Crown Jewels Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
By The Rats on 03-May-06. Waypoint GCVPP9

whaaaaa......went to get it this afternoon. There is no access to the stage anymore.
The area is surrounded by construction webbing...so no access. And the cranes have moved in for demolition. tftc

After seven (7) years and over 130 finds its time to archive this cache to make way for expansion of the Wollongong Mall.

Thanks to everyone who has found or searched for this tricky cache.

Found on my way to a St Pats day breakfast. Finally got it! Couldn't sign the very full log, but I have photo if proof required. Tftc

Just as I had predicted, a DNF ! We got to GZ at about 7.45am spent about 45 mins without any muggles to blame. Finally when we had exhausted all possibilities we thought that The Rats might have removed it over night and dissabled it, then a muggle sat down beside us and lit up his cigarette. We vented our dis-pleasure at him but I'm sure it was part frustration as well. With this we finally retreated to take care of the business that brought us to the Gong today.

With the upgrade of the Wollongong Mall soon to commence, this cache will be archived very soon.
Hurry up and find it as its day are numbered.

16:57 TFTC

#280 - 13:40; Had checked this one out yesterday, but due to muggle trafrfic hadn't made a serious attempt. Had done so again this morning, before heading off to log a couple of the other nearby caches. Returned to the vicinity to meet up with the Geofamily for the trip home, when the Geowife was intercepted and asked her views on a proposal to demolish GZ and some nearby structures. With the possibility of this cache not being available by the time I returned, it was hang the muggles, the grab is on. During a break in the foot traffic during another particularly heavy shower, the grab was on and a successful retrieval made. The log was full and I may have overwritten part of a previous entry while signing. The cache was successfully returned, and again it seems nobody was really paying much attention to the madman. TFTC

Decided to try again now I am here again 2 years later but I still have no idea where it could be. Oh we'll back in another year or 2 to try again maybe!

Finally. Had to message a prev finder for clarification of possibilities. After another cryptic hint rechecked all prev places... Except for one. Tftc. To many wasted hours. Signed with an XN

That was a good one! We were there for about 25 minutes earlier in the day, but we were starting to get a ton of stares from other people sitting around the area....we decided to leave. We did another cache nearby, had lunch and returned only to find that there were far more people about than before. We had thought about what front and center meant however, and using our instincts found it in the first place we looked. Great cache!

Found with flyboyseven. Really clever and fun cache, along with some really weird looks

GrimRaider and I couldn't find this one today. We didn't have a lot of time and had to move on. Will come back for this one next time we're in the Gong... TFTC

Muggles and tricky clues and well hidden caches all added up to a DNF. Bugger! We will return!!

First find TFTC

Found easily, muggle free! Nice cache, did not have pen. Put back as found

Muggle Central today but I was sure I had spotted it so we went round the block to do another cache. When we came back. More Muggles but I managed a slight of hand only to find out it was a fixture. Time up Muggles win we will be back.

Had a bit of a go at this one but the seat is so popular that we couldn't really give it a good search (in case that is where the cache is - the WEEO and I still don't know).

Could not find it with a friend. Will try another day.

dnf number 3.could not figure it out again

Finally found this one around 2 months ago whilst visiting Wollongong. Toughie!

Finally!!! Have had this one on the radar for such a long time but never found a good time. So today we decided to bite the bullet and came up with the jewels!! Tftc

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[navy]
Third DNF here! Probably another one I should give up seeking for! Ans I don't come here very often any more, since they introduced the parking fees! Let's continue the Wollongong walk, at least not to finish the day with a DNF. Cheers to The Rats!
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[green]The Arkaroo - who loves the mountains and the waters.[/green]
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Caching Team:

* The Arkaroo

Travel Bugs visiting:

* Arkaroo's Treasure (TB38AN6)

* Blue Desert Drive (TB3ZQ7E)

* American Bear (TB2RX2E)

* Bis bald im Wald (TB44F3D)

* Trapped in Maryland (TB1FDZ9)

* Traveler (TB3MAWZ)

* Caching On The Moon (TB376NX)

* Cap’n One Eye (TB4N3T4)

* Little Island Stud (TB274YR)

* Ring of Love (TB2NMB3)

* Hobbits Templar (TB2MV1R)

* Schorsch (TB19C3E)

* Liebesbrief-Schlumpf (TB3FW88)

* Scout Woggle (TB2A2M0)

* German Flag (TB4BQZH)

* Dusty And Bengel (TB1RTH9)

* Bonobo (TB3FVVK)

* Route 66 (TB2RRP7)

* Emma Cool Wool (TB4K6GN)

Got it this time without any trouble. Thanks to Wilbert67 for the tip!

