A Monk's Vow Chewton, Victoria, Australia
By The Last Survivor on 14-Aug-05. Waypoint GCQ4J2

Tricky little Gully to navigate

Chook and WendyB158 enjoyed another great day of hiking today, this time exploring the Eureka Reef / Poverty Gully bush and water race. There is just so much to see out here, especially the remnants of the gold mining days. The construction of the water race through all that rock just blew our mind.

This multi was very enjoyable despite each step being a bit of a hurdle.

As others have noted, the survey mark has now gone from the top of The Monk. However thanks to todays phone technology and silent prayer on bended knee to the geodetic gods at the Survey Marks Enquiry Service, we were provided with the inner peace we were searching for.

At the first waypoint, the sign has been eaten by white ants and lies in pieces just below where it should be. However a closer examination of those pieces revealed the information we required.

We followed the monk's vow on that meandering journey and at the second sign we gained enlightenment in similar manner to the first sign, again using modern technology to assist us in dodging the thorns and gaining the required info.

The cache itself was no problem. Perfect coordinates, nicely hidden, contents dry and in good condition.

Thank you The Last Survivor for this really fun multi in such a lovely and interesting location.

Well that got my brain cells working! Couldn't find the 1st part, even with the hint so gave up eventually! Then partway to the 3rd, I detoured to Harry's Loot. Found the 4th & tried to put in the digits I had. Took GPS reading at point 4 & worked backwards from there!! Miraculously, I found it I've had several mtb stacks on this path in recent years so happy to be walking today. I did laugh that many caches recently I've been a few days behind Bigsnuffler - this one I'm almost a year behind Many thanks

That has been an enjoyable jaunt up and down and around and around. I didnt find waypoint one but with a bit of thinking and a bit of map checking i was able to work out which direction i should head. Once i had picked up the trail i was able to calculate the coords for gz and the prize was soon to hand and signed. Thanks for the puzzle, the challenge and the exercise.

With a trip planned to Castlemaine today to meet a friend for a walk and lunch, we decided upon this adventure. We loved the views at ‘The Monk’. Luckily for us, some divine intervention meant that we were ‘geo-enlightened’ and we were able to find the cache at GZ. It was fantastic to see an original log book and we noted that some muggles visited in May! Thanks The Last Survivor, we really enjoyed the experience today.

On this sunny autumns day, while visiting the caches in the area we attacked the Monk's view with vengeance . We admit we used the 4WD path as well for part of this cache, so the unfit Triton could share some of the journey. Near GZ, while she was cooking lunch waiting for the other Triton a group of 9 hikers unexpectedly walked past heading up towards him. While he was admiring the final location he conversed with the hikers as they kept their good pace going. Once clear he was able to make the simple find and pass the monk's 3 vows!
Thanks The Last Survivor for an interesting multi, we have now found all 8 of your hides.

Arrived here fairly late in the afternoon so didn't want to risk being out in the bush on my own but thought while I was here I would at least get the info from the First stage. Like a previous cacher noted, I also found the blue pole easily enough but couldn't find where the numbers needed for stage 2 were hidden. Big disappointment after such a long walk in. Next time for me.

Finally, after many years, the cache has finally been found by us.
Our story begins in days when there were no smartphone’s, when paper was your scratchpad, you wrote everything down and you printed off the cache notes.
We did our praying at the summit and went looking for the next piece of information. No information was forthcoming. The signs were missing.
The notes were shelved and the quest abandoned.
Time moves on and during a bushwalk we learn the signs have returned.
The quest resumes.
Oh dear, information missing at the next waypoint.
Quest abandoned after Mr Google fails to come up with the goods.
More time passes...
We have found all the caches around Castlemaine and there’s that one orange blot on the map.
Research resumes and the quest is on again. Things get very analytical and numbers get manipulated. Lines and circles appear on our map and we have 2 possible solutions.
On a beautiful afternoon after attending an event, the pack was packed and I hit the trail. My first estimate was obviously wrong on arrival so the second option was chosen.
BINGO! I struck gold!
*Insert happy dance here*
Well, it’s been a long time, but the monks journey is over. Even my coordinates actually matched the cache coordinates. Amazing.
Thanks for the journey. It was an awesome experience.
TFTC

