The cache is within easy reach of the path. You do not have to enter the garden beds. You will need your own pen and possibly tweezers to extract the cache.
We first noticed this location in autumn after wondering what it was that 100’s of sulphur crested cockatoos found so interesting about this area. The answer is located a few meters west of the cache. The magnificent tree nearby is a fine old walnut tree and in late autumn it is covered in nuts, both kinds. The antics of the nutty cockatoos feasting on the walnuts has to be seen to be believed. If you are here at the right time you might be lucky enough to see this spectacle, but don’t expect the cockies to leave you any walnuts.
So what is this place all about? Launceston is one of Australia’s oldest cities. Founded in 1806, it was the first Australian city to have hydroelectric power and arguably, the first to have an underground sewerage system. Some of the sewers constructed in the 1880’s are still in use. This legacy comes at a price. The original design was for a combined sewerage and storm-water system which discharged directly into the Tamar River, a solution which assured a thorough flush during rainfall events. Unfortunately what seemed like a good idea 140 years ago is no longer so appealing. The combined system still exists and heavy rainfall events may exceed the treatment capacity, resulting in the discharge of sewerage to the Tamar. The Margaret Street Detention Basin was completed in 2005 and is designed to hold back the “first flush” of storm-water until volumes decrease, thus hopefully preventing discharge of waste to the river.