Log is as full as a fat girls sock. Needs a replacement please.

Had a trivia night at Rocksalt until late, so I thought I'd give this one a crack on my way home. No luck though - will have to try again soon!

Happened to be driving past at night for once and thought I'd have a go at this quasi-legendary cache in the middle of Wollongong. No luck though - ill have to make another trip!

TFTC!

found it with yummysnackcakes

The log is completely full, needs replacing.

Second time lucky! GZ was surprisingly quiet tonight, and after 10 minutes standing around waiting for the few muggles to move on snorris and I made the find. The log is full though,we managed to squeeze our names on there. TFTC.

Paulyman and I were able to grab this one tonight on our second attempt. Wasn't really where I was expecting to find it, but the clue made sense. Log was completely full - we were only just able to squeeze our initials in the corner. TFTC!

Another of those that puzzles us. We looked everywhere for over half an hour with no luck. we came back after finding a cache and DNFing a cache but still had no luck. Oh well.

TFTH, here for a day trip from Sydney for Fathers' Day and Geocaching Bday.

Puhh this one took us a while to find. We pass this area quite frequently and had a look for it every now and then, but unsuccessfully. At todays geocaching gathering at Lang Park we got a hint from our fellow cachers. So we took off after dinner with M&M007, momo14 and some friends to give this one another try. The hint and 8 pairs of eyes allowed for a quick find. We had a great after dinner walk and a lot of fun finding the cache together. TFTC!

Finally! Co-ords for the cache itself not spot on (as The Rats seem to like it), but obvious when you have an idea what you are going for. Glad I could give that one a tick with SLKH and M&M007 and a bunch of friends that added a few pairs of eyes after dinner.

With a clue given to us by (Krafty Charlie & mizmaz) earlier in the day at the wollongong international geocaching event we soon had the cache in our hands. Found with SLKH and momoo14 and a bunch of friends we dragged along for the ride. TFTC Another one bites the dust from the RATS!!

This entry was edited by M&M007 on Monday, 27 August 2012 at 11:55:00 UTC.

Found a micro magnet container that I could not open but registered as find. Early morning search to reduce number of muggles

Searched for about 1 hour - but didn't find it. Maybe this one is to hard for me...

Took my geocoin to this place

This entry was edited by tobby88 on Monday, 09 April 2012 at 06:16:31 UTC.

Searched with geohusband (SESBLOCKER) for about 30 minutes, to no avail.

Searched with the help of some curious muggles. Didn't find

Searched and searched... and searched some more - no result

Never had so much trouble waiting for a chance to make a grab. Patience payed off, still had me scratching my head. Thanks Rats, another good one. SL TFTC

Finally managed to grab this, what a fabulous took for diversion for muggle is a phone and a note pad . TFTC

Would've found it faster if I used my instincts, but it's seriously a good one.

Found it, great spot and muggles unaware

TFTC

i did not know caches this small existed. a learning experience. tftc

Lucky Friday the 13th! I've been down in the mall a few times watching events on the stage while looking around for potential hiding spots, but there were always way too many muggles around. Tonight I finally got my chance. I was meeting people in the area for dinner. There were work crews hanging up decorations for Chinese New Years right in front of the stage which blocked the view of the stage from the top of the Mall. I was sitting there waiting when I realized the crew was all busy and I couldn't see anyone. I jumped up, casually wandered around, and found it in the first spot I checked! Great to be able to check this one off the list. TFTC!

This was definitely a good one to do on a night trip. TFTC.

A great cache to do at night. TFTC

Our little group had some issues with security, more and more security staff kept turning up and either laughing along with us, trying to understand geocaching or simply trying to help us look. What a friendly bunch.