Came with my numbers sorted from a previous visit. Took the drive option as a result but still had a lengthy walk which looked somewhat familiar as I strolled along. Must have passed this spot many times with the bush walking club in years passed.
Aging and tired eyes could not spot the pine mentioned in the clue but did eventually spot a suspicious pile and after checking it out I smiled as Riddell had beat me to it. He had mentioned it at the nearby event which spurred me into action.
This always keep popping up on the radar. As suggested the views were great.
VERY happy to now have my name in this log.
You sure make tough caches The Last Survivor

The gods weren't with me today.
Located blue trig pole at WP1 but bent and prayed but could not come up with the numbers.
Thanks The Last Survivor TFTC

10:51
A slight detour from the main road before heading to Blackwood for a very special geo-birthday, this one was a "Must Try" as it has been sitting high, on our map, rather like a Last Survivor overlooking our collection of smiley tokens.

An invigorating walk to Wpt 1, where the prayer session (search) began. Quite a number of prayers were offered to the Gods before the numbers were partly revealed to us! More on bended knee before the geodetic gods finally reveled the sought information - enlightenment was ours!

Thanks to the regular maintenance schedule the CO has kept up over the past 13 years Wpts 2 & 3 were not quite as challenging and the numbers were readily found and sorted.

We were thrilled to find a good size container, secured away to complete a well designed multi in a fascinating location. A FP from us for well designed and maintained cache.

Note this cache had recorded 716 days of being unloved - 2 weeks short of 2 years!

Thanks to 'The Last Survivor' for placing this cache on the geo-gameboard.
23448

Climbed to the top and enjoyed the lovely views. Found the first waypoint marker but searched and searched and could not find the digits required. Definitely in the right place but no luck. Couldn't really continue without half the coords so we left it.

Sitting at my computer during these Covid lockdowns, I am trying to catch up on a few logs that I haven't sent in yet.

Over the years, geocaching has taken me on many adventures, including interesting destinations all over my home continent of Australia and many overseas as well. It has also introduced me to a diverse group of like-minded caching tragics, many of whom I now call close friends.

Today, I was lucky enough to be out and about searching for caches, something I do on almost a daily basis. This was one cache that was targeted and found.

Sorry for the late log, something I am notorious for. Thank you for adding to the adventure that is geocaching.

Thanks The Last Survivor (F=122 H=8) for the cache.

Got to the car park to begin my spiritual journey with The Monk only to discover I had missed getting Harry's Loot at the Eureka Reefs so I had to go back. Rain check on enlightened as it's getting dark and this is not going to happen today. A little prayer a la St Augustine - "Dear Lord make me holy but not today.." TFTH The Last Survivor.

Don't know how we did it, but fortunately it is made to be found.
You see nothing has changed from our first visit. We did follow a slightly different significant path to enlightenment but for different reasons. Reading back the guru's instruction still didn't help. The bananas just went on "The Vibe".
Previously we had
No path.
No signs
And
No idea.
Nothing had changed.

It had taken a long time. Much longer than expected for not being religious our interpretations had left us confused and most of our time was used trying to translate the transcript.

But

The reward was so plentiful we couldn't take it all. We did take the 18 months of unloved (a prize greater than our first attempt) but we have left the anniversary present behind.

Thank you for your continued enthusism with this now 11 year old treasure.

And hopefully the path here to enlightenment will be more frequently travelled.

Hope their are many more anniversaries as the treasure is in good protected condition.

The Monk's scriptures are still a shining beacon on the path to geo-enlightenment, but only to those who are truly worthy of undertaking the sacred journey.

Shakespeare said "The Eyes are the window to your soul", but the Monks says "Let your eyes become one with the path and allow your soul to guide your journey".

Added 10th Anniversary (14/8/2005 - 14/8/2015) FTF prize.

Good Luck!

