Phurther Photogrammetry (Canterbury) Teddington, South Island, New Zealand
By Grandalf on 01-Dec-08. Waypoint GC1JK1Q

Scoped out likely locations a few months ago when we were last up hereactually spotted where the white cave would have been from the final.but we didnt know that at the time! Anyway, today we spent a solid couple of hours looking for the waypoint. Started three high points across from where we needed to be.and the closer we got the closer to the photo the view became. Once on the right peak the waypoint was found easily in good condition. Then back to the car and along to the final for a find. Took longer than it should but found it in the end exactly where the hint said it would be. Deserves a favourite for sure. Thanks Grandalf for another superb multi on the port hills! Glad this one has been here for so long!

Like TA I had a few difficulties finding WP1. It was a bit galling when I did find it as it was exactly where I had looked twice before! This time, after an hour or so in the vicinity, I decided perhaps the hint should be ignored. With a parting of the now rather large shrubs where I hoped wp1 would be, and a bit of peering through branches behind a rock I was relieved to spot the container. Why didn't I do this the first time! Ivss_xx and the CO both confirmed I was in the right area so third time looking I was not going to give up! It was a bit of a stretch to reach it, but how glad I was to get those final coordinates. Took a hike to the final and for a wee while thought I was going to continue my poor form locating the cache. But eventually I got it by feel rather than seeing it. Hooray! This one has been a mission but I am thrilled to sign it off. Thanks, Grandalf! #10253

Another grand(alf) multi! This was a fun one. Ivss_xx and I gathered the WP last week during a mission for a similar cache. We decided to hold off on the final, as it was getting late and I had to come back to the area anyway on a maintenance run. The WP was in decent shape and didnt take long to find. It was a bit wet inside but the numbers were legible. We left a replacement sheet, just in case it takes a turn for the worse in the next few years. We went for the final today. And we couldnt have picked a better day for it! It was a windy mess near GZ. It took some time to spot the cache. We poked around a lot of boulders. I had found a place that made me think thats exactly where Id put it but I couldnt spot anything, even after two searches. Then, much like Rincewinds find years ago, ivss had a look in there and found it. Cache is in great shape. Pretty happy to get this one bagged. Really enjoyed the search.

17:58 FITW ObnoxiousSpaceCatWell, after finding the Phairly Photogrammetric last week, we moved on to the waypoint of this one. Turned out that the right spot was about 160m from where I stabbed at the map. Not too bad!This one would have been a bit harder than the "Phairly" one with just the origonal picture, but looking at the last logs, the pic posted by TA really helped to do that final narrowing-down, boots on the ground. And then it was just a matter of checking round some bushes, before the waypoint container was found. Similar to the "Phairly" one but not as bad yet - the coordinate note was getting wet. So we left a freshly written one on a waterproof paper in there, so the waypoint would serve its purpose for longer.When we saw where the final was, we decided to leave it for another day though. It was getting late and hungry then, and another walk would mean dinner would have to wait until after 9pm.Today was the day! Again, came out on an after-work mission. Headed straight up to the final GZ. Very windy and very foggy. It was a bit foggy last time too, but nothing like today. Sometimes, you couldn't see more than some 50m ahead of you. Took quite a bit of perseverance of circling all the large boulders here, until I finally found the cache. I started on the left hand side of the track, going uphill but soon realized the the coordinates point to the other side, and that turned out to be correct."That's where I would have hidden it" said OSC in disbelief, after I went on to check on one of the spots he had already searched in. Well, and there it was - tricky little hide Another Grandalf classic done, another multi-dot-day filled. 101 multi's left to do.Kia ora! Paldies! Thanks for the cache, Grandalf!#10055

What a mission! We had searched for WP1 on 3 previous occasions. On those previous attempts we were always just a bit off. Today, with brilliant blue skies we decided it we would go for it. After eliminating one possibility, we went further along, and at last got a matching photo - attached. Finding the container was quite an effort since the scrawny shrub has grown quite a bit, and it is three years since the last find. Other boulders are visible but the boulder referred to in the description is entirely smothered by the shrub. It took quite a bit of fossicking around but eventually the prize was uncovered. Woohoo! We poured water out of the container. Fortunately we could still read the coordinates easily enough.

Ironically, the final is close to one of the locations we had visited initially for WP1. In fact, given it is to the west of a high point, like WP1, we had even given it a cursory search on that earlier visit before heading up to the high point - just in case - before discovering that the high point was not WP1. Today a more thorough search of the final location finally netted the treasure. With the double bagging, it is in not too bad a condition.

It's great to give this lonely cache some love, as the last visit was nearly 3 years ago. Thanks for the adventure Grandalf!

