Sarah's Luck North St Ives, New South Wales, Australia
By La Perouse - Adopted by Geomatica on 18-May-06. Waypoint GCW3WE

I'm keen, and I'm in Bilgola.
No weekend left already, good ol' silly season, will get up to check its condition soon.

I can no longer maintain this so, regrettably, it's off to cache heaven. It is still out there for those that wish to find it.

I can't get back out there to maintain this.

I'm sliding and can't commit to this hobby anymore.

If anyone would like to adopt this cache, please drop me a line and I shall transfer ownership to you.

Came in from the west after parking the car, climbed up the small overhangs, and of cause after finding the cache we found a much easier way back, even if it did mean slipping under a gate.
On the way home I saw the evidence of a leach attack on my ankle, probably from Sarah's Luck, but not my luck!

sparky's perserverance paid off! it took us a while to find this one. did not sign log, no pencil doh! took emu ( closest thing to a dinosaur ) and left naruto playing cards. tftc.

Reperio at 1255. We passed by this one on the way to 'Water Torture', so we returned back along the trail and up to GZ. Darwinian stayed at the bottom as she was feeling the heat a bit, so I made the dash up to the cache. Plenty of places to search in and under, but after a few minutes, the cache was located. Enjoyed the walk up here and the rock scramble. A well chosen spot.

Gratias geomatica.

Thanks for the cache. Nice little walk from my home on a wet Friday afternoon.

Found it after water torture and a bit if bush bashing. TFTC ps bring a pen.

Easily on second attempt today - tftc

Find #1059 - 3 for today. Found on 19/06/11 1:02 PM
Drove the van as far as I could in the wildflower garden. Then a short walk to GZ. After the recent rain the track was muddy and I also came across a locked gate. Was able to get through and continued on. Searched in the wrong area at first then after letting the GPSr settle down, came across the right area then it wasn't long before I found it. Thanks. TNSLLN.

Black potato and friends. Found it real quick. Was an awesome story of Sarah the dog. We kept an eye out by din find a Sarah of our own! Thanks
P.s took little boy dropped sunglasses. Pen didnt work

Had a go at Sarah's Luck last week, sadly THIS Sarah's luck wasn't holding and i gave up after reaching a 'brick' wall (i.e. a cliffette). Back again this week and having been water tortured, decided (with 3/4hr to spare before lock-up and a potential $150 fine!!) i hot footed it back but THIS time tried another route, no rock climbing req'd this time, and BINGO, sorted!!!
That said.... SHITTTTT!! opened the lid of the cache and a million and one big fat ants leapt out; it felt like a booby trap... find the cache, open it and get ZAPPED!! Managed to avoid them by removing myself and the log from the immediate vicinity while i signed. Now all i had to do was put the bugger back, plus all the rest of the contents w/o getting bitten and leg it back to the car with 20mins to spare........Made it, phew!!!
TnLn, TfTc !!

Great little bushwalk loop with the geokids. Dozens of spiders on the track on the way back as well as a leech, but at least that was on me instead of on the kids! TFTC

Great little spot - thanks

Was invited to join friends at the Heritage Christmas Markets at the Showgrounds, so I thought I'd come earlier and try my luck at finding this cache and the other two in the nearby Wildflower gardens. To save having to move the car I parked at the Showgrounds near the BMX/MTB track thinking there must be a trail down to the cache -- WRONG! If there is I couldn't find it. I ended up bush bashing my way through the 120m of scrub (probably not the best for the environment) and found it no probs. I'm sooo glad I wore jeans today!! The good news is from this cache there IS a track to get to the next closest cache in the Wildflower Garden. TNLN. TFTC

Our second attempt on this one. The first time we came in from the wildflower gardens and took the wrong trail. Left Geomum in a convenient location and attempted assault alone.

Got very close but decided I had lost enough blood for the day and gave up. We decided to return this afternoon and arrived to find the gates to the gardens closed.

Went on to St Ives Showground and set forth armed with two GPS's. One with OSM base map loaded and the other with Topo Australia. Using OSM it took us straight to within 10 metres or so of GZ.

Nice walk in along the trails. Thanks GM a great area.