TLS

We drove past the trail head on the way to meet our bushwalking friends and then proceeded to walk up the "back" of the Monk so we picked up the clues in reverse to maximize our confusion. EuDes, Alsume and YT (still eating lunch) walked to the next waypoint to find that the info had been burnt away in a bushfire but we had some secondary info that enabled us make an educated guess at GZ. Recognising that "pines" in the area are actually cherry ballarts and using some other natural features we felt we were close but it took a couple of traverses to recognise the well hidden container at 13:40. TFTC

Today's bushwalk took us past the points required to figure out GZ and with our lunch stop only a few hundred metres away from the final clue, it was time to forego lunch (did I really say that? ) and see if we could finish this off. At the last point though, some natural or man-made vandalism looked like it was going to stymy our attempt until a read of our walknotes provided virtually all of the info we needed.

Once at GZ(ish) however, it appeared that we might really need the last chunk of info until a bit of inspiration from LZZ(m) finally had us with the stash in hand at 13:40 for its first visit this year and plenty of 'unloved' days for those who need it.

TNLNSL, although our Happy New Year to the cache geocoin had a visit to mark the occasion. Thanks The Last Survivor.

(PS: I was going to post a pickie of the sign to show the damage but I've since seen that the info is actually there - if I've interpreted the CO log correctly that is. )

Eudes' prior research and realisation that our walk notes were actually a help, and LinearZZ's sharp eye gave us the chance to meet the monk at 1:40pm on a quick 400m walk from our lunch spot. Having completed our vows we even made it back to the lunch spot before everyone else had packed up and moved on!
TNLN
thanks The Last Survivor

The landscape has changed.
The roads have changed.
The signs have changed.
Or disappeared.

But the bananas gave it a red hot go.
But with too many clues missing it was just to hard.
Over 6 kilometers trekked here but even with the thought that the Guru had made good, carma was not on our side in our search for huge unloved points.

Though we did discover some very interesting buildings as some well to do hippies had made some wonderful outbuildings.

The bananas were impressed.
But not with our final result.

Hoping to make it out to do some meditation with the Monk soon.
Watch this space...

The monk, having sequestered himself away to undertake a brief sojourn of silent meditation and inner contemplation, slowly expanded his awareness outward and discovered that many years had passed.

The path to geo-enlightenment, once a shining testament to the geodetic gods, was now a dusty relic ravaged by time; even the name of the monk's final vow lay battered and broken on the ground.

Drawing upon his eidetic memory and didactic nature, the monk resolved to raise this broken vow until it stood once again as a journey worthy of the veneration of neophytes and acolytes alike.

With laborious intent, the monk assiduously inscribed the sacred scriptures onto the back of each broken sign, until finally, the one true path was once again revealed to those deemed worthy of undertaking this sacred journey.

Are there any among you who are willing to enter the temple of the Trig, kneel at the sacred blue alter and pray for a blessing from the geodetic gods ?

Took us some time today. At first we headed off in the wrong direction before making it to the top of The Monk. Having been so long since it was last found it took some time to locate the numbers we needed. On return to the start we realised that part of the sign was missing. Using deduction we worked out the next set of numbers. We then drove close to the next waypoint, but again found the sign to be damaged preventing us from getting the final numbers. The hint was eventually enough to get us to GZ and our hands on the cache. It needs to be replaced as it is getting very cracked. TFTC

Cache (2L screwtop) needs replacing as it is cracked. Also there is information missing from both signs that makes it tricky to complete.

Took us a while, but we got there, some pretty cool stuff to see along the way too

My biggest caching run in recent times.. 16 caches.. which although is not much at all.. I've taken abit of a siesta from caching of late.. so this did feel like a lot.. Thanks The Last Survivor for the cache.. it was great to be in the bush and finding bush hides.. Hides which are much more rewarding than the typical city hide which I've been used to finding.. Thanks for the cache and for bringing me to this nice area which I could have easily missed..

I am partial to a cache which involves history, exercise and adventure.. and this one fitted the bill.. It took me into an area that I'm familiar with through orienteering. I missed the info at the carpark (which it turns out is missing, however a quick google rectified), and instead parked further on at a junction to limit the distance walking.. I then drove back to the carpark, then back past where I started to the other mentioned spot.. once at the next important area I discovered that a fire had all but destroyed the important information here.. I had grave thoughts for the cache.. once here utilising the info on the cache page and a photo I was able to narrow down the search area where I found a well protected cache complete and unharmed.. Thanks The Last Survivor for this interesting challenging and fun multi.. however some work is required to ensure future finders are able to complete it..