Son and I found the WP a few months ago. It was pretty much trial and error. I had worked out the general area using Google maps and then we walked along the track in that spot until we had the same view as the photo. The WP box was soon in hand and the final GZ discovered.
Today son and I went to see if we could find the cache. After a bit of scrambling around I found it! Yay! Nice to show this cache some love as the last signature in the logbook is the CO in 2016!
TFTC and as good a multi as ever!

Out on a Sunday Mission with Shannonp1 specifically to find some long solved puzzles including some D/T's. This was one I had really wanted to knock off. Thanks for the effort that goes into placing and maintaining the cache.

Got a day pass so went out and about with Surevybase for another crack at some caches out around the bays. Had a few laughs and more than a few scrambles and generally a good time. Thanks to all the CO's for their time in placing these caches. Sorry about the cut and paste. TFTC.

Maintenance check - renewed snaplock bags, and dried out cacheboxes.

During geotrip found it. Thank you

Absolutely stoked to finally tick this one off. Have to admit the WP eluded me for too long. Several spots it could be. Then I stumbled accross something that got me on the scent, and tonight success! Great to log our 100th multicache success at last, yay! Fav point fir sure tftc

What a mission! Out for a day cleaning up Summit Road caches with Bo and managed to convince him to look at this one. He'd done it before (2008 or 2009 I think) but could remember anything about where to go. This meant we had to start from scratch. Once in the genes area we would head for any high points as we collected caches. Eventually we ended up too far around so we collected the last of the traditional caches on out list then returned. In the end we got to the correct spot not far from another we HAD checked. Not sure how we missed this one. It took a little while to find the projected wpt but we got there and got the golden coords. The paper they're written on has certainly seen some damp, but is still legible.
We the saw the final was back the way we'd just come! Bo assured me he was happy to go back for it so off we went. We weren't sure of the best access point but I think we found it. Headed up the track and after a while approached the general area. Saw the track TW must have used - Crikey! Decided to carry on round. This paid off as we found a much easier way up. Once at the GZ we started he hunt. Check all around the obvious to no avail and eventually Bo called "got it!"
He'd found it in a spot I'd tried to check! Have to thank you for the excellent adventure to end our day on.
TFTC

This one has taken two trips to complete. I first had an attempt when the visibility was near zero and bailed when I got to my optional parking spot. Today was a different story. My plans to go to Pack Horse this morning was foiled by early rain so I pulled the pin with my other two muggle companions and went back to bed. I went back to bed and woke up an hour later an it was a different day. It still looked a bit iffy and we still made the call to postpone. Oh well, always next week. So I had an hour to spare this afternoon and needed a run around. So I headed up on a crystal clear day, but it was windy. I parked near WP1 and started to explore. I got to the first bit and it didn't look high enough so I headed to the next high point. This is looking promising. I found the WP on the way up to the photo spot. I took my own photo for a matching pair. I jogged back to the truck and decided time was short so I drove as close to final as I could and headed up the GZ. I followed a track and got to within 65m and it was pointing above me. I should have gone up the track a bit to check it out but thought that'll be a waste of time. I found a 'track' and headed up. Cool 50m... I got stuck in the middle of a gorse and bramble patch and took me 25mins to bush bash Bear Grylls style clambering over rocks and using vines to hoist myself up. I got scratched up and was kicking myself as my gaiters were sitting in my truck. Oh well, it was fun. I arrived at GZ and looked around a bit and widened my search before I went back to the GZ and found the cache after 20mins. I happily signed the log and headed up a nearby high spot to catch the view, it'd have been rude not to. It was soooo windy. Grabbed a photo or two and headed back down. This time I followed the track and had a giggle as I passed the track that was only 20m past where I headed up. What a wally. Good fun and good way to spend an hour (and a half) on a sunny afternoon. I'm giving it a favourite for the memories and wonderful views. Cheers Grandalf.
Thanks for the cache.
#1211

Our first multi_geocache, found it first time so very happy.

Wow, it has taken me 4 years to get a smilie from this cache! In my initial attempts, 4 years ago, all I got were scratches from gorse and blackberry as I tried to find my way to the White Cave WP. I then put the cache on the backburner and then the Christchurch earthquakes happened. It was not until a few months back that I was game to venture once more into the Port Hills, this time to attempt to find the re-positioned WP. However, this too was unsuccessful. The CO then contacted me and discovered that my camera position coords were in error and suggested a better spot. On another trip up the hill I discovered the WP and the coords for the final, but my time was limited so the hike to the final was left to another occasion. That occasion occurred today. After a pleasant stroll, though the wind was very cold, the cache was found in good condition and I was able to at long last remove this cache from my unfound list. Thanks Grandalf.

