3/4 GRIND (Bay of Plenty) Te Aroha, North Island, New Zealand
By Jumboz on 25-Apr-08. Waypoint GC1BKHH

Had trouble finding to start with. Couldn't find on way up the top of Mt Te Aroha. Had a better look on the way back. Had a choice of fallen soldiers. Eventual found. Cache ok. Tftc.

Found easily with spot-on co-ords - always useful in thick bush! TFTC. Didn't think we were going to make it to the top as we are not that fit - but we did it! Exhausted, we chose the Tui road to get back, which caused an increased distance and long walk through town!!! Hint for the hike: Have the correct gear and take food!

Point to note - the cache at the summit seems to have been muggled (as at 23/04/2022) but hopefully maintenance will be done soon. Bit disappointing to not find it after that hike!

At least we found this one!

What a great spot, easy to find and exactly where I expected to find it. The view of the top of the mountain from about 50m down the trail is gorgeous.

After a stroll up the hill with ABCDF4 located the fallen Soldier, cache found, signed and returned, TFTC.

After a stroll up the hill with EyeSpyBen located the fallen Soldier, cache found, signed and returned, TFTC.

The weather had a mind of its own today... we were tramping from Wairongamai to Te Aroha and needed the full wardrobe the cache was found in good condition many thanks for the tidy Placement

We started our tramp at Wairongomai and made our way to the top of Te Aroha. We started off on warm sunshine but soon hit dense fog. The rain came down as we hit the summit. As we started down, the sleet came down and my hands were frozen. As we got close to the cache it suddenly warmed up again. Cache is nice and dry and secure here. Thanks for bringing us here Jumboz

The second cache on my Summit loop of Te Aroha. It was a hot sweaty climb! With help of the hint was the cache not to hard to find.
TB in.

Thanks for hiding.

Found on the way down, beautiful sunrise at the summit today although quite an early start with the alarm set for 3am!

Nice cool temperature for a walk like this. Going to try get the lower cache on the way back down. Tftc

Good climb on a beautiful day. TFTC

Got it! Legs are starting to get sore! TFTC.

TFTC CZ

Hard slog up Te Aroha today, awesome walk. Perfect weather for views.tftc

Nice quick find on the way up the mountain this morning

Nice find. Great to have a cache up here on our way to Summit number 4 of the 50 summits in my 50th year challenge. TFTC. A beautiful day looking forward to view from the top.

The five members of team QBday (Agazo, Aiden29, Bennett24, Kiwicouple and Tramyard) set out this morning to walk from the Waiorongomai Valley, across the saddle, up to the top of Mount Te Aroha and then back down to the Te Aroha domain. The 17.4kms took us a total of 8 hours of tramping and cache finding. Today the weather turned out mostly sunny but cold, after a couple of days of rain.
The descent down the Te Aroha Track was some of the most difficult of the whole day. Steep, in many places bare rock, and still slippery from the rain. We made our way down slowly and carefully. On reaching 3/4 Grind we were all thankful for the chance to rest while we looked for and found the cache. Thanks.

A group of 5 cachers from Auckland (Agazo, tramyard, Bennett24, kiwicouple and myself) all ventured down to hike over Mt Te Aroha. This ended up as an 8hr 17km hike, where we found 12 caches along the route. Thankfully it was a nice sunny day after the recent rain, although cold. We signed the log as QBday in honour of the long weekend.

It was a steady steep decline down the mountain to this cache, which was actually quite busy with muggles. Thankfully at GZ we had the area to ourselves while we searched for the cache.

Have been looking at the Waikato Mountain challenge and our D/T grid for sometime now and noted there were two caches to get in this area. When I finally connected the dots I realised that you could make a single walk from the Waiorongomai Valley, across the saddle, up to the top of Mount Te Aroha and then back down to the Te Aroha domain. We planned this trip some time ago with a group we had done another adventure over the summer. I figured it was going to be about 7 hours and 13km but it actually turned into 8 hours and 17.4 kms. Fortunately the weather turned out great after a couple of days of rain and we were able to make the full hike (although difficult in parts) without any mishaps. Five of us took the journey (Agazo, Aiden29, Bennett24, Kiwicouple and Tramyard) and all caches were signed as Team QBday.