Found it after a long walk. Eventually used the fire trail until close to GZ then walked along water race. Found via the clue once there. Container is going brittle. Some signs damaged and parts missing does not help. Note GZ is 1 km via the crow flies from original point but much longer if you follow the water race or fire trail. Last set of instructions (4WD) confused me. Thanks for the walk.

Found @ 1250 Hrs on the last of three fantastic days caching. This trip took us on a tour of the Victorian Goldfields with some fantastic history & photo op's.

This was a great spot for a cache, an interesting area full of history with a nice multi that required attention to the previous log's to obtain inner bliss...

TNLNSL TFTC

Thanks to The Last Survivor for bringing us here! Another area you normally wouldn't see if you didn't cache.....

*Cache in good condition!

After reading previous logs about vandalized signs and missing information we gave it a go. Using the detailed description and hint we found the cache with a short search. Thanks for bringing us to this place, it was fascinating. Tnln.

1536. Ahhh! How sweet this is. Missing a clue, 3rd effort and last gasp of 40m circuit. Been a long trip as I picked up the first info (now vandalised) during a ride some time last year. Early Jan, a forest ride Malmsbury-Castlemaine to deposit Walled In gave us the opportunity to try for this and figured we might not need The Monk info. Short of my target we hit upon a broken sign but a short hunt (we had a return train to catch) elicited nix. Yesterday, riding in the area again I rode up The Monk only to find no info! So back to previous spot and combed that same 40m radius with same result.

In Castlemaine again today for a meeting I tossed the bike in the back and with an early finish I recehecked my calculations and picked another spot. Arriving there it just didn't fit. Riding on, mulling over the problem, I recalled a sign on previous rides in this area. A burst of energy and there it was - yet another vandalised sign. No matter, I had the 40m radius and after a tough 10 minutes realised I could use my GPS to follow that radius. On almost last gasp I found it. Took away joy and left sweat. Looking back I made some stupid mistakes without which a first time hit would have been possible - live and learn. A beautifully descriptive mystery cache by the hider of my first ever cache, Loddon Falls. And a most excellent hunt. Thank you so much Last Survivor.

This entry was edited by kennythe1st on Friday, 21 January 2011 at 16:03:20.

Rated: for Overall Experience

Made it back today with a cunning plan to circumvent the lack of input from the damaged second sign. No need to worry, however. I noticed the hide as soon as I arrived, at a spot I must have passed several times on my last visit. So, even though the last set of numbers is unavailable, if you read the description carefully and use the clue in conjunction with the Easting you already have, the cache is still easily doable. Many thanks Last Survivor. An enjoyable and worthwhile cache, which makes a nice break from the plethora of pointless drive-bys flooding the scene these days.

Decided to check out this one this morning, as I felt like a walk to try out some new hiking footwear. The first few numbers were obtained easily enough and I enjoyed the walk out to the second sign. Weather was great, flowers were everywhere and the hills were a mass of purple and yellow. Unfortunately, so was the air when I arrived there and found that the sign had been trashed, so that the final numbers for the South co-ordinate were no longer obtainable. Oh well, at least the shoes were good. Thanks for the pleasant stroll through a most interesting landscape Last Survivor. Ran out of time today but maybe I'll get back there again soon and try fudging it!

Left a frog and giraffe

Man it was getting hot,
but we had caches to find
Thanks Last Survivor

OK we are geo-impatient!
We took the 4WD option, but then it was stinking hot!
Cheers, TFTH.

Got this one today without the van was easy,
Done with Skippy And FourFun

Here at the top of this venerable mountain in the temple of the Trig the gaze of a geodetic god can pierce the heart of any young acolyte, and only those who have attained true inner-peace will receive a blessing to begin the journey of geo-enlightenment.

The vision of a neophyte is often as clouded as their judgement, but those who can show true humility while offering a silent prayer at the sacred blue altar will soon feel the warm glow of absolution and a renewed sense of purpose.

