The cache is not at the coordinates listed above.
Instead, they will put you in front of a black, red and white sign similar to the picture above. The building to which this sign is attached is, in fact, the factory where this well-known product is made. It is a small family owned business, employing about 10 staff, all members of the local Lancelin community. They pride themselves on producing a top quality Australian product that is fast becoming one of Australia’s favourites. I know it is one of mine!
As they say: “No Bull, it’s the best!”
You will need to write down every letter that is written on the sign (the ones that are intentionally there, not scratched on or other graffiti, ok?)
But first, a little bit of background information:
Jerky is a corruption of the word charqui which comes from comes from central and south America. There is some debated about the origin of the term, but the basic technique is continent wide, and the people there have been air drying strips of meat since time immemorial. The Quechua Incas of Peru cured alpaca meat in salt from local salares (salt flats), dried it in the altiplano desert sun and called it ch’arki. In Chile, the guanaco, another relative of the llama, was treated in a similar manner. Chilean miners were among the first on the scene during the California gold rush of 1849. There they took to making jerky from the local cattle and passed on the havit to their fellow prospectors. Meanwhile, the Indians of the North American plains had been drying strips of buffalo meat since ancient times.
From the American perspective, biltong is the South African version of jerky, made from several kinds of lean red meat including kudu, impala and ostrich, as well as beef. For South Africans, jerky is American biltong. The two products do have a lot in common. Both were historically important in the diets of the relevant indigenous populations. They are similarly nutritious and addictive, and ersatz versions of both are increasingly sold and packaged commercially. But they are different enough to make it well worth your while experimenting to decide where you stand in the intercontinental dried meat debate. Jerky is typically made from thinner strips of meat than biltong. Store it in the same way, and eat it within six months.
To Make Jerky:
As with biltong, jerky can be made from almost any lean flesh, including fish. Turkey jerky has a particularly nice ring about it. But for the CO, nothing compares to the kangaroo jerky she remembers from her childhood. But the instructions below are for beef jerky, the most popular variety of all.
1kg lean beef, all fat removed
250ml soy sauce
2 tbs sugar
3 cloves garlic
½ medium onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Tabasco sauce
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
a squeeze of lemon juice
First cut the meat, going along with the grain, into strips about 5mm thick.
Next, blend the marinade ingredients until smooth, add the meat and marinate or 6 hours minimum in the fridge.
Now you have a choice of drying methods:
Sun/air drying – takes a while, requires very arid conditions and no flies, 3-4 days
Oven drying – 80-90° heat for about 4 hours, oven door slightly ajar
Smoking – cold smoke at about 60° for 6-8 hours, then air or oven dried until ready
(The CO loves her jerky so much, she bought a food dehydrator for the task - works a treat!!)
You really should try it. Play around with the spices and such. Just don’t expect it to last long, especially if you choose to brag to your friends about how good your jerky is!!
Now back to that sign. Have your written down ALL the letters?
The cache can now be found at
S31° 01.ABC, E115° 20.DEF.
A = number J’s + number of M’s
B = number E’s - number of P’s
C = number H’s + number of N’s
D = number R’s - number of F’s
E = number L’s - number of W’s
F = number B’s - number of T’s
OK, the cache is not far away, but it can be a very high muggle area, so I would suggest that you park your vehicle strategically so as to block their view. Also, you might like to approach from the southern side.
There are a couple of other caches in town, but I hope you don’t leave town without your Bullbar, which I know won’t be too hard to find around here.
FTF Congratulations The Machman