Whataroa Falls (Bay of Plenty) Mangatoi, North Island, New Zealand
By kaimaikid on 01-Jun-08. Waypoint GC1CV35

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Sadly gone to cache heaven

Lovely walk in a beautiful and impressive forest. after a picnic by the fall, we came back up. Using the description, we looked in many places. There were a few options but the visibility of the sign from the cache limits the possibilities. This will be a DNF for us today. Thanks for sharing this place with us!

Miny me loaded into carry pack Garmin coordinates ready the other two kids giving me a copy on handhelds and of we set, got to GZ kids scouted the area while me and the little dude searched where we could. As the time ticked on the kids started to get frustrated and within an hour they gave up, a little disappointed I couldn't have a good look but at least it gave mum the day off baby duty's. It's a DNF today but I'm confident it's still there somewhere, we probably walked over it numerous times. We will return for you

Came here awhile ago couldn't find it. Today I found it no problem. Dam I probably just about walk on it last time. Not in the best of condition though. Pretty wet inside and the log book is soaked beyond be able to sign. So take a pic it was. The waterfall was amazing today. The water was clear and kind of a emerald green colour. Great spot for a cache. Tftc.

Found it thanks to my girl. Must have been standing on it for a while whilst looking. No shortage on water inside.

Awesome cache. The 225 degrees was the best clue as the nav was way out. Awesome cache. Completely full of water though

Found with Vistra while down in Rotorua for Christmas with family
Unfortunately, the cache was very wet which made signing the log book impossible. Vistra has attached a photo to his log. We thoroughly enjoyed outer hike to this spot. Loved the waterfall and native bush.

AliGle and I are down in Rotorua for a few days, spending Christmas with family. This afternoon we went out for a bit of an explore, first heading to TECT park to do the Te Rerenga Tunnel trail, then did the walk out to Whataroa Falls. 2kiwis.com joined us for the walk to these falls. We initially overshot the cache and went to check out the falls first, then took a look for the cache on the way back up again. Following the instructions, we soon located GZ and found the cache reasonably quickly... although this was more by fluke than anything, as I heard the hollow sound of the cache as I was poking around with a stick, with the cache being buried in leaf litter. Once opened, the cache was completely full of water and the contents were saturated, including the logbook. Being unable to sign the logbook, attached is a photo. Thoroughly enjoyed the walk to this cache, the falls and finding a nice sized ammo can in the bush. TFTC - fav point added.

After visiting the Tect park for a new cache the kids and I decided a nice walk in the forest was in order. I wasn’t sure how we would go with this cache as it hadn’t been found in two years and had three DNF since then. We got to GZ and started our search following the hints we found a likely spot took about 5 minutes for us to eventually uncover the cache which was covered well in natural camouflage I managed to dig it out it took a bit to get the cache open once inside the cache contents are in good order nice and dry container still in good shape. Signed the log and put back where we found. So good to find a cache that hasn’t been found in a long time I had the biggest smile on my face. The kids did ask what the swag was they have never seen a VHS tape took nothing left nothing.
FP for this as I was

A little bit gutted I couldn't find this one. The description was so good that I'm confident in saying it's gone. Even maintaining sign visual at 225° couldn't help me although multiple spots suitable for a .50 cal box were seen. The 'unmarked animal track' does appear to be well trafficked leading to a good view from the top of the falls as well as 2 more private pools a little further up stream. Sadly this area had also been recently used as a toilet.

Loved the walk out to the falls but no luck finding the cache. Tried using all our geo powers but no luck.

Yep sad to not find this....

Took a lot of searching, many places that matched the description. Well camouflaged

Took us a while.
Well camouflaged.
TFTC

A really nice walk through the bush, lots of quiet serenity with only one other group passing by so we had plenty of opportunity to hunt this cache down. Like previous logs indicate, it wasn't 'til we actually concentrated on the clues in the description that we found it. Great hide - the size itself is another good clue of where to look. Tftc.

