Old Stockyard ! (Wellington) Owhiro Bay, North Island, New Zealand
By Felix! on 16-Jul-11. Waypoint GC3084N

Wellington has put on an absolute scorcher of a day, and the young fella has a teacher only day, so we are off on a Welly climb inspired adventure. The plan is to park near the base of the tip track, walk up it to check out the castle near the redone, then down the red rocks track, followed by the elevator (our first time on this, quite thankful we were going down, going up looks like a bit of work!), and then a casual flat walk back along the streets to the car. We finished the day with 7 finds and 3 disappointing DNFs.Good place to stop for a snack. Cache was full of water and log rather fragile. Could write on it, but only with care. Thanks Felix!#1252

Sodden! Great spot to explore during a southerly as walk up relatively protected. Thanks for bringing us here!

Took a little while but got there in the end! Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, this log is damp- quite fragile. Container seemed quite full of water so I emptied it but not sure what else I can do about maintenance sorry! Fancy farming this rugged area! A lovely autumn day up here. So still! Many thanks

No luck today

Awesome views from up here. Took a while to locate cache. Tftc

Nice views. Cache eventually located. Love a good hill. Tftc

Co-ords good. Trust them. We missed it on the first pass and looked further around but came back to GZ for another look. We just needed to look a bit harder. Tipped water out of container and dried out log enough to write on. Plastic bag still dry. Yay! A Happy Fathers' Day find! TFTC

Searched around GZ but no luck

Hint made no sense to me. Had a quick look in the usual but no joy.

I found this cache the last time I was up here, but I left it as I was working a streak and might need it later. Today. Ash was clamering for a walk so we came up here. We carried on to find another cacche - I was going to go for the last three up here, but I could not find the first cache and we got so covered in bidibids-that-aren't-biodibids that we abandoned them and just went for this one. Even then this took an age to find again.
Saw the remnants of a sheep race here

Check out the photo! I have just spent the last four hours picking those bidibid things out of Ash's fur. Clearing her face is going to be a real problem...

Found it. Happy Valentines day!!!

Nice place and easy to find

Decided to take on a 'hill a day' challenge for February so this is day 3 (plus a bonus day on 31/01). Nice convenient track that I happen to have never ventured up, so some bonus caches for me to keep me motivated on the uphill climb. TFTC!

(# 6489). Too nice a day to work. Why sit in a stuffy office when one can go caching. Today I decided to grab a few caches above Happy Valley. Early one there was nothing to see due to mist but once that burnt off very good 360 degree views. A quick find. Everything in order. Thanks for bringing me here.

After walking up the hill it was interesting to find the water reservoir. Cache found with no problem but all logs were just pulp. Placed a replacement log sheet in a new plastic bag. Thanks CO for the cache.

Found it as per hint and coordinates. Original log a pulpy mass, but able to sign replacement log. Tftc!

Found with 13YO. A quick find and yuck! This thing was completely soaked. Managed to scrawl on a more recent bit of log paper. TFTC

Found today on a beaut loop walk

Found on a nice walk .
Log soaking signed my name as best as I could but needs replacing

Soaking wet, needs a new log. Great view here.

#842. Today is a dot day. After lunch, I drove 18km to get what I assumed would be a reasonably easy find. Not so! So despite the gusty northerly, I decided to return to the Tip Track where I last cached over a year ago. I knew it was a mission to get up the incline, but with no time constraints, I felt confident, and so it proved. I passed my 2 earlier finds, and headed on up to this one. Water hazard indeed. The hint still makes no sense, but at 6.30 I had the cache in hand, and the log signed. Great views from up here. Spotted a cruise ship departing the harbour. Only skidded on loose gravel 5 or 6 times on the downward return trip, but kept my footing.

Tftc Felix!

Easy find, logical placement (all though my caching buddies looked right past it!) Thanks for the replacement log, still needs some maintenance. TFTC!

Found walking up the tip track. I had to wait for a coffee sipping muggle to leave before I made the find. All good! Appreciate the replacement log.

It was a long slog to get up to the saddle, but got there in the end. Quite busy with muggles. Found the cache after a short search, but like others noted, the log is sodden. I had read the logs before I left so was prepared and dropped off a fresh waterproof logsheet in a new bag, so that should keep it for a bit. TFTC

Another quick dash out of my house on a beautiful Wellington Day - just don't tell the physio I went climbing any hills today!
*TFTC Felix!*

This is presumably going to fall on deaf ears because the previous NMs are still not addressed. People keep adding new log sheets and they keep turning to pulp. Until someone relaces the container or archives the cache this will keep happening.

