This entry was edited by bisygisy on Monday, 04 May 2015 at 05:27:32 UTC.

I went to the event in Wentworth Falls today hoping to either meet someone who had done this cache and could give me a hint or the cache owner with the same request. check on both counts which was extra special given the CO hasn't been caching for a while due to other commitments.
Bisygisy and White Mushroom were keen as well when Mr Darcy said he would check on the cache this afternoon and we could tag along. We went ahead down the path which in reality today was pretty much a little creek due to all the recent rain. what a pretty area. we all recognised the right general area from our previous attempts but still hadn't come up with the prize when Mr Darcy came along with the replacement cache, which as it happens he didn't need. He poked around in the right spot as did I as we debated the possibility of the cache having floated away when I tapped in the right spot with my stick and we all said "that sounds more like it!" and yes there it was; log dry; pen working even after so long in the damp unfound. great cache, I really enjoyed the walk along 'Darwins Walk' last year to get the clues, this cache is well worth the favourite point from me. Thanks for your time and help this afternoon Mr Darcy.

Checked in the company of a few fellow cachers who had been unable to find the final cache.
After they tried for a while I had a go and couldn't find it. I was about to replace it when one of the others exclaimed "What's this!". Still in place and in surprisingly good condition.

I have raised the difficulty to 4 in view of the fact that three experienced cachers AND the owner had trouble finding it. I have also removed the EVINCE calculator as that appears to be returning a false negative.

i enjoyed my walk along this track this morning even though i didn't come up with the prize. while i didn't try it out in the field my co-ordinates are wrong according to evince tonight but i felt i was in the correct general area of WP3, guess I'll have another go another time - before the weather warms up and the snakes come out!

Set out, following a quick calculation of WP2, on a grand blue sky* Mnts morn with All Strung Out and bisygisy on the Darwin Walk. Another 'hidden' gem barely off the highway, this meandering track most pleasant with but a few steps to clamber. Early winter and one could well appreciate the spring and the flowers that would colour the area.

A fair walk but WP2 was easy to find and the sign 'clues' calculated - a word of caution, leave the proofreader behind, with a tendency to read every word for ambiguities. The puzzler 'evince' did not agree, the party of three on momentary self-indulgent wanders, after the 'whose where?' catch-up the coords that made 'sense' and ASO's general knowledge of the possibilities were put to the test.

Given the 'crossing', the distance to GZ, the dodgy coords all did appear to coincide, the area for the seek was thoroughly picked over for no reward. A belated PAF description of the track also did seem to confirm the search area was near to correct. After much ponder and dither, it decided Mr Darcy would be contacted and the error of our ways be corrected for the next attempt.

*The blue sky degenerated into a black/grey and a drizzled return walk ... a cautionary lesson of the mtns weather vagaries.

We thought we had the right co-ordinates only for evince not to confirm them. AllStrungOut used all his interpretting skills from read logs to get us to GZ. I will email the CO for some help as we (AllStrungOut,whitemushroom and myself) spent ages scouring the area. Thanks for the hunt.

Our party of 3 (whitemushroom, bizygisy & I) met at WP1 with high hopes of finding this cache, once WP2 Coords were sorted, off we went along this great little walking track, on arrival at waypoint 2 it was soon noticed it may be possible to interpret details from the sign in a few different ways, we tried 2 or 3 on Evince, with no success, but all options seemed close. While killing a bit of time before attempting another Evince, whitemushroom disappeared! I attempted to catch up to him in the direction I thought he had went .........500Meters of jogging and I was starting to think the old fungi had grown new legs and sprinted back to the car. The phone rang and it was 'the 'shroom', he was behind me so I waited for him and Bisy to catch up. We think we found GZ (probably did) though with 30 minutes of searching ---No cache . We gave up ....but will be back. Thanks for bringing us to this great location.

After a false start with interpreting the requirements to identify WP2, a revisit corrected the misinformation allowing me to reach the WP on a rainy mountains morning. A more adventures route was taken reaching WP3 with shimming across a fallen tree across the creek. The GPS was inconsistent with which way it wanted to lead me. After an our looking, looking, looking no cache was found. With 10 months between finds a lot of new growth has occurred to make it an even more challenging find. Will have to re check the clues and check I was in the correct location.

TFTH

The rain overnight will have put out any fires still burning in the area
Happy hunting

Disabled because of bushfire threat. Do NOT come here.