Confucius once said "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", and the Monk replied "the path to geo-enlightenment is never a straight line".

Only those who have the fortitude to complete the monk's journey on foot can claim to be an apostle of this one true religion.

Let your journey begin.

Rode my bike to the top of the hill to pray to the geodetic gods. Unfortunately they don't appear to acknowledge this alter at the moment. There was only the small blue metal post that Silver Dice found.

Tried to fudge it but to no avail.

I will be back.

Found with Karen 8th cache for the day. This one has been on my list for quite some time I’m a bit of a fan of the last survivor cache hides they are always in interesting places, well set out and very informative and this was no different a great location that really fitted in well with the theme of the cache story. We got the 4wd up the hill to the first wp but I was surprised that I was unable to find the trig plate I had to call a help line to gain the information that I needed from it (I think this is missing but I’m not sure if was just me not being able to find it as I thought it would be easily found. The coods had me standing at the mountains summit were a small blue pole was but no plate I will be interest to see if anyone else has this problem) Went for a lovely drive to find the second wp another interesting hidden historic structure. With the info in hand we were able to make the find and sign the log at gz thanks for a great hide

As is always the case with The Last Survivor caches this was a well put together multi. I had avoided doing this one in the past because I never seemed to have the time to do it properly. I had intended to do the walk today but felt a bit fatigued and went with the 4WD option in my 2WD (I was practising the geocacher's vow of stupidity!) Not only was I impressed with the locations but I enjoyed the word play and related language of the write-up, very clever indeed.

Thanks,

R - B

The only monastery that would have me as a monk is one that has its novices taking a vow of stupidity. Oh, I did a couple of diabolically dumb things on this one! It began well. The trip to the summit to achieve enlightenment was successful, and the views through the trees to the surrounding countryside were lovely. The view also revealed some dark and threatening rain clouds. "Hmmm," thought I, "wandering through the bush on your own in the pouring rain may not be a good idea. You have a nice little 4WD. Why not take the lazy route?" "Yes," I replied to myself, "what a sensible idea." So, I drove up the road to the junction where there were two options: a road and a track. Now, I've seen some pretty rough looking firetrails in my time, and the road looked like a highway, so I picked the track. Well, after three years of owning it, the geoSuby finally got some terrain to reveal its capabilities. As far as revealing my OWN capabilities, it just showed that I can make foolish decisions. After realising the error of my ways and doing some rather careful negotiations I managed to extricate myself back to the "highway", and made MUCH better progress towards the next WP (the geoSuby lapped this up, and I reckon most 2WDs with reasonable clearance would be okay with care ... although perhaps not a hire car (but don't let ME decide for you given the quality of my decisions!)!). Having found a spot to park and a likely access point, I then got 50m up the track before realising that (a) I needed my caching bag and (b) since it was raining and I was in the middle of nowhere, perhaps a raincoat -- at the least -- would be a good idea. Suitably chastened and better prepared I got to the next feature, languishing in the drought. How nice it would be to see it at capacity. I found the cache (TNLN) and then headed back to the car (although there was a brief moment when I wondered where it was!). I've been meaning to do this cache since I first found out about geocaching and had visited the area and seen some of the fascinating relics of times past, and it was very satisfying to do it today. (My "Chim Chiminey" cache nearly got planted at one of the other features that I now know is on the walking route for this one, so I'm glad I put it where it is!) Thanks to The Last Survivor for a great multi.

Found today with oenze @ 1418. Oenze was a little modest in his description of his 2WD Ford, we bounded over rock ledges, along 4WD tracks, through washouts all in search of the elusive wpt's. At one stage I started looking around for that little lever on the floor to see if we were indeed in 4WD!!
Got stuck straddled over a large stump at one stage and had to search for a large branch to lever the car off and then we were off again. Do not know really why I had the Hilux, should have bought a Ford Fairlane instead. Anyway a great cache to do. The Swaggies just love going around these areas looking at the old relics. Upon arrival at GZ we could see that you guys still need a lot more rain up here.
Thanks for the cache Last Survivor.

