Kowen Roo Series - Introduction
Kangaroos and wallabies are a large part of the ACT caching environment. With so many parks full of caches and roos, I give this tribute to our 2 legged friends. Give them a quiet wave as you pass.
I have seen roos in nearly every suburb of Canberra, including one hopping from Braddon to Turner across Northbourne Ave early one morning.
This series covers all the different types of kangaroos including wallabies and other Australian marsupials. The series also covers famous roos and some roo trivia.
Refer back to this cache description for any information about Kowen Pine Forest closures.
#01 Puzzle
Most geocaches have a hint that the player can use if they are having trouble finding the cache. This hint is encrypted using ROT13. Most apps now, including geocaching.com just use a click to decrypt it.
Back in the old days of geocaching, when you would print out the cache page and take it with you into the wild, you would also have to decrypt the hint by hand. Now you can have a go at this one.
fbhguguveglsvirrvtugrracbvagfrirauhaqerqnaqgjraglsvir
rnfgbaruhaqerqnaqsbeglavarsvsgrracbvagguerruhaqerqnaqsvsgrra
Kowen Roo
Kowen Roo is a large series of 94 caches spanning 24km. The series is more than just a pretty picture, the caches are in many different and interesting locations. You will be surprised of the diversity of the landscape throughout Kowen Forest.
The Kowen Pine Forest area is restricted for vehicle access, so you will find locked gates all the way around. There is a sign at each gate: (authorised vehicles only - surveillance cameras are used in the area to detect illegal activity).
Check if the area is closed for an event before you go. It can be closed for car rallies and other events. Watch for rally cars, 4WDs, logging trucks, bull-dozers and dirt bikes.
There is access from the west side and also from the north.
Feel free to take a push bike, though the series does not stick to the tracks.
The entire length of Kowen Roo, in a straight line, is 24km. I walked over 70km laying them, so you may want to split it into sections.
Most of the off-track is easy and pleasant to walk with hardly any blackberries.
I didn't come across many spiders but I did see plenty of roos, rabbits, a fox and a great range of birds.
Plan ahead and take:
- at least 2 litres of water per person (more when it's hot)
- food
- pens
- bike (optional)
Kowen Pine Forest
Kowen is perhaps best known for its large pine plantations, known as Kowen Forest. A combined softwood plantation and firewood forest was established at Kowen in about 1926, on land described as otherwise "useless". An additional 100 acres of pinus insignis were planted at Kowen in 1928 as part of a 1,000 acre expansion of pine plantations across the new Federal Territory district. When most of Canberra's forest estate was destroyed in the January 2003 bushfire, the Kowen plantation was the only forest that remained undamaged.
As you wander the caches, note the different size of the pines and the different work that is done in each section. There are a lot of trees with blue marks. You might figure out what that means. After you have been around them for a while you can start to tell approximately how old the trees are and which sections will be the next to crop.
Parking
No unauthorised vehicles are permitted within Kowen forest.
Authorised vehicles only - surveillance cameras are used in the area to detect illegal activity.
There are various parking areas around Kowen forest. I have plotted the three closest access points to the series in the waypoints.
Please be aware of the "No Trespassing" signs that have been placed near the northern carpark and keep to the west side of them. It is only around 100m west of the gate with full access to the forest area.
Closures
Kowen Forest can be closed for various activities. For more information contact Canberra Connect:
search Canberra Connect
phone Canberra Connect on 13 22 81
Kowen Forest will be closed from 6am Friday 15th May 2015 till 10pm 16th May 2015 for a high speed car rally.