Nice little walk, easy find, tnln, tftc

** Coordinates Changed From **
S 33° 42.236 E 151° 10.817
Distance From Old: 50.6 feet or 15.4 meters.
updated location

Found this after a good search by simply trusting the GPS and tronador's coords. The clue is irrelevant and could be deleted with no loss. Perhaps la perouse saw this as a de facto multi with the clue but to minimise environmental damage I think it's best if tronador's coords be adopted.
Took Aus Flag GC, left nothing. Thanks!

Went searching for this little blighter on our way up to Akuna bay. unfortunately alas we were not to find it! we hunted around for quite sometime, but turned up nothing. There is quite beautiful little waterfall a little to to the south along the ridge if your keen on exploring.
My friend however did manage to get a leach on her leg, feisty little blighters! we didn't have salt however we did have BBQ shapes which had a enough salt on them to get rid of Stanley (its what we named him). Quite a ingenious use of savoury snacks I thought.
Ah well better luck next time!

Found by Nanny and Bo on a warm dry autumn afternoon.
A fair walk down a track which became difficult on the upl part nearing the cache.
Tried the original co-ords first with no luck, but then moved about 15 metres to to the suggested co-ords and found it quickly. (We had very slightly different new co-ords)
TNLN.SL.TFTC.

Sarah's Luck was transferred from La Perouse to user geomatica

Ye gods I've clocked some km's in the past few hours.
The other half of the family went on a dash to grab this one before it's archived.

All good things must come to an end. La Perouse is in his seventies and increasingly "wellness challenged". So I'm going to archive my remaining 12 (?) caches on 4th April, 2010, the day that NSW Daylight saving ends. Any cacher who would like to takeover this cache or other caches, please contact me. Meanwhile, I've removed the premium rating. Enjoy them whilst you can!

I have been considering going after Sarah's luck for some time, considering the number of DNF's I fancied the challenge, also the fact no one has been here since last June!
I parked in St Ives show ground and took the fire trail around to GZ disturbing a kangaroo as I went.
As I arrived I used the published co-ordinates and set about the search although having read previous logs I did not hold out much hope.
I was right after 30 minutes I was still poking around, I was worried that a recent bush fire in the locality of the cache may have been the end of the box but I still expected if that was the case to find a clue to its existence if only a curled up bit of plastic...
Eventually I gave up and used the coords given by Tronador, I was soon heading off away from the published GZ slowly circling and circling bush bashing my way to a new GZ contiually being taken away by the undergrowth. Eventually the GPS said I was bang on I looked in the nearest place I could see and there was the cache quietly biding it's time for the past seven months.
All was well with the cache although the pen was useless, I had brought a pen but must have dropped it during my search, a pencil was also in the cache which just managed to write on the very slightly damp pages.
I collected the TB and GC that were in the cache and left a micro oz geocoin.
This was a fun little cache and very rewarding to find a cache that has eluded so many, I suspect with the new coords this will not be the case quite so often in the future.
If you are looking and can't find the cache don't think it may have been muggled, the chances of that happening here must be close to zero.....
Thanks La Perouse.

Second attempt at this one and a good excuse to come back to the wildflower gardens.Nice easy find after reading recent logs.

swapped over TB's and dropped off a new geocooin to start it's travels.

Thanks

After receiving a hint that I understood, I returned today and found the cache a flash. In fact I had to ignore the GPS because it was still insisting I search all the spots I'd searched the other day. I pulled this sneaky little devil out of its hidey hole and went and sat on a nearby rock leaving my GPS directly on GZ to take a reading to confirm my suspicions. I agree with the Vikings, the coords seem to be out somewhat. In fact, after completing the caching business and reading the entire log book, I came back to the GPS and found that the coords are out by 15 m. I had 3 m accuracy and I have a high sensitive receiver. So if you have trouble looking for this, try my listed coords above.
I tried to approach GZ along the fire trail from the gardens but came across a barb wire gate that was locked. So this won't work. I ended up taking the loop track like the other day or you could use the fire trail from the show ground. the babbling brook was not running today. In fact the little creeks were sadly lacking in any water at all. But the entire Wildfower gardens are a treat to walk around which I did. A great little piece of bushland and entrance to the park is free.
I left the Yuppiroo TB for the next finder.
Thanks for introducing me to such a great little park.