Find # 2204 and 8th of the day at 2:18pm. Accompanied by the Swaggies.
We decided to drive to the first waypiont even though we didnt have a 4x4 but the trusty old Ford held out once again, but only got as close as 214 meters to GZ so decided to do the climb, a most enjoyable cache. TNLN, Signed Log, Thanx The Last Survivors....

A much nicer day to do this sort of thing today! WP1 took me longer that it might have as I was searching for something larger, and it had become a bit covered over. It had to be there though and I found it after a reasonable search, in a rather logical spot. I worry about long multi's as it can be a pain if things go wrong but no such problems with this one and the cache was soon found at gz. Thanks to The Last Survivor for a well put-together cache using local resources!

Set out for a morning stroll to solve this one. There are more trees than views from the Monk. Two wallabies bounded off thru the scrub. I could hear cicadas and in the distance the ding dong of the PA at the Loddon Prison! Must walk some more of the Poverty Gully trail some time.
TNLN. TFTC.

Ah yes, as our patron philosopher of the geocache, Confucius, once said

"The road to geo-enlightenment is never a straight line."

Press on, intrepid disciples, and let your mind become one with the wandering of the sacred pointer, for the golden path lies yet beneath your feet!

As several people have noted, there is an adit (a tunnel) somewhere along this trail which contains a vertical shaft (which is why I haven't made mention of it). Its entrance is barred, but people have been known to slip through the bars to explore the musty depths, but never without an torch!

Seeing as there's enough interest, when I have a moment I'll add a reference waypoint to the cache listing together with an appropriate warning.

The tunnel is the Monk Hill Co. lower adit (VicMine #369329), which is cut into the Monks Hill reef and passes under Dingo Park road.

Also, back in the 1860's the Eureka Hill hotel wasn't too far down the road from here, lying at the foot of Mount Eureka, which is now known as the Monk.

TLS

I think we were standing on WP1 before anyone noticed it (bloody Monks!). Off down the hill to the race.
The good thing about races is that they are flat. The bad thing is that they don't quite go the most direct way. Fortunately I wasn't carring my GPS so I didn't have the annoying task of watching it go up as we got closer .
Nice walk to GZ and back.
On the way back we went into the mine - really interesting inside. I would roccomend a torch though as there is a large shaft inside.
Thanks, Robmc.

After a tasty but perhaps not so healthy bakery lunch Geojen insisted she'd had enough of getting in and out of the car and wanted a decent walk. This one fitted the bill very well. We followed the instructions to the letter and walked the whole thing. I must say watching the numbers on the GPS was a bit frustrating on the way to the second waypoint and GZ. They go up and down quite a bit! We checked out the mine on the way back (inside and out) Probably not the safest thing to do especially when we found a vertical shaft, downwards, inside but interesting nontheless. Still find it amazing what the old timers have done with a pick and shovel. The amount of dirt moved in the water race alone is astounding. Not to mention the mines! Thanks for a great walk and cache.

Found at 1735. A great multi, nicely integrated with the Monk theme.

TNLN. TFTC.

took some finding but got there in the end. Good fun

Alas, I must confess to being one of the geo-impatient today due to time constraints. Found the cache at 3:45pm. TNLN.

Thanks!

This gave the me and the 4WD a workout, I had trouble locating the marker as well and there was no Geocoin in cache, so I assume the previous finder has moved it on. I was taken by surprise just as I was extracting the container by a woman walking her dog on the track behind me, so I hope the cache remains undisturbed. Thanks Last survivor for this interesting location.

Nice long walk in the bush.... It took us ages to find the first clue, it was covered in dirt and took a bit of digging.
Took the Coin and taking it on a seaside holiday.

Cache Maintenance check 12/3/2007 @ 15:15

All is in order.

Left: TBXEBY 'X marks the Spot' geocoin

This was my first Geocache so you can imagine my excitement

Really nice walk. Actually missed the track to the Monk but enjoyed a bit of cross country uphill work. Lots of bird life and pleasant views with this one.

Took: Furry Koala
Left: Tea light candle holder (bought in Berlin)

Excellent start to geocaching!!!!!

