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The Black Box Mystery Cache

Hidden : 10/13/2014
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

A companion Field Puzzle for 'Mechalumpus', and like old Lumpy, it's more play than puzzle!


The Cache:

It's a black box (duh) attached (with the Denmark Shire's blessing) about 1500mm high on a Karri tree in the Harewood Forest. There is no need to leave the path!  Your task is to find it and open it. Finding is easy, but to open the box you must utilise the Magic Wand. This is tethered to the cache and hides in a side pocket. (Please make sure it is returned to the hiding spot when finished.) The Wand will interact with the internal locking mechanism. This is the classic engineering 'black box' puzzle: How does that hidden mechanism work and how must you manipulate the Wand to open it?

It's not as hard as it sounds! Take you time and proceed thoughtfully. Of course, some will find it pathetically simple, while the mechanically challenged might need to put some extra thought into it. Or you can just fluke it! Or when all else fails, read the hint!

The Location:

This is a pleasant stroll through Karri regrowth in the Harewood Forest Walk. There is a dedicated parking area on Scotsdale Road at: S34° 55.646 E117° 17.591. Cross the bridge and take the path to the left.  When you see a reference to'Wild and Quiet Places', you are only forty metres from the cache! And it's really easy to find. The name is a big hint...

The History:

If you find the cache and location familiar, but not in this configuration, you are right. The Black Box originally lived at Curtin University, but was savagely vandalised. And this location used to be home to eVampire, but it failed one time to many! The Vampire has a better, drier home down the road and is now known as iVampire (GC68W1B).

Congratulations to MCFonz for a well earned FTF!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

2 gheaf PJ. Fybjyl! Znvagnva gung zntargvp pbaarpgvba...

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)