Solved today but ran out of battery before find was made. Took 3 goes at evince, needed two minor corrections. Looking forward to coming back here soon

Found with paulyman while visiting the Blue Mountains this weekend. I loved this walk, but searching for the cache took us over an hour. Eventually we resorted to reading the logs and finding a trusty stick to poke with. Grabbed the geocoin, TFTC.

I've walked this track many times before, and it has changed a fair bit in that time.

Found waypoint 1 and 2 easy enough, and calculated GZ.

At GZ snorris and I spent over an hour, possibly an hour and a half of fruitless searching. But there was no way we were heading for home empty handed! Eventually we resorted to previous logs, and so, with the help of a stick we finally heard the "thud" and made the find.

Thanks for a frustratingly good and well thought out cache.

We have been meaning to do this geocache for a long time given that it is in our backyard, but we have found it difficult to find the couple of hours needed for this cache. On this rare occasion were we had no geokids with us we took the opportunity to set forth on this puzzle.

We have walked Darwins walk many times but have never gone to gz and after a little bit of consternation we stumbled (literally) upon the cache. The new log was nice and dry and in good order. Thanks for bringing us on this journey, it was time well spent. TNLNSL. TFTC.

I revisited the cache to get the tracking number of the coin I dropped off. I photographed it with a macro lens to make sure I would have the numbers right when I got home. The photo is clears as, but the code comes up as "this trackable does not exist". Maybe there's a glitch, or maybe it has never been activated. It remains there for the next finder either way. It explains why did not have it in my possession anyway.

EDIT: I tried the code one last time. It worked. Not sure what I did wrong. Coin is now dropped off.

I replaced the container and the logbook as the old one refused to dry out properly. I wrapped the logbook in two ziplock bags, so hopefully it will stay dry now.

Removed all contents except one coin I dropped in, only to discover that I do not officially have it in my possession. I will get back down there in the the next week or two and note the number so I can update its location. If you do the cache in the meantime, please grab the coin from wherever it thinks it is and get it back on track.

I also dropped in an Eclipse tin for use by someone as a cache container.

Please make this a log and trackables only cache in future as it has a history of filling with water after heavy rain.

I checked on this over the weekend. Clues are in place as was the cache, but it was full of water!
I am currently drying out the log book, and will replace it ASAP.

Wonderful hike in a beautiful area. Loved this one!

Wow, what a day! Exhausted but happy with the find. Very very nice multicache

Wow what a work. Well worth the effort!!

What a great high quality multi. Awesome views along the track which built up a killer appetite but well worth it.

With Mandi, UCanFindMojo, Syslox & Lou-natic

TFTC!

Nice walk down the creek, and good puzzles. Thanks!

All dry now.

I dropped in today to check on it. Not as bad as I feared, but it is slightly damp inside.
I have brought the container home with me to dry out for a few days. I will return it when it is all good again.

Geokiddies with help from AuntyAunty on a sunny Sunday.
"very muddy. Inside the cache was damp".

After two reports of a wet cache, I will disable it until I can dry it out.

Well the geokiddies really enjoy this walk, so it was a nice bonus to find this spot on the way. Friends came with us to experience their first treasure hunt!
After having one of our numbers wrong, we soon realized that the middle of Wentworth Falls town centre probably didn't match the description of GZ, we fixed our error, luckily we were only 100 metres from the turn off to the right location!

Package was a bit wet, with some water and mud inside. All the kids took a little something, and we left lots for others to find!

TFTC!

(Left a lovely coin to be found!)

tricky bit of work. log book a bit damp, wee we have had a lot of rain lately.

found with dad

found with dad

Emboldened by the sunshine, and with geokids, my dad and sister all visiting, I thought a picnic in the park followed by a stroll along the famous walk to GZ would make for a lovely afternoon.

But there were a few little gotchas along the way. First, as we were getting close to the junction, a raincloud popped up and hang around for 30 minutes getting everyone a bit wet and frazzled. Then, it turns out I had misread the clue, and we crossed at the wrong point, such that we ended up with something that looked close enough to an established path for us to head along it, but rapidly degenerated into a wet & spiky bush bash. At this point, the kids let me know pretty clearly they had stopped having fun, and I also started to doubt my GZ calculations had been correct.

Fortunately the CO was kind enough to respond to my SOS SMS with enough pointers to get us back on track, and shortly thereafter I had cache in hand.