4356. The sun was shining brightly this morning so it would be great for the view after yesterday's disappointment! When I got up onto the Summit Road it was dense fog once again so absolutely no view today either. However, having the actual coordinates did mean that I could complete the assignment anyway. Was not surprised to see where the GPS took me as this was one of the spots Richard and I guessed at three years ago. In fact the actual hiding place was within a five metre radius of where we did a quick search back then! Good to get the exercise once again too. Thanks, Rodney.

Had a spare hour or so before an appointment so decided to try this one again, after a three year gap. The sun was shining after the rain so it would be great for the view! When I got up onto the Summit Road it was dense fog so no way it could be attempted. What do you mean "No way", just rely on memory, after all it was only three years ago and visibility is at least three metres today!!!!! Parked in a handy car park roughly in the right area according to memory and then just walked around the crater rim walkway trying various likely spots. After a few hundred metres and several attempts something felt right, even though there was still absolutely no view today. Looked in a likely spot and there was the container with the coordinates. Now to walk all the way back to the car - along the road this time. No time to actually do the search today because of my appointment but I will be back tomorrow - hopefully without the fog - to complete the assignment. Rodney.

A nice walk to the way point and then on to the final. The rockfall near the original wp looked impessive, thanks for moving it Grandalf. Cheers

A warm Nor West day today. TFTC

With a free afternoon and warm weather I headed for the hills for some exercise and another attempt to find the waypoint. Finally, after several caching trips along the summit road trying various spots and walking most of the summit track south of the sign of the Bellbird in the process, I hit the spot. Great views today. Then back to the car and another walk to the final. Easily found. TFTC. A favourite.

Found the first waypoint, but was sadly not the cache. I'll try again.

I thought I had the right spot the other day (and a suitable shrubby boulder in a suitable spot didn't yield a container), checked with owner and I was slightly off in my photographic location....A sunny sunday morning lent itself to another expedition into the hills. Quickly found the WP this time...darn pleased a cave walk wasn't necessary! Imagine my surprise whilst approaching WP to find a young family camping up there! brrrr. Luckily they were otherwise occupied & I was able to admire the views and snag the WP. A lovely wander to the Final with some more spectacular views. Way cool. Thanks Grandalf! Took GC (now; what 'prickly' cache can I leave it in now?!). Left a laynyard.

Listing amended, and small container with final cache coords has been placed in a safe location.

Just done a maintenance run - the white cave looks to be an extremely dangerous spot due to a huge rockfall from the recent earthquakes. See the listing. Very soon, I'll place a container near the top of the peak, with the final coords.
The final cache is perfectly OK, and waiting for business.

After drawing a few lines came up with a location, but instead of looking at the end of the line I got a bit side tracked by the height indications on a topo map, so ended up looking under the wrong hill. Had a fun time and hopefully I will get back here another day, Thanks

Well, we finally broken the drought on Grandalf finds. This has been on our must do list for a long time. and today seemed like it would be a very pleasant day to be wandering the Port Hills. Many muggles obviously reckoned the same thing. We weren't bothered at the cave but the final was quite crowded - bizarre, We found the cave waypoint had escaped from under its pile of rocks and rolled down the cliff a ways. Not sure if it was the quake or critters, but its back in situ now. Heading to the final, the wind came up making it not quite so pleasant. The muggles stayed out of sight as we quickly located the prize, which was in good condition after lying undiscovered for nearly 16 months. Bonus find, an unanticipated GC. Dropped Earn your stripes GC which somehow seemed appropriate after the gorse and bush lawyer. TFTC.

This is a work in progress. We went out with good intentions, gardening gloves and leg protectors. What a view from the top - well worth the walk and the wind. It was going swimmingly until one of the party dropped the car keys and the rest of the caching time was spent tracking them down. We shall be back with good shoes and lots of energy to finish what we started.

Up in the hills tramping about with older son Richard today so had a go at this one. Last time, a couple of weeks ago, I just had a preliminary look in the pouring rain - without a decent photo or map. This time found the viewpoint easily and then scouted out access to the cave - probably not the easiest way but not the worst ever! Found the container and wrote down the offsets. Coverage in the cave area was so bad the GPS appeared to be over 200m out from the original coordinates directly above us, so took another mark. at that spot. So which one do we use for GZ - tried them both but neither took us to a place where we could find the cache - even after using the hint. So we just climbed up to the top of the highest peak in the area for fun - fabulous views but freezing cold wind in spite of the sunshine. Wouldn't want to fall off some of those cliffs!! At least we have the offsets for another try on a warm sunny day without having to find a safe way back to the cave! Thanks for the exercise anyway. Rodney

Forgot to log my visit with CBGSOC - TFTC. Suspect Grandalf of using magic to travel to these spots?

Eliot and I found the cache this afternoon. Decided not to take any shortcuts, and visited the white cave first to make sure we got our share of scratches. In the event bare legs were OK with judicious route finding. This spot is worth a visit, the views are stunning.

