Geocaching 10/9/14 Bushrangers Cave

So today we set out to do the geocache "Bushranger's Cave." GCZAYQ
It lies between Mt. Sugarloaf and Minmi off George Booth Drive.
Our geogroup - Belowparr69 (me), Jadenflair (Jae) and MrandMrsMayers (Sister Kiera and Brother in law Nick) decided to make a day of it and 4wd and walk our way through the local caches.

It's a difficulty rating of 5, terrain of 4. This geocache is found within a cave almost under the new Hunter Expressway. The story goes that an escaped convict joined a group of bushrangers in the area and this cave was a potential hideout for them up until they were hanged in 1841.

We started the day doing the Richmond Vale Tunnel series, which is close to the cave and runs along an old railway corridor which is now unused but the tunnels are still remarkably intact. We parked near the 3rd in the series and made our way East towards the first and the cave.

 

The tunnel series would make a great bushwalk, it is about 6km long though so we drove the distance in between and had a good walk down to each cache from the main road. I definitely felt it after a while but walking through areas that even the 4wd couldn't get to made me feel pretty good.

 

This is The Old Forgotten Bridge. An old railway bridge between Richmond Vale tunnel 2 and 3. There was a geocache on it but many people lately have not found it and we searched for a long while. It is a great long lost piece of history, with most bridges like this since being demolished.

I decided to climb out on to the bridge for a better view. Being scared of heights I took this as a challenge but once I got out I realized that I was 30m above the creek and needed the ground beneath me once more. It was exhilarating though!

The biggest walk of the day lead to the cave. Blue Gum Creek runs off Mt. Sugarloaf and has formed a waterfall at the mouth of the cave. Looking down it was at least a 10m drop and not knowing what was in the water below, we went around. After some bouldering/scrambling we made it down ok.

 What an amazing spot, I'm definitely coming back here in summer, hopefully when the water is running a bit cleaner and can swim! If you are looking at doing any Hunter Valley geocaches this should be at the top of your list!

We also found where Santa goes on holidays!

This interesting piece of bush art was found on the walk down to the cave. I assume the pipe was left in the bow of the tree many years ago and it has since been enveloped by its host. Though I despise dumping waste like this, it is pretty cool.

Thank you to the many local cachers for helping me get out and explore this wonderfully diverse and beautiful area that I am lucky enough to live in. 

If any cachers are keen to come out I would love to do these again, please message me and I will see what I can do!

Boat Harbour 14/8/14

So I got out and fished Boat Harbour last week, it was the 16th of August so winter and I got sunburnt! It was great haha! 

What an amazing stretch of coastline. We saw a large seal meander on through up towards the beach and sat back and watched, it was a bit far away to get a clear photo but what a great site.

The spot we picked had a large rockpool on one side that swept out with the waves every few minutes and a lot of white water movement in front. I used the rockpool to hold berley, I threw a few handfuls of bread mix into it which let it release into the open periodically and spread throughout the feeding channel as food washed off the rocks would naturally.

There were several Wrasse and Drummer about, all very healthy and happy to fight.
Though we didn't get one legal sized they were all beautifully coloured and they were all a lot of fun.

We used running sinkers with a green bead on the line as running sinkers will catch less on the rocks and the green bead would hopefully attract more attention from fish. After losing several rigs I chose to use a float (my favourite form of fishing) and it worked pretty well.

This salmon was caught in the afternoon, on bottle squid under a large float out in open water. It put up a great fight and though they get a bad rap as an eating fish I recommend giving them a go.
Bleed them straight away by cutting between the gills down to the spine. I put mine into a rock pool to let it flow easily but sitting it tail up will help the process too. This removes the blood from the flesh leaves a nice white meat instead of a dark red, stronger flavoured one.
I used it to make salmon patties, which I have made several times before and they are always great. There are several recipes online but I may post mine up later.

