The Bee Gees Kolonga Labyrinth, New South Wales, Australia
By bshwckr on 25-Sep-06. Waypoint GCYGNX

TFTC - after a tough walk up and down the trail it was an easy find once at GZ. It was a well worth walk with the walk back up killing me with every step. Will do again found with wshoeii

Tftc - started the day @ 6:30 walking down Perrys Lookdown. Travelling down we (geoson - Ashoeii) suffered from Jelly legs at about the 3/4 mark which wasnt fun, got to the bottom and wondered how we would get back up? Reached the bottom and diverted straight to GZ where it was an easy find, performed duties and replaced as found. Spent the day on the river, swimming (not for long though as it was so bloody cold). Built a fire and warmed ourselves up before commencing the accent. The pain started straight away and lasted for over 2 hours (at least for one of us) finally getting to the top. Great day, great walk and a great cache. Allways love doing these with Geoboy! Fav point from me.

Well I finally made plans to to ask the way down into the basket to find this cache, and right'why not make it an over night trip. So I and a few members of my Bushwalking Club made the journey from Pierces Pass to Acacia Flat to set up camp. I am surprised to say that the distance traveled took much longer than expected. Parts of the trail along the Grose River have eroded and slipped into the water below.We got to camp by 1.30 and chose a spot to set up in, and after went for a water collection trip. After completing the essentials I split off to go for the cache hunt. Found the ammo can soon enough. Sad to say the latch is broken, but the lid stayed closed over time to keep the contents safe. Thanks for the cache.

I can't believe I didn't think to check if there was a cache here before heading down. Stayed 2 nights at Acacia Flats camp group, and made a day trip up to Lockleys Pylon while staying there. I can't log the visit because I didn't even look for it so this note is to say I was there!

Decided on a very late walk down to Acacia Flat campground from Perry's Lookdown at around 2:30pm. Been waiting a while for this trail to open since the 2019/20 bushfires. The trail is quite the workout going down as well as up with great views into the Grose Valley from above.
Such a beautiful spot down there with so much regrowth happening, the vines talking over look amazing (see pic).
GZ coordinates were pretty spot on, but the hint was definitely very helpful to find cache amongst all the regrowth.
Ammo tin latch was a little broken but tin was sealed well and was actually a bit of a struggle to pop open. It had obviously got a little warm down there during the fires as the ziplock bag containing the log was a little cooked but apart from that, everything is still in good nick.
Managed to make it back up to top just before dark and to catch a nice sunset and rest sore legs. Definitely going back to spend a day or 2 camping down there. TFTC!

Ftfc!! I'm on a little overnight solo adventure from Victoria Falls to Medlow Bath. It's been a stunning day, what a beautiful walk shared with many skunks, lizards and birds.

Found at the morning of the second day of the two-days trail from Mt. Victoria to Leura crossing Perrys Lookdown Campground. Many thanks! Nice TB! Greetings from Czechia!

TFTC tricky find at 9pm at night. Awesome spot hiked 11hours to get here. Day 3 of 4 day Gold DOE

We walked down from the Lockleys Pylon side and then back again. A great walk. The box was easy to find.

Many thanks for the cache.

What a terrific walk straight down and back up from Perry’s lookdown to find this cache. Terrific location. TFTC

It is just over 20 years since I was last in the Blue Gum Forest. Such an iconic walk, but then there are so many other places to walk. When my friends indicated a desire to come here, I jumped at the chance to come back, and to secure my name in this log book.

Spending time in the scrub with friends is, for me, what life is all about. Thanks so much for this cache, and the excuse to revisit this special part of the mountains.

Cheers

Was doing a walk with friends and took the opportunity to locate this cache.
Quick find. TFTC.

Out camping for the weekend. I planned to find this cache as i passed through the campsite but as it got dark very quickly. I decided to stay here the night and find it in the morning. The cache was just sitting there in good condition with the GeoCoin still stuck to the top. I was going to drop off my TB. As it would be safe. But seeing the cache is awhile away and not too many people come past here. It would take too long to move onto its next adventure.

Absolutely beautiful place and really cool to see an old cache like this one. Tftc

Nice spot to camp if not a bit crowded on the weekend. Paid to wait for the gps to get accurate. Cool geocoin!

Woah!! What a hike!!
Came up to the bluies just to camp overnight some where and get back in to the Bush but did not expect coming here.
Initially had plans of camping out a Lockleys pylon and that's it. But upon arriving in complete whiteout decided to keep walking down the short ridge pass track. Talk about steep!! Not the greatest of fun to do with a 20+kg hiking pack. Loved the challenge though! Having come this far we decided to follow the goat track down to the river and check out acacia flats. Found the cache around 5pm and then went had a well deserved cool bath in the creek.
Set the tent up and very quickly went to sleep.
Upon waking up it seemed still quite cloudy on top of the mountains so slept in a bit longer and soon the clouds started to lift!!!.
By the time we had made it all the way to the top of the cliff again the clouds had gone and the views were insane! Absolute perfection. Rehiked up Lockleys to fill in the blanks that we couldn't see yesterday and made it back to the car just after lunch time.
What a great way to spend Australia day eve/Australia day! The muscles are really feeling it now though!
Thanks for a great cache, definitely wouldn't have come down here if it wasn't for the cache.

Find number 6 along a 9 day hike through the Bluies. Passing through Lithgow, Hartley, the Engineers Track, Grose Valley/Blue Gum Forest, Lockley's Pylon, Katoomba, Kanagra, Jenolan Caves and then back along the Six Foot Track, all up a few K's on the shoes!

Last cache of a fantastic day doing the day loop up to anvil rock, pulpit and Govetts. The walk back down from Govetts has to be one of the most beautiful I have ever been on, I highly recommend it. As for the cache itself, its been on the watchlist for quite sometime. Finding it though was a little tricky, but thankfully the GPS accuracy eventually improved leading me to the north east of the "BG" Thanks for the awesome cache location! TFTC!!!!

