Puzzling Plaques (Canterbury) Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand
By Troodles on 28-Mar-09. Waypoint GC1KG77

Was passing so stopped by to do an owner check on behalf of Troodles. Cache was a bit damp and grubby inside, so cleaned it up and dried it out as best I could.

Has the tree gone?

Can't believe we finally made it to the final. A couple of years in the making of getting all the correct info. Sometimes planned but etc etc. Today it all came together and we happily came for a walk. Emptied the sistema of water, tipped out water in pill bottle. With TOTT we managed to remove a wet blob of disintegrating paper, fell to bits so now composting. Put in a replacement log of WITR paper. Thanks for this multi and cache Troodles, we are chuffed to tick this one off.

I’ve been working at this one for about a week. I’d get off work in the morning and bike out to the waypoints. Two of them weren’t a problem - one was the only plaque for a good distance and the other I’m fairly certain was an AL stage. The third stage had me jammed up. I visited several times but couldn’t locate anything! So I did what any resourceful cacher would do - I played with the map, tried to brute force some numbers, then waited for an event where I could shake down some fellow cachers.

At the event yesterday, I got a good nudge from somebody. Well, it was more of a firm shove. But ivss_xx and I wanted to see where exactly the plaques might be. After leaving the event we biked to the WP. I saw a corner of something and we stopped to investigate. Success! It took a bit of excavation but we found the remaining plaques shortly after. Turns out I was being thwarted by a pretty thick layer of fallen leaves. I needed a rake rather than a good hint but it was appreciated all the same.
A few minutes of piecing things together confirmed what we already knew. Ivss_xx needed a multi for the following day so we met up this morning and biked to GZ. We spotted the poor waterlogged thing in no time. The log is no condition to be signed and seems to be taking on a slimy quality. Photo log attached. Thanks for the multi! I enjoy these that require a bit of pedal time.

07:34
FITW ObnoxiousSpaceCat

A little morning mission for a multi dot day.
We gathered the last needed info yesterday. The Rolleston Ave plaques can be very tricky to find - especially in autumn!

After a short search at the final, OSC came up woth the container. Unfortunately, despite the double-container, there was still water in there, and the logbook is unsignable. Attaching a mushy photo instead.

Kia ora! Paldies!
Thanks for the cache, Troodles!
#9631

Found recently after help with some of the info from Snugpup.
I haven't logged it until now as the log was mush and I couldn't sign it so I decided to wait until I gathered the final bits of info for myself.

A lot of interesting plaques.
I never new there were so many around Chch until Geocaching
Thanks for the puzzle multi

Only 13 years since it was published, about time I finished it! Finally in the area on the bike to pick it up, so I did today. Unfortunatly, the log is well wet and just a mush. Cheers

Down on a trip to Christchurch and picking up a few caches. I started this one two years ago so am pleased to have completed it even if I didn’t fully understand all the cryptic clues! Soaking wet log and unfortunately I didn’t have any spare paper with me so photo provided as evidence. TFTC and the puzzle

Removing the "needs maintenance" as the last finder reported the container was all good.

Following a series of old multis DNF we were a bit afraid for this one. It took us a while (more than a year) to get to all waypoints and retrieve all numbers. At GZ, we looked and couldn't find anything, I was a bit disappointed, but not surprised. But there was something wrong, we were not where I looked the cache for the last time, a quick check of coordinates and memory made me realise there was a coordinates sync issue, and the GPS was pointing to a previous coordinates I "guessed" to locate whereabout the final was. Once the right numbers in, it was a very easy find. Both container and GZ were in really good condition. Thanks for the stroll around and this nice multi.

rip

This one literally took years rather than an hour for me I finally made it to the final this frosty morning. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the container, all dry and snug. TFTC!!!

This geocacher reported that the container is damaged.

It's a bit wet! Pill container with log inside not so much, but main box had a lot of water in it.

Was coming by and thought I'd grab this one while it's still here! It's been missing a few times. Anyway quick find. I love the little drawbridge nearby. Thanks to all cache owners for taking the time to place and maintain your caches. Team Broadbent (signed TB on micros). Find # 2116

A quick and easy find, once I'd worked out where GZ was. INfo gatehered over a few days, or maybe even years! Cheers

Thanks to all CO's for placing and maintaining their caches. Cheers

Found plaques over several days then to final. All good. TFTC

Great little tour around Christchurch. Thanks for sending us to places that we've never visited. Fun cache for our 200th find.