This cache has been on my list for a LONG time.
I finally worked up the fortitude and decided to takle this, but with Geochats and GeoJnr. in tow.
This is the final cache in Castlemaine, so this one means that I now need to go FURTHER to explore.
But the penitance I showed at this cache certainly helped. This was a VERY enjoyable cache. We didn't actually walk, but we took my wifes little Ford Festiva through the bush!!!
Found easily enough, but with only a fraction of the walking.
Took: Mini stapler.
Left: Catapillar and Fozzy Card.
Thanks The Last Survivor for a nice cache location.

Made an error with punching in coordinates and headed off entirely in the wrong direction before I realised. Went X-country for 1.5km to reach final destination. Very happy to reach cache. Left padlock and took figurine. I had the good sense to return via water feature. A good work out though

Started this one very late and for a multi and new to the game too. What a time we had. Said our prayers ok but from there not sure whether to 4WD or walk? Great place very interesting.
took - cricket
left - mondo man
TFTC

Found 14:00, what an ad venture? One excursion off in the wrong direction after a fingergraphical error. Then as we gathered the information from the Monk, we noticed a rapidly approaching storm front, which struck as we gathered the final clues prior to heading for GZ. With thunder crackling overhead and rain cascading down the tracks, we located the cache and made a very hurried log, before retreating to the shelter of the car.

TNLN, thanks to The Last Survivor, for a great cache and adventure.

great cache to find even for a local, it has been thought through very well now with the mine woth the bars you can slide around the left hand side

[This entry was edited by mattym123 on Friday, February 17, 2006 at 4:18:32 AM.]

Found at 12.35pm.
A lovely walk in an interesting area.
A shame the mine close to the trail head has bars on it.
TNLN
Thanks
K&M

Found at 13:00, our thirty fourth find of Ians Birthday Bash Cache Weekend.

Well we too took the 4WD option, and were skillful enough to park next to the spot where we could kneel and receive the Monks blessing. An even more skillful (and direct) descent saw us collecting the third vow very soon after.

We then went in persuit of the final point, but considered the bike path to be too narrow for the 4WD, so we parked close by and proceeded on foot to be blessed with second sight, er I mean sign, and the cache was soon in hand.

TN LN & SL

Thanks to the Last Survivor for showing us this interesting site.

Found at 1.30pm GAFF1. With temperatures in the 40's, we were glad to be in a powerfull airconditioned 4wd. The tracks around here are quite interesting and the final location was a surprise. Would never have looked around here if it wasn't for caching. Thanks The Last Survivor for showing us this place. tn/ln

What a fantastic multi, we drove to WPT 1, took in the views and then prayed to the geodetics and our prayers were answered. Headed off to WPt 2, where we enjoyed the stroll around the area so much that we walked straight past the sign. Retraced our steps and collected the required information and headed off to GZ. The cache was located after about a ten minute search as the GPS was not being very kind to us today
Took gorilla
Left stapler
Thanks the last survivor for a little bit of 4wding , a stroll in pleasant surrounds, with a bit of history thrown in and a cache to boot

Just as those who went before - we mucked up the maths and saw a lot more of the area than we had anticipated - but eventually located it.

Enjoyed the sounds of the inmates at Loddon Prison echoing across the hills.

Took glasses case
Left scorion

Tnx The Last Survivor

Found easily enough with my sister's help after a bit of a stuff up with the math. We took the 4x4 route and were able to drive within about 100m of GZ, very steep near the end but we got there in one peice.

Picked up TB Silly Bag
TNLN

Dropped of th eTB Silly Bag.

Another find for The Rebel alliance. Thanks.
L.L.T.R.A

Twelfth of 21 finds on day one of our end of year Assault. As we were planning this trip I was a little doubtful about doing this cache as I was concerned about Dak being up to a 2.4km walk after his recent operation and the fact that it looked like 4WD country. Well Dak got some help from a rebel Alliance member we will confess; this cut out the 2.4km walk and would get us to Wpt2. I was still doubtful about the track but Dak once again laid down the Gauntlet by letting me know that Maccamob got the Callai up the track so the Getz got us within walking distance. We made a mess of the figures and had to do them again, must have been the heat. I really loved the water feature of this cache location and was amazed at the work that would have been done to build this structure. Thanks for the cache.