After a cold and steep descent down we were happy to get to this point and have a break to look for the cache. We eventual found the right spot and once we were on the right side spotted the cache quickly. TFTC.

Found it with the Group called QBday on 17km hike during June Bank Holiday (Queen Birthday).
Found it on the way back from Te Aroha Mountain.
All good at GZ.
TFTC

Tftc. Good to tick this off the list today, after dnf'ing when I came up here last time (about 3 yrs ago). Different GPS unit now, and accuracy was much better, and a quick search turned up the goods. Last time my inaccurate GPS had me searching about 40mtrs away from gz. No wonder I came up empty handed!

Continued on to the summit with hubby and junior scoobydoos (aged 12, 10 and 7), then back to the base for a swim in the pool. A great day outing.

Great day to hike up the Mountain. It was a quick find with the clue. Damp has gotten into the container despite the dry weather this summer. Thanks !

Quick find on a lovely walk. TFTC

Had a quick look on way up but far too many muggles on track. Bit quieter on way down so had time off a Better look. TFTC

Didn't find it.

Up Mt Te Aroha with the Hikoi trampers today and what a great day for it too. We needed a reasonably quick find so that we didn't hold everybody up. The GPS wasn't liking the bush too much, but we used our geocaching eyes as well and there it was, in just the right spot a little further up the trail. Good size container. Cache all good. TFTC

Great walk. Take a jacket for the top, even in summer.

Compass had a bit of trouble in the bush but we did it we did it!

2794 Mission today was to clear the mountain of caches. 2nd on the way up. Thanks for putting this cache here as I needed a rest.

A quick search around and the cache was ours TFTC

On a mission today up Te Aroha mountain. We started with warm and humid weather and still had a great view over Te Aroha before the rains came before we arrived at the Summit. Made a quick find at GZ and moved on for the final 3/4. TFTC

Found with GHopa today. No problem with the find as we climbed to the summit. It was a cold and wet day, so we didn't linger. TFTC

We were always confident that we would find this as our companion, KiwiteacherNZ, knew where it was, having found it already, although it was a while ago.
We came to a certain spot - 'this looks familiar' - but no, we were ages away from it yet. 'or maybe here...', 'No, not here, it wasn't this steep', 'A bit like this', etc, etc.
When we finally did approach GZ, of course it really did look right, even to us, as she had described it so accurately.
Thanks for an extra incentive on our walk today, a bonus on our way to the summit to complete the Waikato Peaks challenge.

Nice place, tftc

Bit tricky mostly from cloud and GPS

log to follow

Found tramping up summit

[blue][size=1]Our holiday of a lifetime. San Francisco, New Zealand, Sydney.
26/10 Holiday day 11, Caching day 9.
Adventure Week: Te Ahora climb.[/size]

15:09
Had a good look on the way down from the summit but [/blue]

[blue][size=1]On a holiday of a lifetime with Mr Crow (San Francisco, New Zealand and Sydney). Today we joined Active Adventures for a week of fun - starting with a group hike up Mt Te Aroha. http://izziewhizzie.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/monday-26th-october-climbing-cramp-and.html
[/blue]
A brief look for this on the way up and down, but no luck for us. Think we were focusing on the wrong hint item.

It's not too often that I get to be the youngest in any group so I was quite happy to take that honour today. I also decided that seeing as there was a little bit of uncertainty as where to start searching from that I would run ahead and make use of my younger legs to see if I could find a more likely area to search. Turns out I could indeed, so I returned to the group, gave them the thumbs up and let them find the cache. Nice spot for a wee rest here - TFTC

It took quite some time to get down from the summit since the track was in such poor shape. There were many places where the track was clay and slippery. There were also quite a few steep drops that we had to negotiate. And, we were all tired from the long hike up to the top.
evilno9 went ahead to make sure we weren't supposed to bushwhack to GZ and spotted the cache. He came back up and the rest of us came down to GZ. Gorby and I thought we spotted a smooth, angular object across the track, but it turned out to be nothing. evilno9 came back to GZ and set us looking in the right spot. TFTC.

Phew....thus was a tricky track to descend for sure !!!!
Glad no one in our group had any falls or injuries as it was pretty slippery with lots of rootage ....
Very picturesque track thank you ! Most enjoyable but good to find ourselves safely down at the bottom !
Quick find by Evilno9 !