Quickly found in a logical place but log is just a ball of goo. Didn't even try to sign it and I didn't have any spare logs with me - not that a new one would have lasted. TFTC.

Found it with Wandering dragons and John the Strong

First find for the morning as headed up into the reserve with The wandering Dragons and CelloJos. This was also according to the GPS the furtherest from my car parked at the start of the tip track on Happy Valley road at 1105m away so claimed for the DGSC challenge. Quickly found and off further up the hill. Thanks for the cache.

Found after a short search Not sure about the cryptic second part of hint though maybe I get the 'ant' bit Paper log saturated but managed to sign ledgibly Dried out the inside of the bag so perhaps the next one past can sign too On way back from one of the Welly Climb mystery caches TFTC

Found. Really wet log.

Found after some minutes grubbing about in the grass. Log very wet. Tftc.

23 March 2017 19:17. Whilst the boys were at the trout fishing with the Scouts, I went for an hours walk up the hill. Cache quickly located, but the log is damp, only just able to write on it. TFTC, a fabulous place to view the sunset!

Found on a windy bike ride from Brooklyn to the windmill then across to the tip track as the red rocks track was too windy to sat on the bike.

Nice to finally get some respite from the wind being a bit lower down.

Never did work out entire hint, but coords good. TFTC!

Yay. Day four of our Christmas visit and we finally get to see the sky.
Ms M wanted to go for a walk and this seemed like a nice loop (with six caches to find) to prepare us for the excess of food and alcohol expected to be consumed tomorrow.
Enjoying the walk so far.
A quick find before a muggle turned the corner.
TFTC

Aaaah some flat! Third on our mission. Little bit of a search due to long grass and delay due to singing walking muggle. Tftc

Found yesterday - was in the area and thought 'hey I bet there's one just here.' Turned on the app and sure enough this one was 13 metres away. TFTC!

#2175 mtf

#2391. I needed to find three caches today so decided to head back down south and pick up a group of them above Happy Valley Rd. The route on Google Maps looked straight forward and quite flat. Only after arriving at the trail head did I realise that looks are deceptive. Certainly felt more than a T2.5 by the time I reached the ridge crest beating into a very strong NW wind. The hint gave me the general area and after a search in a couple of places I soon had the tube in hand. The log is slightly damp but still OK to write on. Added a fresh plastic bag. While signing the log I had a visitor. I looked up to see brucewwnz who had successfully muggled me while while I was hunkered down trying to stop the wind blowing away the logbook and plastic bag. He was off to find a puzzle final upslope. I carried on south. Thanks for the cache.

I left a new sheet and bag, and removed not one but three old logs and bags from the bottom of the tube. This tube is clearly not water tight, and the bag seal probably doesn't work very well being scrunched up so much. Definitely needs replacing.

Found with my son whilst on an epic hike. TFTC!
Note the log is soaked an needs maintenance.

Soaked log. Cannot write in this.

Found on our way up to the radome. The logged was soaked and unfortunately we didn't have a replacement. TFTC.

There are two logs in there - one is soaked beyond saving and the other is torn apart. The tube is not watertight so would ask that the CO (or the next person to find brings a replacement box, logbook and watertight bag.

Grabbed this one on our evening run in preparation for Xterra this weekend. As per the previous comments, the logs are either soaked or torn to shreds.

Long awaited opportunity to visit this area meant we were able to get ourselves to this cache and make a straightforward find.
We biked in from Brooklyn Wind Turbine carpark (where there is no wind turbine at the moment), and decided to walk the area rather than bike it. Turned out to be a good decision. I'd be happy to be biking so long as I was headed out of the area via the coastal road or Happy Valley. Otherwise too much steep uphill to get back to the road.
Sorry to report that this cache is in a pretty bad state. It is wet and the log sheet is wet and disintegrating. Badly needs a CO visit and some TLC. A more weathertight container would be good.
Nonetheless, we signed the log and re-hid the cache safely, just as found.
Moved on from here to the South Coast views caches.
TFTC found with team cacher Sweet P too
The Turtle strikes again!

