The Grotto (Lake Rotoiti@Nelson/Marlborough) Nelson Lakes National Park, South Island, New Zealand
By beltfamily on 17-Sep-11. Waypoint GC34A41

Located with Ricardinho We took the Friday off work after Anzac day & have a long weekend planned staying at the Nelson Lakes. Fabulous first day at Lake Rotoiti, we caught the water taxi up to Coldwater Hut & hiked back to Kerr Bay. First part of the day was fine with rain threatening but holding off, rainbows & beautiful views. The rain started only half an hour before we got back. RNZ made the scramble up the bank to grab this one. I stayed trackside scouting for muggles. It did take RNZ a bit longer than I thought, so this resulted in me checking on his status. All was good & he was soon back down at the track in one piece. TFTC

I dropped the gear and made the trek up. It was a quick find, but it was slippery going with all the current and recent rain.The original log was saturated, so I got out some RITR. Signed that, only to find out there was already a new log in the cache, but stuck to the lid. In the end a lot of faffing around which got RG72 a bit worried about what was going on up there, but job is done, and we are on our way.TFTC beltfamily.Today we are in St Arnaud as we are lucky enough to have the use of RG72s sisters holiday home for a couple of days. The weather is not great, but its good enough for a couple of decent but not extreme little walks. Our one for today was from Coldwater hut to St Arnaud, which is just over 13km. We got dropped off by the water taxi there, took the river crossing shortcut to Lakehead, and walked back out. 8 caches targeted. All had good find history, and all duly found. Have added some photos from the day. Thanks all!

walking from lake head nice autumn day. got the water taxi up the lake thankfully. walking one way enough for us. tftc lots of bellbirds singing.

Cache is soaked.

Log sodden. I have put in fresh paper and plastic bag which should do for now. Please make sure plastic bag is revealed.

Quick find on a lovely half day walk from Kerr Bay.
Log is soaked and mushy. Clip top container was full of water. Will need a better container before it is worth replacing the log, and idid not have one with me.

Woop woop number 200... Overnight around the lake... Needs maintenance, too wet to sign

After knocking off the Richmond ranges yesterday it was time to carry on along the trail a bit more and thankfully the terrain is alot easier than the last 8 days..
Quick scramble up the bank for an easy find , unfortunately couldnt sign as log soaked..needs some TLC

Found after a bit of a scramble. I didn't open the cache due to the pouring rain. So just took a photo. Tftc

This is my practice overnighter - solo with a tent.... the plan is to head up the valley past the Lake Head hut and find a nice spot beside the river.
Was a beautiful day - pity about the sandflies once I stopped to put the tent up tho.
Scrambled up the bank to this one - then slid back down.
TFTC beltfamily

Sixth find on our Loop the Lake walk. Found by the more agile member of the HarrisGang5 team. TFTC

Sent Mr HarrisGang5 and MuzzaL53 up to find this one, they're a little more still than me!! Our 6th find on our loop the lake walk. Tftc

Found on a beautiful walk from the lake end. It was very wet and needs attention. Tftc

With four (nearly) lakeside caches available this are was our choice for today. We loaded the boat and headed to the lake for a few hours of pre Christmas calm.

I dropped gk nearby and he wandered along to the cache site, it was a nice quick find. The log is a bit wet but he managed to get our name onto it. Maybe if the next finder reads this log they may bring a replacement log with them?

The wind had made its presence known by the time we got here and the lake was getting choppier, nothing that we were concerned about but it just goes to show how quickly things can change in this alpine environment. The rain also started, although it was still nice and warm.
We did a bit of fishing on the way back to the jetty which is always a great way to spend a bit of quality time together.

Thank you for placing this cache and thank you for the smiley

Found with NZ5 after a scramble down to the lake edge to retrieve his backpack which failed to shake off the hold of gravity.

found with Team Elliott Family. Lovely cache but I nearly lost my pack on slope. Thanks dad for rescuing it.

I love the beech forest and this track is fairly flat so enjoying my walk with lots of views of Lake Rotoiti. What an amazing Grotto Dumped my pack trackside and climbed up the bank to that amazing tree. Under this tree cover Nigel Navigator struggles. Hunt around a bit to finally snag and tag this one. Cheers. Fav from me.

Zara and I are off for some much needed tree time, with Lake Rotoiti on my agenda for today. Arranged a hut pass, left Zara resting at TeeTotal and hit the trail by 10. Finally arrived at Coldwater Creek Hut just before 5pm.