This is how geocaching is fun. A nice walk through the quiet bush. Many birds, but not many people. At the end of the walk a beautiful waterfall and a old cache. Favorite! Thanks a lot for hiding

# 1491

What a stunning walk... and a fab location for a cache. We had our 8 year old niece with us today and she didn't complain once on the almost 6km round trip. We really couldn't have picked a better day to go. We got to the waterfall easily just following the track but after admiring the waterfall we couldn't get the GPS to settle. After reading a couple of previous logs I put away the GPS and decided to look for the hint items... didn't take long to find the awesome cache. Thanks for bringing us here!

Decided to have a walk in the woods so toddled off with Robert Frost, Walt Whitman and Bill Bryson going around in my head. MRS tryfyn was trying a proper bush walk for the first time since major surgery on her leg so it was a bit of a test run. Lovely walk to the Falls, noting that GZ was before the Falls proper. Did the tourist bit then girded my loins for the search. Turned out that I found the cache almost straight away. Yah! It's an ammo tin - a PROPER geocache. Used the excellent description rather than GPS as mine still had 18m to go at GZ. Dropped a Marvin the Martian TB. FP. TFTC.

Nice find. Loving the trail. Nice and easy walk.

By far one of the prettiest waterfalls/swimming holes I've seen. Must have spent a bit of time sitting there admiring it as it was all sunshine and blue skies when we walked in. Leaving though.. the roar of thunder through the bush was deafening and it started to pour down just before the exit back to the car park. Got out just in time!

It was a really nice walk to the waterfall!

Thank you for the cache!

I had just found the caches around Otanewainuku and since I had some spare time decided to check out the falls ...I had heard some good reports about this short trek and I wasn't disappointed....a most enjoyable walk and some amazing specimens of native trees ....the neat signs explaining the trees along the way was a bonus.....some I have never heard of before ....I arrvived at GZ quicker than expected and the cache was quickly found and the damp log signed ....this is certainly a wonderful place and after a quick snack it was on back To the car park this uses a bit more effort due to the terrain but comfortly returned in under 45 minutes thank Kaimaikid for a great placement It is amazing how many people use these tracks the car park was full

A small informal tramping group I belong to suggested we hike up Otanewainuku and perhaps do the Whataroa Falls walk after if time allowed. Well of course I'm going, as I haven't found the caches in this area yet. We were on a bit of a timetable so debated doing this walk, but decided to give it a go and turn back if we ran out of time - yeah right. A good slick pace was set and in just over half an hour we were there. Plenty of time for the others to have lunch while we nipped back to find the cache. Log dampish but writeable. Nice deep hole adjacent to gz but very visible. This was a fabulous walk with amazing giants of the forest specimens. Well worth the effort. Thanks for the cache Rick-a-mortis and kaimaikid. A fav from me.

Doing this cache today as we are scoping, out the walk to bring our cub scouts up here to have a look. decided to have a quick swim in the water fall, very cool and the cache was not to hard to find once the gps decided to behave. tftc

Eight months after logging my DNF, I can now claim a smiley face. Saw the hole that "trista b1 found" at GZ, so I carefully walked round it to retrieve cache. Log was a little damp, but still ok to sign. Track needs a bit of maintenance though, as there are a few trees that have fallen across it since my last visit to falls. The sound of water falling over rocks, birds signing and the smell of damp bush, is a must to experience. TFTC. Cheers.

Tftc! This one has been on my to do list for a while, especially since there's no signal down there. So proud of this find. Not so proud that my foot found a hole next to the cache and I fell in waist deep and was stuck for a while haha. Good adventures.

Up from H.B. visiting family. While they worked I went out finding some caches. After visiting an old neighbour near by, stopped off to hunt out a couple of caches. As I lived in the area many years ago I didn't even know these falls were there. D.O.C. did these tracks after I had moved from the district. So I took this opportunity to go for a look. I wasn't disappointed. Track is good and the falls are wonderful. My own fault I didn't find cache, I should have read description properly before heading off down the track, as there was no reception when I got to G.Z. I shall be back. Cheers.

