This is a Virtual Cache - there is no physical container. To log a find, you must visit the 12 waypoints and answer questions related to what you find there.
The Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney is a heritage-listed major 30-hectare botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located at Farm Cove on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. With spectacular views and magical nooks and crannies, this is a great place to wander, explore, unwind, dream a bit. The plants -both native and exotic- are fascinating. There are places to sit and gaze, or sprawl and graze. Bring the whole family, maybe a book and a packed lunch, get some fresh air and a spot of exercise. The walking is mostly flat.
The Garden is open daily from 7am until sunset. Entry is free.
Check out The Royal Botanic Garden website for more details and current happenings.
The posted co-ordinates take you to the Information booth, where you can, if you wish, obtain a map or meet for a tour. The best starting point for this Virtual Cache is not the posted co-ordinates.
The suggested start - WP1 - is close to the Opera House Gate / Queen Elizabeth Gate.
You may exit the Garden after WP12 at the Palace Garden Gate.
Your task is to visit twelve waypoints, read the plaque/notice at each and, from that given information, answer twelve questions. Please message or email me your answers. You can write your 'found it' log without getting an email response, but you may be asked to provide further evidence of your visit if you have not answered the questions correctly.
(On-line research won't help you with this task. You need to be there.)
Please note: All waypoints are accessible from marked paths. There is no need to walk on garden beds or interfere with any plants.
!!! ENJOY YOUR VISIT !!!!
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As you enter via the Opera House Gate, you will see, on your right an enigmatically smiling statue. Pan / The Satyr - an ancient nature god, fittingly placed at the beginning of your adventure in the Garden.
WP1 - The Queensland Bottle Tree - S 33° 51.519 E 151° 12.926
On your left is a tree with an unusual shape.
Q1. What have Australian Aborigine people used this for?
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WP2 - Moreton Bay Fig Tree - S 33° 51.610 E 151° 13.007
To climb or not to climb?!
Q2. Where is the tree's natural habitat?
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WP3- The Herb Garden - S 33° 51.839 E 151° 12.930
Aromatic bliss!
Q3. On the rim of the sundial quadrant above the plaque on how to tell the time, you will see some herbs listed. Name three.
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WP4- HSBC Oriental Garden - S 33° 51.844 E 151° 13.038
Torii gates, lanterns, bamboo, waterlilies..
Q4. What is the name of the plant pictured on the large notice?
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WP5- The Wishing Tree - S 33° 51.893 E 151° 13.078
Go on! Walk around it and make your wish!
Q5. What variety of tree is this and why will it never achieve the same grandeur as its first incarnation?
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WP6- Succulents - S 33° 51.937 E 151° 13.110
Plants that have adapted to survive some of the driest regions on earth. Don't touch!
Q6. From the Skin Care, Poisons etc noticeboard, what are listed as the two most conspicuous representatives of the African succulents?
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WP7- The Wollemi Pine - S 33° 51.937 E 151° 13.065
The 'Dinosaur tree or 'living fossil' is one of the world's rarest plants.
Q7. "This Wollemi Pine, the XXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX, was unveiled" ...
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WP8- Early European Settlement - S 33° 51.951 E 151° 13.044
The first European style farm was a bit of a failure.
Q8. Name the three useful plants listed on the notice as "collected along the way". What plant, also collected, had a devastating environmental impact?
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WP9- Cadi Jam Ora: First Encounters -S 33° 51.944 E 151° 13.038
Here you can walk the 50 metre storyline which displays information about the Cadigal people of the Eora nation, the traditional custodians of this place.
Q9. From the notice, what did the Cadigal Aboriginal people make using Gul-gad-ya (grass-tree)?
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WP10- The Fernery -S 33° 51.958 E 151° 12.996
Ferns. Orchids. Begonias.
Did you know that pop star Lady Gaga has 19 ferns species named after her?
Q10. From the plaque 'Heavy Metals Heroes' - which fern "draws large amounts of arsenic from the soil and stores the poison in its leaves"?
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WP11- Palm Tree Grove -S 33° 51.920 E 151° 13.001
Some giants of the plant world.
Q11. Among the many different kinds of palms here, there is a very big and quite old weeping Lilly Pilly tree - (Waterhousea floribunda). According to the sign, what is its natural habitat? And when was this one planted?
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WP12- Palace Rose Garden - S 33° 51.865 E 151° 12.845
1700 roses!
Q12. One of the challenges of growing roses in Sydney is the high humidity. List three ways the Botanic Gardens Trust is combatting this in a more environmentally-aware world?
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The background image shows Australia's largest indoor green wall and a display of carnivorous plants, June 2019 at The Calyx, the Garden's living art gallery.
*** FTF Congratulations ***
to: jordsAU, marj01, bella at waggy, BoogieRogue, morry9 and Gatherer Hade.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
