Anawhata Stream (Auckland) Anawhata, North Island, New Zealand
By M@ on 18-Jan-09. Waypoint GC1KW7Z

This walk will be sorely missed, but the area is too sensitive

Temporarily disabled to support the Waitakere Rahui (http://tekawerau.iwi.nz/node/13), in an effort to prevent the spread of Kauri dieback disease.

#3300 cache found

With the Chateau Mosquito track now closed due to Kauri dieback, this is going to be a loop walk back down the Kuataika stream, then a steep walk back up the track to Anawhata road. We have had intermittent showers, with a few short periods of sunshine

With Jag50, gorby and myself, we leave A80 waiting at the remains of the Dam, whilst we make the final approach to GZ to find the cache. Again thankyou to Jag50 and gorby for navigating us here, and with the help of the hint, gorby soon had the cache found. Its the end of our adventure, its time to turn back. Lunch at the dam, then we make our way back to the car, and it looks like the gorby cafe is going to be open. Just what you need after a big walk

With Alpenmilch80, Gorby and RustyNZ, we worked our way up the Anawhata stream leaving the stream to bush crash and bash our way here. We left Alpenmilch80 at the remains of the old Kauri dam and pushed up further and around the corner. Got close to GZ and the hunt began. Quite quickly with the help of the hint and eagle eyes, Gorby soon had the cache in his hands. A very satisfactory result for 3 hours of tramping. So back to the dam for some lunch and then testing our navigation skills to get back out again. For some reason we ended up getting more scratched and scraped going back but maybe that was because we were being quick and less careful and just wanted to get back to the cars to get dry and have a coffee at the Gorby cafe.

Fantastic day with great high spirited people! Despite the high terrain rating, no one cares, and we're off down Kuataika trk from Anawhata Rd then up stream to this cache past 2 others. I had seen the dam in the fotos posted by other cachers and have been wanting to come here for near on 2 years but have never made it happen. Now I'm older, I care not to do these river walks on my own like I used to. Being gung ho is one thing, but being dead is another if I break something and I can't get help etc. So it is way more fun to do these walks with company anyway. So along with rustynz and Jag50 (Mr and Mrs) and Alpenmilch80 (her 2nd visit to these parts) I came here very excited and it was great to see the dam in person so to speak. Ilka stayed at the dam while us lot continued to the cache. The hint items was soon spotted and I reached up to find the cache. Handed it back to Rusty I think to sign us all in. It's been a year since the last visit, log very dry, no worries there tofska. All ready now for the next visitor/s in another year maybe. Thanks crew for the fine day, thanks Ilka for coming again today and giving us your company. Thanks tofska for the cache placement.

With the weather forecast predicting a hot Sunday we decided Friday night to give this one a go to cool off before Monday starts (again). My muggle friend and I were joined by evilno9. It was a fun day slipping over the stones and enjoying the cold water. After finding “Simply Gorgeous” we left the muggle behind, enjoying the sun and calmness off the area. We made our way over the kauri dam to GZ. Geocache was quickly found, without the spoiler picture, sitting dry in its hiding spot. TFTC

This one has been on my to-do list for ages and I've finally made it out here. Chateau Mosquito Track is closed at the top so I approached from the downstream side starting at Kuataika Track. The floodplains are a thing to see. I enjoyed standing in the middle of the tight oxbow downstream of here and watching the stream roll by in opposite directions on either side of me. you could even see the elevation difference with the one of the left being several meters higher than the one on right. Cool bit of history at the kauri dam on the way up. Someday, I'll have to return to visit the rest of the gorge--it looks amazing from the aerials and topo maps and everyone's photos on the cache page.

I though it would have been almost a year since the last log, but to my surprise, there was an entry from just the day before. Still, this place deserves more visitors. Cheers for the cache.

Out for a day walk with NZ pixie and needed the spoiler photo GPS signal a bit weak in here have not Been down Anawhata stream for a very long time thanks for the cache.

