Other caches in this series published to-date:
- GC189M1:
The Hexagram Part 2 -- The Car
To find this cache, you will have to rent a bicycle at a given
point and follow the multi-stage path laid out. This is a track of
about 50km on fairly flat terrain. Most of the track will be away
from heavily frequented roads but you will share some parts of the
track with cars. So you should be confident on a bike before
attempting this. Depending on your physical condition (you don't
have to be Lance Armstrong to do this!) you can probably finish the
track in somewhere between 4 and 7 hours. So you better make sure
you start early enough in the morning, I wouldn't recommend
starting after 10am... You will definitely want to bring a map of
the area to orient yourself. Best is the HK Country Side Series map
issued by the Government as this map explicitly shows all the
bicycle trails, but a normal road map will also do. Especially if
you do this trip in summer, bring water! You will be passing by
restaurants and convenience shops, but you should expect that
you'll also be cycling for an hour without any shop around!
Notes:
- All coordinates below are in WGS84 format DD° MM.MMMM'.
You may have to bring a calculator to convert them to other formats
if your GPS unit doesn't take this format directly.
- Throughout this multi-stage cache, you will be guided to places
where you will have to find numbers. With these numbers you will
have to calculate coordinates to find the next stage. Example: You
will be asked to find a telephone number which you discover to be
12345678. Let this telephone number be
[a1][b1][c1][d1][e1][f1][g1][h1]. You are then asked to
calculate the next coordinate as E114°
[a1+4][c1-2].[b1][f1][e1]0'. Hence your next coordinate would
be E114° 51.2650'
Stage 1
Take the KCR towards Lo Wu and alight at Tai Po station. Walk to
the first stage which is at N22° 26.7730' E114° 10.0610'.
You should find yourself in front of a bicycle shop. Rent your bike
for the day. Look around yourself! Very close to the shop you will
find a church. The church clearly publishes it's Telephone number,
let this be [a1][b1][c1][d1][e1][f1][g1][h1]. Further let
its Fax number be [i1][j1][k1][l1][m1][n1][o1][p1].
Hint: To get to the next stage, take the road south for approx.
50m, then turn right. Follow the road to the end, turn right again
and head for the river. Next to the river you'll see a bicycle
track which will bring you all the way out of the city without
meeting heavy traffic.
Stage 2
Go to:
N22° [a1][p1+1].[n1][m1+2][d1-1]0'
E114° [a1-1][e1-2].[i1-1][c1][p1]0'
You will be located in front of a hut with basic shelter. The hut
has a registration number, let this be B[a2][b2][c2][d2]. At
the basement of the hut, you will see some small holes covered by
fences. Count them, their number shall be [e2][f2].
Hint: On your way to the next stop make sure you have enough
water with you. You'll be riding about the same distance as before,
but without many shops along the way.
Stage 3
Go to:
N22° [c2][a2].[e2+3][e2+2][d2-1]0'
E114° [b2][a2+b2].[d2+e2][c2][d2-c2]0'
You should find yourself in front of a HK Post Mail Box. Let it's
serial number be [a3][b3][c3]. Go back to the main road you
came from. It's crossing a little stream via a bridge. Let the
bridge's registration number be N[d3][e3][f3].
Hint: It's probably lunch time by now. Maybe this would be a
good place to have some food, you still have quite a distance ahead
of you... Restock on water and off we go to:
Stage 4
Go to:
N22° [f3][d3-a3].[a3-1][e3][c3]0'
E114° [f3-d3][c3-a3].[f3][c3-1][e3+1]0'
Reaching this point, you may have to leave your bike behind and
walk the last few meters as you don't want to ride stairs, do you?
Once you reached the point, read the Educational Plate (and being
on it already, take it serious, please!). Atop the plate, you will
be faced with a little plate bearing some black words and a red
number which shall be KK [a4][b4][c4] [d4][e4][f4].
Hint: You have a beautiful place around yourself which calls for
some more exploration. However consider that you still have two
more stages to go! You're getting really close now:
Stage 5 - The Cache
Ride to:
N22° [e4+1][d4-a4-f4].[b4-2][b4-a4][a4-1]0'
E114° [e4][b4-1].[c4][b4-a4][a4+e4+f4]0'
Obey the signs when you approach the cache. Leave your bike behind
and walk the remaining distance!
You shouldn't have much difficulty finding the cache. Please make
sure you hide it very well afterwards, I suspect many people
frequent this area on nice days.
Once you're done with the cache, don't quite go yet! Alongside
the road is a guard rail (the metal thing which prevents cars from
driving down the slope. You have climbed over this when you reached
the cache). Between the beginning of this guard rail and the point
of the cache (which is about 30m), you will count [f5][g5]
poles with which the guard rail is fixed to the ground (Also count
the pole which is right next to the cache location).
Almost exactly across the road, slightly to the right, you'll see
a slope registration plate saying [c5]NE-B/C[d5][e5].
To the left of the plate is a ladder going up the slope. It has a
kind of tube preventing people from falling down when they climb
up. The tube consists of [a5] rings.
Keep walking along the road a bit, heading North-East. To your
left you will soon see stairs going down. The stairs consist of
[b5][c5] steps.
Hint: It might now be a good time for some tea break, you still
have some task ahead of you:
Stage 6 - The Bonus Stage
Even though you have found the cache already, trust me on this. You
DEFINITELY want to go here! You will regret later if you
didn't.
So, go to:
N22° [b5][c5+d5].[a5-f5][c5][g5]0'
E114° [b5-1][d5-1].[e5][d5-f5][g5-b5]0'
You will find youself on a little bridge. On the bridge is a
sign-board talking about fish. The board also offers a telephone
number, let this be [z1][z2][z3][z4][z5][z6][z7][z8]. Write
down these values and keep them safe for now. You will later
definitely want to remember them!
Finally go back to Stage 1 (which is an easy & quick ride by
now) and return your bike. The best way to approach Stage 1 is
again by following the river into the heart of the city.
Good luck & stay tuned for Part 2 of the Hexagram!