And then the sun came out so we could sign the log. We also swapped a pink comb and a stubby cooler for silly bands and butterflies. Then back the 'proper' way, which was much more agreeable, and by the time we got back to WP1, the kids were running to play on the monkey bars.

BTW I tried the coordinates I calculated for GZ in the evince verifier, and it said I was incorrect, although they do seem to match where I found the cache.

Thank you Mr Darcy for the cache and the assistance in my hour of need!


This entry was edited by jonnosan on Saturday, 15 October 2011 at 06:44:40 UTC.

I made it to WP2 and calculated the location of GZ, I then got within 65m of GZ but the recent rain made a final assault impractical. By the time I had returned to my car, it was too late to try the alternate way in. I shall return when the sun is shining!

This is a great walk, even in the drizzle.

After several failed attempts at photographing WP2, I finally got enough information off the new signs to recalculate GZ.

Note that the last few metres of the track to GZ is becoming very overgrown. It needs more visitors.

I have it on good authority that the sign at WP2 has been replaced. As finding GZ depends on the information on the sign, I am disabling it until I can get down there myself and rework the clues to fit the new sign.

This seemed like a good choice for my 300th cache, so since bikerbuddy & I needed to be in Wentworth Falls for something this morning, I asked him if he'd mind doing this walk with me.

We set off in fine weather & were soon at WP1, with WP2 easily calculated. We then set off on a fantastic walk down to WP2 and came upstuck. I'm lucky I had a previous finder of this one with me, one who knew what the sign I was after looked like, so I didn't have to wander around puzzling over why the sign at WP2 didn't match up with the questions to be answered.

A quick call was made to the CO who was nice enough to give us the final coordinates for this one, and who then walked down to GZ to meet us & watch with amusement as I hunted for the cache. Eventually found it, after stumbling around blindly for a bit.

Thanks Mr Darcy, I enjoyed doing this cache, wet feet & all! And thank you for saving me the second soaking today .

I took the geocoin that had been staying in this cache for over a year.

Found on the third day of our adventures in Wentworth Falls. And I had the added pleasure of meeting the CO (and his wife) on 'Monkey Puzzle' home ground!

The escapades of Mrs. pjmpjm and me were similar to the story already told in online logs by BikerBuddy and WaywardWoman, who were actually at or near GZ at the same time we were there. Mrs. pjmpjm spotted them from our nearby lookout vantage point, and we 'crossed over' later only after their family had left. We of course had no idea at that time that they were fellow geocachers . . .

Turns out we all calculated exactly the same set of GZ coordinates, which were slightly 'out' because of sign misadventures. Not to worry. An e-mail to Mr. Darcy brought the necessary clarification. And I scurried over again on my own today, taking the alternative route -- and eventually turned up the end result in a tupperware container, watched over by the CO.

TNLNSL. Cache and contents were dry and OK, within about 3 metres of the coordinates given by the Oregon 300. But it did take some searching in the end . . .

Many, many thanks to Mr. Darcy for setting the cache up in the first place, for working to sort things out after the 'Monkey Puzzle' trail re-opened after a long closure, and especially for his kind visit to GZ this afternoon. It was lots of fun and the attempt brought us back to a great trail we might never have re-visited.

I can highly recommend this one to everyone looking for a genuine Blue Mountains adventure!

Second try was lucky! TFTC

TFTC

I had laboured in the garden for six days mowing, removing ivy and weeds, and I said to the geowife, it's the seventh day, about time we rested.

I'd had my eye on this cache for a while, and when I saw that Mr Darcy had put it back up, I wanted to do it. So we set off in the afternoon and headed to a park (and a walk) dedicated to a man who has fractured many a fairy tale. We quickly had the coordinates for WP2 sorted and we were off. At WP2 we thought we had the coordinates for GZ in hand, too, when we seemed to come unstuck. We found the required path, and the turnoff across the creek, but NickoHeap and I came up zilch on our search. Besides, the coordinates weren't fitting the distance suggested in the clue.

We went back down to the creek, recalculated and came up with the same coordinates. Something was wrong. By this time I guessed it was something with the questions, and no-one had noticed because we were the first to attempt this cache this year (we thought) with a new set of questions to compensate for the missing signboard. So I took a guess at which question was wrong, figured out what might be a likely solution and plotted it to within the correct distance according to the clue. Off again for another look, but again, zilch.

