Inn of the Damned

This has to be one of the better, and spookiest geocaches we have visited. Located along the Simpsons Track, following the shores of Mangrove Creek – the Inn of the Damned (GCY3M3) cache by GroovyChook is located at a site used to film the 1976 horror movie “Inn of the Damned”. Sadly, only scattered remains of the building are left since being torched by vandals in 1979 and barely recognisable with the lush forest greenery taking over. All that’s left standing is a small tin out house.

Our plan was to park near the Mangrove Creek weir, and cross it – if possible, make our way up Simpsons Track to this geocache, and then progress another 3km further up the track to the Simpson’s Cave geocache.

It was a hot stinky Saturday morning. The temperature was hitting 35′c, and our first obstacle was we couldn’t drive all the way to the weir because access was restricted. So we parked near the gate and walked down the steep, sizzling paved roadway – not looking forward to the return hike up the hill.

Before long we were at the shores of Mangrove creek.

Muddy Mangrove Creek

Our next obstacle was how to cross the creek. There is a concrete weir, and unattended pumping station – with warning signs and fences to keep us out. Adjacent to the weir was an alternate rocky crossing, but difficult to get to. Instead we decided to find a way under the fence and cross the safer, and easier, concrete weir.

Mangrove Creek Weir

Looking back from where we came

After a minor southward detour, were soon following Simpson’s Track westward along the southern shores of Mangrove Creek. This old convict track was oozing history – being the original road from Sydney to the Central Coast and used up to as late as 1930. With the history came the ghostly eeriness of being out here, all alone, on this lonely yet legendary track.

Simpsons Track heading toward the Inn

The heat was stifling. The silence broken by the song of the ever-present bellbirds in the trees above. Now and then wildlife was heard and seen to be scuffling away from us as we approached. We saw goannas,  a platypus, snake tracks slithering across the ground, and probably other interesting things we dared not look for.

Simpsons track - an eerie and haunted place

Perhaps the spookiest thing of all wasn’t found until after we were at home later that afternoon, examining the day’s photos and in at least three cases we could find “faces” in amongst the trees and bush. One of the most startling, and clearest, being that of a young boy.

We were closing in on Ground Zero. First a rusty car, then an out-house as the cache description had hinted we should look for, and a flat area, devoid of trees that we could only assume was the site of the Inn that now no longer exists. But we could “feel” it, like it was still there in front of us – and it was rather unsettling.

The rusty car

The Out House

Something told Wolfie Guy the cache is “here”, I mean “right here” – and I’m not talking about our GPSr. He just was somehow “told” – and he looked, and it was there. Right there. Exactly. First go. In a non-obvious place that would have otherwise taken quite a while to find. We told you this is a spooky place.

Wolfie, the Cache, the TB, in front of the Out House

The cache was last signed in 2007. I guess not many visitors make it out this way. We took from it a Unite for Diabetes Travel Bug that had been sitting out here waiting to hitch a ride since 2006. We thought about leaving the geocoin we picked up yesterday, but didn’t think the owner of the coin would appreciate it being left in a cache that gets visited only once or twice a year, if that!

Now it was time to continue along Simpsons Track toward Simpson’s Cave (GCXZFP) – we made it about one-third of the way along the 3km hike when we came to a junction with a stone monument.

Plaque on Stone Monument

The plaque reads:

SIMPSON’S TRACK TEN MILE HOLOW TO MULBRING

This track was established as a major branch from the Great North Road and intended by Lt Percy Simpson as the road north, at least to Newcastle and Maitland (Wallis Plains). He was Assistant-Surveyor at Wiseman’s Ferry from 1828 to 1832 and one of Australia’s earliest scientific road engineers. He supervised the construction of some of the Road’s finest structures.

The line of Simpson’s Track was like so many others, probably a path used by aboriginals. First known sighting by a white man was by McDonald, who was the overseer of a property at Ellalong. It goes from Ten Mile Hollow on to Mangrove Creek, then up Dubbo Valley on to Mangrove Mountain, then down Bumble Hill up through Yarramalong, Dooralong and then on to Cooranbong.

Lt Simpson had selected land near Dora Creek in 1828 and no doubt wanted the Road to go past his property.

The Great North Road, the first made north of the Hawkesbury, was constructed by convict gangs between 1826 and 1836. Some parts of the Rod have carried traffic continuously since that time. Other sections have been abandoned or have become little used.

The GNR was made when settlers were pushing up into the Hunter Valley and when sailing ships found it difficult to get into the harbour at Newcastle.