Well all I can say is this was very frustrating. I' d never been to these delightful gardens. I took numerous tracks top get to GZ, didn't spot any snakes this time. These tracks certainly loop around and around and it can be confusing as to which one is best. But this was not really an issue and soon I found a tagged path to follow. This took me directly to GZ. This is where frustration set in. Is the cache at the listed coordinates? The hint is not really any use at all, especially in the field. I understand what a cubit is and my Spanish is not bad . I saw many of these items on the track in. Even after research, I still have no idea what a greco is except for an artist and as for the part after that, well who knows. This is all too cryptic. I had excellent sats and even had a 0m reading but with so many hidey holes, I really did start to think that maybe the cache is no where near the coords listed and you need to use the hint to solve this.
I'd love to come back and try again, but I'll be asking for help from someone who speaks my language and is on the same wave length.
Never the less the area itself is well worth a walk in.

Well we made the trek in here today and spent around half an hour checking all the usual might be's? but to no avail. We had researched the clue and had a pretty good idea of where we were supposed to be searching, as it turned out we just could not get there without a phone a friend or two so we started with Webby but there was no help here other than a little more help with the clue, but the Wandering Wilko's were a little more helpful and just as well as there's not much chance we'd have found it without them. I guess I have a few IOU's hanging over me now but thats cool. A beaut spot for a cache but soooo many potential hidey holes. No swaps today just our log, Thanks for bringing us here.

Understood the clue ( friend speaks spanish), looked long and hard in every likely crook and nanny, but like worthier cachers before us, could not find.

Found out after searching for a while. Read Altaires log and one word in his text gave us a hint together with understanding the clue. understand the clue and in this second attempt. The cache turned out to be in an area I didn't search the other time . It's not that difficult once you search in the right location . Took the Fifth Element Air TB and left Fish Food.

Found in this second attempt. The cache turned out to be in an area I didn't search the other time . It's not that difficult once you search in the right location . Dropped the Fifth Element Air TB and a pin.

We’d ventured down to the flatlands to the Ku-ring-gai area to have a crack at a cache or three. This one caught our eye due to the ratio of DNF to found logs, plus the location sounded fetching. With such a plethora of caches around we tend to go after a couple which appeal and then if time permits we’ll chase their neighbours.

Anyway it was early enough and soggy enough for us to have this charming area to ourselves. Along the sodden track we wended and in a trice we were at the search area. Now we had eyed the clue ere we came, checking out the meaning of various words and phrases but alas here at GZ poor usn’s could only make sense of about half the hint. Never mind – that’s pretty good for us. One of the search parameters seemed obvious and so into the fray we went with hopes on high.

After 20 mins or so joy was ours as sharp eyed Lady Altaire spotted this nastily hidden piece of work. Nice little cache home and appropriately camouflaged. We conducted the cache rites on a nearby rock, listening to a chuckling brook below and were entertained by a wattle bird in a nearby Banksia. We made no swaps here. This is an enjoyable cache in a delightful area.

Searched high and low for this cache, read the hint that didn't help me, expanded the search area but finally just gave up.

Well no luck for us. Looks like I misinterpreted the hint and was looking at the wrong place. Will come back.

Clue made easier - if you do a quick Google first!

Grumble... got to GZ easily, but then struggled to locate the cache. A quick check of the clue and i was even more stumped... I could get part of the clue but it alone was not enough to help me locate this after 40 minutes of searching with my wife. I think some serious research and language classes will be needed before i re-attempt. At least the next cache was easier and lifted our spirits