By this time we knew we weren't going to find it, so we called it quits and headed home. An email to Mr Darcy revealed there was something wrong, except it wasn't the question we had suspected. It's fixed, now, so if you want to do this cache, it's all okay again. We went back to Wentworth Falls again this afternoon after a morning of laying woodchip, and we found the cache after a short search. NickoHeap spotted it with his eagle eyes, a few metres from where we expected, according to the GPS.

On reflection, I recall that they put John Scopes on trial in 1925 for playing with monkeys, and today we overcame a monkey trial of sorts, ourselves. I think things worked out better for us than Mr Scopes, however. All was good, and we went home happy.

Thanks Mr Darcy for your efforts. Another fine cache.

After going back twice, we cracked the code and the team found the cache. A very enjoyable walk with some great scenery along the way. Yesterday we came in from the W.Falls picnic site and walked down. Today we took a different path, since we knew exactly where we were going. Thanks for the effort that goes into your caches! Yet another track which I didn't know existed as a tribute to the Man! TFTC

Had a nice walk up and down the 'Monkey Puzzle' trail over the past two days. Miscalculation and lack of time led us to return the second time, but then darkness fell as were approaching WP3 and GZ. Will check with the CO for advice. In the meantime, we can recommend this beautiful walk to everyone. Most of the 'upper' trail has been fixed up and of course the 'lower' trail leads on into many other adventures.

The track that is the direct connector between WP1, WP2 and GZ has now been reopened.
Should you wish to avoid the creek crossing between WP2 and GZ, you may use WP4 and come in from the other side. Be aware though that it is a significant detour.

OK boys and girls, I've dropped the container back in place, and rejigged the clues to take into account the damaged sign at WP2
For now though, and for the foreseeable future, the track between WP1 and WP2 remains closed. This is a shame as it is one of the loveliest short walks in the mountains.
The track is navigable with care though difficult in places, however as it is officially closed, I cannot recommend you use it.

GZ is about 50 m off this main track on an offshoot track. I have added WP4 which is the other end of the offshoot, so you can get to the cache without using the closed track. This adds about 5km by road to the trek, but it is a nice walk, and you avoid the creek crossing. GZ is a 300 or 400m walk from WP4. The track is a little overgrown in places, but always obvious, and never difficult.

I will also increase the terrain difficulty until the main track is reopened.

I am monitoring the track. Sadly, it is still closed.

I have been down to check on this cache. It will remain offline for a while yet.
The cache itself is OK, although thoroughly waterlogged. I have taken it home to dry it out.

The walking track between WP1 and WP2 remains closed. It is likely to remain so officially for some time yet. It is relatively easy to navigate, but at least (I only walked part of the track) one bridge over the stream has been washed away - it is easy to rock hop at that point. Others have received significant damage: missing planks and/or handrails. Several of the boardwalks are also damaged or missing. Not hard to get by with care though. There have also been numerous small landslides, none affecting the track itself though. The torrent of water coming down here at the height of the storm must have been truly phenomenal.

Of greater significance, the sign at WP2 is now missing part of the information required to solve the clue. I will attempt to rework the puzzle around the state of the sign, and possibly add another waypoint so that the closed track can be bypassed. This will take a while.

Went for a walk down this way yesterday, and discovered that the track that the cache is based on has been "closed until further notice" due to damage caused by the recent heavy rains. Apparently the new boardwalks put in late last year have been washed away.

I will check on the cache itself ASAP.

I checked it this morning. The track has been opened again at long last, so this is good to go.

We checked again today.
One of the closure signs up has been altered to say it is closed until the 16th October. The barricades are still in place though (Trampled down in many places.)
We walked one section & the work is clearly not finished, so still off limits unfortunately.
#%&^$@ Local Council "Workers"

WP1 and WP2 are both easily accessible as they are not in the closed section. GZ IS still accessible, but the access point is about 5Km by car from WP2 - it is on the other side of the vlalley, and not at all obvious.
So I will leave the cache off line off line for now.

Will continue to monitor.

The main track was supposed to have been opened on Friday, but we checked today and the closure signs are still up. They still say that the track is closed until 2 Oct so I don't know whether the track is open & they forgot to take down the signs or they just didn't update the signs & have decided to keep it closed longer.

We did check part of the track & it seemed OK, but will leave the cache unavailable for now to be on the safe side.

