Difference between revisions of "Northern Territory"
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| − | == | + | == Caching in the Top End == |
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| − | The | + | Geocaching in the Top End presents a number of challenges brought on by the climate and environment. |
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| + | The climate is extreme with a distinct dry and wet season. Dec-Feb may find you wandering through torrential rain to try and find a cache. Actually, for the most part the rain storms that we have don't tend to last too long and pass relatively quickly. You don't have drizzle hanging around all day like down South. The exception to this is if a monsoon trough sets in, then you can have prolonged rain periods. | ||
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| + | At this time of year many of the rural dirt roads become undriveable (and some of the highways can be closed as well). With the copious amounts of rain and high humidity levels, it is also like someone has thrown a bunch of magic beanstalk type seeds all around; The vegetation becomes lush a green and takes off. By the end of the wet season you will find that most of the bushland has 2m plus tall grass growing in it. | ||
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| + | A lot of this growth will dry out and die of in the dry season. This leads to another common sight up here in the dry season; fires. It can be difficult to place a cache in the bush in the Top End as you can almost guarantee that a fire will go through the area at some point within the next few years at least once. | ||
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| + | These extremes in climate produce the challenges to finding a cache here. Someone may have been driving along a hwy at the end of the dry season and spotted a fantastic rock formation that is just begging for a cache about 75m from the road. They walk out over the 5cm high burnt off stubs of grass and place the cache in the obvious spot and go off happy with there placement. You could then go to look for the cache at the end of the wet season and find that when you get to the closest point to the cache on the road, all you see is a thick wall of 2m long spear grass that is sopping wet and standing in ankle deep water. You won't even be able to see the rock formation. All fun and games and just needs you to pick your times well. | ||
Revision as of 19:59, 23 November 2012
NT Geocaching
Please visit the The NT Dashboard to find any new caches in the area and/or geocaching events.
Caching in the Top End
Geocaching in the Top End presents a number of challenges brought on by the climate and environment.
The climate is extreme with a distinct dry and wet season. Dec-Feb may find you wandering through torrential rain to try and find a cache. Actually, for the most part the rain storms that we have don't tend to last too long and pass relatively quickly. You don't have drizzle hanging around all day like down South. The exception to this is if a monsoon trough sets in, then you can have prolonged rain periods.
At this time of year many of the rural dirt roads become undriveable (and some of the highways can be closed as well). With the copious amounts of rain and high humidity levels, it is also like someone has thrown a bunch of magic beanstalk type seeds all around; The vegetation becomes lush a green and takes off. By the end of the wet season you will find that most of the bushland has 2m plus tall grass growing in it.
A lot of this growth will dry out and die of in the dry season. This leads to another common sight up here in the dry season; fires. It can be difficult to place a cache in the bush in the Top End as you can almost guarantee that a fire will go through the area at some point within the next few years at least once.
These extremes in climate produce the challenges to finding a cache here. Someone may have been driving along a hwy at the end of the dry season and spotted a fantastic rock formation that is just begging for a cache about 75m from the road. They walk out over the 5cm high burnt off stubs of grass and place the cache in the obvious spot and go off happy with there placement. You could then go to look for the cache at the end of the wet season and find that when you get to the closest point to the cache on the road, all you see is a thick wall of 2m long spear grass that is sopping wet and standing in ankle deep water. You won't even be able to see the rock formation. All fun and games and just needs you to pick your times well.