1st find. Thanks very much

Started collecting the information some time ago - which was easy on a bicycle. But could not work out one of the answers and had to ask for some help, which was given by the cache owner. Would never got this answers ourselves, but now everything falls into place. A quick and easy find, although we decided not to sign at GZ because some kids were playing nearby. So a quick grab, a short stroll and back in place. Thanks for this nice multi and of course the help to get all the numbers.

Couldn't get past stage 1 as the clues didn't make any sense to me, save one. Even recruited some locals who couldn't she'd any light. Thanks anyway from Canada

No work plus A fine day plus Low calendar stats equals perfect geocaching conditions.
I had finished a shop at my least favorite mall and then off to my parents for lunch.
I rea enjoyed this multi. Even though it took years to complete and then find.

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Thanks. Troodles for putting in the effort to hide this geocache. This was find for me.

Started this one yesterday with uni (Well hello! Read fully before starting!) Then headed to MV. Nice cryptic one there but thankfully the light went on and I understood the hint. Went to do the rest only to discover a Shape Shifter concert was on and no where to park so decided to finish today with a friend while out for coffee and a walk. No bother gathering the rest of the clues so on the homeward journey we located the cache. Nice multi, Troodles. Lyn enjoyed that we ended in yet another Christchurch park she'd not been to before. One of the good things about geocaching - discovering the city we live in. Thank you!

Thankyou CO for replacing. Enjoyable multi, with self doubts about answers at times, however, all is well and a welcome smiley. TFTH

Cache was indeed missing. Replaced with a systema, BYO pen please.

Sounds like this one is missing. Hope to get it sorted this week.

Some days I really do feel like I suck at geocaching. Maybe I was too tired or my bag was too heavy or I should just wait till I get a replacement GPSr (rather than use my phone) but I couldn't even find the plaques at the first waypoint.
Will come back another day with muggle husband, he is better at geocaching than me!

Another cache down, arrived at the gz for the final and found the cache full of water, but the clever CO had the cage in a cache and then bagged the log so all was good. The swimming pool nearby looks like it's going to over flow soon...
Thank you for bringing me to this area Troodles and for placing and maintaining Puzzling Plaques (Canterbury) geocache, from Mr Cuddly Brick Found on this awesome day the 28 July 2017, sweet cache number # 1717 view and subscribe to Mr Cuddly Bricks Geocaching adventures channel at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCspYYJI5ZIvUE9ncq1_rpYw

It took me quite a while to get around to all the waypoints but had no trouble finding the plaques or extracting the coordinates. Dropped in to the final on our way home from an airport drop off to make the find and it's nice to knock it off the unfound list finally. Log book is in very good condition in its plastic bag and double container. Thanks for setting this one up, very enjoyable!

Stoked to have figured out the clues. Had to use the check sum to get the last coordinate as it is blocked off at the uni for construction. Thanks CO - this was a fun one!

While the University WP is inaccessible, use H= 8. Thanks to the previous finder for alerting me to this.

The University coordinates are not accessible due to construction (and a massive wall).

Sorry I've taken so long to check this out. Cache was indeed missing, replaced with a systema container - no pencil so BYOP.

Had a good poke around likely hint objects at GZ but empty handed in the end.

This multi has been on my "to do" list for a long time so I finally got my a into g and made my way around the waypoints. Really enjoyed the cryptic part of it. The one at Mona Vale made me laugh when I twigged how the clue related to the plaque.
Got some good looking numbers so I went off to find the final. It was a quick find and all in good order. TFTC.

14/09/2016 4:07:00 PM
7547
I had an appointment in town and so decided to try knock off some of the solved & unfound caches - mostly ones that I'd been saving for the streak, but in the end had completely forgotten about in most cases!!

I'd done the field work for this one - probably over a course of a couple years - but had all the photos on my phone, without having worked anything out!!

So today was the day to tie up the loose end after my appointment!!

Was quite a few cars around, but completely deserted by the time I got to GZ, making for a quick find!!

Consec caching day # 1410

TFTC!!

