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Spurwing Island Mystery Cache

Hidden : 7/22/2015
Difficulty:
3 out of 5
Terrain:
5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


Do not go to the posted coordinates. You will not find the cache. You must solve the puzzle to obtain the coordinates.

 

Spurwing S

 

Spurwing E

 

Matusadona is a game reserve park in northern Zimbabwe. The park takes its name from the local Matuzviadonha Hills and is a stunning combination of flat plains and rugged mountain country. The meaning of “Matuzviadonha” is “falling dung” - which was probably a comment on the sight of elephants dropping dung balls as they struggled up the hills. The name is often abbreviated as "The Matus" in colloquial speech by locals.

Matusadona boasts a unique combination of pristine and rugged wilderness, together with the water frontage of Lake Kariba. It is one of the last remaining sanctuaries of the endangered Black Rhinoceros. It was once commonly recognized as having the second largest concentration of wild lions in Africa after Ngorongoro Crater. Within a 450km2 area there was +100 lions feeding on a bounty of buffalo. Sadly the buffalo began to disappear after losing vital grazing areas to a rise in the level of Lake Kariba upon which the park is set on. This in turn saw the lions begin to decline. By 2004 a study estimated a mere 28 lions remained in the area but no research was available on their viability and/or any other threats the population may be facing. The population is still remaining at a low density and is therefore susceptible to a variety of environmental and human induced pressures.

Its relatively poor accessibility by road and extremely harsh internal network of roads keep the crowds and traffic low - it is accessible by boat from Kariba and from the Bumi Hills airstrip.

Matusadona National Park is one of several protected wildlife areas with shorelines on Lake Kariba. Some 338,000 acres (1370 km²) in area, it is bounded on the west by the Ume river and on the east by the Sanyati River. Two-thirds of it lies south of the Zambezi Escarpment formed by the 1968 foot (600 m) high Matusadona Hills from which it takes its name.

Many of the animals rescued during Operation Noah when Lake Kariba was filling (following the construction of Kariba Dam) were released into Matusadona, which then held strong populations of most mammals occurring in the Zambezi Valley. Buffalo were especially prominent and herds of up to 1,000-strong often congregated along the shoreline in the dry season. (Source: Wikipedia)

Spurwing Island is situated in the Eastern Basin of Lake Kariba at the mouth of Palm Bay. The Matusadona Hill Range is overlooking this island.


Finding the cache is only a T1,5, but you will need a boat to reach the island. Due to the low water level of Lake Kariba at the time of placement it is possible now as well to go to the island by 4x4, entering via Changachirere. The roads in the park are extremely rough and stony as is the access road. Visiting the park in July 2015 we were told, however, that all roads including the entrance road will be made in the following months; the machinery is supposed to arrive in August 2015.

Entering the park requires a permit and payment of an entrance fee. This can be paid and received either at the HQ in the park or beforehand from Zimparks as well as on Spurwing Island itself. Coming by boat and staying on the island requires no permit.

 

Additional Hints (No hints available.)