A fish called Polly Traditional Geocache
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(regular)
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Juc_cacher's 4th hide and the first in the North East takes you to Polly McQinn's Waterhole, between Strathbogie and Euroa. Take a picnic and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.
A little way off the beaten track, the area near this cache makes for a great picnic or a relaxing day lazing by the waterhole although it can be pretty busy at times.
Polly McQuinn's Waterhole is named after an early settler, who acquired the nickname "Polly", because he was unable to grow a beard. History has it that coming home from town in his horse and cart one night, he missed the bridge, fell into the water and drowned. Local legend is that the main waterhole, which is downstream of the current road, is bottomless, which is why not trace or Polly, his horse or his cart has ever been found.
Upstream of the bridge, is a concrete weir, built in the 1920's to supply Euroa with water. Today, the dam is pretty badly silted up, but still quite attractive and a reasonably popular fishing spot (see the note below about fishing below the weir though..it's NOT allowed !).
The main water hole is a very popular swimming area and used to be the site of school swimming carnivals. There are the remains of an old diving board on the edge of the main pool, but I don't know if the bottom has changed since it was in use, so diving is not recommended without checking thoroughly first ! If in doubt, don't do it !
The rocky cascades between the weir and the main waterhole are very attractive and kids may enjoy sliding down the slippery watercourse if they can brave the cold water. This was a favoured activity when I was a kid and we used to come here regularly to escape the heat.
Camping is no longer allowed but there are some long-drop toilets nearby. There is also a very elegant fire-brick fireplace with hotplate, but please be responsible when gathering your wood.
Another claim to fame, is that the main waterhole is an important part of the habitat of the last remaining natural population of the endangered native fish, the Trout Cod. From Polly McQuinn's, downstream to Watchbox Creek, just past juc_cacher's 5th cache, is protected waters. Fishing is most definitely NOT ALLOWED in the main waterhole or the creek downstream!
Snakes will be common in summer, so exercise caution when wandering around the nearby bush. As mentioned, the rocks can be very slippery, so also take care when walking in wet areas. The local lads do get down there from time to time and go a bit wild, so there can be some broken glass around. There's no geocaching.com attribute for "bunyips", but I reckon there might be a few around here.
The cache is a camouflaged 1.2L Sistema with a few swaps and a scratchie for the FTF. It's located a little distance from the main waterhole area to allow muggle-free finding while non-caching family members enjoy the view.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
N snyyra gerr znl yrnq lbh gb gur fcbg.