The Outdoor Planter (Wellington) Lower Hutt, North Island, New Zealand
By zboy wonder on 30-Nov-15. Waypoint GC67K4G

I wish the CO had mentioned the stream, as I was coming for just this cache and had not read the next and hadn't picked up what "kittyhawk down" meant. I was thinking lightly rolling hills, mostly flattish land. WRONG!! Although if I had seen it I would probably still have brought the same shoes.I am just targeting this as today is a size Regular dot-day, so the others are being saved for later. Walked up the stream and was having big trouble with the phone (yeah, yeah, I know. I should have brought the Garmin). Went to far and climbed over the waterfall. Realised that was wrong and climbed up the bank from the waterfall and went about another 50m uphill. Realised that was wrong and came back down. Despite taking care to come down the same way so as to avoid the cliffs, I got it wrong and came down below the waterfall, right at the back of the planter. Decided uphill was right after all and went back up. Decided that was still wrong and came back down, making exactly the same error and coming down behind the planter instead of at the waterfall. By then I had read a bit more and checked the tree I was trying to come past again - and there's the cache! Okay, so where can I stand that allows me to reach the cache and yet work hands free so I can open it and sign the log? That took a bit of working out!Re the outdoor planter - I am surprised the CO does not know what it is. It is quite obviously an enspection port for the water pipe that used to run through here. And still runs through the side of the "planter". I found another of these on the way up, but it is now flush with ground level. Check out the photos.I have been trying to get out of the habit I developed when I was working my streak - just get the bare minimum required - no more. Save the rest for later. When I finished the streak (1000 days!) I was working other calendar projects, so my map would only have those showing and again, I would just get the one.So I decide to go caching in Wainuiomata - there is a reasonable chance I could cache the place out. I cycled to Lower Hutt then put the bike on the bus and got a ride over the hill.Incidentally it is raining. Well, maybe just low flying cloud, which is much the same thing. Light drizzle, all day. I spent the day cycling around Wainui.After 15 finds and a LOT of cycling I got home with a mud stripe up my bum, mud on my... well, everywhere, really. Shower. Washing. And now logging.

What a great walk up the stream to Kittyhawk down, I love this type of geocaching. Couldn't miss the "planter" and the cache was a quick find, although I made sure to go up and down carefully, could be easy to do yourself a mischief! TFTC

Found it!

A bit further up then we first thought but found cache name object eventually and sent J in to locate the cache. There’s been some heavy rain around the country lately, I bet this slip wasn’t there when the cache was placed!

Dry but log slightly damp still writable

+fav point for the experience

Headed down to Wellington today to drop my parents dog back and dog sitting. Decided that we’d hand her back more tired than we got her by zipping up the creek to nab the Kittyhawk Down cache. Managed to grab a few extras on the way that haven’t seen action since 2021!

The directions in all the cache descriptions were very handy to get onto the right creek bed. The beginning of the creek there was SORT of a track but that soon disappeared. It took us 2 hours to do a round trip and we only managed to find the rotor pictured in Kittyhawk Downs description. I would definitely recommend some good boots as I got wet up to the knees and some long tights or trousers as the biddies covered us and the dogs completely

TFTC
C&J

Nearly eleven years have lapsed since I found the Kittyhawk Down cache so I didn't remember the area well. It seems it may have changed anyway due to flooding events. I made my way to a point where my GPSr was telling me I needed to leave the "track"; somewhere I didn't really want to go. I tried it anyway in the belief that maybe the climb had become more difficult than it was when the cache was placed. I had no luck but then thought about the cache title and that I hadn't seen a matching feature; maybe it no longer existed?

Back on safer ground, I scanned my surroundings and discovered something of immense interest although I wasn't that close to it. I wandered over and spotted a likely hint object - not easy to get to but not as difficult as where I had just been. Getting myself into the correct position, I spotted a colour that didn't belong and I was soon attending to the paperwork.

While it was a bit frustrating that my GPSr wasn't much use on this mission, I did walk back to my car with a broad smile.

