This cache is not at the listed coordinates. They will take you where you need to go, and from there you will not need to use your GPS, just your wits.
While doing research for a cache I'm working on, I was looking at a great book. It was filled with potential cache ideas, and I was wishing I could somehow share them with local cachers. This gave me an idea...
This cache is located at the Cape Town Central Library. It has been recently moved and renovated and is beautiful.
You will need to find three books to get the answers. While there are many books I'd have liked to use, I've limited it to books that are available as reference to ensure that they will be present. Two of these have copies that can be checked out as well. I've checked that all of these books are present, but the filing system is far from simple.
The final book is in non-fiction, and can be checked out. If it is out, you can still find the cache with the hint.
Your first book is "The Historical Monuments of South Africa" by J.J. Oberholster (1972). The library has it both in Afrikaans and English. These older monuments were highly biased towards colonial sites, but there is a lot of fascinating information here. Each of these locations could be caches. Many already are. Here are a few examples
- I used this book researching the Van Riebeck's Hedge Cache (GC25FXK). What number is this monument in the book? Answer = YZ
- There was once a fantastic (and invisible) cache under a bridge in the Franschhoek pass - now archived (GCR2MW). What number is this monument in the book? Answer = BA
- A microscopic nano resides at the Mostert's Mill (GC25PX3). What number is this monument in the book? Answer = YC
Your next book is titled "Places at the Cape" by Carohn Cornell & Antonia Malan (2008). It is a fantastic guide about how to research the background of places in the Cape. In addition to instructions, it also has some fascinating case studies.
One case study is about the wash houses along Platteklip stream (GC1J4CF). Your question is, how many children did the washerwoman send on Hadj? Answer = EX
For a bit of balance with the colonial history, your next book is "The first people of the Cape" by Alan Mountain (2003). This is a great introduction and overview about the people who lived in the Cape before colonists pitched up. One of the skeletons found in Peer's (Skildersgat) Cave (GC2M0FB) is typically cited as being the oldest in the vicinity of Cape Town and dated to 12,000 years ago. However, recent research has shown that this date was based on false assumptions. A revised date of just over 7000 years ago was published in 2009*. Regardless, this is still one of the oldest known skeletons near to Cape Town. According to this book, when did Goodwin begin working at this site? Answer= 192D
*Stynder, D.D., Brock, F., Sealy, J.C., Wurz, S., Morris, A.G., Volman, T.P., 2009. A mid-Holocene AMS 14C date for the presumed upper Pleistocene human skeleton from Peers Cave, South Africa, Journal of Human Evolution 56, 431-434.
Now that you have your answers, plug them into this table:
Using this, decode the following Call Number replacing letters for numbers and numbers for letters
BXZ.CA(B-E) 731
Find this book. On the inside back cover, you will find a hint to the cache location. Please share some of your sources of inspiration and information in your logs!
Library Hours (updated Nov 2014 - thanks sy-chispa!):
09.00 – 17.00 Mondays to Fridays
09.00 - 14.00 Saturdays