Island Bay Ramble (Wellington) Southgate, North Island, New Zealand
By Bkj97 on 19-Aug-09. Waypoint GC1XEZF

Its Multi Month so have been eyeing up all your fun multi's bkj97. I had a fun day in this area a few weeks ago and collected all the info for this one and most of 2 others. But I left the actual find - which turns out to be very useful today as I look to fill my multi gaps in the month of October. A great walk around and i enjoy multis for taking you on a wander. All good here at GZ tonight as i zip down after work - thank you bkj97.

Good to knock this one off this morning. Collected waypoints over a few visits, including being accosted by staff of one particular building, thankfully diverted from anything suspicious. Got the wrong barcode initially because of this, got the right one today for a quick find.

Lovely stroll around Shorland Park to collect the coordinates for the next way point. Tftc

Found after a few false starts, due to not reading the instructions clearly, accidently transposing some numbers, and politely having to ask a couple to move as they were trying to canoodle on the chair which held the plaque containing one of the clues! Thanks for the ramble around Island Bay and for the cache.

Visited the waypoints one at a time on journeys home, made the find today, an enjoyable wander around. Thanks Bkj97

Overgrown but in place, good way to round out the day in Island Bay! Credit to its_smitchell and ihavelocomotives for solving most of the clues. Cheers!

After solving a mistake with our coordinates, we finally found it. TFTC. Found with its_smitchell and cstorm

Wohoo! That was a day!Will say the unnumbered waypoints added a challenge but well worth it. Found with Cstorm and Ihavelocomotives.

Looks like is overgrown now

Out for a mornings Caching with hayzz, ironically after months of no attempts saw what we believe to be another caches starting as we headed to the barcode

Out with Geeves90 for a fun morning of caching. always fun doing multiple multis.

Did this multi on our first sunny lunchtime in forever! No problem finding cache once our GPS sorted itself out. Saw the Community Volunteer trackable but left it for someone who might be traveling soon. TFTC

Didn’t track it down - might be overgrown with plants?

Day three of our week in the southern suburbs as we strive to clear as many caches as possible from our Wellington solved puzzle list. Today we are targeting caches in the Island Bay and Melrose area.
We had started this multi yesterday and returned this afternoon to finish it off. With careful attention to detail while getting the answers to each question we were able to calculate co-ordinates that looked highly likely. We made our way to our GZ and began to look for the cache. It took a little while ,but when one of us decided to check something out, it did indeed hide the cache. Thanks for the ramble.

I half completed this multi yesterday but screwed things up at one of the waypoints and ran out of time to complete it. Today I returned to the waypoint with the trouble, found my error, got the next waypoint, completed that with no issues and had plausible coords for the cache. I thought I might have had muggle issues there as a fair number of people are out walking today. Surprisingly I found the cache very quickly. I say that because I went in with the hint to minimize search time and the cache was not covered as described and was instead slightly buried in the ground. I found a nearby seat to open and sign before figuring out how to return it. It's in the same location of course but now covered with some sticks and stuff as there are no items around matching the hint.

I won't go so far as to say I've got my eye in with bkj97 multis because my find rate is still extremely low but it was nice to at least find the two in this area. TFTC.

Too many muggles to search

Enjoyed this cache and exploring the area and thought I had good coordinates, but unfortunately couldn't find a pile of stones or the cache here today. Will watch this one and return sometime.

Perhaps covered by debris from recent storm?

Nice day to ramble - if a bit windy! All ok at the final too.

Small pile of rocks nowhere to be found. Has it been a while since this one was checked ?

I completed the Ramble required to obtain the final coordinates many years ago and had two unsuccessful attempts to find the cache. Today, it was all too easy with the cache completely exposed and visible to anybody walking past who would be looking in the right direction. After taking care of the paperwork, I returned the cache with the addition of the Community Volunteers Tag that began its travels in Germany and that I picked up in Auckland. I put some items on top of the cache so that the hide is now in accordance with the hint.

?

Nice sunny day at island Bay. Tftc

Went to Island Bay to find information for another cache. The last time we came to do the Island Bay Ramble it was too cold and windy, but today was lovely and sunny and we had a great time finding the waypoints. Fav point for a nice walk.

My day started at at 5.15am with a goal of caching down in wellington with Twignz and Etherlord Clan, the weather was amazing and we ended up with a few finds under our belt finished the day around 9pm and the shower and bed never felt so good as it did that night.

thanks for placing the caches and bringing us to the locations we visited. - sorry about the copy and paste logs

What a fantastic day to be out and about in the Capital (read Target-rich environment lol!) with a couple of great geo-friends. You just can't beat Wellington on a good day, and this certainly was one. Note to self: Time to start wearing caps again!