Found it durring a family hike around the lake. We went to lake head hut for one night and then walked out the next day great cache. Bit of a climb up up the bank but got it in the end TFTC

Fun to find. Log very damp so got out a stove and dried it out. Thanks for a fun cache.

Tftc

Walking the lake edge early before the rain arrives. Bit of a clamber up before signing the log. TFTC

TFTC

A family outing and Lakeside walk for the holidays...this one sent us on a bit of a climb...with the gps jumping around we went a bit too far off track before circling around. Mr geco found it on the way back to the track. Tftc

An interesting twist of events had me driving a van, fully set up for sleeping and camping, so I immediately applied for leave on Friday and looked for a suitable destination. St. Arnaud has been on the cards again for some time, so it was a no brainer to head in this direction! On Saturday, I decided to take a walk around Lake Rotoiti all the way through the swing bridge. Not because I was trying to keep my feet dry, but there were a couple more caches that way! It was definitely not a cold day, and I kept reapplying sunscreen and insect repellent the whole way. Excellent tramp, highly recommended!! As I was climbing to this one, I paused for a bit to consider the best access option, when a couple of trampers walked past along the path, completely oblivious to my presence above lol! I let them pass before I started making any noise again. Thanks for all the caches that made the day so enjoyable!!!

Found with Kiwimykl, refer to his log for details.

TFTC beltfamily

Found with NZDi. This weekend is Marlborough Anniversary weekend and after a couple of hectic months stuck around the house, we decided to treat ourselves to an extra long weekend at St Arnaud, so with a successful draw in the RNZAF holiday home ballot we headed to the Nelson Lakes for four nights in another part of the country we call paradise.

Today is also a Dot Day, so getting a cache out of town is always good for that mission and by the end of the day I wont need to worry about the 27th of October until we are going for 13-Days.

Yesterday we cycle-cached some of the Teetotal Flat mountain bike park on our MTBs. Today we 'Looped the Lake' going clockwise and taking 11 hours to complete (including going up to the Travis Swing Bridge). After a bit of a false start while we had to go back to the house to pick up something NZDi left behind, we finally got onto the track at 8.10am. this was the second of twelve caches we picked up today and was a QEF for NZDi who scrambled up the bank ahead of me.

TFTC beltfamily

GPS initially sent me too far inland, but after circling back got to the obvious/magic spot TFTC

Oh what a lovely place thank you for showing!

Was on my way back from lake head hut, GPS wanted to send me 100m into the lake. Didn't have time to wait for it to sort itself out.

Just like you said. Nice spot!

Exploring the Nelson Lakes for four days R ‘n’ R, and to collect a cache or two as we go. Enjoying the wonders of Rotoiti and St Arnaud. A great day to be out ‘n’ about, ‘n’ travelling, ‘n’ neat to stop off, ‘n’ collect one of ‘yours’. T, beltfamily, FTC.

Beautiful spot. Tftc.

Super area for a walk, beautiful lakeside track and lots of excellent tramping to be had if one could stay longer! Nice to find some caches along the trail. TFTC

Found on a very pleasant lakeside walk with Tramper Ted.

26 March 2016 12:09. 3226. A very pleasant stroll along the lakeside to this one whilst the others were orienteering. I'm glad i did this one on the way out, as it was raining when I passed it on the way back which would have been even more interesting! TFTC.

Bit of a scramble but got there in the end. TFTC

Identified where to look . Then made the final approach . Nice place to pause and enjoy. Thanks

Found with quinella on a geocaching mission weekend so late logging sorry .
So carried away with the walk we walked right past and had to backtrack. Tftc

Found on our first day of tramping the Travers Sabine circuit. A quick unbuckle of the pack and scramble to find and we were on our way gain.

After lunch on the lakeside we pushed on to Lake Head very much enjoying this beautiful forest walk. TFTC

A muddy scramble indeed. TFTC

One of a sequence of caches while family walking back to st arnaud from lakehead. TFTC

Bit more effort for this one Tha the others, but soon zeroed in tftc

Cool geocache. TFTC.

TFTC.

Had 4 Days, 3 Nights walking the Travers-Sabine Circuit. GPS-Good/Cache-a little wet /Hint was Good/Weather was Great.TFTC.

While staying at the nearby lodge I set out to track down some of the caches on the circular lake track. Had quite a scramble for the last bit to find this one, and then it was a bit of a look about the grotto before the cache was spotted.
Thanks for the cache beltfamily.