12.20pm - This cache had been bugging me for a long time. With Mrs Fap at the beach and work done this morning thought it would be a great time to do it. Good track so made for a fairly quick walk to GZ. At first I was looking for something big, then reading everything a few times soon spotted it. All in good condition with a lot of people on the track today. SLTFTC

Beautiful spot with many falls. They didn't stop!
Tftc

Out this way to get a few caches I've been keeping my eyes on for a while. So made a day of it to focus on these caches plus get a few others nearby and in Rotorua.

After doing the loop to the summit on the other side of the road, I took on this track. I had been wanting to do this walk for a while and this cache was #1 on the list for the day. It was a very enjoyable walk to GZ listening to all the bird life, and the odd tractor here and there. It seems wrong every time I hear a engine when I'm in the bush. Took about 40 mins at a reasonable wander to get to the waterfall, and it was well worth the effort in getting here.

Had the place to myself so was very tempted to jump in for a swim but the water was just a tad bit cold for my liking today, so bookmarking this place as a must return with the family. Spent a few minutes hunting around the wrong spot for the cache, but once I re-read the description I knew where I needed to be looking and actually spotted the cache neatly tucked away from the track.

Thanks for the cache placement and bringing me to this wonderful place.

After a rubbish start to the day on another DOC track, we decided this one had remained outstanding on our map of smillees and to take a crack at it.

It was quiet for a Sunday, with only two groups (one of them very noisy) and one runner. Made it to the falls and took a few pictures, before starting the hunt. After a bit of bush bashing found the cache and on taking a look about found the hint spot on. Another case of not reading the instructions.

Made it in 2 hours 45, with about 30 minutes playing around the falls and GZ. Not bad for a couple of geriatrics.

Thanks kaimaikid for a great walk. Deserves a fav.

Found this almost two years ago with littlemissmuffit but wasn't a member so had to go there after getting the other caches in the area and claim this one

Realised at the Falls there was no mobile phone reception so quick back track to load cache details and then relatively easy find. Beautiful spot. Thanks

Needed another training walk with my heavy pack and have always wanted to see these falls , nice sunny day so lots of reasons to collect this cache. Only one two other people in the forest. Lovely big rimu trees and friendly robins to greet my on my walk. Got to the junction but no quick find so had lunch down by the poolat the bottom of the falls where the gps coverage is better. Thought about the hint a bit more then tried again and got lucky after a few minutes. Thanks for bringing me out here Very peaceful spot today.

This one hasn't been visited in a while. Wasn't sure it would still be there. The walk in the bush was reward enough. Then we had an encounter with a tiny bush robin. The cache was the icing on the cake. Anyway after a quick look had the cache in hand. Seemed a bit damp but otherwise OK. TFTC.

Fun hike and beautiful falls and stream - my wife and I saw no one else on the trail. Took a bit of searching but the description that you could see the junction sign from the cache helped a lot. Cache in good shape.

Nice waterfall. So we searched for the cache and got myself into a nest of some really big nasty bugs that bite! I didn't think there were such things in New Zealand! I haven't swore that much in a long time, and I ripped my clothes off so fast. Not fast enough... I have a bunch of red welts all over me. Found the cache though.

Have placed the TB Kiwi Stormtrooper in this cache as there was plenty of room for him All the best with your travels little guy

Had a great time returning to this area. First time to the falls which I have wanted to do previously so good excuse to discover a cache as well. There was a fallen tree blocking the track just before the falls. managed to climb under, over and down - quite slippery. Once at the falls we could see where the proper track was and used that to start our return journey and hunt for the cache. Thanks to the great description and clues was thankfully able to locate it. Limited gps on my iPhone, due to bush cover (and probs my inexperience lol).
TNSL and left a TB that had been passed on to me (Kiwi Stormtrooper). Will now try to log this? It's a first so I hope I manage it ok :I

Thanks for the excellent hint we needed it as I left my gps at home and had to use the I - Phone and there's no coverage so lucky I took a picture of the hint . What a lovely little treasure yippeeee to Geocaching Aye . Put my back out after finding the cache and walked out like I had a carrot up my butt was a laught for my partner lol

we set out this morning, from Mountain Road and came out on Manoeka Rd it was a 19.5km hike.
There was a big frost this morning. found this cache with some help from my mum and nephew, we had an awesome day together.