A beautiful day with the sun out and a free public holiday, what more could anyone want. A great chance to take out the whole family and spend the afternoon together or was it.... Well we were all packed into the car with drinks and snacks and set off in beautiful sun, not more than four minutes from home it started to rain and not only rain it was pouring. Not to be put off we carried on and the sun came out and so did the smile on the geokids and geowife. We arrived at the Kuringai Wildflowers and heard a scrape as the car bottomed out over a bump that we should have easily cleared (this will come back to haunt us) and we all piled out of the car and started our trek to find Sarah's Luck. Well halfway there it started to sprinkle which was fine no need to turn back. Then the larger of the geokids piped up with the phrase that all parents cringe with when outside "Dad I need to go to the toilet" so a quick detour into the bush and some strength from dad who had to hold the geokid aloft so she did not get wet and a very strange tap dance so that I also did not get wet (not from the rain). All set and ready to continue we were again on the move. Then the heavens opened and it was a mad rush back to the car smallest geokid being carried and trying to shade him from the rain. Back in the car and we tried to wait it out yet there were not enough snacks to keep us going so we headed to the nearest coffee shop. After a lovely coffee and sandwiches and a milkshake we were ready to make the cache at all costs (this was to prove prophetic). The rained was light so we waited in the car until we saw a huge band of blue and raced for the cache. The track was a bit muddy with the excess of rain and again having to carry and guide the small geokids who wanted nothing more than to jump in the mud. What seemed like hours later we finally made it to GZ. Then the real hunt began and even with the clue I had to guess which direction and luckily I was right, and I thought that all was OK and it was turning out to be a fantastic day bar the minor hiccups so far ( this is of course where it really went wrong). Well on the way back I heard that dreaded phrase again†Daddy I need to go†so another trapeze type manoeuvre and poor dad no longer has to do a weights session and just managed to keep my back safe. So the march began and we were getting close to the car and on the last hill having negotiated all obstacles so far I held geodaughters hand so that she would not fall and I slipped on the mud and caused geodaughter to fall making both of us mud soaked. After getting a less than friendly reception at the car we all pile in and as I am strapping himself into his child seat I notice the flat tyre, this was the cause of the bottom out. So I kneel in the mud and start to change the tyre. I then find that the spare also has a nail in it, so I call the NRMA to get us out of trouble and they advise me that my membership has lapsed so it will be this huge amount for a call out. By now I could have bought a new car and it would still be cheaper, so old tyre with nail, changed flat tyre, repack the boot with bikes, strollers, helmets, bags and we limp our way to the nearest servo and mechanic is onsite and can fix the tyre ( he usually has the day off and was catching up on work). So what seemed an eternity we get back home. Just to top it all off I wonder what is annoying me and I look down and see a tick burrowed into my skin, check the kids and a visit to the doctor and curse the fact I even got up.
Gee I love my caching

I DNFed this one some time ago and had to return to make my find. I cracked and interpreted the hint previously, but only understood 2/3 of it. I located one part of the hint and used it to find the cache itself. Fortunately I also found an easier route to the cache! Took coin.

This cache, rated 3.5, is not a simple stroll in the Botanical Gardens and there did not used to be a clue. But those who have read the previous logs and checked out the clue - they'll probably find "Sarah's Luck". To the others (and possibly the last DNF!) I must repeat the SAS motto of my youth: PPPPPP. And your clue to this is : First P is Prior, last P is Performance.

c.j.b. and I hunted around GZ for an hour but failed to find the cache. Can I just say that putting the hint in Spanish, with Ancient Egyptian measurements, may have looked smart at the time, but it is the height of annoyance and inconvenience for those in the field? PLEASE translate your hint to English, and use metres, for the comfort of future cache hunters.

Just like the previous geocacher 'Antpadgem', I also DNF this cache but went on to find 'Water Torture'. The GPS reading was good but after searching for 30 minutes in every hole I could find, I gave up. Unfortunately, I don't speak Spanish so the clue was not much help. But I have just translated it and will be back soon to try again.

If you don't find it go to the water not the pound go to the water fall and turn left.

TFTH

toby tracker

We had the luck of Sarah today and grabbed this one after a lot of searching. We had no idea what the hints were but we checked everywhere that we possibly could have and finally found it. Jane would not let me give up.
T-Nothing
L-MI-5 Secret Mission Coin

TFTC
Hayndog
Sniffin out cache around the globe.

found it easily with uncle,mom and brother

TFTH

Hondodigger

We had to abandon the first search after 40 minutes due to rain. At home we double checked the clues and found another meaning for one of them that made more sense. We also contacted mcardey and The Rabbi to confirm that we were searching in the right hemisphere. On the second attempt we found it in a matter of minutes. Glad to get this one ticked off as it was a tough one.

Took: Elzo TB
Left: Men in Black fridge magnet

I spent quite some time searching for this to no avail. As I searched the temperature on the rock climbed (according to my GPS) to 39 degrees. To make matters worse, I couldn't identify the two objects in the hint. I finally abandonned the search once the heat started to effect me.

This was my second attempt at this cache. Came alone this time and was just about to give up when i found the right place. TN left Elzo TB.