Had been slowly visiting the waypoints for this cache over the years, before I eventually got all the info I needed. A short drive during my lunch break had me at the GZ, and the cache was quickly found, exactly one year after it's last find. Cache was dry. Thanks for the multi.

I started work on this in 2011, when I first started Geocaching, and after hitting a wall back then I haven't really looked at it since. But with fewer caches unfound close to home, I decided to put some solid effort into it... It paid off, I didn't get all the answers right, but I got enough to find the cache. TFTC (1787)

i disovered why I could not find what I was looking for a month or so ago at the Rolleston site. My phoned did not display the whole description of this geocache!!!

I tried to find this months ago with a friend but we had miscalculated somewhere and ended up near but not near enough to find the cache! Since then I've been back to visit several of the plaques to make sure my info was correct and then redid the calculations. I was astounded how close we'd been before... only 100m out! Oh well, these things happen.
I happened to be going past GZ today, and although I was dressed for shopping I hoped I wouldn't get too dirty if I picked this up on the way. With the cloud cover my phone played up and I couldn't get nearer than 24m but this time I was sure I was in the right spot so put phone away and used geosense. Bingo! Fantastic, and before it rained too!
Now to attack the mall....

Replaced logbook and tried to clean up the filthy interior and seals with what I had on hand (leaves and paper, didn't have even a handkerchief on me). Double bagged so hope that will sort out the dampness problems.

Went back and got it today. No muggles to speak off helped. The cache is certainly still there but wet inside and the log book is soggy. Unfortunately my caching gear was at home and I'd just swung by on the way home from work.
The puzzle, of course, still works well. All plaques still intact, the info is there to be found. Thanks for making me slow down and actually LOOK at the city I live in.
TFTC

Checksum added.

Log book soggy, cache wet inside (I shook out the rotten leaves that had made their way inside). Had no supplies with me other than a pen so unable to repair. If I remember I'll try to get back there with dry supplies myself.

Start this late last year, finally did the last three waypoints today. Got to the GZ I had worked out but foiled by mini muggles who just wouldn't move on! Wasn't certain enough of my coords topush it so moved on.

Visiting Christchurch from Melbourne and doing a bit of caching along the way. I like this multi and I think it took me a little over an hour to get the numbers I needed from the various waypoints before I made it to the final GZ which had absolutely spot on co-ords which is always a good thing. It seems odd but here in CHC I haven't had many caches with really good co-ords. The log was quite wet and the pages well stuck together and a bit fragile but I managed to leave my mark in the rear of the logbook. Thanks Troodles for an interesting lesson and engaging multi.

The first time we were here, we didn't find the cache, our coordinates were slightly wrong. Many thanks for your quick reply, we checked it again today and found it easily. It is a great cache and we had a funny trip through Christchurch.

Really enjoyed this cache. Mopped up the clues on a series of lunchtime runs, last two and the final on todays one. A very interesting journey! Tftc

Out and about on a night caching mission with TheWanglers....thought we'd give this one a bash. What fun. Not a great one for Cryptic clues but we managed to sort ourselves out and get all the required numbers. A fun adventure around town. We got waylaid slightly by deviating midway and having a wander around the newly cordonless central city. Rather eerie at night. There aren't too many buildings left.....
Copntinued our journey and secured the last few digits......Final looked good and cache was soon in hand after pushing off a few mucky leaves and homely looking worms. Log book ever so slightly damp but all in all in good nick! Thanks for the cryptic but fun journey around town.....
Good to tick this one off and no longer be puzzled by plaques....
Cheers.

This one has been on the 'to do' list for ages and was now the closest multi to me and the area that I work in. So tonight on a wee mission with Team Gaters tonight was going to be the night that this one falls. We were driving back from our failed attempt at a Kaiapoi multi and made a stop at Mona Vale to decipher the cryptic clues as this is a weakness for both TG and myself. So I was glad that I had a buddy on hand to fuddle through the clues. We collected and moved on. Had a quick diesel stop, coke and snickers for the cachers and off to sus a carpark. Next was Bealy Ave and we had ourselves going in circles because the the GPSr wanted us in the intersection. Duh, clue sorted. Back to the first spot we were drawn to. Curse you Balding Rector!!! May your hair never grow again. Now off to the first WP. I gave up one evening by myself. But today we were able to find the required information. Two made sense the third was there due to it being the last. We headed over to the Uni and TG said "pull over". "We don't need the last number". We plugged the coords in and headed to GZ 900m away. After a few minute search heading slightly east TG made the find at a good specimen and we were able to grab this one. Had a fun evening. Off home now. Good fun and I am stoked I decrypted the cryptic parts (mostly ).
Thanks for the cache.
#1209