Found on a sunny, if a bit windy day. The log needs replacing on this one, the original log is decomposing at the bottom of the tube (and can't be retrieved out) and the replacement log is very wet and barely able to hold an entry. TFTC

Good place...

Found it

A quick find while cycling down the hill.

Locked the bikes up and went up the hill for the other two.

TFTC !

After the steep and long track we were very relieved to reach it. Nice easy find. Pity we couldn't re fill our drink bottle.

First find of the walk with LCBuilder on a windy day! TFTC

Quick find with Wafflekitties, thanks for the cache

A lovely day for a dog walk. After quite some time searching I looked at the clue, but clearly I wasn't "on form" as it left me perplexed. Fortunately Yosser9 was at hand to guide me to comprehension. I had actually been looking in the right spot but It was only once I'd hopped over the fence that I was able to spy the container. Tftc! With Cassie2010

Found. Log to follow

Found. Log to follow

Nice quick find thanks

This one had me stumped for quite a while, went back to the hint and thought about it every which way, I know I'm only new to geocaching but I really need to think laterally a lot more! Got it in the end. 3 of 6 for the day. #21

Cache # 2,254 - a brilliant morning for an extended walk. Had planned to start at Bata Place, as map showed that to be shorter, but arrived there to find gates locked. Having looked at the local terrain, definitely the Happy Valley path was better anyway. Took just a little bit of searching to uncover the container. Log sheet is dry again, although a bit brittle - am presuming second bag is the rules of geocaching - didn't try to get that one out. TFTC and the nice views from here - and the history lesson as well!

Second hunt for this one and easily located today. Log is damp and second bag wedged so far down container we couldn't pull it out.

Christmas Day and one of two we found on our picnic walk.. Log a bit damp because earlier sodden log wedged at bottom of cache should probably be removed.. Added a new plastic bag. Interesting spot..

Out and about with Just-Lookin trying to locate some solved puzzles, multi-caches and traditional caches I have wanted to find for a while.

Short search to find - cache in good order
SL TFTC

Out for a day of caching with tmann421 today collecting some local caches.

Nice quick find at the top of the track. Enjoyed the walk and views.

TFTC

Found. Very breezy up there!

We took a major deviation from our intended route and what do you here's another smiley to lift our energy levels. TFTC

Quick find after running up. Cache all fine.

Note this hasn't been logged since March - we hunted but couldn't find it - either it's disappeared or it's very overgrown.

!!

Nice straight forward find. Now for the decent... TFTC.

Out and about with kiwimudgie on a brilliant Wellington afternoon. We really enjoyed the views offered on the walk. We ended up walking 16 kms and getting 8 caches.

Thanks for the cache Felix!

Took Skindo up one of my favourite walking places. Course you can't just walk if there's caches to be found. TFTC.

#4552. Good walk up the hill to the old stockyard on a sunny morning. Great views en route and on site. The logbook was soaked, but managed to scribble something. TNLNSL. TFTC.

Despite being quite weary by the time I got up here, I managed to correctly figure out the hint to make a quick find. TFTC.

Found while doing some cache maintenance on a stunning Wellington morning. Quite a grind up but well worth it - plenty of muggles around as well. TFTC

Nice little cache on an evening walk up the Tip Track. TFTC

This was on our homeward loop before the big downhill to test the knees. Interesting site for an old stockyard, not a heck of a lot of shelter here. Great area to explore. l TFTC

We had left our car on Happy Valley Rd, and jardisliketardis picked us up from there and took us to the Brooklyn Windmill as we were planning on a round route via Hawkins Radome and the other new caches in the area.
It was not easy walking downhill, but we kept consoling ourselves that at least we didn't have to walk the relentless uphill route.
Interesting views of the rubbish dump!
TFTC.

#3645. Last cache of a very enjoyable day out with fellow cachers. I was lagging behind after a detour to Boundary Issues, and Troodles was waiting with the log book when I arrived at GZ. By then it was about 3:45, and there was no time to lose to get down the hill back to our car in Happy Valley Road, to get back up to the Tardis before the Windmill car park closed at 5PM.