Not normally a Sunday Cacher. This is usually a depressing day; a stack of chores to do, and the never ending planning for the school week ahead. Good on the Queen for giving us tomorrow off...

The kids were bored and they kept texting to ask if I was going 'hunting'. Picked them up before lunch and decided to head to Whataroa Falls. This is another cache that has sat on the map, begging to be found. Didn't plan on taking too long, so we left the dog in the car. There were a few cars about, and a security guard looking over the vehicles.

The walk to the falls was uneventful. I switched on my gps and couldn't get satellite signal... worried that I wouldn't get one at all. About three quarters of the way, the gps finally got a connection. Eventually arrived at the falls and relied on the gps to point to ground zone. Ended up lower down at the falls basin. Searched for ages and bush bashed toward the upper part of the falls. Couldn't find anything, and the kids were getting frustrated. Dispirited, I sent them back to the car just to get a little peace. Flicked back to the hint and caught a break... It pays to read carefully.

Returned back up the track to the junction and resumed searching. After a lengthy hunt, soon had the cache in hand... Oh no! The kids took the pen. The one in the cache didn't work, but thank goodness for the blue highlighter. Cache and walk of the day. Two and a half hours return. Thanks for bringing us here and TFTC.

11:30
When I finished the clock wise loop to the summit, I decided to go for a little swim to the falls. Nice walk there, I met one family, but at the falls there were nobody. It was little bid difficult to find the cache, but after a while I finally found nice and big cache. Then, I went close to the falls a have a short swim. The water is really very cold, so it was very short swim. It was good that the sun came there throught the trees, so it was not so bad after I went out from the water.
The falls are very nice.
TFTC

We found this cache while out for the day doing the Mt Otanewainuku caches which we loved. Then, after lunch we went to the Whateroa Falls on further beautiful tracks. The falls are beautiful and we found the cache without too much difficulty. A great cache thanks, and thanks for taking us to this beautiful place.

This entry was edited by Murray'n'Janet on Saturday, 02 March 2013 at 23:20:35 UTC.

This one to was a lovely walk,TFTC

first find of the day, a bit of a hike out to the falls with little people...but we made it in the end!!

Climbed to the top of Otanewainuku first, and visited the Kahikatea before taking the Rimu Loop Track to the falls. A few people out and about on the track today, making the most of the great day. Apparently there were close to 60 people in the carpark by 11 am a few weekends ago. The track is easy to follow and lovely bush to walk through. Got to the falls as a family arrived ready to go swimming. The water was on the cold side, but they still took the plunge. Spent some time enjoying the various waterfalls and took lots of photos. Eyed up the North Track to Otawa trig and pondered the possibility of going right through to the Papamoa Hills. Another day perhaps. Cache found without difficulty and contents nice and dry. TNLN TFTC

This entry was edited by tparty on Saturday, 19 January 2013 at 05:10:28 UTC.

Really nice walk through fantastic virgin bush with huge Rimu. Easy cache to find and in good condition TNLN.

amazing hike one of the best bush walks we've taken in ages, pity the light was fading quickly as we arrived to the cache, didnt really have time to appreciate the full value of the falls, Jeb was poking round in the right area just inches from the cache but Sas found it after Jeb moved on ("double check love")!!!!!!!!! great hide, took a lanyard left a serrated bread knife........... hiking back through the dark from this cache was definately an adventure

Days off are made for this. Came here for a lovely early winter's walk this afternoon, nice waterfalls but it was a bit too cold for a swim! Love ammo can caches. The tree listed in the description is now down and broken, so look for a stump instead! TFTC and we are doubly happy as this is our 400th find!