Beautiful find . Great walk down around here . Thanks for this one

I have been on one day trip to the Blue Mountains....I visited Pulpit view rock and than went across forest to Govetts Leap Lockout....that nature is amazing!!!! I like to come back here yet.

In- golf ball, small car
out-

TFTC

PUNX from Slovakia!!!

Found on a misty Sunday morning giving the legs a warmup before the brutal ascent to Perry's Lookdown.
This was a neat little find not far from homebase
TFTC - integratedplanning

Spent the night at the campground. It was a hike to get in (and a bigger one to get out) but all in all not too difficult and most certainly worth it. What a spectacular place. The only real shame is that it's taken me this long to make it here.

The Acacia Flars campsite a little further down the road was my overnighting spot during my two day hike from Mount Victoria train station to Blackheath train station. The Blue Gum forest truly is a magical place, great that it has a cache dedicated to it.

A very belated logging of this cache find whilst on a Scout hike in the area staying overnight at the beautiful Acacia Flat. First ever find using my Garmin eTrex30 (and not the trusty iPhone App) which is why it has taken me this long to get around to logging the find. Great Cache with a fascinating history. Curious why NSW National Parks is/was so sensitive to a geocache being hidden in a Park and not allowing swappables. Anyway, great location and thanks for the cache.

Found it with RockyShell TFTC Nice area, good swimming/camping spots nearby

Unexpeced find during a scout hike.

I was on a walk from Govetts Leap to Lockleys Pylon. it was an exchange walk. So that means there was another group doing the reverse walk and we met for lunch in Blu Gum forest. (Where we exchanged car keys) We were doing the walk to celebrate 83 years of conservation of Blue Gum Forest. So we were in a celebratory mode and had quite a party with fancy hats, cakes and party food. The weather was just perfect. I think all 14 of us enjoyed the day.
It has been a long time since I have visited Blue Gum so it was good to see it again. I was able to slip away and find the cache. It was a fairly easy find. The cache is in good order. Not many items in the cache. The plastic bag that the log book is in is split but the log book is dry.
TFTC

I am writing this log at 7am the day after finding the cache, lying in my tent listening to birdsong, campers rising, and light rain pattering on the flysheet. It's very peaceful.

Walked in yesterday from Victoria Falls. A lovely walk along the Grose River and eventually through the Blue Gum Forest. Snuck away from the group to find the cache which was snug in its hiding place.

I came with the Sydney Bush Walkers who are proud of their association with Myles Dunphy and the purchase / preservation of the Blue Gum Forest.

Thanks for the work in keeping this cache going, bshwckr. The cache is in good shape. Found at 6:25 pm.

Most beautiful location yet found ... Awesome plac

Finally found after a couple of trips. Thanks Jonno for pointing me in the right direction.

Found with out my phone as was only told it was in the area of the flat .
While on a scout hike from lockies photon .
The coin is still there
Sltn
Tftc baggey

TFTC I was in the Blue Gum forest for the celebration of the 82nd anniversary of the saving of the area from logging. A headed off to find this cache while waiting for the others coming down to celebrate.

Haven't been here in years ,my son and me Decideded on an overnight camp to blue gum, beautiful relaxing place,your cache gave me a reason to come back here.thanks

Did a multi-day hike in the grose valley. Really enjoyed it and got impressed by mother nature once again. TFTC in this beautiful place!

Found while on overnight walk with my geoscouts. TFTC

Walked in from the Mount Hay rd, the Pinnacles, with a bunch of Scouts from Hume Region.
Tough walk down & out fully laden with backpack, but, what a beautiful part of the world, well worth the effort.
TFTC.

TFTC. Quick stop on a day walk from Mt Vic to Blackheath

Overnight camp in acacia flats from perrys lookdown.

A lot of people were staying overnight at Acacia Flat during the Easter holidays. However, I reached the cache unnoticed on Easter Sunday morning. Best Easter egg for a long time!

We were walking from Govetts Leap Lookout to Neates Glenn and through the Grand Canyon to Acacia Flat, next day from there to Perrys Lookdown and back to Govetts Leap Lookout. It is a very beautiful tour. (Just take plenty of insect repellent if you stay overnight. )

TFTC!

Nix

It was fabulous to revisit this wonderful cache with my son as part of our epic hike from the Pinnacles, Lockleys Pylon, Du Faur Head, Acacia Flat and then up to Evans Lookout.

This is what caching is all about - really!!! 1000000 times better than a park and grab urban cache.

SL TFTC

Found with geodad on out hike from Lockleys Pylo, the Grose River and Evans Lookout.
Nice hide
SL TFTC

Nice essy find thanks. On an overnight walk from Blackheath to Mt Victoria. Took Koala TB. Thanks.

What a spectacular setting for a geocache.

Originally I had agreed to go on the walk with Wingnut and the Web clan from Mount Victoria Falls to Lockley Pylon. But a few days from the walk I decided that I wanted to be home before dark to help Nay back at home. Rather than back out of the walk completely, I agreed to help with a car shuffle and then I would do a few short walks until just after midday.

So I dropped the crew off at 7 am and walked along Berghofer Pass and to Hanging Rock in the morning. By noon I was at the top of Perry’s Lookdown contemplating the cache below.

The sign at the top of the cliff warned that it was a ‘hard’ walk and would take five hours return. Surely not: It’s only 1.2 km each way. I was reassured by a fit pair of girls that it took them 50 down and a bit over an hour up. But as I headed down the cliff face and into the valley below, it soon became apparent this would be a tough climb out.

Fifty minutes later, and 600 metres lower, I bumped into my original walking companions, which was a little unexpected. After taking turns in finding the geocache and signing the log, I left them to their lunch and started climbing back out of the valley.

