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--- 199509 [2016/06/17 18:03] – [Elsie's Tallest Girl] vievems
+++ 199509 [2016/06/17 18:16] – [The Sydney Bum Detectives] vievems
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 by Karen Brading
-"An easy weekend walk including at least 50% with day packs only" the description read of Bill Holland's Meryla Pass walk on the weekend of 516 August. It proved to be a very accurate prediction for some of our party.
+"An easy weekend walk including at least 50% with day packs only" the description read of Bill Holland's Meryla Pass walk on the weekend of 5/6 August. It proved to be a very accurate prediction for some of our party.
-We left the cars at the top of Meryla Pass and strolled down the firetrail on a clear cold morning with the sounds of lyrebirds. and wrens to entertain us. We passed a clearing :where a homestead once stood and reached a Y junction, where a track to the left wound steeply downhill towards our evening camping site and /the right fork led into a dead end at Lake Yarninga.
-"We'll drop our packs here", Bill announced. Wed only need daypacks for the sidetrip. "Of, course, you can early' your overnight packs if you want to." As no-one was willing to take him tip on his offerwe hid our packs out of sight of the fire trail and set off at 1 1 am feeling slightly lighter.
+We left the cars at the top of Meryla Pass and strolled down the firetrail on a clear cold morning with the sounds of lyrebirds and wrens to entertain us. We passed a clearing where a homestead once stood and reached a Y junction, where a track to the left wound steeply downhill towards our evening camping site and the right fork led into a dead end at Lake Yarrunga.
-There were ten of us - Bill and Fran Holland, Alan and Anita Doherty, Paul Haines, Linda Mallett, Lorraine Bloomfield, Patrick WaSieliwski, Karen and Richard Brading.
+"We'll drop our packs here", Bill announced. We'd only need daypacks for the sidetrip. "Of course, you can carry your overnight packs if you want to."  As no-one was willing to take him up on his offer we hid our packs out of sight of the fire trail and set off at 11am feeling slightly lighter.
+There were ten of us - Bill and Fran Holland, Alan and Anita Doherty, Paul Haines, Linda Mallett, Lorraine Bloomfield, Patrick Wasieliwski, Karen and Richard Brading.
 After lunch we returned to the junction, passing a group of 4 teenagers accompanied by two dogs. One of them remarked that they had just come down through the bush, pointing to his friend's machete. This seemed strange as the cliffline is only broken by Meryla Pass.
-At the junction we went in search of our packs. From behind the, bushes Paul let out a cry - "My pack is gone!". As everyone arrived we verified that 4 of the 19 packs were missing, clearly stolen. 40% of us were
-left with day packs only
-We immediately split into small groups to Search the area for signs of other people. Two of us raced back to check on the cars, another two checked the other campsite, while the rest looked around for any clues.
+At the junction we went in search of our packs. From behind the bushes Paul let out a cry - "My pack is gone!".  As everyone arrived we verified that 4 of the 10 packs were missing, clearly stolen. 40% of us were left with day packs only.
-Alan used his eagle eyes to spot some fresh disturbance on the 'uphill bank about 500 metres down the dead-end track to the lake. Out of sight we found three of the four missing packs. Only Lorraine's, which was small and light, was still missing. Curiously in one of the three we found a cigarette
-lighter wrapped in Lorraine's pack cover, but otherwise the packs were still intact.
+We immediately split into small groups to search the area for signs of other people. Two of us raced back to check on the cars, another two checked the other campsite, while the rest looked around for any clues.
+Alan used his eagle eyes to spot some fresh disturbance on the uphill bank about 500 metres down the dead-end track to the lake. Out of sight we found three of the four missing packs. Only Lorraine's, which was small and light, was still missing. Curiously in one of the three we found a cigarette lighter wrapped in Lorraine's pack cover, but otherwise the packs were still intact.
 Light was failing so we regrouped and made camp outside the locked gate. Clearly the evidence indicated that the 4 teenagers we had passed were the culprits. There were no other people or vehicles in the area. Lorraine enjoyed a smorgasbord dinner and slept in Bill's car.
-During the evening we decided on a plan to catch them red-handed when they returned to the scene of the crime. The teenagers had already told us when they were being picked up by their parents. So the next morning we replaced the packs and took up strategic positions nearby, knowing they would come back before 1 lam. We even had a camera ready to take their photo at the right moment.
-We were correct. At 10:50am, after nearly. 2 hours in the cold, the sound of barking dogs signalled their return. As two teenagers climbed up the bank straight towards the packs, their dogs sensed three bushwalkers hiding behind the trees. But just before they could give away their positions, Bill jumped up - "Hold it right there!". This startled the teenagers and they fled up the firetrail, dropping Lorraine's pack on their way. Bill continued to holler at them that they were caught and there were more of us up the track. Their two companions were:carrying their, gear and pretended nothing had happened. They all stopped without trouble as they had nowhere to run. An inspection of their gear revealed an identical cigarette lighter to the one we had found the previous evening.
+During the evening we decided on a plan to catch them red-handed when they returned to the scene of the crime. The teenagers had already told us when they were being picked up by their parents. So the next morning we replaced the packs and took up strategic positions nearby, knowing they would come back before 11am. We even had a camera ready to take their photo at the right moment.
-We waited with the teenagers until their fathers arrived and Bill and Alan explained to them What had happened. At 3 pm, 10 bushwalkers crowded into BoWral Police Station to make statements and tied up the 3 available police in the Southern Ilghlands. for 2 hours. Not an ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but a suitable end to an eventful weekend.
-The moral of this stoiy is - keep Your pack on your back, or it may be found by someone's hound.
+We were correct. At 10:50am, after nearly 2 hours in the cold, the sound of barking dogs signalled their return. As two teenagers climbed up the bank straight towards the packs, their dogs sensed three bushwalkers hiding behind the trees. But just before they could give away their positions, Bill jumped up - "Hold it right there!". This startled the teenagers and they fled up the firetrail, dropping Lorraine's pack on their way. Bill continued to holler at them that they were caught and there were more of us up the track.  Their two companions were carrying their gear and pretended nothing had happened. They all stopped without trouble as they had nowhere to run. An inspection of their gear revealed an identical cigarette lighter to the one we had found the previous evening.
+We waited with the teenagers until their fathers arrived and Bill and Alan explained to them what had happened. At 3pm, 10 bushwalkers crowded into Bowral Police Station to make statements and tied up the 3 available police in the Southern Highlands for 2 hours. Not an ideal way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but a suitable end to an eventful weekend.
+The moral of this stoiy is - keep your pack on your back, or it may be found by someone's hound.
 ===== Dot Butler =====