Different parts of the cache description and hint slowly revealed themselves to us as the minutes ticked by. We were pretty sure we knew what we were looking for and perseverance paid off. SL TFTC.

This one was recommended to our convoy team by local cachers and proved to be quite a challenge. The security guys became increasingly interested in our search and were a great help with several of the passing muggles. Cybermew3 found the spot that made sense of everything we'd read. TFTC

Relogging and old find.

Our little group from the hills had some issues with security, more and more security staff kept turning up and either laughing along with us, trying to understand geocaching or simply trying to help us look. What a friendly bunch.
after manny arears of searching cache was in hand and we all signed it "nifty hide" TFTC

Nice! I turned up the find in a place that kept drawing me back. I can see how this area would be full during the day

Along with the Caching Corner team I searched and listen to Backtrack as he read out the previous logs. The security/pizza guys were not going to share there pizza so we just kept on looking then the police kept on driving past then the locals kept on stumbling past then CMB3 turned up with CIH.
Another great cache in the area thanks guys well done.
This is another classic "do as the C/O wants you to do" cache. I like it.
SL TFTC
Steveisheren

after having a few hours of chatting at the local event our hills group went off to find a few local caches...this one had us going for a bit, with security (and their pizza they wouldnt share), police driving by looking at us strangely and a few locals asking us questions, cybermew3 finally came up with cih...great hide tftc

Can finally cross this one off the list. Not at all where I expected it to be! SL TFTC.

Man this cache was tiny... thankyou orange overalls for keeping away security! TFTC boss

This entry was edited by Superman247 on Tuesday, 27 September 2011 at 09:54:04 UTC.

Found this one on a quick raid through town with some SES cacher friends after training tonight. FINALLY can get this one ticked off my list TFTC!!

Found during a post training tour of Wollongong with ozvixen, redpanda_au and Superman247. Second crack at this one. Found straight away, was placed back in the correct spot to prevent it going missing again. And bonus, no security this time..! TFTC.

I must admit I did not do much while ozvixen made a beeline for the hiding spot. But we succeeded without security turning up as we were half expecting...must have been the orange overalls which put them off the scent

Had a brief look around this morning, but no luck. Didn't search too hard though. Thanks anyway!

Had a good look around in the dark with no muggles around to distract us but couldn't come up with anything. Second fail at this one!

We didn't have the muggle factor tonight but still couldnt find it , the hint helped us narrow down the search but still no luck. We gave it a good search and a lot of love but no cache. Hope it hasn't been mugged.

Searched and searched obvious location. Nil find. I think it may be gone again?

Had found years ago - with friends that were cachers at the time. THought it was time to add my mark. After a dinner with friends including the owner, detoured on the way to the car to add another smiley. Container change nearly had me convinced that it was gone! SL TFTC

A little help made this easier than it should have been. Thanks for the cache Rats.

Cache has been replaced for the final time. If it goes missing before the Mall upgrade I will be archiving this one.

Maintenance performed

This ones offline till I can check on it and replace the container

7 DNF's in a row. CO check, time to see if cache is still alive. Thanx.

Came here after the flash mob event. 4.30am. No one around and easy searching. I didn't see the security guard jkcourtz found I searched and searched, both the likely and unlikely spots, but neither revealed anything. Maybe time for CO to check this one. Looks hard if muggles are about. My DNF is now the 7th in a row.

Not many muggles around at 4am except for the security guy who was watching us through a camera and had to leave his post to ask what on earth we were doing. With 4 sets of eyes no luck and it may have been dislodged by a muggle who shoved an empty cigarette packet where the cache should have been.

No Chance! Mugglemania! Suparki12 was playing the trombone in Eric Dunan's Jazz band - and a crazy crowd was listening, clapping dancing - and sitting on the supposed cache location. In a break, I could access the bench in front and relax. But I only had half the bench - as muggle did not wanna leave. Quick exercise upside down ... nothing here spontaneously - nor at the fixings observed from a distance. Probably another time - however, seeing the chain of DNF logged, I better wait until someone confirms it's there.

The Arkaroo - who loves the mountains and the waters.

