#18 The Thin Black Line

Our 2nd DNF for Australia Day was #18 The Thin Black Line (GC1C47), a medium sized cache by Hounddog.

Located in a bush reserve adjacent to a coal conveyer belt that feeds the nearby Lake Munmorah power station, we spent about 30 minutes (possibly longer?) here trudging around in the dense undergrowth seeking out this cache.

Mysteriously, we did find a perfectly rectangular “indentation” in the growth that indicated a place where a geocache could have been resting very recently – but if so, it’s no longer there.

We’re keeping a watch on this cache, and might come back again here soon one day for another go.

Mosquito Island

Don’t let the name of this geocache put you off visiting. We did not encounter a single mosquito, but we did encounter other challenges – but TeamWolfie was brave enough to make the splash and our bravery was to be rewarded with this, our 65th cache find.

Mosquito Island (GC19D59) by basscadetz is a mysterious and peaceful place. Located at the end of a peninsula at Tacoma South where the mouth of the Wyong River runs into Tuggerah Lake. The cache hider guaranteed a “water feature” at the end of the track, and a “water feature” we got. Although we were woefully unprepared for any water activity, we kicked off our shoes and decided to GO FOR IT !

Mosquito Island - no mosquitos, but there is a geocache.

If you’ve ever waded through a muddy estuary before, you probably already know the sensation of having your feet sink up to 30cm deep into the thick, slimy, sludgy mud – if barefoot, hoping there’s nothing too unfriendly in amongst it all! If you can’t handle this sensation, we strongly suggest gum boots – the type that come up to your knees (or higher)…

We braved it barefoot and had no dramas. The water was warm and inviting – with the appeal of a small child’s wading pool, and who knows what natural or man-made evils lurk beneath the surface?

The island is pretty cool. If I was a bird, like a pelican or a swan, I’d love to have a nest here. For bird watchers there is an abundance of pelicans and black swans swimming in Tuggerah Lake nearby, feeding from the outflow of the Wyong river.

We found the small cache after a brief sniff around, signed the log, and mentally prepared ourselves for the trip back across the murky and muddy waterway.

Contemplating the return to the mainland

Trying to re-trace our steps, I’m sure we sank even deeper into the sludge on the return trip than we did on the way over – perhaps because we’d already stirred it up.

Mosquito Island was certainly a different and memorable place, although I’m surprised this cache only had a terrain difficulty of 2. I would have expected a bonus terrain point for trudging through bog to get to the cache!

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.