Dropped a coin in anticipation of the re-opening.

The track that allows ready access to GZ has been closed for maintenance. Until October 2 according to the sign.
While there is another way to reach it, the start of that unmarked track is about 5km by road from WP2.

The cache itself is fine. If you are desperate to complete this cache before then, message me with your coordinates for GZ. If correct, I will reply with the coordinates of the start of the alternate track.
Allow for a day or two turnaround though. I only check messages every day or so.

Found it. Nice walk.

Well, Did this one over 2 days. As we were staying nearby with our Walking group for a Xmas in June weekend, I decided to do a pre walk and grab a waypoint or 2 on the way. Ran out of daylight about 300M from WP2 but knew I would be passing through on the next day.
Day 2 and after walking across to Conservation Hut, down Valley of the Waters to the base of the cliff, up Slack's Stairs and onward and upward to the top of the falls, got to WP2.
Decoded and was pleasantly surprised (and happy) that I did not have to double back. Headed back up the pathway and across to grab the final GZ. Co-ords were a little out but with the Rain, wet trees etc. it was understandable. Noticed an area that may have been visited before and with a prod of the walking pole heard the distinguishable 'thud'. Bingo!
Thanks for the pleasant walk through this park and will use it again as a start for our next walk in the mountains.
Grabbed the Geocoin and signed the Log.

Coin Drop.
A couple of nice stamps in the log.
We unknowingly have had portraits of the Vikings on our walls at home for several years now

Mr Darcy & [:X][:X][:X]Lizzie[:X][:X][:X]

This was a really great walk, I especially liked the rocks up on the hillside. With the "Caching in the Bluies" event on, I decided this was the cache to do first up before heading off for a bit of social chit-chat.

So up at 5:15am, get all the gear together, breakfast, drive. I was excited to find the first waypoint with no trouble and headed off for the second. After being too clever for myself, I found WP2 quickly as well and deciphered the final GZ co-ords. After that, my brain went downhill.

I confused myself as to which direction I needed to head for a while then eventually set off, reaching a "nearly GZ" co-ordinate very easily. However, with my brain now totally locked into wrong information, I searched for a long time with no luck.

I decided I might have got the clues wrong so retraced my steps to WP2 to check. Nup, I had them right.

If only I had my mobile phone, I could have rung for a hint Back to the car, rang, got the hint and headed out again.

Finally I got to a spot where the gps said I was within 5 metres and I started to search. A while passed....then I found the cache

All up I spent 4 hours walking about 10km but it was a very worthwhile experience. I learnt some more valuable lessons (have the brain turned on at all times!) and had a really great walk in a lovely area.

Thanks to Mr Darcy and Lizzie for a great cache

Last cache for an active day in nice weather in the Blue Mountains. Took the car between the different way-points or else we would not have beaten the setting sun.
Coordinates were all spot on. Took GC 'Van Helsing's sister', left comb + letter opener.

Trackable Drop.
The path from the hint location is getting very overgrown.
The monkey needs more visitors!

After visiting Scottish rock the other day & finding it waterlogged, I decided I'd better check up on Monkey Puzzle. All good.
Took the coin that has been languishing here for a few months. I will move it on soon, and hopefully will be able to drop another one in to replace it in a few days.

There used to be 2 sets of signs at WP2. NPWS have removed one of them - the unused one thank goodness! So I have updated the long description to reflect this. Oh have I mentioned it before? The carpark near WP2 has been reopened.

Came back and got it!

Was a bit further than arm's reach from the track, a couple of steps.

Saw the muggles ignoring the no-pet rule. So agree with this comment.

Took Geocoin. It reads "You WILL go caching .... You WILL go caching .... You WILL go caching .... " How appropriate. Six in five days. I'm hooked.

Left Geocoin. Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Found WP1 and WP2 (Bent sign?) and got the right co-ordinates (the clue read true) for GZ. But unfortunately after twenty minutes no luck and fog rolling in.

Try again soon.

Dropped by to check on the cache, and to place a coin in it.

The car park is open again

A truly nice bushtrack, but finding the cache was a pain. Firstly the hint was essential pointing out the correct approach. Then I searched for a very long time without success. Had already concluded this as an DNF, but turned back for the final poking around. Soon afterwards my stick hit plastic - the familiar sound has rarely been so welcome

I actually checked on WP2 a week or so ago.
The second sign has been removed, possibly as part of the refurbishment of this part of the park. There is also some damage to the "bent" sign. I will keep a close eye on things for the next few weeks (until after the works are complete) just in case the good sign vanishes too. If things stay as they are for the next month or so, I will edit the description to indicate the changed circumstances.