I stood on the track and watched Mr B place this one. We had been to the Lake Head Hut and back. "I'll pop back and sign it another day soon" I told him at the time. Little did I know that it would take me three and a half years before I popped back. Gosh time flies. A fun family walk today and a chance to remember the previous trip up this way.
Thanks beltfamily for the cache.

#8941

Like a log of things, it seemed like a good idea at the time. It was a nice walk with a bit of bush-bashing at the end. TFTC

Nice walk, and easy cache, much clearer than the 2 on the way.

A weekend trip up to the Nelson Lakes with G H 6 7 1 0 and the Seagnoid was planned with a couple of days of the weekend in one of the work baches not far off the lake side in Rotoiti/ St Arnaud. Targets were set; get the Seagnoid past 4000 caches, get more than 50 a day for G H 7 6 1 0, and get me past 3200 cache finds. Also in target was some tramping, some boat caching (grabbing whilst moored as close as safely possible to G Z) some 4 W Driving and some basic park and grabs. We also wanted to get all of the puzzle/unknown caches in St Arnaud as well as 100% of the multi caches in St Arnaud (cache Tectonics!). There was driving, boating, walking, rain, mist, sun, ducklings, eels and trout, sandflies (of course), beech trees and great views. Fun and sweat (no tears), a wasp sting and over 100 caches found for me. We all surpassed our targets and at the end of 2 full on days we returned to a cooler Blenheim than when we left tired out.
The last day of January and this January has probably been my most prolific with lots of great South Island caches, with a handful of N I ones thrown in for good measure. Todays plan is to start with some P &Gs, then off up the Pinch Gut for a nice tramp, then back to the car.
We've got our water transport sorted and under the steady hand of Captain Garth it's all aboard the Skylar, sorry, The Sioux for a putt-putt across and around the lake edges for some m&gs (moor and grabs)
Second grotto of the day and a distinct elevation difference between them
Easy find here today though
T F T C b f

[green] Capperz decided that this was the weekend for a marathon run on St Arnaud. Not sure why, except that base lodge there had a cancelled weekend and was free to grab. So he, I and GH6710 had an interesting time caching the surrounds. Rained on and off. The wet long grass meant that I had wet feet for the entire trip. Saw the insides and tops of clouds, some great views, lots of rabbits (or maybe just the one, many times over - it always did the same thing: safe on the side of the road, it decides to runs across just in front of the car). Also got to see robins, sandflies, no keas, sandflies and more sandflies. We managed to get GH to break his 50/day record, and over 120 for the whole trip. Saturday we climbed half way up Mt Robert in the morning then boated around Lake Rotoiti in a little yellow plastic dingy for the afternoon. Sunday was lonely cache day - some over 10 months since their last find. Many of these found with GH's 4x4, bumping over some very rough roads, my first real experience of four wheel driving. What an awesome weekend!
The morning up Mt Robert is done, now it is the afternoon boating around the circumference of the lake. We had a little yellow plastic dingy with a 15 HP engine. If this was sea we would be ridiculously overloaded. As it was it must have looked an odd sight!
Amazing how much difference a little bit of water makes!

Cool little area, Navigated our way around here by boat this afternoon, TFTC

R

A wet slippery climb up to the grotto lead to a few falls and slides, but worth the effort.
Thanks for the cache!

#4156 @1015
My plan for the day was to walk right around the lake, starting from Kerr Bay. It was snowing heavily, when I arrived, so I decided to just go to Lakehead and back. My phone hadn't fully charged overnight, so decided to leave the closer caches for the return journey, to ensure I had enough battery for the further away caches. I turned my phone off until I get near each cache. For this one the GPS didn't kick in until I hit the beach about 100m past the cache, so had to back track. I wandered in a big circle until the GPS eventually lead me to the cache. TFTC.

I really enjoy spending time in New Zealand, I just love it here. Its nature, people and adventures I am passing through. Awesome place, thank you very much for introducing to myself and for the cache itself Sorry for late logging, I have some problems with internet access during travelling.

Thanks

Found on our 3 generations family tramp. We gave the log a bit of a dry out. The pen wasn't working , but it was a bit cold at the time. Tftc

Found with Wilson#41 on a walk around the lake.
TFTC

Found with Kwaka40 on a walk around the lake.
TFTC

A lovely day for a walk at the lake today. Cool, cloudy but dry while I was out and about. This was as far as I was going to go today although I'm sure I'll be back some time for a go at the more distant caches. Spotted the grotto - very cute - and a likely hiding place which was exactly where I needed to be. TFTC, Biggles.