7/7 (not including a letterbox) on an epic day's caching with StreetWalkerNZ, Troodles, Simpsonsrgr8, kjwx and her geopup, and the eldest littlejardisliketardis. We headed back from Te Kopahou trig to the turnoff at Red Rocks Track and began our descent. Given that we had to get from around 495m to close to sea level at the beginning of Landfill Road, the track was very steep in places and somewhat hard on my knees. The going was slow enough for simpsonsrgr8 and StreetWalkerNZ to detour to get Boundary Issues and catch up with us at Old Stockyard! I was somewhat aghast at seeing how steep the track was for them on the way back up, and extremely relieved that I'd opted to stay on the gradual descent of the Old Stockyard! track. I made a quick find at GZ, and had to prevent kjwx's geopup and the littlejardisliketardis from fulfilling their desire for a late afternoon swim. TFTC

Find 7 of 7 (plus a letterbox) on today's group outing with Troodles, StreetWalkerNZ, Simpsonsrgr8, JardisLikeTardis and her eldest junior, plus my geopup Coca.
Enjoyed the trek from the top down to Old Stockyard! but don't remember much after that, except for staring at the ground so I didn't fall and groaning (a lot). Thankfully, Troodles, Simpsonsrgr8 and JardisLikeTardis gave me a hand with the now rather tired puppy - including carrying her when the need arose. I'd started to consider leaving her there, and if a Lazyboy chair had suddenly appeared on the track I may well have stayed too.

Easy find on the way to Hawkins Radome then on to place a new cache. Up the top of the hill while the sun was setting and got an amazing light show with the light coming through the clouds.

Quick find at GZ after a not so quick trudge up the hill. I'm not the fittest of geocachers so it took a little longer than the notes suggested but it was worth it once we got to the top. Only saw 3 cyclist muggles, thankfully not going at breakneck speed; one rather gingerly making his way down and two embarking on the climb. Thanks for putting this cache here, an area I'm sure I wouldn't have made the effort to get to were it not for the cache.

One of my favourite climbs on a bike. TFTC!

It was a bit of a slog up here but really enjoyed the view. Only saw two muggles, both on bikes as we headed down again.

Puffa hike.. Nice spot. Forgot pen but took pick of conatiner if needed. Thanks

Found with downhill while rogaining on a dark misty evening. Had a question to answer at gz for our rogaine quest and heard the cache whimpering to be found. So did. Continued down to no 1 son's place for tea and cake.TFTCSL

Had to race up to this one to beat the looming rain. Bit of a grunt, but worth it once you get to GZ. The only other time I been up the tracks in this area was for the nearby ones that had to be archived. Good to see another one round here.
TFTC.

Was going to do this cache yesterday but the weather beat me and I decided to leave it for another day, woke up this morning and saw that the weather was a bit better and decided to give it a go. Arrived at the track head and found the path to GZ, was a bit dubious about trying to get to this cache but decided to give it a go, walking up the track I soon realised that this was not going to be easy for two reasons, first reason the terrain, but this wasnt a major as I really needed an aerobic workout to stretch the legs, the second reason was the weather as it was getting worst as I got closer to GZ. Finally arriving at GZ and managed to find the cache quickly without any issues and managed to sign the logbook before the weather really turned nasty. A quick walk back down to the car and out of the weather, knew about this track as I took it before when there was a few caches that were up here and took this route to the caches. Thanks for bringing me back up here again, pity the weather was causing me such an issue otherwise the views up here are definitely worth it, TFTC TNLNSL (3336)

Came for a walk here this morning with Mrs agcnz, the first time we had been up this track. Great views at the top and with good accurate coordinates the cache was a 15-second find. Signed log, TFTC and for bringing us to this spot.

Happy Days FTF - 07:17hr. I saw this when it was published last night, and contemplated heading out then and there to have a look. But that was probably just the Pinot Noir filling my head with silly ideas. As I was up early this morning I decided to go and check it out. Ahhhhhhh!!! the Tip Track, I have walked up here a couple of times before pre caching days so was well aware as to what I was in for. Headed off in the semi darkness and got to GZ just on daybreak. Found after a short search, had an orange and a drink while I wrote up the logbook and headed back down again. Enjoyed the views, good spot for a cache. TNLN SL TFTC

2TF. I had quite a late start today so fully expected the FTF to have gone (and probably to Boxhill) by the time that I arrived. I had initially considered bringing the bike but once I started up the hill was glad that I hadn't as my winter fitness (or lack thereof) wouldnt have coped. I puffed my way to the gz in the estimated 20 minutes to find that I was correct in my assumption and that Boxhill had indeed been and gone. A great location for a cache. TFTC

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