I'd been defeated by this one in my very early caching days & hadn't got around to trying it again.
A helpful hint from Mr La Vista at a recent gathering switched on the lightbulb & I solved it - and today was a good day to find it.
TFTC.

Completed over a couple of days, found some of the plaques a little confusing however theroamingreliever and I found one night time caching adventure tftc

Justanurse and I needed to get out on a cold and wet day for caching. Found all the bits needed and hoped we had coordinates right. No time on the day to find GZ as I was called in for half a days relieving. Final search was made at night a few days later. Tftc

Pleased to finish this one; we had to guess in the end as the plaque was missing/gone. TFTC

Started doing waypoints on this one some time ago so good to finally get it finished

A really good and interesting multi cache!! It took a good bit of time but it was enjoyable! At one of the stops, i forgot to get one of the answers an we had to go back to get it! At another point we(me&Meinir) got confused and had the wrong digits for end spot, but after we couldn't find it there, we changed digits around and found cache at the new precise location!! all in all a good one! Tftc!

Found this surprisingly easy, and found cache straight away. Very enjoyable.

TFTC. This cache has been completed in portions since Dec 2010. Finally decided it was time to complete it. I thoroughly enjoyed the meandering about the city to solve this cache.

Found most of the plaques about 3 weeks ago. Found the last one and the final today. No sign of the GC left in October. TFTC.

Having had a similar problem to dan.rilley I was relieved to see the log that the plaques were still there. Then re-read the description ... "The co-ordinates should take you within the general vicinity" ... and widened my wandering. Yes, found all 3 of them, so now it's time to find the rest so I can log a smiley.

The plaques are safe and sound at the Rolleston WP, here's hoping that the rest of the plaques have fared as well.

There is a possibility that the plaques at the Rolleston Ave WP are gone. If anyone who has found this cache in the past could check when they are in the area, I would be very grateful.
Cheers Trudy

Are all the plaques still in one piece? Went to WP1 and couldn't see any plaques.

Nice Trip through Christchurch... a little bit difficult for non native speaker, but finally we found it!!!

Have collected the plaques over a number of weekends. Today was the final. Nice spot. TFTC + Stellar GC

We also were non cryptic clue cachers, but this was a great learning curve. Not hard to find some of the answers, eg the university, and possible to work out and understand the clue afterwards. Final was quite exposed, and is now re covered. TNLN Thank you.

Another great cache off my list. I wouldnt have a clue of where to start with cryptic caches. However I did enjoy this cache as I ended up going to some interesting places to retrieve the required information.Many thanks for this cache,Much enjoyed. Cheers Bo

(163) Did this on the way home from work.. Nice drive in the rain.. TFTC,SL.

Had an afternoon off and a desire to walk on lovely day. Managed to get everything to work out OK. Thanks.

Found on second attempt. Our first attempt, sometime before Christmas, failed spectacularly as we struggled with the Rolleston Ave plaques and messed up some other numbers. Second time round we took photos of the plaques to ensure we had the right numbers. Found the cache in the general vicinity of where we expected it to be.TFTC

We had visited the plaques on two previous visits to Christchurch, and although the Mona Vale one was a bit dubious, we tried our solution today, and were successful. TFTC

A really good cache to do, even though I stuffed up at Mona Vale and had to resort to asking for help. Thanks for helping me along Troodles, I hate to admit it but I was not familiar with this association. Retrieved GC and placed Elch TB in cache for a little grazing. It is a bit cramped for Elch so he would appreciate being moved along before he starts getting cramp. TFTC

#7 Lovely drive around ChCh. Had to guess at the Rolleston Ave plaques, but had no problem finding. TFTC.

Popped in with Moneydork on the way to work. Dropped in Swedish geocoin. Cheers Gav

Stopped in to claim my smiley after working my way through the plaques with Rediguana a few weeks ago.
TFTC.