This time I looked at the picture before I left and went straight to it. The water was not quite so warm and we had a longer walk along ridge road but a great day was had by all. Thanks

It's been a while so I thought it would be good to revisit the stream on this blistering hot day. The pools are so refreshing - had heaps of swims and couldn't stay out of the water. Cache still sitting pretty and in good nick. M@

Another one of the Waitakere's seemingly hidden gems that really isn't that hard to get to with a bit of planning and some good weather... With the Chateau Mosquito track being closed now we weren't able to do a full loop so we came down the Kuataika track instead until we hit the stream, headed up past FMZ's cache and then carried on past the dam to get here. We were lucky enough to have our own personal spoiler pic in the form of Kiwileon but it still took a bit of searching to locate. Great way to spend one of the last days of summer with a great bunch of people to boot. TFTC

Out for the day with KiwiLeon, evilno9, Lemski and Little Red Hood. Parked on Anawhata Road and headed down to the stream via the Kuataika Track.
What a gorgeous place and a great adventure along the stream to GZ! Continuing on from FMZ's cache we ventured on to this one. A few deep pools to navigate past but did manage to stay reasonably dry throughout.
Passing the kauri dam, we knew we were close. No spoiler photos as no coverage at GZ so had to rely on the GPS which was reasonably accurate. Found the cache thanks to a well detailed hint. Took TB for moving along. Walked a little further upstream to have a bite to eat for lunch. TFTC and bringing us to this spectacular place!

This has been on my list of ones to do for ages now, and finally today got the chance to head out here. Was definitely not disappointed! Teamed up with evilno9, mike-miss, kiwileon and little red hood, and headed up the stream from the Kuataika track. With the water level being pretty low due to the lack of rain, we made pretty good time. Arrived at GZ and figured out what we needed to know and spread out in the general area to search for the hide. With a decent hint, it wasn't long before it was found, and after signing the log headed just around the corner for some well deserved lunch. An amazing part of the bush to explore, and had a lot of fun doing it. Thanks for bringing us out here. TFTC!

Wouw what a challenge. Starting at 11.30am. Walking the mosquito track was a challenge of slippery and see how we could stay up right. Was happy that we have read that we need to go down till the stream. So we did. And down more slippery and almost sprain our ankels.
Finally arrive at the stream and a smile came on our face. Here the "real" journey will start. Our doggies loved it. Jumping, swimming, walking do all together. For us it was a bit different. We had our backpacks with us....but not waterproof. So when we needed to swim we needed to keep these above water what didn't work for one.
Luckily we had our phones and camera in the click-clack so that what a bit of a less worry.
At the cachelocation we didn't have the spoilerphoto. But remembered it a bit. Then walking a bit further and a bit futher.....and found it.
Yippie, proud to have it...but now we need to go...
After having the other cache on this track it became more and more difficult. We got tired and that was showing. We slipped more and more. And were looking were to get out to get on the track. Which wasn't so easy....but when we did
another Yippie.
It was already 6pm and the feeling of being here in the dark wasn't a good feeling.
Damn the hard part came...our legs were heavy and we needed to go up and up again. And than only 300m to the road. Going through a meadow where cows graze and our they were fond on our dogs, but these were not happy with them. So it was a bit of a scarry situation.
Happy when we arrived at the road. For a 4km walk back to the campervan. it is now 8pm
And now....everything....just everything hurts.
Except our proud feeling...we have made it

looking for a tramp today and I see there are two caches on the stream. I am going down RGB to get to the stream with my 2 children. Need to get fit. Anyone keen? Ph 021 987521 leaving town around 10.30

Don't take the DNF as the cache is not there. I was keen on a tramp and did not look at the photos closely enough. The GPS was a little off and I was looking way off GZ. Look at the spoiler photo before you go. Great day out. Well worth going in from RGB if you have the time. Stream character is different, travel a little bit slower, kids got a little bit cold but had a great day, Dan is only 11 and they did play in the water. Wear thermals

Out with GreenblAt, TWS, and -OGP-. We'd been looking at the weather forecast all week, but it turned out to be a beautiful day.
Nice walk down the track till we reached the stream. Jumped in and soon we reached the first swim part.
Water was nice and not too cold.
What a beautiful walk. This is what Geocaching is about.
It took a while to locate the container but after a search near a few possible locations -OGP- came up with the cache.
We continued our walk down the stream for the next cache.
TFTC

This cache is what geocaching is all about, hanging out with mates, swimming and goofing about.

I really enjoyed the day - thanks to all.

TFTC

When life has you a little lost there is nothing like caching with a few friends to find yourself.

The best part is TWS managed to carry my GPS for me all day.

I could have spent all day in Anawhata. Great swim holes and a cache to boot.
Cache was in good condition. Dropped in a gold Budda.

You could clearly see where the water rises too in a good rain. I'm glad we skipped it last time.

Interestingly we found a smouldering fire next to our exit point. Had to put some water on it and bury it to be sure before we left.
Very careless. It was right next to dry grass. If the wind was up the fire could have been trouble.

Thanks M@

Out with OGP TWS & KiwiLeon to complete some unfinished business; we'd been down to the stream a month or two back but had sensibly pulled back when finding the stream still high and discoloured from recent rain. good call.