Man did this hurt. It wasn’t the lack of fitness that was a barrier, but the cramping in the legs that started about two-thirds of the way up. An hour and twenty minutes later I was back on top, exhausted but very satisfied.

I dropped into a service station on the way home to grab a packet of salt and vinegar chips (for therapeutic reasons of course) and some ‘sport recovery’ drinks. I still cramped up twice on the way home causing me to quickly pull up on the side of the road and madly try to stretch my calves.

Despite this, I felt pumped knowing that not only had I seen some awesome landscapes and found some classic geocaches, but I had pushed myself to edge of my comfort zone and made it through.

This goes down as one of my favourite geocaches of all time. Wish I could give it more favourite points.

As usual, these adventures begin with a phone call from Webguy outlining a plan to undertake an interesting route to a cache or two.
The plan was to descend from Victoria Falls Lookout, make our way along the Grose River to the Blue Gum Forest (and the cache of course) with our eventual exit via Lockley Pylon. I had not walked this route before and I was keen to experience this classic trail.

Fast forward a few weeks and I found myself standing outside Webguys house at 5am, chatting to Spindoc Bob as we loaded the cars with our packs. The morning was crisp and clear as we dropped off Webguys car at our exit point and piled into the Spindoctors grader-mobile to be dropped off at Victoria Falls Lookout.

At 7am we waved goodbye to Spindoc Bob and began our descent into the valley. There are some great views from the lookouts on the way, although you can’t see the falls from Victoria Falls Lookout! As expected, the descent was steep and after a short detour to visit the spectacular Silver Cascades and Victoria Falls we were quickly at the valley floor with a slight case of “jelly legs”.
Following the track beside the Grose River was easy and we soon stumbled upon the camping area at Burra Korain Flat, which had so many campers that it looked like a new suburb in the mountains!
After a brief chat we were on our way again. The walking was easy as the mildly undulating track followed the river. It was a little muddy and overgrown in places, requiring some care.
As we enjoyed the views of the spectacular walls lining the Grose Gorge, we had a few glimpses of Hanging Rock to our right. A little later we spotted a feature on our left, locally known as “Mirror Ball”. This brought back some fond memories of an adventurous abseil cache that we completed there some time ago.

At around 12:40pm we arrived at the intersection of Perrys, Bluegum, Govetts and Lockley Tracks where we chatted with an older couple having lunch. While we were chatting, Spindoc Bob appeared from Perrys track and, after a quick wave, headed off in the direction of the cache.
After our pleasant 20 minute chat we continued towards the cache where we found Spindoc Bob waiting. We sent Webguy Jnr in search of the cache while we chatted with Spindoc Bob about the challenging climb ahead. As Webguy Jnr returned with the cache, we farewelled Spindoc and he trudged off in search of some torture via the Perrys Lookdown ascent.
We ate lunch and admired the surroundings as we gazed at our intended route up out of the valley. We replaced the cache and continued on our journey, across the river on a fallen tree (after surprising a man sleeping on the riverbank) and up, up up!

Up, Up and UP some more and we finally arrived at the top of the cliffs. (Total ascent via this route is around 600 meters over a 2 km distance). Time for a rest and a few photos and then onward toward Lockley Pylon.
The walking on Lockley Track was easy and after donning head torches for the last kilometre or so due to failing light we arrived wearily at the car park at 5:52pm.

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire journey through this beautiful part of the world. Thanks to Spindoc Bob for the car shuffle. Thanks to Webguy and Webguy Jnr for inviting me along on these adventures and for the excellent company during the walk.

Thanks bshwckr, for providing a cache in this great location.

Cache: #3,500 - A Mini Milestone
I had wanted to do this cache for years, but never got around to it, so, with a mini milestone coming up, decided now was the right time to have a go at this one, but, I needed to make it even more special, so figured I would make it a solid day out and cover some ground I had never visited before.

It's 4am, the alarm is going off!

4:50am, Spindoc Bob arrives to do his part with the car shuffle, and shortly thereafter, Wingnut, also arrives. I guess I really need to do this after all, it's dark, scary dark, so we head into the mountains heading to a spot to leave my car, then cram into Spindoc Bobs grader so he could drop us at our chosen starting point.

We arrive at the Victoria Falls lookout just before 7am and are pretty much on the time schedule I had set for us, a bit after 7, Spindoc in his grader depart for caches unknown, it was now quiet, very quiet, so, with nothing else better to do, we started our walk downwards. Shortly after we arrived at the Victoria Falls lookout, where you cannot see Victoria Falls, awesome views though. We turn onto the descending track and start our way down, down, down to the valley floor below.

After visiting the two falls which are just spectacular we continued our way towards the Burra Korain camping area and arrived there around 8:37am to be greeted by Mr Grumpy and a zillion other campers, wow, a lot of people here already! A quick chat and we crossed the creek and into the second part of the camping area to then again cross the same creek to pickup our track that would eventually take us to Blue Gum Forest some hours later.

This track is muddy and over grown in many places, not hard, but you do have to keep your eyes open for snaking lawyer vine that can ensnare a misplaced boot. We took note of a number of good small camping areas along this track and had a bit of a break about half way along. We espied the famous hanging rock and also mirrorball on the opposite side. We keep walking.

At 12:40pm we arrived at the 4 ways of the Perrys Lookdown track, Lockley Pylon Track, Blue Gum Forest Track and the Govetts Leap track where we met an older couple who were having some lunch and we had a chat for about 20 minutes. It was then, that a very sweat-soaked Spindoc Bob crawled down from Perrys Lookdown, waved and wandered off to find the cache before us.

We bid farewell to the older couple and walked the final 450mtrs or so to our intended destination where we found a smug looking Spindoc Box sitting on a fallen tree. 3 very footsore and weary walkers took rest here and after I sent the boy to go find the cache, he returned with a nice green ammo box.

