Lloyd Cowan, New South Wales, Australia
By
Geocaching Australia on 07-May-11. Waypoint TP5782
Cache Details
Difficulty: | |
Terrain: | |
Type: | TrigPoint |
Container: | Other |
Coordinates: | S33° 32.802' E151° 11.454' (WGS 84) |
56H 332040E 6286637N (UTM) | |
Elevation: | 190 m |
Local Government Area: | The Hornsby |
Description
Lloyd TS2871
Official name of this Trig Station as per NSW Department of Lands is: Lloyd.
Serial number is: TS2871.
Last Inspected on: December 2, 1982.
Elevation is: 210 metres.
Cairn Type Trig repiled December 2, 1982.
This trig is in the Muogamurra Nature Reserve which is only open to the public for 4-6 weekends in August and September. Follow the track just before "Pie in the Sky" at Cowan for 3km to the visitor's centre and there is a well marked track to the trig. The trig is the traditional black vanes on a white post in an old stone cairn. It's a wonder the post survived the 1994 bushfires and it looks like the vanes have been scorched at some stage.
Some information from the trail guide:
"A 'Trig' is really a Trigonometrical Station, or a high spot used by surveyors to map the area. This Trig, at a heigh of 210 metres above sea level, was established in 1883 and was named after Richard Lloyd who farmed 10 acres in this area., An 1885 report recorded he had 2 horses, 3 cattle and seven pigs.
In the white plastic post there is a map of the area and a book you can sign as a record of reaching thsi point. Please replace them carefully after you have finished."
Logs
I was very happy to see an ad in the paper for a Lloyd trig guided bushwalk run by Hornsby council. Quite a bit of fog on the way up to Cowan this morning, but it had mostly burnt off by the time we reached Tripper lookout. Our guides had plenty of info on the local flora and fauna as well as the rock carvings seen along the way. The walk itself was very enjoyable (even being just 5 weeks after ACL surgery) and the views from the trig were spectacular. Signed the visitors book which is quite damp and mouldy but trig itself is in pretty good shape. Passed 3 large groups of school kids on the way back. This was my second visit to this nature reserve and I'm looking forward to the open days later this year. Can't believe it's been over 2.5 years since the last log entry.
Lovely spring day and plenty of people visiting the park during the 6 week window when it is open to the public. Visited Deerubbin Lookout, Peats Crater and finished off the day with finds of both Vize and Bywater Trigs.
Then for the pleasant 30 minute walk to the trig, stopping to look at a wonderful carving of a whale. The trig is in good condition with mast and vanes in tact. The ranger also pointed us to the nearby drill hole and wings, a couple of metres north of the cairn. All three of us signed the log then enjoyed the walk back with wildflowers starting to bloom along the trail.
Found at 11:08 am.
It didn't take long for all the other walkers up here to start to feel like too big a crowd and we quickly made our way off to the side of the track where I found a lovely rock shelf with a great view down to the Hawksbury River. We sat and enjoyed our lunch and watched the birds in the bush.
Quite a few of the people who were also hoping to reach the summit today were suffering from altitude sickness and held our party up but finally we made it.
Great views. Check out the opening times for next year and put this on your to do list.
It's a bit funny to go looking for a FTF on a trig which is listed as one of the walk destinations and that obviously many, many people have visited before but hey a trig is a trig and we'll take it!
The drive into the visitor's centre is about 3km from the open (for once) gate. It's a winding, narrow track with potholes and a few "sound horn" signs.
When you arrive you get hit up for $10 per adult and $5 per kid even if you are a NPWS passholder. Anyway it's all for a good cause I guess. It's the first trig I've had to fill out a form to go and find though. The NPWS volunteers make you fill out a slip with your contacts and intended destination from a list which included Lloyd trig. We were given a laminated paper with highlights of the walk plus a map. It's only around 900m as the crow flies though, a bit longer as the geocacher treks.
Headed along the trail and every turn is signposted clearly with temporary signs. Followed the track which turned to a fire trail and passed an Aboriginal carving of a whale. There are also signs of the convict road along here. At one point there's a mysterious carving which says "J Fortune 31 December 1895" - fun place to spend New Years back then?
Left the trail and headed up the hill, all the while enjoying the magnificent wildflowers which are what the hordes are coming to see. Headed to the top of the mount where we spotted the trig easily and were met by two volunteer NPWS rangers who knew a bit about trigs but on this occasion I knew a little more. They had a map rolled out to point out the features of the amazing views and the trig itself had a visitor's book in a PVC pipe attached to the mast which they'd removed for signing. We were the 18th to sign today so a real 'discovery'? Took photos and enjoyed the views while seaplanes roared over. Great views of the rail bridge and Brooklyn. There's also an old fashioned 'convict' style survey mark nearby.
Said our goodbyes and walked back down and out of the park. A great experience, pity it was quite late in the day otherwise we'd have done a few more walks. The park closes at 430pm. If you don't want to wait another year then there's three more days this place is open.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muogamarra_Nature_Reserve which mentions a walk to the trig.
I was disappointed not to be able to visit this year - it is an incredible reserve.