Found with 360° NZ
TFTC

Caching with Sidewaze. Thanks for bringing us here. TFTC!

With Sonia 26642 Back logging now for all my previous finds over the last 9 months....

29/03/2013 1:12:00 PM
2540
Easter weekend, and went off hiking, did the loop of Lake Rotoiti from St Arnaud, staying the night in Lakehead Hut halfway through. Was a great trip! 32km, and AMAZING beautiful views of the lake and water the whole way through. And we had such lovely amazing weather too!!

So the whole trip pretty much consisted of everyone walking along, and Sonia jumping into the bushes every now and then to grab a cache with her huge like 10kg or so pack on...

Haha, I love the 'follow signs as if you were going to Lakehead Hut' in the description... we were going to lakehead hut

TFTC!!

Walking a bit ahead of three fellow cachers, the temptation for me and my two friendly muggles to race them to the grotto was too much, so charge on we did. Found the cache then watched the next arrivals do the same. TFTC!

Mrs SoBad doing a clockwise walk around Lake Rotoiti in the fine company of 3 other cachers and 2 friendly muggles. No problem with the cache here as the hint item was obvious. The presence of another cacher with log in hand also helped. Great way to spend Good Friday, on a fun walk with caches to find.
Thanks.

A great spot for a cache. It was really beautiful out on the track today. TFTC

Another lovely spot to stop. Just one of so many round this beautiful walk. Great way to spend Good Friday. TFTC #4633

Quick find, great walk tftc

Day 111 of Te Araroa Trail. Quickly spotted.

Nice place to stop on the way back to St Arnaud. TFTC

Glad to find it

Lovely spot, found with no problems considering GPS wouldnt show cache descriptions, logs or clues. TFTC

Great spot! Found this one while walking high school Kids around the lake from Rotoiti lodge. TFTC

Hazedarus and I arrived at the lake this morning to specifically "do" this cache as a contribution to our MGSc effort, 'a minimum one hour walk to a cache', and so it was. Just a bit over an hour in fact. But first, the weather! I have never experienced this area so windy and bitterly cold, nor have I seen the water so rough with sizeable waves and white caps. My first thought when we arrived at the car park was "we're mad, right?" My second thought was "nah, we're geocachers, ok?" So off we went, the first time we had been beyond the loop track on this side. Despite the wind which found us even in the bush, it was an extremely enjoyable walk and won't be the last time we venture up here. We passed a group of students on the home stretch of a round the lake walk, fortunately for us they were a few minutes past GZ because I'm not sure how we would/could have explained what we were doing within the last few metres of GZ. Thank you for the encouragement to walk this far up this side and TFTC.

On a mission with Holymu to tick one of the last boxes to achieve MGSc. The wind was like I've never experienced before here and the windchill substantial. Yet, you do what cachers do and get on with it. Biggest surprise was that there were no surfies in sight as the breakers were just about big enough. Somehow we've always been drawn to the West side of the lake so a first to go this far on the East side. No disappointment and will be back here for more. TFTC

First cache for the day on our trip around the lake TFTC

Found together with Lenka from SpeedyGT during our trip around New Zealand, TFTC!

P.S. Sorry for late log

We found it with Simal during our stay in NZ. TFTC and greetings from Czech republic!

A beautiful day marred only by the sight and sound of fizz boats trying to pull the arms off defenceless children.

TFTC

Very interesting spot along the lake here. I accidentally disturbed a few wasps during my search, but luckily no stings. Thanks!
-Bike Hike Cache
Boston, USA

Lovely spot. TFTC

Second find of the day while kayaking with ducksarse dave. Also found bullertrout's GPS cover.

Straight forward find today with Gorgeous Goose.

A great day to be in the cannot on the lake and grab a cache

Found after a short search on a walk from Angelus Hut back to St Arnaud via the eastern side of the lake. Had to go into mountain goat mode to access it, and after searching some likely hiding places I spotted something that seemed a little out of place. Signed log, TFTC.

Found on way up to the swing bridge for the night to check cache and do some fishing.Not a quick find but eventally got it.I think i might have dropped my gps cover close to cache site

quick walk to this one
thank goodness for the boat
good one
TFTC

Not so quick find. TFTC

Found on our way to the Travers valley, had a great 2 nights at lakehead hut. TFTC

A wee diversion in passing, but well worth the jog. Just stunning here today. Liked the hidey spot too.Thanks.

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