A quick chat, and Spindoc Bob mumbled something about he wanted to torture himself and run up Perrys Lookdown, and with that, he left. We had some lunch here, it was at this point, we had walked around 15km's or so. We sat looking up at our intended ascent point out of the valley and wondered if we were a bit crazy. Yes, we were!

After replacing the cache, re-shouldering packs that were far heavier than needed, we walked back to the 4 ways and headed along to the river to find our crossing point and track. We surprised a man laying sleeping by the river whilst we searched for our track, eventually we did find it and crossed the river by a fallen tree. The track was easily found and within a short distance we were climbing ever upwards up the skirt towards out valley departure point.

This drawn out ascent was pretty hard on my legs, and it took quite a few rests to make it to the base of the cliffs, so high above, the actual cliff ascent was pretty quick really, still with a few stops and took around 20-25 minutes, a very quick gain in altitude indeed. I was last out of the valley, but, I did make it! LOL

Stupid short log limits!

We rested for a while, OK, so I rested for a while and the other two lept from rock to rock taking photos etc. Meh, I just need to let my legs recover. So, re-shouldering heavy packs, we started the final part of the ascent towards Lockley Pylon, the sun was by now going down quickly and was soon to dip behind the horizon. If the ascent out of the valley was not hard enough, some bastard thought it would be funny to put a few hundred steps in just before you make it to the base of the Pylon. Very funny indeed! (I will find where you live!!)

We paused at the track to the top of the Pylon with some flaky phone reception to let various people know where we were. Then set off on the final part of our great journey. After topping the first hill, we got internet access and were able to facebook who, what, but not where. By the second hill, it was just too dark to tread safely so out came the head torches.

11 hours after setting off, we arrived back at my car at Lockley Pylon carpark, it was 20.01km's travelled for the day!

Many thanks to Spindoc for the car shuffle, many thanks for my son for being silly enough to get up early and come along, carry 15kg on his back the entire way, you did it easy mate, well done. And, of course, my always suffering partner in crime Wingnut, who has always just said yes whenever I suggest something stupid, outrageous, silly, painful or combinations of the above, I can't say how much I enjoy your company and friendship on these adventures. Now, get your arse to 999 and set ME a stupid, outrageous, silly and painful adventure that I can share your first major milestone with.

#1110 Another Alfyboy Adventure

This group of cachers met up at Blackheath for a coffee and bacon and egg roll to start our morning. Team Canary (+1), Purplepeopleater, Baktrak, pjmpjm and I then dropped some cars at Govett's Leap carpark and then drove to Perry Lookdown (why is it call that?). We all geared up, checked and rechecked water and supplies and at 9am on the dot, started our descent into the valley.

This was tough and a little slippery, but manageable. We switched back and weaved our way down, as I watched the GPSr attitude go from mid 900s to 300 in about 1.5 hours. We got to Acacia flats and then had a short walk on the flat valley floor to GZ. We all convered on GZ, and then hung back while those completing milestones started a search of the area. Pretty much the hide was located and then the cache was found.

CONGTULATIONS to Purplepeopleater for 1000 finds - Team Canary for 2000 finds - Baktrak for 900 finds. Pjmpjm and I just for the smilie

We all SL, I fell and got bloody and then we walked back to the track to discuss the acheivement. PPE then needed to get back to his car to get back to Sydney, so he decided to go back the way we came, while the rest of us continued along the valley floor.

We kept walking and walking and didn't seem to be climbing in attitude. So after about 2 hours, finally our ascent started. Then the 'fun' began. We started going up, while crossing the river/creek about 5 times in some slippery places. The track just seemed to go up, around, over, up, and up. Whew. This seemed tough, but we all powered on. We would stop every 30-45min for a breather/food/drink stop until we reached to bottom of the Govett's Leap waterfall. Met some bush walkers who said about 30min to the top from here....yeah right...

I decided to power on, up and through the mini waterfalls admiring the view as I climbed higher and higher. I then realised I'd made it to the top in 29min...cool...made the txt and calls as by now it was 3.30pm and we were over our 2pm finish time. Had a 5min rest and then walked back down to the lookouts to meet up with Baktrak and pjmpjm. We climbed back up and pjmpjm neded to leave, so Baktrak and I wait for TC to finished the climb. He did and he and his son, completed the climb with a jump though the arches to mark the end. Nice one!

All in all a great 7hr journey and 12.2kms covered. Saw some stunning views of the valley, waterfalls, snakes and had great company. Thanx again all for the day, I had a blast. Well worth doing this cache in a group. Thanx to bshwckr for getting it enabled as well. Worth a favorite!! TFTC.

My comrades tell the story well. After the success of Alfyboy's milestone at Drop Dead Gorgeous, we were all looking forward to celebrating PPE's 1000th with him. The date was chosen weeks earlier and although the weather had been bad for several days beforehand, on the appointed morning, it could not have been better. So April 22 saw PPE, Alfyboy, PJPMPJM, two of Team Canary and me rendevous at a Blackheath cafe ready for a fine day together.
We'd originally planned to do a cache in the Jamieson Valley but with an eye on the weather, made a late switch to a trek down Perry's Lookdown into the Grose Valley. After a cafe breakfast, we made our way to Perry's and set off on the adventure. The track down offers wonderful Blue Mountains views and we stopped several times for happy snaps. Although steep in places, the track is in good condition and we were soon on the final slopes and amongst the bluegums. On to Acacia Flats and our troup circled in on the prize.
With milestiones achieved, congratulations were exchanged, photos taken and it was time to commence the return walk. Somehow, late in the planning, someone hit upon the bright idea that it might be easier to return via Govett's Leap. Well, there must be a sado-anarchist amongst us because it's a long route of 50 steps up, followed by 40 back down, time and time again, before the final steep ascent up the cliffs. It is however, a most enjoyable environment, with the famous bluegum forrest, sandy river flats, patches of rain forrest and magnificent waterfalls. The challenges only add to the rewards and I won't forget the sight of Canary-the-larger, who henceforth should be known as Twinkletoes, nimbly dancing across stepping stones on our 4 or 5 river crossings.
Another great day with a fine band of fellow travellers. Congratulations and thanks to my Milestone Mates, Team Canary (2000) and Purplepeopleater (1000) and to PJMPJM and the ever-enthusiastic Alfyboy. Thanks too to bshwckr for placing the cache and getting it approved.
#900!

