In this age of instant gratification, one might easily think that geocaching is all about the quick smiley, be it power trails, park-and-grab or that bison on a fencepost. But not everything's like that, there are still some caches that take time to savour like a slow-cooked winter meal. Stroll along the track, climb that hill, listen to the birds, soak up the views, find those far-flung waypoints and take heaps of photos.
To qualify for this challenge you'll need to have logged finds on 20 caches in Australia with the "Takes more than 1 hour" attribute set – that's the clockface with a red slash through it, just like the one shown here:
Attended logs on events having this attribute also count as finds. Use the checker below to determine whether or not you qualify. You may only log a find online once you've both signed the physical logbook in this cache and completed the challenge qualification. There's no need to list your qualifying caches – if the checker says you're good, you're good.
The cache itself is on Scopas Peak alongside the Great North Walk between Wondabyne and Girrakool. Access is from Wondabyne railway station (advise the train's guard that you're alighting there and use the rear door of the rear carriage), the Girrakool picnic area off Quarry Road in Kariong (a parking fee applies) or the GNW Mooney Mooney Creek trackhead just east of the Old Pacific Highway bridge.
The cache is located inside Brisbane Water National Park and is hidden with permission. It's easily accessed across a rock shelf from the GNW track without disturbing the vegetation. Take care on any wet rock as it can be very slippery.
The hiding place has two openings: from one you'll be able to see the cache but not reach it, from the other you can reach it but not see it. Please make sure to put it back this way. Note that the National Parks and Wildlife Service allows only an information card, logbook, pencil and sharpener in the container - no swag or trackables please!
Brisbane Water National Park, created in 1959, extends along the northern side of the Hawkesbury River from Mooney Mooney to Umina, encompassing 12,000 hectares of mainly open forest and woodland. Hawkesbury sandstone is a Triassic sedimentary quartzose rock laid down from Antarctic sands some 200 million years ago and uplifted to form a plateau. Scopas Peak, along with the nearby Leochares Peak and Mount Kariong, are remnants of the higher points on this plateau, with deep valleys eroded around them by running water. Wind erosion has also attacked weaknesses in the rock, forming alcoves and honeycombing on exposed faces throughout the park.
The Great North Walk between Sydney and Newcastle traverses the full north-south extent of the park from Patonga to Somersby. It was established as part of the 1988 bicentenary and is maintained by the NSW Department of Lands.
Other important information about the National Park is here:
The Great North Walk may be closed during periods of increased fire danger so check the Brisbane Water National Park GNW alerts page before heading out.