I was bringing up the rear at this stage and all the fun was over when I got there. Which way now???? OH yes, down.

Our adventure continues, after starting from Tui road, its the grinding, relentless descent, that requires all your concentration and effort. This was much harder than I anticipated. I had two slides/falls or was it a quick rest stop? no injuries and its a soft landing. Warning, stay away from the clay, it turned out to be deceptively slippery, and hard to avoid. I am still undecided if I'd rather walk up or come down this track? at times we are chatty and other times its quiet, as we are all working hard!

When we are almost at the cache, a decoy caused a bit of confusion, but this time Supernanny and evilno9 saved the day! We had a quick snack stop before the cache. Only one more cache, to find, and we will be back at the cars and the Domain. So far, one couple has passed us when we were at the Summit, but I suspect that will change as we get closer to civilisation. Thanks for the hide, and our group of 6 for sharing this adventure

I have walked up this actual track soo many years ago that I forgot to remember how hard it was. maybe I chose to forget.... I don't know which is harder: coming down or going up. Going down is hard on the knees and thighs going up is hard on the lungs. Anyhow, going down is what we are doing and every step is one step closer to a relaxing seat in my car! But we're here now at this cache which was well spotted by the youngest member of our team today evilno9. I'm having so much fun despite the hard work involved. I keep looking behind me making sure everyone is keeping safe as the others do too. Thanks again team for the day out today, really enjoyed all your company. It is a day to remember and I haven't said it yet but congratulations Warwick on your 3000th! Well done.

After having read the logs, I made sure to watch my gps closely to ensure I didn't overshoot the mark as previous cachers have done. I wasn't planning to come back this way so thankfully didn't need to backtrack. Found cache surprisingly quickly. Onwards and upwards! Tftc

#200 awesome!!

Collected on the way down from our trek to the top. TFTC

A bit slow in logging this one. Did a recce trip prior to taking a group on the 1st of Jan so looked in the log book to see when i had done it.

Quick find once we decided what side of the track the hint was referring to!
Found with davycrockpot + tramping buddied
Walked past it on our way up so made sure we paid more attention on return leg
TNLNSL thanks

Found with Evofreak and a few of our ever tolerant tramping mates.

Phew thats a rough track for tired legs coming down from the top. Glad for an excuse for a breather to locate the cache Soon spotted by our new cacher "Snaps" who came along for the walk and helped with the logistics of a one way walk! Great walk grey on the tops but at least the rain held off!

great position on the way down this track made up largely of natural tree root steps.

I was with a small group of geo-friendly hikers on our way up to the Te Aroha summit this morning. I dashed ahead of the group to look for this cache, the GPS was a bit flakey here, but the hint quickly lead me to the cache. TFTC!

I couldn't get any coverage on my phone or GPS on the way up, but like others was able to make the find on my way down. Good placement and a fun find that helped break up the tramp today. Thanks for placing it.

Missed this one on the way up so on the decent I had a look around and got it.

Nice to know I'm almost on the top. It was quite good walk and nice views today. Thanks.

T4TC. Quick find on our final descent on our 3 day tramp. Thanks!

I'm well into the clouds now and with sweat pouring down. 100% humidity doesn't seem to help, but the wind sure does. Cache had a bit of water in the bottom, which I drained out. Log book is still good. Cheers for the cache. Onward and upward!

Missed this one on the way up to the summit, but collected on the way down. Nicely tucked away.

Was using my iPhone so no real signal under the trees. Had a look in the area I thought it should be no luck - but a good place to rest on the way up to the top.

Heading down from the Summit, the rain stopped, and the GPS started to work (though not very well). When it changed from 52m ahead (+/- 34m) to 45m behind (+/- 16m) I knew I'd gone past it. Headed back up 20m or so, to find a likely looking spot, and quickly came up with the goods. TFTC.

Decided to attack the Mt on a very wet Friday night....Loved it....8.28pm

Found while out tramping with fellow cachers, not one of the
easiest of climbs, legs are telling me so.