Today you can walk or ride ‘the convict trail’ from kerbed and guttered suburban streets, to the dry, rocky ridges and spectacular forests around Wiseman’s Ferry and St. Albans, to the pretty Wollombi Valley and onto the open plains of the Hunter Valley. Along the way you will find much that will amaze you. Get a map and EXPLORE.

After reading the plaque we looked down to see we were standing on some snake skin that looked quite fresh – to be reminded of the potential dangers of being out here.

From this junction, we detoured off the Simpson’s Track a little and headed over toward a nearby cool, refreshing creek, for a bit of a rest in the shade before looking at continuing up the track. As we approached, we startled a crocodile-sized goanna which took off across the water and up a tree – I’m not sure who got the bigger fright – the goanna, or us!

Refreshing cool creek on a stinking hot day

It was a nice cool oasis here – a place for us to dip our hats in the water and get a bit of coolness onto our hot and flustered heads – after which we returned back to Simpson’s Track and made a decision not to proceed today.

This part of the track was becoming very overgrown with knee-height grass, and given the weather and abundance of snakes in the area, we decided to give it a miss this time. The temperature was soaring and we had a fairly long walk back – and besides, it was lunch time and we were getting hungry.

We haven’t forgotten Simpson’s Cave – but next time we’ll approach it from the west, thus giving ourselves opportunity to explore even more of this amazing convict-built historic track. This has definitely been one of our most favourite, and spookiest of places we have been.

Thank you GroovyChook for such an awesome cache hide, and for sharing this piece of history with us.

Secret Vision

It’s normal in geocaching to brag about being the FIRST to find a newly-placed geocache. But it’s not everyday someone might get to brag about being the LAST to find.

Sadly, this could be the case for Secret Vision (GC1871T) by d.d.dudes.

After reading the cache description and checking out the pictures and logs, it seemed this was going to be a really cool and fascinating place to visit. I parked at the Waypoint described, and headed off up the discrete track, and came across the little plaque, as described by the cacher.

This is looking interesting

We headed a little further up the track to where it opened up to a rocky outcrop, and noticed some beautiful and fascinating carvings on ground – the most prominent being a very large kangaroo.

A VERY large Kangaroo carving.

Some of the carvings were well worn and camouflaged, so they’re hard to photograph. It was a very peaceful, almost mystical place. Something rustled in the bush nearby, I turned to spot a large Goanna race up a tree. I must’ve startled him.

With the aid of the hint, I retrieved the cache very quickly and opened it to start signing the log book. Upon doing so I was very surprised to turn around and find two State Forest rangers had appeared from behind – and they wanted to know what I was doing!

I had the cache right there, log book opened which I was in the process signing — so I just told them I was geocaching, and asked if they’d heard of it before.  They explained they knew what geocaching is – but were concerned about it going on at a sacred aboriginal women’s site.

He said he saw my car parked out by the road and wanted to know what I was up to.  They told me there had been some vandalism and disrespectful activities going on, a person called “JACOB” had used an angle grinder to put his name in the rock, and he was very upset that somebody had once “outlined” the carvings with a chalk-type rock to make them stand out so that they could be photographed.

I showed him the log and explained it brought in a few people – but not large numbers, and geocachers are overall a very responsible bunch of people, which he understood – but he explained that to place a geocache at this location is “tacky and disrespectful” to the aboriginal tribe and their ancestors – and is “about as tacky as Nicole Kidman trying to play a didgeridoo.” 

Being a women’s site, they also do not like men being here. Period.

He wanted to know the website and the cache name, which I gave him. I offered to contact the cache owner – which I will, and the ranger said he will also follow it up.  He wants the cache owner to move it – say, a couple of hundred metres away somewhere down the other track. He said “there’s no problem with putting the cache in the state forest, but the problem is with it being at a sacred site.”

Wolfie, on sacred ground.

I returned the cache to its location. I’m not sure if it will still be there now.

This was my 60th find, my last for 2008, and sadly it might also be the last time this cache is found because this is a great spot which should be shared and accessible by responsible people.

GC1460Q Pioneers Chair

Perhaps we have a morbid side, but we really love geocaching in cemeteries. I think it’s the history and mystique of the whole thing – and thankfully close to home there are two cache locations that satisfy our curiosity for the dead.

One of these is Pioneers Chair GC1460Q by “daznat99″, situated at the end of the scenic Point Frederick, near Gosford overlooking Brisbane Water.

This micro cache had us quite stumped for a while. GZ seemed to be bouncing around all over – and we were up and down the stairs, but in the end a bit of perseverance and lateral thinking saved the day and we soon discovered what turned out to be quite a sneaky hide and signed the dog… err.. we mean log!

Wolfie, proud of his find.

Thanks for the Cache, daznat99. We love these cemetery hides and the challenge of finding a micro.