Geocaching in Sydney 24 - 26 Feb 2011

[Tarya]

I'm visiting Australia for the first time on my way to NZ. I guess the best way to spend those 2-3 days is to take my old, yet reliable eTrex and search the city with it That way I'll be bound to see some of the most important sights too
I'm quite new in this, I've been a geocacher since August 2010 (around 250 finds, 3 caches owned). Any tips and advice concerning geocaching in Sydney are most welcome!

[Just a cacher]

It will probably be hot and humid. Bring a hat and light clothing.

Lots of Sydney people will probably come here to suggest some great caches - and sights - for you to investigate. I only know about the oldest still-existing cache in Australia - I think it's at Lane Cove. I don't know the number, but others will.

You might also have fun if you ask a local cacher to tag along for a day or a morning, or something. Local knowledge can be very useful, and Sydney cachers are wonderful people!

Have fun!

Wendy

[Damo.]

Welcome Tarya.
In the centre of the city, GPSr reception can be really poor due to signal blocking and reflection by the tall buildings. Reading hints and checking rough location with Google maps can help.

[tronador]

Where about in Sydney will you be staying??? Most CBD caches are nanos.

[Tarya]

Hot and humid.. I hope not too hot for daytime geocaching I haven't booked accomodation yet but I'll probably stick to the city centre.

Nanos are not my favourites but also in the centre of Helsinki they are sometimes the only possibility.. I'll drop off some TB's and GC's and they'll need a bit larger caches though..

Oh, Lane Cove is definitely a must - and it's in a NP! I need to check out exactly how far it is, but that would be awesome

[tronador]

The cache at Lane Cove is now a virtual as the actual container was removed by National Parks a long time ago. The coords will take you to the area it was once located.

[Tarya]

Today I finally decided where to stay - I'll be staying not far from Circular Quay. I hope it was the right choice for geocaching as I really don't have that much time before moving on to Christchurch and eventually Auckland. I've travelled around the North Island two years ago but at that time I was pretty much unaware of geocaching.. I'm so looking forward to my first cache in Australia!

[Zalgariath]

Many great tourist friendly caches around the Quay. Try your luck at "Coathanger", "5 Quays in a Row", "Mrs Macquaries Chair" for starters. If you get really keen have a crack at "Hidden History #12: A Short Tour"...

[blossom*]

Many great tourist friendly caches around the Quay. Try your luck at "Coathanger", "5 Quays in a Row", "Mrs Macquaries Chair" for starters. If you get really keen have a crack at "Hidden History #12: A Short Tour"...

I love "Sea Monster" which is big enough for TBs and near enough to see on a walk around tourist places you might like to visit such as Circular Quay, the Opera House, the Botanical Gardens, and the Art Gallery. And "Where's Your Loyalty" is fun as it takes you round lots of little alleyways and steps to find it. The Tolkein Tree is in that area too.

It's really a matter of where you are planning to go other than the centre of the city. You can catch a ferry to Manly beach easily and it's a great spot to visit (and have a swim or a surf too) There are some caches around there of course, although I've only found one to date (Look at Moi).

Good luck

[Tarya]

Thank you for the tips, I'll try those! I plan to stay in the centre and visit at least Circular Quay, the Opera House and the Botanical Gardens plus probably a museum or two. And do the Bridge Climb There's so little time that there's very little point trying to see more places on this trip. But if there's time, I'll definitely visit Lane Cove National Park, I love NP's

Swimming didn't come to my mind as we have over 60 cm snow (very rare here on the south coast) and it's -10 degrees Celsius at the moment People do swim a lot here in the sea though, it's just ice swimming.. You can believe these snowdrifts have made geocaching really challenging... "Available in winter " attributes don't necessarily hold true this winter...

As the satellite reception is bad in the centre, do the buildings block signals a lot near the caches mentioned above?

[blossom*]

As the satellite reception is bad in the centre, do the buildings block signals a lot near the caches mentioned above?

Yes, reception is extremely difficult in some spots but most caches mentioned are not in the middle of the corridors of tall buildings. The best way to attack them when reception is too bad is to find an open space where you get reasonable reception and then take a bearing, look to see where you ought to go and walk there! And then use the hint and previous logs!! I found "Jekyll and ????" this way due to the tree cover

Most of those mentioned have pretty reasonable reception though as they're not too close to buildings.

Try "Writers of Renown" - you only need a camera for that as it's a Virtual, same with Mrs Macquarie's Chair as it's an Earthcache. Note that "5 Quays in a Row" is up top

[Tarya]

So many places to visit and so many caches to look for - and so little time Let's see how it goes.. Thank you all

[Just a cacher]

Just have fun!

Wendy