Tenth of 19 finds on day one of the DEM/A2YG End-of-2005 Bendigo Assault. I'm not in absolute tip-top physical condition at the moment, so I called on a member of the Rebel Alliance, and was given the coordinates for WP2. Then the question was how to get to WP2. Maccamob had mentioned in their log that they got the GeoCallais in there, so we decided to see if the mighty Hyundai Getz was up to the task. It was!

We had a pleasant, (geoimpatient ) walk to WP2, gathered the final numbers, got the right answer for the latitude (but entered it incorrectly [B)]), and found that GZ was apparently 385m away! This didn't look right, so we reassessed the calculations and got it right the second time. We found the cache at 1415. It was a hot day, and that running water looked cool and inviting, however, I wasn't game to try it. I really enjoyed this cache, and the area in general. Thanks to The Last Survivor for the cache.

I know I made a swap at this cache, but later in the day I dropped my iPAQ, it decided to reset itself to factory defaults, and as a consequence, all my audio logs were lost. [B)]

Found at 2.50pm.

Luckily I had my good walking shoes on for this one! Definitely enjoyed the walk through this beautiful and now peaceful area. Interesting to explore the remains of what must have been a very busy past.

Legs feel great after the exercise, though my sunburnt shoulders don't feel so great!

TNLN.

Thanks Last Survivor!

It was a warm sunny day but thankfully there was a cool breeze in most places along the walk. After finding the initial clues, I headed along the track to the final sign. The distance on the GPS was continually teasing me with how close I was. Everytime I thought I was getting closer the track turned a corner and the distance crept up. It was a case of 3 steps forward and 2 steps backward.

Despite the teasing, it was an enjoyable and easy walk out to the second sign. Once there, GZ was calculated and once there, the GPS led me in a circle before returning me close to where it started. Once the GPS had settled, the cache was soon in my hands.

No exchange was made. Thanks for the cache and for a lovely bit of exercise.

Found at 11.50 am after a very nice walk through the native bushland. I love this area of Victoria and hope to be back soon.

Thanks again The Last Survivor.

Took nothing
Left PadBolt

Picked up Whistle Blower to move on along the line.

Found by Bevfre at 1.15pm. A very diffrent race from the
Caulfield, But a interesting cache. 2nd attempt found it in the end.left hankie took koala Thanks for help from Romax. Thanks Last Survivor Lived in Castlemaine, never visited this area Thanks again.

Found by Mary & David at 1043. We never tire of the trip to this part of the State, and now the wattles of every shade are making ntheir appearance. Having gathered the clues and with a few more places to visit today, we elected to take the geo-imatient approach. The GeoCalais managed the fire trail well and we found a suitable place to park not far from GZ. The water feature itself was fascinating and reminded us of a similar feature at our Acquatic Derby cache. Found the second sign ok, did the sums and found the cache soon after. Most enjoyable; we took a dodo, left a canadian $1 gold coin to match the wattle, to commemorate the history of the area, and to be an offering to the monk. We also left TB 'Whistle Blower' to check out the local landscape. Our thanks to The Last Survivor. Returned the cache to its hiding place and almost immediately met another caching couple hot on the trail, who turned out to be Romax. We always enjoy meeting fellow cachers, hearing of their adventures and finally putting faces to names.

11.15am
Found by Roma and Max.
We are pleased we delayed our departure from home this morning otherwise we would not have had the pleasure of meeting up with maccamob at GZ. David and Mary had just re-hidden the container, when we arrived on the scene looking for the last clue to the cache site. It is very rare indeed to find a cache that hasn’t been visited previously by these two dedicated Geo persons and now we can put faces to names.
We look forward to the possibility of sharing the co-ordinates with them again in the not too distant future.
We couldn’t resist not taking the Gold $1 Canadian Coin that hadn’t had time to settle in and left a Sunglasses Soft Pouch.
Thanks The Last Survivor for an interesting tour through this old mining area where much gold had been found in yesteryear and as we did again today.
Romax.

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