Been waiting to collect this cache for a while as we solved the clues a while ago. They were fun clues and we enjoyed working them out. All very familiar places to us. TFTC

Went out the other night with Moneydork to try and get the answers for this one. Managed to get most, but only 1 of the 3 plaques at Christs College. In the end it was enough to give me a hint as to where the cache may be. So, instead of using cryptic brains I used a brute force search and found the cache in less than 10 minutes after arriving on site Cheers Gav [3886]

Started at RO. GZ bounced around a lot, was having trouble with the unit today. Was unable to find any plaques that I could relate to the clues, so moved on to other caches.

Our GZ was bouncing all over the place. We checked near where the GPS said it was and found four plaques that did not match the clues.

Nice excuse for a cycle on a day that looked warmer than it was. I had to get into the mindset of what was being asked at the waypoints (who was what now?), but after that all was good. I have often passed the miscreant in a knot wondered what the deal was. Cheers Troodles.

#11 cache GZ visited and 8th find on today's cycle caching ride. Glad to at last sign this cache off after gathering all the data a few weeks back. Time now to head for home as I have been in the saddle for just over 3 and 1/2 hours - how time flies when you are having fun. - WDD 2007 Commemorative Geocoin. Thanks for the cache.

Stephen was so chuffed to get this one as he doesn't get cryptic clues at all. swapped tbs.

2542. We found the waypoints on the way home yesterday after having a picnic and spending the afternoon with some of our family at Ilam Park. By the time we had the coordinates we were headed in the wrong direction so decided to wait until today to pick up the cache. We knew the area well as the final was very close to one of our now archived "Avon River" caches. An interesting tour with a mixture of clues that usually became clear when you found the plaque.

Thanks for all the effort
Iris & Rodney

We left Cyril the Crocodile TB.

Quite a puzzle but we managed it in the end. Thanks Troodles for getting the grey matter working.

A pleasant multi - really enjoyed the puzzles. Thanks and cheers from Grandalf(1514)

The co-ords of the WPs are deliberately not accurate ("The co-ordinates should take you within the general vicinity of the plaque(s)") - part of the hunt is to find the right plaque!

Started this one yesterday and then got distracted by feeding the ducks in hagley park! Finished it off today.
Most of the coords seemed off by 10 - 30m for me (with the Bealy one putting me in the middle of the road and the Mona Vale ones in the water!). Very fustrating at the time. Thankfully the final coords were just about spot on. Best part of the hunt was meeting La Vista yesterday and having a long chat about geocaching-ness
TFTC!

#648. Bike excursion at lunch time (I could just have looked at the plaque photos on our computer, but that would have been cheating). Had a bit of trouble at Bealey (had forgotten where the plaque was). Turned out the coords I downloaded into the GPSr didn't match those I had printed out (and the ones on the print out were correct).

Took a bit of finding at the final. TFTC.

Oops, sorry, there was a mistake in the Bealey Ave co-ords - have changed the reference co-ords
from E 172° 37.650
to E 172° 37.560 (had transposed the 5 & 6).
The listing itself had the correct co-ords.
Thanks for noticing SWNZ. I hope cachers will find this WP a lot less challenging now!

Second to find, first for the month. Like Kiwijam we also found Bealey trickiest (or didn't find Bealey for ages!), & we did that 3rd. First stop at Uni was OK; no plaque at our Mona Vale GZ, so chatted with a moggie muggle but noticed someone wandering in the same nearby area we'd just been -"Looking for a plaque?" I asked. Intro'd ourselves to Gyargh & combined forces to find a likely plaque, then off on separate ways. Bealey was made even more difficult with rush hour traffic; & I'd come across Rolleston ones before even though my team mate with GPS was staring quite a distance away. Then I had the task of explaining why I knew I was right, as he's cryptically challenged. Final cache found. Thanks Troodles for a very clever puzzle cache! (#395)

14:45. FTF on a busy afternoon. All the clues made me think, with Bealey being hardest for me. Although I did start with it, so maybe warming up elsewhere would have been easier. A good cache for cryptic crossworders (bring one with you if you can). Nice to be caching again after 6 weeks with the newborn.

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