Took the offsets and located the cache. Left a geocoin in it that needs to be moved on before winter sets in.....

TFTC and an excuse to visit somewhere we would never have thought of....

[This entry was edited by CBGSOC on Saturday, April 04, 2009 at 1:07:50 AM.]

Took more than a few minutes to find but found the cache just after the sunset. Made the mistake of smashing through the bracken in shorts to get to GZ only to have my legs torn apart. Took one or two short cuts with this cache but not saying too much.

The first waypoint and the cave were easy to find and locate, But after retrieving the required information I was finally stumped as I didnt know anything about offsets or projecting waypoints, but I do now lol..
But before I did I emailed Mapworld in town and gave them some sample coordinates and asked them if they could work them out for me so i could see how it was all done, I recieved a reply back from a chap named John who told me that yes they could work them out for me but they charge $70.00 per hour and it could take them 2 hours. So as I knew they were specialist in this field and thought that if it would take them 2 hours that it must be a very complicated proceedure. But as much as I love doing a Grandalf cache paying $140.00 was just a wee bit much for me. So I resorted to other options, which paid off.
Now after having got the final waypoint sorted and finding enough time I was able to get back to caching.
I chose the direct approach to the final cache, but while traversing on slippery terrain gravity took over and the only thing I could fill my hand with was stinging nettle, yes OUCH.
but the best medicine I had was the thought of another Grandalf cache in my hand lol.
and not long after it was.. Yahoo.Its always nice to cross another Grandalf cache off my long list.
The final cache was a great spot and a nice easy find..
So thank you Grandalf for another one of your interesting caches for which I have learnt more GPS skills... many thanks Bo

I forgot to mention that on my way back from the cave I found a grey hooded, sleevless, polar fleece jacket, I think it has womans sizing on the label.. If anyone owns this please contact me to arrange to get it back... Cheers Bo

#493 (3/3 on the Port Hills with half of the La Vista team). Had to work hard for this one. On our way past (to do NZMS 260 M36 788273 and Prehistoric Postbox) we stopped 2 or 3 times to check the photo, and had found a likely starting point.

On the way back we wished we'd recorded a waypoint earlier, as the stiff nor'easter was pushing cloud across the road (as it happened we parked in a good spot). Went up to highest rock #1. Looked down the harbour and could see nothing. Started going down a gully to look for White Cave, but decided we might be in the wrong place (didn't expect a gully based on the cache description). Carried on to another summit, and highest rock #2. Still no visibility down the harbour. Didn't like the look of sidling round below highest rock #2 (from either side) so carried on to next summit and highest rock #3. The area below it didn't look like the probable home of the White Cave so carried on a bit further, The cloud cleared a little, and we descended on the harbour side a bit too, and eventually could see down the harbour. Initially we though we needed to go further again, but then realised we had to back track. Got to highest rock #3 and decided it wasn't the one (and that #2 probably was). Tried descending a gully between #2 and #3, but wasn't enjoying the plant life, so abandoned that and returned to ridge. Reach highest rock #2 and confirmed it was the one. Continued towards #1 and tried descending on that side. I spied a possible route and went to explore. Decided it was only worth one of us going, so I forged ahead, and managed to reach the cave without too much trouble.

Headed off to the cache location. It was getting late in the day, and maybe we were a bit weary, as it took 20 to 30 mins to find the cache (we were determined to find it!). I was very relieved when Roger said he'd found it. A good end to an enjoyable afternoon's caching.

Many thanks for the cache; it's a goodie.

[This entry was edited by StreetWalkerNZ on Sunday, December 07, 2008 at 1:14:26 AM.]

Made a big effort on this cache today but will have to give Streetwalker most of the credit for getting to the 1st WP. The cave looked awesome from afar when the clouds cleared enough to see.
Took us a while to find the cache but we were determined!
TFTC
.

I ended up doing this in two bits. Local knowledge and a quick recce a bit to the south allowed me to go to the cave first, which I had to do cos it was starting to get dark[8] Lets say the way I chose was not for the faint hearted[B)]
I got the offsets, (they are in a format that is very familiar and I could tell by looking pretty much the area the final was in. ) then groveled up to the official start point. Once there I made the required waypoint, averaged it and applied the offset.
By this stage it was fully dark and I had lost sight of the southerly cloud that was just starting to appear when I got there. I chickend out and went home.

Today I had lots to do but Mrs S.t.and I wandered up to the appointed spot and about 5 min searching revealed an empty log book that was signed at 1619hrs.

In summary.
The white cave is very impressive and well worth a visit. I dont recall having been there my self before but there was evidence of a very indistinct track in places. BE CAREFUL!! getting there.

There was only a little blood and not too much sweat.

The final spot is very deserving of a cache[^]

The person the local eminance was named after must have been rather well endowed

Thanks, Grandalf, another great effort.

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