Wilds Waterfall Traditional Geocache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size:  (small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This cache takes you to a little waterfall and pond. There has been
an unfortunate incident recently (in September 2011) in The Wilds,
so be careful there. We suggest you do this cache on weekends when
the park is busier and there is more activity. If you do want to go
during the week do not go on your own, but in a group of at least 4
or 5 people. We have only been here on weekends when it is
relatively busy and have felt secure doing that.
One of the oldest parks in the city, The Wilds offers Joburgers 40
acres of indigenous plants, shrubs and trees and beautifully laid
stone pathways weaving up and down the koppies of the Parktown
ridge. It has spectacular views of Hillbrow to the south and
Sandton to the north. The paths crisscross the west and east sides
of Houghton Drive, the latter slightly wilder than the west, with
its lush green lawns and pretty ponds. Donated to the City by the
Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Company in 1924 on condition
that it remain in its natural state, the garden is planted with the
best of South Africa's indigenous flora - Cape fynbos, huge
strelitzias, beds of clivias, elegant arum lilies, proteas, and
trees such as yellowwood and cabbage. It opened to the public in
1938. The Wilds has security guards at the parking at the main
entrance in Houghton Drive, Parktown
Source: (joburg.org.za)
Parking coordinates are provided as an additional waypoint and the
park is open from sunrise to sunset according to the sign at the
gate. The security is only at the entrance to look after cars and
control access through the official entrance. They do not patrol
the park. Having spoken to them about the security issue, their
advice is that the west side (the parking side) is fine, and the
east side (this side) is normally fine, but sometimes they do have
incidents on this side of the bridge, so please take care when
caching, especially if in a small group or midweek. We also come
here regularly to check up on these caches, so you are welcome to
confirm with us when we are going and take the walk with us.
There is a series of three caches on the east side, it takes us
around 30 minutes to walk this 1.3km route when we do maintenance
on the caches. The most direct route to get to all three caches is
to turn right after you cross the bridge, and go down to do
Wilds Waterfall. After that, follow the path markers
#3 and then #4 up the hill to Take a walk on The Wilds side.
From there, continue up the hill and over the other side, following
paths #10 and #11 (taking the right fork when the path splits on
the way down). When you get to #14 follow that to Jozi
View. From there, continue down the hill to the bridge
again.
The cache is a small L&L hidden at the coordinates.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fgnaqvat ba gur fyno, ybbx qbja gb lbhe yrsg