I was finding the climb hard today so it was good to know I was 3/4 of the way up. Started the day in lovely sunshine but it soon closed in. TFTC TNLN

This is my 4th (& definitely my last) climb up this track...hate, hate, hate it....TFTC [8(]. Found along with OzzaWazza & Telstraxri.

went up this morning to put new log and give it a bit of a dry out-all good again -cheers jumbo

2nd of the day on the way up, seems the rest of the crew got scared and stayed home when they saw the word "hill" in the walk description, luckily there was still two that saw no fear. Bit perplexed initially, wondering at the potential area, until i remembered the old "fallen solider trick ;-)... then it was straight to it ( all though do wonder how they directional terms worked if one was going the other way>?)

alas the log book has been so damp for a while that it was practically falling apart on exposure to air, so unable to sign the log and sadly did not have any log paper left to add.

Was definitely grinding at this stage. Had to catch my breathe before I could have a decent look. Hopefully not to much longer to go to the top.

Great day out along Wairongomai loop, over to Mt Te Aroha, and down the mountain, doing several geocaches. TFTC

Nice stop on the way down, had a great day climbing...TFTC

Went for a Xmas stroll up Te Aroha. Found this nice cave on the way. Tftc.

Good to have a point to aim for (other than the top!) and an indication of how far we'd come and how far still to go. Stopped for a quick sandwich here and waited for a gap in the walkers so we could have a hunt for the cache. Scott thought it was a bit of a needle in a haystack and was about to give up, but Katy just wanted to check one more place... and there it was! Surprised that this hasn't been found for a while.

Log book is damp but still signable. Cache could probably do with refreshing a little - some of the contents are pretty grubby. I didn't have a stash of swaps with me to replenish it though.

Thanks for a nice cache.
KatyAndScott
Cache number 170 for us

Good hints and deacription.

Nice find, good to have a cache on the way up as an incentive for the kids!

Good find. Weather starting to pack it in but will keep going to the top

on our way back down, so tired, finally found it though

Certainly a good hard walk - but lovely bush and views - almost there. Cache all good and where it should be Picked up TB TFTC

This entry was edited by NZFlossy on Saturday, 14 January 2012 at 05:21:48 UTC.

This entry was edited by NZFlossy on Monday, 23 January 2012 at 04:40:45 UTC.

gps being naughty under canopy
maybe next time

Heading for the top, hard going but made it in the end. Found with Fookesfam while dragging my sorry ar*e up here, TFTC and a better reason to stop, than I'm stuffed already

On the trail with GreenBlat, Tofska and Kiwi Leon this morning. Having not been for a walk for a few months now and carrying a cold I was really starting to feel tired about now. The legs were sore and the will power starting to wain. Was really glad the cache was here as it gave me just enough motivation to get there. TFTC

Out with GreenblAt, Gadget-tron and Tofska.
Starting to feel the legs now.
TFTC

Found together with Tofska, KiwiLeon, and GadgetTron on the way up and over Mt Te Aroha. Starting to get up near the cloud at this point. Cache name made me think a long black would have been nice about now. T4TC

Feeling very much grounded at this point. T4TC - M@

Easy find. Was hoping for a longer rest!

TFTC

A good reason for a breather on route to the top. Nice hidding spot. TFTC.

Second time around.

Quick find on our way to the top of Mt. Te Arua. Although the hint confused me, maybe it is my English, but do you really mean "opposite"?

TFTC!

Found it. 2 teenagers spent 10 mins looking for it and eventually enjoyed success. All in good order in the cache. A good spot for a breather between the caches at the top and partway down. TFTC

got it jumbo very good gettn a bit unfit though i needed that .

No chance of finding this without a GPSr .. sounds like it's hard enough even with one.

9.50am. Found on the way up. Met Jumboz very close to GZ who gave us a bit of a hint. Thanks Jumboz it was great to meet you. Thank you. David with an old friend Tom.

Great place for a cache - we needed the rest!

A little tricky to find. Almost had to use my key ring LED as there were plenty of dark holes to check out. TFTC

thank you once agin not on way up but on way down ahah!!!!!!

1of 4 finds today on the mountain and the hardest, had to do it on way back...TFTC

Missed this one on the way up but got it on the way back down. Easy find with clue. Keegsta and the Taupo Swim club.

took a coulpe of minutes to find this one but i think that was because i was trying to find my breath, and legs, heck i was trying to find my body because i couldnt feel it by this stage. good hide and nice find. I dont think i could have made it to the top with out this cache to break the trip.