One of the last ones in the area I haven't found, Today short after noon walk in the rain to the cache side. Quick find logbook is reasonably dry. A bit more adventurous arra good fun TFTC Sherlock Hood

Found after the plane cache... really we are hunting but picked up the geocaches on our way out via the stream. TFTC

That was a long day! Did a bit loop above this stream, hunting. Geocaching these days is a bit of a third-level activity. As sveppi and I were dropping to this stream by bush-bashing looking for goats we though being off-track we were not likely to come past this cache too often so after grabbing the Kittyhawk down cache, grabbed this one too. The coordinates were quite a long way out, but the hint allowed me to look in the right place. Not easy to get to, but as I do a bit of indoor bouldering I get nominated for those kinds of scrambles. Cache quite damp inside, these containers unfortunately don't make very good geocaches (learned that from experience!). Managed to scribble our names in the book.

I was on my way round a Whakanui/McKerrow/Crowther circuit, and did a short detour at the start to look for this cache. I don't think it was here when I did Kittyhawk Down. Found the cache quickly after reading the description and taking the hint literally.

The planter looks like a surge chamber for the water supply to me, though it's not really in the right place for one of those. If that's what it is it's probably been washed down from further up.

TFTC.

Found it. Just climbed up the wrong side but got it eventually.

Found during a trip with agcnz up Skerrets Creek He did a check on his Kittyhawk Down cache We then carried on up the creek to score Aces High #2 and returned via McKerrow Track
Instruments gave a clear indication to climb the true left bank which we did for quite a while with no success Its actually up the bank on the true right Emptied about 6mm water out but found the log still in good condition TFTC

Submitted via Garmin Live Geocaching. I can confirm that the cache is still where it should be. As others have pointed out you should not rely on the coordinates that much when you get close but rather on the description and hint itself. Cache was half filled with water which I tipped out but thanks to two zip lock bags the logbook was in reasonable condition.

This geocacher reported that the cache might be missing.

There has been flooding in the area, with massive slips further up Skerrets Creek. I strongly suspect that the hint item (and the cache itself) has been swept away. Too dangerous to clamber up so I moved on toward the P-40.

A quick find on the way back from Kitty Hawk Down. Previous logs helped - same side as the Planter and follow the hint, voila! Really good handholds too, nice one.

Coords not much use here as they had us 30 metres away on the opposite bank. Like others we decided to look for the "obvious" hint object and a quick scramble uncovered the container, much closer to the "planter" than expected. Quite wet inside but logbook still usable so added a new inner plastic bag which will hopefully keep the book from getting any more damp.

We grabbed this on our way to Kittyhawk down. 2nd attempt to get this one, as we came up this way the other day, but in the afternoon- it was darker than we expected in this area, and with 4 wee kiddies in tow, we had left it till another day.
Abit hard to pinpoint with very little reception, but we found it in the end- and at a nice wee pitstop for a bite to eat.

Found while out with wb1116 and 6 others.
TNLNSL, TFTC.

Took a while to find this cache as part of a group of 8. The outdoor planter was a quick find, however the cache was a bit more challenging.

I tried with Huhugrub’s coords and found myself 2m from from them when barefootguru, about 30m away, called out ‘got it’ and that he was only a couple m from Huhugrub’s coords. The GPS certainly was bouncing around in there today.

This was my first in Wainuiomata today on the way to find a nearby plane wreck.

Thanks for the cache. all good at GZ - log dry etc.

Thanks for another smilie. A great day out with TheWanderingDragons, GLAD-NZ, Cello-Joss, VioletButterfly, barefootguru, Denomynator and AstroHunter the youngest cachet ever to make their way up this creek!

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A real team effort on this one! We each went mountain-goating to the limits of our comfort. Barefootguru, the most intrepid, found it! TFTC

Interesting contraption indeed — to slow water down? With 8 of us adventuring to Kittyhawk Down we could blanket the area, though it still took 10 to find the cache… I managed it by following huhugrub’s coords + intuition and playing mountain goat Cache had cm of water in, returned downside up. Thanks z!

Found with a large group today on the way to Kittyhawk Down. Easy find. Thanks!

Cache # 836

Found today after quite the journey up the stream with a group of 8 today. Swapped out a trinket. Thank you!