As the afternoon wore on and I ran out of bait I decided to go bouldering. It's rock climbing but on shorter lengths without harnesses. Most of the cliffs there were only twice my height so it was fun and a great workout but not too big for something I'd never really given a go before.
This photo below was the section I was climbing and I would recommend it to anyone looking to get out and try climbing.

So in the end it was a great day. I got to see all of Port Stephens from Gan Gan Lookout, caught a decent salmon, saw a seal, found some geocaches, went climbing and spent some time with my dad. Couldn't get much better than that.

Cheers,
Andrew

Geocaching

 Ok so I haven't posted much lately but I have definitely been out and about.
I have been doing a bit of fishing but with most of my time off now I have been out geocaching. Please check it out if you haven't already, it is a great way to get out and enjoy this beautiful country of ours.
Geocaching.com/
As a quick run down it is basically an online treasure hunt, where somebody posts co-ordinates of a "cache" and you go find it, fill out the log book and log it online to say you have found it. Some are easy, some are difficult and can be tiny or huge. The community is full of great people, most of them more than happy to help and share this new world with others.
As I write this, I have found 75 geocaches and through doing so have seen many weird and wonderful things and places that I otherwise would have missed out on. I am also using it as a way to get fit, getting out and bushwalking and climbing rocks is definitely beneficial!

These Gymea Lilies were found at the top of Gan Gan Lookout at Nelsons Bay. They are an Australian native plant that you cannot grow or harvest without a license.

This is the view of the river at Morpeth, an old quiet town where I buy all my chilli sauce. The Morpeth Gallery has a great range of chilli sauces and products and is definitely worth checking out if you get a chance.

This is taken at Bar Beach, one of favourite places to enjoy the ocean. The carpark looks over this cliff and beach and down past Redhead also. When I was younger I spent a lot of time at this beach and have fished on these rocks a couple of times as well.

The Ash Island Geocaches make a great day out, there are several on the island throughout the walking trails and access roads. A large portion of Ash Island is now protected, since the government recognised the need to have a natural habitat for the native wildlife in the Hunter River estuary.
There are many volunteers giving their time to keep this area protected and functioning and as a result there are many different forms of wildlife to see.

This is the view from Bolwarra Lookout, it's a great little spot as well. It looks out over the farms and floodplains and also has a sneaky little geocache there.

 The Stockton Bridge was always my favourite part of Newcastle growing up, my sisters and I called it "The Dinosaur Bridge" for obvious reasons and I was quite surprised to see there is a geocache right at the top!

 I also spent a day atop Mount Sugarloaf. There is a great bushwalk through there and a few geocaches, all which I found after locking my keys in my car! Luckily dad was able to come up and me, thanks again! In my car I have most things I would need in a pinch such as rope, straps, chain, water, tools but this situation threw me. I had a spare key at home so at least I didn't have to break a window!

As a great little bonus I have been using geocaching to scout new fishing spots! Many are on the coast and in places most people would not look so I have found a few nice spots since I have started.

So check out the link, watch the video and get into it. If any geocachers out there have any questions or are planning on doing any Hunter Valley geocaches, feel free to contact me through the site. My name is Belowparr69. Also keep an eye out for my geocaches as my first one should be put out soon :)

Cheers,
Andrew

Myall River Camp

This is another place that I love and have been camping at for many years. 

Right on the edge of the river, this private campground has its own beach and boat ramp, well looked after pit toilets and caretakers who look after the park.

There is some good fishing to be had in the river, its clean and the fish are healthy and pretty. Dolphins run up the river most mornings and afternoons, there are goannas, possums and other critters to watch and its still close enough to an urban centre to be an easy weekend away.

 

There was four of us this trip, our set up was pretty simple. Two tents, a fireplace in the middle and a gazebo off to one side with the icebox and food underneath to protect it. I took an old tarp just in case it rained and when it did I pulled it over the fireplace to keep our wood dry. 