2000!!!

After not beng able to do our original plan for 2000 due to the rain, we changed to this one.

Only after the group agreed to this change, did we notice that The Rats did this for their 200th, too!

So our whistled down group of Alfyboy, Baktrak (900), pjmpjm, Purplepeopleater (1000) and my youngest son and I assembled at a nearby cafe. Some left car at Govett's Leap, while others picked them up and drove to Perry's Lookdownto commence the journey.

So from there it was down and down and down to the bottom on well marked, if at times overgrown, tracks. All to soon it was off to cache finding and my son pulled off the duties, nicely. So after two hours we were enjoying a snack and a celebratory water.

Then we seperated as Purplepeopleeater had an early appointment. He took the direct harder route. We took the longer, but easier way back to Govett's Leap. Or so we thought!?!

So we walked along the river crossing back and forth over the tricky rock hops, with all the recent rain. And we walked south and never seemed to rise and keep our gains in evelation.

Eventually we began to climb steeply, much more steeply than I expected. After a few stops we made one final river crossing at the waterfall and enjoyed the cool spray. Then the really steep ascent started and I began to tire and the thirty minute section took a shade over an hour. This made a total of five hours from the cache!?!

At least we now feel worthy of our 200th find and managed to jump through the archway at the carpark!?!

Well done to all! But, especially Purplepeopleater for helping organise and his 1000th find.

TNLNSL. TFTC.

What a brilliant day out for my 1000th find!!
We (Team Canary, Alfyboy, Baktrak and Pjmpjm) assembled early at Blackheath for some coffee before leaving cars at Govetts Leap and then heading around to Perry's. The plan was to descend to Acacia Flat from Perry's and then walk out via Govetts Track. We had perfrect conditions for walking and made short work of the descent. Although quite steep & slippery in a couple of the track own is very good with excellent views of the Grose Valley and Mt Banks.
Once at the valley floor it was a short walk to GZ. The youngest Team Canary member was first to spy the cache amongst the rocks. Woohoo - 1000 finds for me, 2000 for the TC and 900 for Baktrak!

It was great to find the 2000th Find Geocoin from The Rats - very appropriate for the Canary's achievement.

After completing the logging duites and a short break I had to make a decision about my route out as time had moved along to the point that the original plan would make things very tight for me to get back home in time for my afternoon commitments. The rest of the team were keen to complete the orginal route and were happy for me to head back up Perry's, so off I charged after eating muesli bar and consuming a goo (yuck - I had forgot how much I don't like them)

The sugar charge worked though and I was back at the cars in 70minutes and on my way home.
Whilst driving back to Sydney I kept trying to contact the others and became a little concerned that I hadn't heard anything after nearly 4 hours. I finally received an sms from Alfyboy that all was good and everyone was safe although a bit tired. Seems the "easy" route out turned into something of an epic, which I am sure will be reflected in the following logs.

A great adventure with a fantastic group of people, and a wonderful cache to celbrate this milestone.

TNLN SL TFTC

A grand adventure, if there ever was one!

But first, congratulations to Team Canary (2000 finds), Purplepeopleater (1000 finds) and Baktrak (900 finds) for using this iconic and challenging geocache to reach these milestones. (Of course, alfyboy and me were just as pleased with the smilie, even though our finds didn't reach any particular target.)

We took the 'steep' approach down from Perrys Lookdown and steep it was -- 600 metres vertical. We had good weather though, cool and no rain, and the scenery is beautiful.

Down on the valley floor, at Kolonga Labyrinth, TC went to work to find the cache and quickly had it in hand. All was in good order. We all signed the famous The Rats GC. TNLNSL.

Then we had to decide on our way back up! PPE had time constaints and elected to go by himself, back up the way we entered. The rest of us decided to continue on with the longer trek along the valley floor at Kolonga Labyrinth, next to Govetts Creek, and then up and up and up again towards Govetts Leap.

Beautiful it was -- especially at the base of spectacular Govetts Leap Falls -- but it was long and far from easy. I think we covered nearly 13 kms on the day, before we finally reached the cars. (We had earlier pre-positioned several of the cars at the end.)

My own legs were very, very weary at the end, I have to admit, but I was very happy. This is a great milestone for anyone, and represented one of the shrinking number of upper Blue Mountains caches I hadn't yet found. Gave me quite a sense of achievement.

Thanks to my mates for doing all the arrangements. Without your encouragement, I doubt I would ever have tried this one.

And thanks to bskwckr for making it all possible! A favourite point from me!

This entry was edited by pjmpjm on Wednesday, 25 April 2012 at 10:43:51 UTC.

11/12/11 8pm - The first time I came here I forgot to write down the code to log The Rats GC. So when I was looking for an overnight camp to try out a new hiking tent I thought it would be good to head back to Acacia Flats. The rain held off on the way down and I refound the cache easily enough. I actually forgot to write down the code again but remembered when I got back to my tent (50 metres away) so no big drama going back a third time. As I log this on my iPad in my tent the rain has just started pelting down and I am seriously wondering what I am in for tomorrow when I head back up to Perrys Lookdown with a bulging backpack but no option really but to do it! ( well I could press the big red button on my EPIRB I guess...)