Caching Team:

* The Arkaroo

* Suparki12

Travel Bugs visiting:

* Arkaroo's Treasure (TB38AN6)

* Blue Desert Drive (TB3ZQ7E)

* Hamburg Nightcoin (TB2PZJD)

* Our Wedding Coin (TB3AE7N)

Can the hider check the cache hasn't been muggled please? Had a good long look but no luck

The fighting mongooses!!!

No luck today. :S

Spent an hour looking for it, no muggles around, late at night. I have got no idea at all where it could be.
If anyone would be kind enough to send a hint through to me that would be fantastic.

Couldn't find anything! Maybe muggled?

Probably the sneakiest cache yet. I found it by sheer luck, just happened to be searching in the right spot. There is no more room to write on the log.

Found it after some nice fries. Needs a new log!

Have had multiple attempts at this one over the last few days, no luck. I'm starting to think it may have been muggled. Will try again soon.

Last attempt was my bucks night 3 years ago... Which wasn't worth logging the attempt.

Tonight an empty mall beckoned, and after a phone a friend, it appears the cache may have met a demise of sorts... Unless it's changed since gribbly found it.

just realised i had found this one over a year ago but never logged it! sorry about that and thanks heaps for the cache. it truly is muggle central here

Yea! second time lucky, had dinner at the Master Builders and thought the mall would be deserted, which it was, so a pretty good find. TFTC

It's all in the timing! For me this was after 10pm on a Monday night... some 7 months after first determining GZ (darn shopping muggles!) Finally got this one off my list after walking past it everyday =)

Completed with Ace7 at 530am. #200. Thought we would have had the place to ourselves but had to search in between council workers - Leafblower man and Sweeper machine man. Easy to explore at this time and we thought we knew where it was. we split up and yep Ace7 came up with the find. Excellent cache. Thanks for another great adventure.

Did this as my 100 cache at 5:30am we set out still muggles around with council workers - Leafblower man and Sweeper machine man. i found the cache yes that's one off the list.

We were down in the Wollongong area for the weekend so did a bit of caching while we were here. Sadly we were not able to locate this one. We think we had the correct location based on the additional hint, and we searched in all the possible hiding places but we had to end up walking away empty handed.

New team member made the find....well done esp when surrounded by muggles.

Mum sussed out and found it on my birthday

Walked passed most days whilst shopping, finally a penny dropped and found on the 2nd attempt, crafty

OK, 10am Sunday morning, easy parking..yes, few muggles...sort of...easy find..well eventually, when the clue finally hit me!
Thanks Rats, I hope no one saw me nab it..

Very clever hide, love the hint. TFTC

A very clever hide, had to sit down and look and contimplate for a few minutes until the penny dropped. Cache was quickly in hand soon after. TFTH...SL...TNLN

Well that frown has turned upside down! My new inkling came after I requested a hint from the owner. I suspected the Rats would take pity on me and give me a big fat hint. Thanks! But I didn't read it. I made Tbone read it and then I quizzed him about ideas and locations. Eventually he told me just to read it. Oh the wisdom of a 10 year old. So with a few muggles around, Tbone did the retrieval and return and I signed the log. I had checked in this location during my 5am sweep. Why didn't I return on subsequent visits? Probably because I am a bad, bad geocacher who think people can place caches in reality distortion fields. But that said this is a great cache. Muggles, public spot and so many possibilities. Some cachers find it quickly and others (like me) tear their hair out. Funny to think I watched Dora the Explorer Christmas show here and was sitting right next to it. Thanks Rats for the cache and the hint!
#141
TFTC

[This entry was edited by fluffyfish on Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 1:11:02 AM.]

[This entry was edited by fluffyfish on Tuesday, February 09, 2010 at 1:13:18 AM.]

sigh - another inkling and yet another DNF.

I think I need some new inklings......

No joy but at least we weren't alone

DNF but nice to see Fluffy

despite being fairly muggle free we still couldn't find this one, we did meet up with Fluffyfish though so that was a bonus.
thanks

NEW TACTIC ON THIS CACHE! Fill up the Rats' mail box with my DNF spam. Well it was geocaching central here today. I held the seat whilst others searched around me. I was hoping someone was going to find it for me. Sadly not but nice to meet up with other cachers, to be sure.

BTW I did have one new inkling on this one but not to be......