Re GZ It can be a problem after heavy rain, but it has to be really heavy. I will replace the notebook ASAP with a fresh dry one.

Finding this was bitter sweet after my walk in the valley went horribly wrong.( But that's a whole other story)
I knew about this walk but had never done it so this was a good opportunity to do a few extra kms to my final destination. Leaving the car at the park and finding the required information was easy. Off I set, excited to be out on a walk again. Now I must say that this was a most enjoyable meander along a pleasant little creek. I really enjoyed the walk, especially seeing the Weeping Rock.
Shortly the few kms flew by and I approached Wpt2. Now this is where I became confused. I could not find 2 signs, there was only one and it certainly was not bent. A very sturdy wooden sign indeed, that gave up all the required information.
This is where I left this cache alone as it seems the final coords were pointing to a place I had already been. Fearing that I had the wrong sign as nothing matched what was in the cache description. I continued to my other destination, not knowing what impending disaster lay looming ahead.
On my return I decided to try to find GZ. Again I found confusion, as I scrtached my head at the description in the hints. Finally the bulb lit up. Why is it that I can not interpret a compass. Soon I found the correct way and within moments of finding GZ, the cache was mine. No one being more surprised than me. I must say though that I was a little shocked to see it's location. This will not only get a little wet but I'm sure will become totally submerged. No wonder it needs an "anchor"? Should it be there? I left it as is and will let the cache owner decide.
Completing the caching duties,( the log book is slightly damp, no wonder), I took the un-activated TB- thank you Mr Darcy and left a navigation tool. Great caching experience and a lovely walk.

I finally got round to repairing this cache.
We went there with a new box and some goodies, only to find the original still in place. Doh! I don't know why I couldn't find it last visit. Still the old box was water-logged, so I swapped over the log book (still OK in its Ziplock bag)and left the new box anyway.

Be aware that the Wentworth Falls picnic area (near WP2) is closed for repairs so you will need to park elsewhere. The parking near WP1 is still good.

One of the new items is an unregistered TB.

[B)][B)][B)][B)]
After the recent no find, we decided to check up on our monkey. It appears she has been washed away in all the heavy rain recently. She is probably drifting on a life raft on Lake Burragorang as I type this.

We will replace her in a week or two, but we may need to move her slightly to a more weatherproof location. Alternately, we may just anchor it better. If moved we will adjust the final clue as needed, so if you are partway through recheck the text before you complete the cache.

Mr Darcy & Lizzie

What a disappointment!

We were spot on at the hint where we should have been only tens of metres from GZ. At GZ, the track looked a lot like a creek bed following the recent rain. Even with a little bush bashing around GZ, no sign of the cache. Hope it is still there......

Short Circuits

Second time lucky on this one. I ran out of time last chance and nearly did again. Knowing where the cache was (roughly), I found a close by car parking spot and headed to the path. I didn't have the final coordinates (they were in my Palm and had been deleted), but I remembered roughly where it was.

It took three attempts to find the correct path. Once there, I was already going to be late in meeting up with Nay at 12 noon. Fortunately this time, I had my gloves and it only took two minutes of searching. The drizzle meant I also had to be quick as I didn't have my umbrella or rain coat. The river/creek had a good flow, so I presume the falls where a treat today.

A nice bit of bush land in the Blue Mtns.

Followed the cache in the spirit to which it was intended and it was a very enjoyable, mostly flat walk. Came across crimson rosellas, sulphur crested black cockatoos and surprised some "wildlife" snogging under the falls.
The cache was found easily enough. Dont worry about the signs saying parts of the walk are closed, it doesnt affect this cache.
TNLN SL thanks for the pleasant walk.

A new years' eve hunt. I've walked along here many times so this time I included finding this cache. All went well with my maths and eventually found it without any problems. Then I went back to the falls to go down the Grand Stairway. It was opened for the days between Xmas and 3/1/07 after being closed for the last year due a major track upgrade. Fantastic views and a great heart starter as the stairs are very steep. I went down to the bottom of the falls and along wentworth pass track and back up the valley of the waters. A very enjoyable walk.