Cache # 1,370

Cache # 4,096 - a group of 8 of us ascended the stream today. After my aborted attempt nearly two years ago decided to organise a posse this time. Well worth the effort, as all the older cachers were needed to help the two junior ones make it to the end. It was much more obvious that the pipe went from one tank (this one) near the top to another much further down the slope. The pipe is now broken, and we didn't notice it much going up, but it was obvious coming down. I was up with wb1116 on one side of the gorge searching all trees when BG yelled out from the other side that they had found it. An interesting spot, and thanks for making this trip up the stream worth two caches!

Consecutive caching day # 1,699

The tracks on my GPS don't seem to line up with reality and while it was reasonably clear how to get here by following trails the GPS trails were no use at all!

This cache was quite the adventure. Getting to the cache area was interesting in itself then the extreme unreliability of the GPS meant I tried hunting in places that turned out to be not even close to GZ. After a bit of exploring I spotted the planter (I knew there had to be a reason for the cache name!) altough the GPS was never really wanting to take me over there. After much speculation and exploring I admitted defeat and beat a retreat.

After retreating about 30 metres I realized I hadn't checked the logs for any insight. agcnz's log described something that went through my mind while over by the planter. I thought "surely it can't be there" because it's seriously hard to get to. Back to GZ and did what agcnz apparently did; mountain goat mode. From my new vantage point I peered around a bit and spotted a container. It was out of reach but I went around the other way and had one of the most rewarding finds I'd had in quite a while!

Unless there's an easier access I would have called that a T4. +FP for the adventure and TFTC! Mine is just the 8th find in a shade over 2 years. Now I know why it has a low find rate!

I've been eyeing up Kittyhawk Down for a long time now, but the time never seemed quite right. Today all the stars aligned and my daughter we keen for an adventure, so we set off for the trip and the other caches along the track.

Having read the previous logs about the coordinates I didn't worry about where the GPS pointed once we reached the "planter". I just scanned around for the likely spot and sure enough after a little scrabbling, the cache was in hand.
TFTC.

Thought I would take a nice stroll to this one, not realising at first how far up towards Kittyhawk Down it would be. It was dark, I was moving by torchlight, and the stream was running high. 100 metres out I decided I would return in the daylight and some dryer conditions. Will be back.

#7555. Returned to Wainuiomata for a nice trek up Skerrets Creek. The tracks were all quiet today. Managed to keep the feet dry there and back. The GPS reception was challenging here. However, quick find some 21 metres away. Nice hide. The cache was in excellent condition, all nice and dry inside. Took nothing, left nothing, signed log.

.T h a n k s. .f o r. .t h e. .c a c h e.

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* [New Zealand Geocaching Adventure 2016](http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC63PZN)
* [2016 New Zealand Geocaching Adventure](http://www.nzgeocachingadventure.nz)

Found this on on the way to finding the kitty hawk down cache. A nice little spot. Was relieved to see the "planter" on the way back down as it meant I was on the home stretch.

Found this one while on the way up to kitty hawk down. Nice spot for a quick rest. The water was looking very enticing!!

Nice to have a stop point on the way to Kittyhawk Down.

Had a bit of spare time after the event cache today so came for a walk here - the first time I have been this way since I found "Kittyhawk Down" further up the valley in early 2009. I could swear that the track up the valley is a bit better now, it took me most of the way to this cache before I had to start wading across the stream. Good waterproof tramping boots ensured that the stream crossings were no problem at all. Arrived at the "planter", (couldn't miss it!) and guessed where the cache might be but the GPSr was pointing me about 15 metres in the other direction. Had a brief look in the other direction, decided that wasn't going to be productive, so went into mountain goat mode and approached the spot originally guessed. A quick find, nicely hidden. Signed log, TFTC!

Happy Days FTF @ 10:25am. I've been up this way before so knew to expect, can't say I can remember seeing the "Planter" the previous time. I managed to keep my feet reasonably dry on the way up but didn't bother too much on the way back. The final few metres were achieved without too much drama, long arms and legs help a bit I suppose. Very pleased to find a blank logbook when I opened the container. Cheers and TFTC

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