Today the stream was running nice and clear and a cool contrast to the hots dusty trip along the Anawhata Rd. The first compulsory swim came early, and we took the MICKEY out of each other's efforts to keep gear dry. The only drama came about at the big plunge pool below a small waterfall where I forgot to secure my glasses. Despite OGP's diving efforts, the rest of the trip had kind of a soft focus look to it. That pool is at least 3-4 m deep by the way!

GPS signals bouncing off the cliff had us doing a big explore at GZ. There's a very cool cliff overhang up to the left of GZ behind the Nikaus - watch for falling rock! OGP got the goods, we had lunch and continued on downstream.

Thanks for the cache M@

#2531
Out for an enjoyable day of caching, found in the great company of Tramper Ted and sp8s. Caching at its best… what more can I say… it’s certainly a great spot for a cache… had to work hard to earn the privilege of visiting this awesome spot, as I was completely out of my depth on occasions. Many thanks for the cache M@, and the physical challenge of getting there and back. Special thanks also to Jim and Nick for their guidance and support.
TNLNSL, TFTC

Off to the Anawhata - What a good idea !
Went there today with Sp8sM8 and Yugeo4. This is a super trip with lots of beautiful bush, high walls and many pools to swim through.
Thanks M@ for putting a cache here as it is one of the best in Auckland. Cache was found from the pictures that were committed to memory by the group. GPS coverage was pretty good.
Wasps were everywhere today - never seen so many .
Thanks to Sp8sM8 and Yugeo4 for a great day out
Cheers TT

A fantastic caching adventure, if only all caches were like this. Very enjoyable day out with Yugeo #1 and 1/2 of Tramper Ted, only downside was getting stung on the neck by a wasp. Wasps were very bad through here, I have never seen so many in the Waitaks before.

Cache was quickly spotted just from the clues, coords about 45m off today, but wouldn't be surprised if that changes every day depending on which sats are bouncing off the cliffs.

TFTC, +TB

Being invited by the owner for a weekend adventure, we waterproofed our gear as good as possible and set off towards Anawhata. A quick descent, a quick change of shoes and then we went down the gorge, anxious of what to expect. Overall, we had to plunge into the cool water about five times, but the thermal clothing and polypros kept us warm despite a certain lack of sun and a little bit of chilly wind through the gorge. After the second swimming lesson, we became more bold and did some fun-jumps and belly-flops. The most important thing was to keep the limbs moving. The cache was found quickly under the watchful eyes of the owner, followed by a short lunch break. Then we headed on towards the new cache...
Read part 2 of the story here: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=9d2a2a84-6b5c-4883-ac13-0b0f0882da22

TNLNSL, TFTC

Ana What a stream indeed! That's what we call a good cache. Set off just before 1 o'clock with dog and 9 year old daughter thinking we'd have a bit of wading to do but this really was swimming. Pleased we took the advice of waterproofing the gear in our bags. We too took close to 3 hours to reach the cache. Thanks for bringing us on this rewarding adventure which we all thouroughly enjoyed.
Got back with enough time to find the other 2 Anawhata caches further down the road.
TNLN
TFTC

Teamed up with mm1968 to make an attempt on this epic cache, and epic it proved to be. Had an absolute ball!

Started off down the track nice and early this morning, to give us (semi-unfit) plenty of time to get through. Perfect weather for it today too.

After a little uphill, the track went down and down and down. Now it wasn't a surprise because we were equipped with a topo map of the area, but oh boy when we started heading down it did dawn on us that we'd have to be coming up out of this valley later...

Got to the stream (BTW the waypoint for stream entry should be 29 minutes east, not 28) and started heading downstream. The water was icy cold, but when we got to the first swim (probably the first of more than 10 on the whole trip down the stream) it was just so refreshing we both jumped straight in.

Got to GZ and spotted the cache from a distance. Took the TB, signed the log and kept moving. Not sure if we should admit it, but it had taken us about 3 hours to get from the carpark to the cache.

Moved on after eating some brunch, and continued weaving our way downstream. The valley opens up a little bit further on so we could walk through the bush alongside the stream in some places, and we arrived at the lower track, stream exit, 2 hours later.

Oh man, that track back up to the carpark is a killer, but the reward is, aside from the promise of a ride home, a shower, etc, some great views over Anawhata to the Tasman.

We thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. Thanks, tofska, for an awesome cache!

Cool cache, bit hard on the legs but worth the walk / swim !

Published

Timmi the Traveler would like to go places, but this place isn't quite what he had in mind! Please rescue him.