I brought along a TB I liberated from a Lapstone cache this afternoon and introduced it to the resident GC.


12/12/11 9am - It was raining lightly in the morning and I thought about hunkering down till it cleared but I didn't have a stove with me and the lure of coffee was too strong. The walk back to my car took 1:45 and I am drenched, sore and happy. Time to find a cafe in Blackheath!

What a fabulous location for a cache, and thank bshwckr for putting it here, and for putting it back. It must have been fun to find it again after the fire!
We came down today from Pierces Pass, and are heading back up Govetts Leap. That's about 14km and hardly a soul to be seen! We've signed log, logged the Rat's coin, and enjoyed a beautiful day on the river. See you at the next bshwckr cache!
griz4b & Davo

After doing 'Lost World' near Springwood earlier in the week, I was looking for another physical challenge. I sure found it today!.

I left home (Leura) as the birds had just started singing, and made it to Perry's Lookdown at about 6:45am. I made a good pace through to the memorial to the victims of the 1957 bushfire, then slowed a bit when I hit the nearly vertical section I had a few near falls on the loose steps, and didn't fancy lugging myself back up with a twisted ankle. Even at this early time, when I hit the sections of the track that were exposed to the sun I really felt the heat, so was glad I had plenty of water.

I hit the Blue Gum forest track intersection about 7:40 and was very grateful to be walking the flat, shady path to the campground. When I got there, there was a tent set up, but whoever put it up was either still inside or out walking elsewhere. I made just enough noise to make my presence known, then headed off track to find the cache.

Contrary to the listed hint, the container was very visible once I was within a few metres of GZ. I considered hiding it better but then remembered that one of the requirements for an NP cache is it be easy to find. The log was nice and dry, so I penciled a few words before packing it back for the next finder. Then some more snacks & water, before heading back.

The way back was very very hard work! In fact I think if the climb came before the descent, I probably would have given up half way. As it was, I had no choice but to persevere.

As I was approaching the bushfire memorial again I suddenly realised I had forgotten to record the tracking code from The Rats geocoin. I had taken a photo but intentionally had the code face down when I did so. There was no way I was going to do those steps again, so I guess I will just have to miss out on logging the discovery.

I made it back to my car about 9:30, and panted for several minutes before heading back to Blackheath.

Thanks very much to bshwckr for the cache, and for the effort to get NP permission to let it continue. A great trip, although I am very glad it is over

Many thanks for the cache. Found it while out walking with the Sydney Bushwalkers Club (SBW)down Perry's Lookdown and back up Govetts Leap. CAUTION there are some deepholes amonhst the rocks.

Our 3500th milestone cache!

We decided to take the short but steep option from Perry's Lookdown. There's some great views along the way and it's an enjoyable walk down to Acacia Flat as long as you like steps! We stopped and had lunch at the nearby camping spot after finding the cache and were surprised how many bushwalkers passed by.

Fortunately the return trip back uphill seemed a lot easier than the descent and we were back at the car much sooner than anticipated!

This is probably our first NP cache that we've found that's been authorised since the new regulations have come into place. It's great to see it's been reinstated as we've had our eye on this cache for some time now.

Really enjoyed this cache and it's a super area for a good bush walk.

Thanks,

The Hancock Clan

RELOAD
Thanks to the efforts of all involved, the Bee Gees is now officially active!
I dug out the original log book and included it in the new version. The walk was great again today. Highly recommended for those with good knees.
Note: Lots of undergrowth in the cache area. Beware of your ankles on the hidden rocks.

This entry was edited by bshwckr on Saturday, 07 May 2011 at 12:41:21 UTC.

Placed The Rats 2000 find coin back where it belongs, in the 2000th find by The Rats.
Please do not move the coin. It is a permanent inhabitant of the cache.

Unarchiving cache pending NWPS approval

Have applied to NPWS to have this one reinstated.

Cache is in NSW National Park. Will be removed and trackables placed in another cache.

great swops, good hike.
left 2 small carbinas & scout keyring took memory stick and geocoin
Love the big blue gums TFTC

Did the two day hike from Lockleys Pylon Carpark on Mt Hay Road to Acacia Flat Campground, then back up through Govetts Leap to Blackheath. OMG ! Not to be attempted except by the fittest and bravest. The route down over the cliff from Lockleys Pylon was extreme and difficult to find, especially with a high wind threataneing to blow you over the edge. The camping grounds are very nice but quite a distance from a water supply. Found the cache without any problems - the coords are spot on. One of the best caches i have come across in terms of contents. Wanted to take the lot - but did not want to carry any more weight out of there. Took toy car and left an Occy strap. Left MaxB's Geocoin.

An opportunity to visit the beautiful Blue Gum Forest presented itself. I walked in with other members of my bush walking club. We made the trip via Pierces Pass and the Hungerford Track. It had been 10 years since my last visit and all I remember of that trip was the 40 degree heat, the incredibly long walk and the stiff climb. Today was a different story. 10 years on the climb was no longer so hard and the pleasant stroll along the Grose River was quite simple. In fact I'd rate the whole walk as moderate. Nothing too hard here. I was dismayed at the amount of undergrowth, mostly vines and weeds that have taken hold amongst the Blue Gums themselves, since the fire raced through here. Unfortunately, it will never be the same with its once beautiful grassy under story and bracken ferns and the blue gums standing proud. The Blue Gums are still majestic but sadly some did succumb to the fires, fallen giants, charred and burnt. We stopped for a brief break in Little Blue Gum and then onto the main Blue Gum Forest. I had already mentioned to my walking buddies that I would be ducking off the track in search of a cache. Now some knew about my crazy habit and the others, well lets just say... they followed out of curiosity. So off we all went in search of a cache.I am so glad I did not have caching blindness today. I quickly revealed the hidden treasure to the amazement of the bush walking muggles. Luckily bshwkr had done the caching community proud by hiding a huge ammo box filled to the brim with the most amazing swaps. The others were all truly gobsmacked. After further explanation of geocaching, I signed the log and showed everyone the Rats shiny geocoin attached to the cache box. I re hid the cache then it was off to Acacia flat for a bite to eat. Acacia Flat is still the way the old Blue Gum Forest was. Lots of open grassy areas under the majestic trees. None of the invasive weeds seemed to have taken hold here.
After a very relaxing break we all returned the way we had come back up the endless hill of Pierces Pass. As a reward for our efforts, it was off to the Apple Bar for a well deserved coffee and the most delicious gourmet pizzas.