We also had a single burner gas canister stove, one of the best things to take on a camping trip. They are cheap and the canisters are too, and can cook in most conditions when an open fire isn't feasible.

I caught two stingrays while we were there, one was about 70cm across and the other was the little guy below. Though fun, they were too much hassle to clean and were released.

There was an abundance of smaller fish around, with many mullet, bream, whiting, tailor and a few flathead being caught. I caught a few poddy mullet and threw them out on my large line, this took the large ray but nothing else this trip.
This whiting below became dinner, as it was Kyle's first ever eating sized fish.

 

There's not much else like a campfire cooked fish. To prepare the fire, let it burn pretty hard for an hour or so, try to use larger pieces of wood as you want to create a good coal layer at the bottom. When you can see this, rake them to one spot and leave flat. They should stay hot but bring the fire back in around the fish to keep it cooking evenly. This was the whiting coated in lemon pepper, wrapped a few layers of foil and left in the coals for about 20 minutes. Once it was unwrapped the bones pulled away with the tail, leaving a perfectly cooked piece of fish ready to be eaten.

 

This is another place I recommend visiting if you have the time. I've never had any trouble up there and there are so many fishing opportunities in the surrounding area. Whether its open water, beach, estuary or pier there is fishing for everyone!

Lostock Dam Caravan Park

So I've talked about this place a lot but it is genuinely one of my favourite places in the world. Please get out there and support a great place run by great people. Dave and Janet make sure the place is well looked after and obviously take pride in what they do.

 

Check them out on facebook, they have regular music "shindigs", a full cafe stocked with anything you could need in an emergency, full amenities and some of the greatest people I have met. https://www.facebook.com/TheLostockDamCaravanPark

 We got up there in October 2013, and although the wind picked up, it was a great trip and plenty of good fishing was had.

 I set out for an early morning fish, hit the river as the sun rose and it was an absolutely great morning. Below is the view I had as the sun rose. Above is the biggest bass I caught that morning. I picked out a nice deep hole being fed by the running river and I had a good view of the stretch above it. Three large bass came down the river with the current and as I saw them I threw a cricket in front of them and almost immediately hooked this one. It was a great fish, healthy and strong and it was worth the early morning.

The caravan park is a great place, far enough away to miss most of the city folk and in the one morning I saw two echidnas, a platypus, a mob of kangaroos and many other native creatures, such as the kookaburra below.

 There was just two of us on this trip so we kept the set up simple.
One icebox, one tent, one fireplace, two puppies and a good weekend.

 I pegged the tarp out to protect against most of the wind and sun, and having the icebox behind it kept it cool. Everything else was easily put away at night and by using the existing table I didn't need to open my usual gazebo.
 Our two puppies were set up on a runner, tied to the table and looped around a nearby tree. By pulling this tight they could each have one side and could not cross over, it seemed to work well.

So if you want a good weekend away, get to Lostock Dam Caravan Park, I've been going there for years and will be there again soon :)

Has it really been 8 months?

Sorry internet, I honestly didn't realize it had been 8 months since I posted!
I will make more of a conscious effort to update this blog, as I enjoy it and people still ask about it :)
I've been out fishing a few times since my last post and will make a proper post for it after this one.
I've also been camping twice, which is something I set out to talk about from the start but haven't had much of a chance to.
I've been to two of my favourite getaways in this time, Lostock Dam and Myall River Camp at Hawks Nest. My next posts will be dedicated to each.
I've fished Maitland and Aberglasslyn recently, and have found that this stretch of river is producing very healthy fish.

This is a promising sign since the floods in early 2013 killed off many fish and effectively suffocated a long stretch of breeding ground. Hopefully this means that the system is returning to normal!

So for everyone out there keen on fishing locally or interstate, get a line in and have a go!

Here is a photo of me as a little fella, with a large mullet I caught on a worm! I was so proud, I cleaned it and it stayed in the freezer for several years before it got used as berley haha!