This entry was edited by fanfan-77 on Sunday, 01 July 2012 at 09:31:50 UTC.

The second and longer walk for the late afternoon. A lovely area and double reward at the end. (cache and falls)Also looked under the wrong log and remained puzzled for a while. All good in the end and cache in good shape. TFTC

A lovely walk to an amazing place. Thanks for the trip and the first cache of 2012

Whataroa Falls (Bay of Plenty) was transferred from Rick-a-mortis to user kaimaikid

Lovely walk - few ups and downs - cache all good, beautiful spot TFTC

Did the walk on the other side of the road a few months ago but ran out of time to do this one.
Found cache without any problems and had lunch in the sun at location before walking back in a small thunder storm on the way back.
Would recomend this walk to others. Tftc

Really nice area and walk - would like to carry on the north track sometime.
Wasn't hot enough for a swim so will be back it looked so good. Checked out the falls then back to cache, wrong log for a bit then bingo. Cache hadn't been visited since March so leaf litter had done a really good camo job. Due to lack of hits I decided to take the dolphin TB even thou didn't have anything to exchange
tftc

Nice walk, found this one after some looking. Took a cool swim. Awesome cache TFTC

Another nice big cache. Mrs L found it while Mr L was making things harder than it needed to be. Excellent directions. Rescued the Jeep TB, he's been here long enough!

Great walk, TFTC. If you go on a weekend the parking ninjas are there to protect your ride.

Took the compass (thanks Syrius) and coin travel bug...left US coins and a few other small trades.

#423

Had been meaning to do this walk for quite sometime but circumstances had been working against us. Today, after learning of a newly placed cache nearby, we headed off with the intention of finally completing these caches. Decided to do longest walk first, and had cache in hand 40 mins after commencing walk. Lovely area, took many photos, left only footprints!

In: Keri's Geocoin and Red Jeep Travel Bug
Out: Ice Cream Travel Bug and Green Jeep Travel Bug.

Thanks for the Cache Mr Kid

Wow, what a great place! Kathi found this one after a short search, while Gerdl was still looking in all the wrong places

Really, really great spot! Worth the hike!

TFTC, wowbag (Kathi & Gerdl)

Out: GC New Zealand,
In: Keyring

Great walk. Good to see so much evidence of wildlife. Cache well hidden and worth the visit thankyou. In-TBs X2.Key ring and compass. Out- meter. tftc.

lovely walk thanks. Great cache and well hidden. tnlnsl

Whataroa Falls (Bay of Plenty) was transferred from kaimaikid to user Rick-a-mortis

Well what a trek, I came out here with 2 adults and 9 yes 9 childern aged between 10yr and 5 yrs. they really enjoyed the walk and seeing the falls.
another well thoght and cache and well stocked cache container.

The cache was well hidden and all of the extra's had their jaws dropping onto the ground with the spender of the area.

+ 2 bugs
+ tade for bike kit can't remember what it was.
- bike kit

this was a neat walk out to the waterfall, thank you kaimai.

we had a few of our friends come with us to see what we were going out there to do

TNLNSL

we had a picnic at the juntion above the falls.

We were pottering about on the website this morning, and what's this? A cache that no-one has gone out to find . So, we threw our things into the car and made the journey out to the track - overshot the carpark by a few minutes and had to backtrack. There were three cars already there - could they be geocachers? We made our way as quickly as possible through the spectacular native bush following the excellent instructions and the time went really fast. As we neared the cache hiding place the GPS went a bit wonky, but the clues were excellent, and soon we had the cache in hand. Nervously we opened the log book and - YAY, YAY, YAY - Our very first FIRST TO FIND. After finding spent a few minutes admiring the lovely waterfall before heading back.
Thanks heaps for bringing us out to this extremely well stocked cache. It was a lovely walk and well worth the effort of getting out there.

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