Walked down from Perry's on a very balmy (23C!!) winter's day to camp at Acacia Flats. Tried to find the cache but we hadn't brought the GPS so had no luck.

Went for a walk up to the Little Blue Gum Forest. We were sitting quietly on the riverbank when we heard crashing noises in the undergrowth on the other side of the river. We were expecting to see a wallaby, but a dingo with a magnificent bushy red tail appeared instead! I think he was as startled as us, as he went into stealth mode and vanished.

Back at the campsite, I carefully plotted the cache co-ords on to a topo map to narrow the search area and we were quickly able to find it. We didn't have any swaps (my pack was already heavy enough!) so just took the Kansas Sunshine Geocoin to drop off at the Sunshine Coast next week.

Thanks Bshwackr for an excuse to visit this beautiful forest. I have enjoyed every walk I have done here. To those who are thinking of visiting this cache - DO IT! It's a bit of a slog but if you take your time and enjoy the views, you will enjoy the walk.

Jakkles

Having hiked down from Victoria Falls (great walk) the previous day (6th) we found this cache early in the morning of the 7th. So early in fact that one member of the group was till brushing their teeth as we searched for the cache! After we had found the cache, which was full of excellent swapsies, we packed up and started the walk up to Blackheath via Govetts leap which was beautiful. Highly reccommend this trip as a two day walk.
Didn't take anything as we thought we had nothing to match the brilliant loot in the cache! Left Geocoin.
TFTC

The grand canyon access to Blue Gum is currently closed due to landslide issues.

It's still possible to get into the valley via Govetts Leap, Perry's Lookdown (Both South Side) or Pierces Pass (North Side)

We're heading in tomorrow so we'll see how we go...
Bexxx

Thoroughly recommend this cache. Walked in from Perrys Lookdown and after a morning tea break at the creek crossing at Blue Gum Forest headed off in pursuit of the cache. Found it fairly easily and after a few photos decided to climb straight back up to Perrys. Warm day made the climb back out hard going but with a few rest breaks reached the top.

Well who could resist such a great place for a cache.
It sure was an eventful weekend. After dropping off a group of scouts to do a green cord hike from Blackheath to Mt Victoria via Evans Lookout, Junction Rock, Blue Gum Forrest, Victoria Falls Mrs Figtree and I went climbing with some friends at Mt Vic. Got the rope stuck at the top of the climb just before a thunderstom came though and we got soaked on the walk out. Then camped at Perry's Lookdon so to meet the scouts in Blue Gum Forrest. Woke early and walked down in 50mins 1.5 hours before they were due to come though. I didn't want to hold them up.
Waited 2.5hrs with no show from them. Decided to continue our walk (Mrs Figtree, the Sappling and some muggles) along the track towards the cache.
Found the cache very quickly. And what a cache it was. It was extremely well stocked. Something we were not prepared for and had no equal value swaps so left nothing and took nothing.
Continued on our walk but still no kids. Getting alarmed now. Decided to let my walking companions continue as planned and I would double back along the track to Victoria falls to find them. About 10kms away. Met many groups, all had not seen my group of scouts. Made the walk to their next camp in 2hr in near panic as what would I tell their parents!!!
Walked from their planned camp and up to the car park in 1.5hr only to get 5 messages on the phone. They had not even got down the descent the previous day and had camped in a cave. All well.
I am really glad I did the cache and walked out via the route I took. Walking back up that Perry's track would be extremely hard and would take every minute of the 5 hours the sign said.
Thanks bshwckr for a great day out with a magnificent cache to boot.
Looking at the Rats log. he was two weeks to early for the Warratahs. They were magnificent. I will post some photos when I get them off the camera.

Congratulations to the Rats on 2000!!!! I'm honoured you chose The Bee Gees.
bshwckr

After the disappointment of my first attempt at find No: 2000 I was hoping for a better result today and I wasn’t disappointed. With blue skies and bright sunshine glistening on the towering rock walls I made my way down to this rarely found cache.

It’d been almost 30years since I’d been down to Blue Gum Forest, back then I remember being dragged along by my parents on one of those family walks that still sticks in your mind for all the wrong reasons.

With freshly graded roads and bushland that still shows the scares of the 2006 fires I made quick time down the very steep, very rough track. NPWS are in the process of doing some maintenance in various sections which should improve the safety.
In no time I was at the bottom and the cliffs which I had marvelled at eye level now towered some 500m above me.

As I arrived at Acacia flat I turned on the gizmo only to realise I already walked past the cache. Back tracking a bit it wasn’t long before this well hidden cache was in hand. With swaps done, some obligatory 2000 find photos taken and my 2000 coin added to the cache I spent some time exploring the nearby creeks hoping to find a platypus or some other wildlife.

As I made my way back up I was determined to count all these stairs and I was doing well till 2 young foxes presented themselves on the track and I lost count. Its safe to say theres lots and lots of stairs to contend with. Finally after plenty of water and rest breaks I was back at the car and elated with my milestone.

Thanks bshwckr for a worthy cache for No: 2000.