Sarah must have got all the luck, certainly wasn't on my side

I've been re-rating all my caches - based on total attempts vs. DNF. "Sarah's Luck" rates 13 attempts, 8 DNF. Difficulty rating increased to 3.5

Searched high and low with no luck at all. The hint was too cryptic to be of any help. Maybe the difficulty needs to be bumped up slightly given the amount of DNF's on this cache?

The trek in was great though! Thanks

Cache does seem more difficult than I had intended so have boosted the clue. If read before your expedition, you'll have a chance of deciphering it, and all will become very clear on the ground.

Easy find once I was at ground Zero. Was on my way back from Water Torture and realised if I was quick I might be able to grab this one as well before work. Im not sure how the hint was ment to help.
Thanks La Perouse.

My third cache today, but I couldn't find it. My eyes must have been tired. Strange tree markers. New path going in?

15:00 15-08-06 Cache check. All OK.

Spent a fair while looking with Mrs. Nilbog but no luck. A word of warning for fellow searches parking at St. Ives Showground and bush bashing in will send you through some very thick bush. We would recommend the approach from the native flower garden.

We went back and found the cache. Great one La Perouse. Thanks. The cache is now quite full and I would suggest future visitors take small items to deposit.

Unfortunately we could not find the cache. We looked for at least 45 minutes in all places I could think of. We had good GPS reception. Left frustrated but enjoyed the wildflower gardens - didn't realise there were so many nice tracks in the park.

I'd be grateful for a hint!

Stopped of on the way home from Pearce's Corner but could not seem to find the right hidey hole.
Will try again when we have more time.

We found some dumped pups once down Mittagong while climbing. We had finished for the day and were packing up and could just make out a faint whimper. Looked everywhere but could not find anything until we spotted a cardboard box on a ledge half way down the cliff face. Abseiled down and opened the box and found three puppies in the box. Some mongrel had thrown them of the cliff but luckily they landed on the ledge and all seemed in good condition. We took them to the visitor centre and one of the ladies there kept one and was going to give the others to a person who looks after dogs. So it was a happy ending after all.
Took Keyring and notes.
Left Paper holder and little boy (toy).

After 20 minutes of looking a hint would have been really handy. Had an appointment nearby so couldn't tarry any longer. Didn't know any of the previous finders so "phone a friend" was not an option either.

Yayyy! mccardey and The Rabbi have redeemed themselves with just the teensiest bit of help from La Perouse... There really is a cache there and it really can be found!
Took fearsome yellow magnet and left a pretty little hand-mirror bought at a market in India (and now I'm worried that it might be against the rules to put breakables in caches, even if you wrap them carefully as I did. So I'm going to look up the rules again, just to be sure.)

Thanks for the hunt - it was terrific!

(in thin and quavering voice) you made an old man very happy...

This time we decided to enter the correct co-ordinates in the correct order *cough cough* and wound up in a completely different place - this one even more beautiful than the last. It was lunch time, and we didn't have long to hunt, so the Rabbi stuck like a leech to the area suggested by his gpsthingy while mccardey tried to put herself in the mindset of the hydroflare geokiddie.

We found banksias and hundreds of really neat hiding places (any of which you could have chosen, La Perouse!) but... no cache.

We suspect this is strictly Our Fault and carries no suggestion that the cache has been moved, stolen or otherwise muggled. We haven't given up - but we're seriously thinking of hiring a geokid or two....

Oh mccardey and the rabbi were feeling so proud of themselves! Three finds in three outings, so why not duck in to Sarah's Luck and log that as well....?

Why not indeed!!!

According to The Rabbi's GPSthingy we entered the bushland about 800 metres from the cache. Some three hours later we left the bushland about 830 metres from the cache and a loooonggg way from the car. During all that time we were within a kilometre of the cache and for a few heady moments we were within four hundred metres (but pointing the wrong way.)

We haven't given up. We just came home because it was dark. We'll get you yet, Sarah's Luck!!!

Yay! Our first FTF.
This one took a while once we were at GZ since there are loads of neat hiding places. The keen sharp eyes of the geokiddie spotted it neatly tucked away. A lot of bashed and broken bushes seemed to indicate that others had been here earlier.
Great cache and a pleasant location too.

T: Blue candle and the FTF scratchie.
L: Hardcover notebook and cachecard 200605.

Thanks La Perouse.

Published