I've had this one on my to-do list for some time. As I live close by this area and with the track re-opened from the blue gum to govetts I decided it was time to find it. A 7:40 start from home to walk to Perry's lookdown and then the 1600+ steps down to the forest. A huge improvement has been made on the steps and work is still in progress to repair more. The blue gum forest is a magnificent place and the fires of 11/06 didn't do a lot of damage to the trees there. Then on to find the cache near the camp ground, I had the place to myself and the cache was located after a short search @ 9:40am. My GPS was working well with 8 satelites picked up even under all the trees about. I took the mobile phone case and left a set of 4 AAA rechargeable batteries, signed the log, etc. While signing the log I heard a thumping nearby and looked up to see ajogger running by, can't get away from these people!!! Anyway I continued along the track to junction rock which is great now that a lot of clearing has been done, even the grass has been cut down to make the track wider and more visible, great work done by the NPWS boys. a bite to eat at junction rock and then tackle the track up to the base of the falls for lunch. Now the 1200 steps up to the top at Govetts Leap and along Popes Glen and a side track to take me home. A great days walk and a successful cache find, what more can you ask for. Thanks bshwckr for placing this cache in a trully wonderful area.

Finally, the track to Acacia flat is open but only via Perrys Lookdown. The original cache was burnt in one corner with some damage to the Travel Bug. The coin is in tact. I have taken the trackables to move them on at last. The systema container has been replaced with a large ex-ammo box and has been fully restocked.

A full 12 months after the fire and still no access!!! A call to National Parks today did not shed any more light on when the tracks into the Gross will be open again.

Spoke to NPWS today 28-02-07 and was told could be another 12 months before this area is open.

Park still closed as of 11th December.
Confident that the area will make a full recovery and the beautiful Blue Gum Forest will be again magnificent.
Attached photos of recent visit.
See details at http://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/parks.nsf/ParkContent/N0004?OpenDocument&ParkKey=N0004&Type=FIRESUMMARY



[This entry was edited by bshwckr on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 at 5:39:34 PM.]

A visit to the area indicates that a serious bushfire went through the cache location. The area has been closed to the public. Authorities advised not to enter the area for several weeks due to falling trees and branches. Will check cache at first safe opportunity.
Hopefully, the cache is not ash . I have my fingers crossed for the Travel Bug & Coin owners. There is a slim hope as I considered bushfires when placing the cache. It all depends on how hot it got.

[This entry was edited by bshwckr on Friday, November 24, 2006 at 2:28:19 AM.]

Looking at the fire maps, there is a good chance this one has been affected / destroyed by the fire as it has burnt right through this area. Lets hope that is not the case as I was planning on visiting this one soon.

We are positive the NPWS employs an orthopaedic surgeon to help with the step design. I doubt anyone without such speciality knowledge could design steps to ruin your knees so quickly. Luckily we had the place to ourselves we would have had some trouble if there where people camped there. On the way out we passed a lot of elderly people who were being guided in by a ranger for an overnight stay.

Took: Stretchy lizards
Left Stickers, car (toy) and GeoCoin.

We have thought for a little while now that there has been one obvious deficiency in cache location in the otherwise well cache-populated Blue mountains - the iconic Blue Gum Forest/Acacia Flat area. At some point we thought we might rectify that situation but happily thanks to bshwckr the deed has been done and done very well. We have been down and up all the obvious and some of the not so obvious routes to the Grose valley and on this toasty warm Sunday morning we opted to go down from Perrys which is perhaps the quickest (but not, I hasten to add necessarily the easiest) path to our destination.

Heading down the track it is quite steep for about the first half of the descent and we were soon passing overnight walkers toiling up the path. There are plenty of options for walking down to the Grose - either as an overnight walk or a day walk. The obvious advantage of doing it as a day walk is that you don't have to lug heavy overnight packs back up as no matter which route you choose you're faced with an ascent of about 500 to 600 metres.

Anyway in the cool of the morning we got to the bottom in about 40mins and then it was another 10mins or so to the camping area. There were no problems whatsoever in finding the well stocked cache - co-ords were good and it was in the first place we looked. The Blue Gum forest and Acacia flat area is really quite delightful and no matter how many times we've been there its always a treat to come again. Grand trees rearing above the open leafy glades with towering cliffs on either side. It's hard to believe that these trees were once earmarked for destruction. I'm sure we are not the only ones to give thanks for the efforts of the bushwalkers who saved this area. If you've not been here before it's quite a pleasant place to spend some hours wandering around. Maybe on a warm day even a splash in the Grose - but don't drink it. We spent about half an hour at the cache location doing the cache thing, having morning tea etc and were quite surprised to observe for most of that time two dingoes scrounging around the nearby campsite. First time we've seem them down there.

It was then time for the gruelling ascent back whence we'd came. It was getting quite warm now and it was a case of plod plod plod back up in the heat, with frequent stops for drinks. We passed about three more overnight groups on the way up which with the four we passed on the way down meant there were quite a few people down there on Saturday night. It's a popular spot and with good reason. (By the way if you intend to overnight please observe the fuel stove only rule).

Took about an hour & quarter to get to the top. We left a packet of stretchy critters, a small pewter photo frame and a set of tea light candles - took the mug, stickers & beads (Lady Altaire is into the crafty thing). We also picked up the geocoin and the QoTW travel bug and will drop them off somewhere nice in the next few weeks.

Thanks very much bshwckr for an excellent first cache and we look forward perhaps to more of this ilk?

Published

If you intend to take the hike to the cache and want to be sure to find it prior to me auditing the co-ordinates, I can send some spoiler photos upon request.
Note: A shortcut to the GC is via Perrys Lookdown. You still have a 600 meter decent though, which means you have 600 meter accent afterwards. Allow 3 hours for this walk and expect sore legs the next day or 2 (or 3)