Part of our discussion on our journey down was centered around what our joint logging name would be for today, with the final choice being Team M.E.T (or sometimes just MET depending on log space) for Mar1sa, Etherlord and TwigNZ.

This cache was a fairly straightforward find. We were able to park up quite close to it and then take a walk to GZ. I got there first and made the easy find after which we were able to do the usual log entry and the whole thing was replaced as found before heading off to the next location.

Thanks for placing this cache.

TwigNZ suggested a caching roadtrip to Wellington with Mar1sa, which sounded like an excellent day out of the house! - which is a novel idea considering that I'm still Working from Home...
The downside of this plan is that the first cache was 2+hrs from home which meant a much earlier start than I am otherwise used to.
We had an excellent trip, and Wellington really turned on the sunshine for us - Twig's "solar panel" definitely got some exposure

Log was signed as Team MET (or just MET depending on log space) for Mar1sa, EtherLord and TwigNZ.

Took us a little too long! Were a little thrown by the old toilets but once we sussed that problem, and started reading properly it was a lovely little island bay tiki tour! Tftc

Started looking a few nights ago but were halted after we misread a question and went to the wrong place twice. Finally worked out the last 2 today. TFTC

A bit of exercise on a brisk afternoon, taking me to some parts of the Island Bay foreshore that I'd not ever noticed before. Had to wait for dogwalkers to move on before dodging in to find cache. All in good order. Tftc!

Finally found the final to this one, having solved it about 2 years ago. It was covered in tree prunings last time I looked.

Back in Island bay to work out this multi. A lot less busy here today , but just as nice as it was yesterday. I got a little bit confused at one waypoint as I took the wrong "entrance", it soon made sense after looking around a bit more. Smooth sailing after this and the cache is all dry and well. TFTC

Nice straight forward find when finally at GZ
Log signed tm/ww NZ
All good here

Couldn’t find any rock piles.

Another multi around our southern coast on another sunny winters day. This one was fairly quick to find all the points and the cache was still in place all safe and dry. TFTC

(# 4691). A nice day today so went to get this multi. Got the information at the waypoints without any problem then onto the final where a quick retrieval followed. Everything in order. TFTC

Checked today and cache was still where it was last time I visited Gz . Rocks not affected by vegetation but site now well screened from passing muggles. Log dry and good to go.

I had a go at this one a few years ago and, although I ended up in a viable location, couldn't find a cache and thought I may not have been where I should have been. Today, I went back to the previous stage and produced the same result.

I returned to my calculated ground zero. It's not a place I wanted to spend long at so I really just had a quick look to see if I could see an obviously pile of rocks that could cover a small sized cache. There appears to have been a large amount of vegetation tossed over the fence so I do wonder if the cache is under that.

DNf

Found it with a couple of friends, whilst exploring the bay. TFTC

Can't find

#307. Solved this one back in Oct last year, but didn't quite manage to find GZ at the first effort. Finally decided it was time I grabbed it, so today was the day, the first day of winter. Tftc Bkj97 - two days running I have got one of yours!

Fun wee ramble. Was cache blind on 1st visit, muggles on 2nd, quick find on 3rd. Thanks to noble finder for confirming my coords, because some of the logs misleading. TFTC bkj97.

After spending the entire day at home, I decided to head out here to see if I could complete any of these caches. A bit of a cold southerly seemed to keep muggles away. Spent a bit of time looking writing down necessary numbers at the variuos waypoints and soon I had the final coordinates. Walked past the cache, thinking it was a bit further away but I quickly realised my mistake so I turned around. Arrived at GZ and went to retrieve cache. Cache was a quick find and I was able to sign the logbook and replace it. TFTC.

Solved all the clues and arrived at the right spot, I think. Lots of rocks, rubbish and tree debris strewn about but no obvious rock pile and cache.

Found with Selesi and Gilgul. A bit of to-ing and fro-ing on this one on a sunny winters day. A lot of muggle strollers about today. TFTC & multi.

Out for a spot of caching and a walk on a lovely sunny morning with UlmusLynx and Gilgul TFTC

This weekend was a chance to spend some time with Mrs Dragon and catch up with some family stuff (trying to track down old photos from long dead members of the family). It was also a chance to collect a few caches and show Mrs Dragon parts of Wellington that she did not know.

Needless to say we took the opportunity to visit both Te Papa along with National War Memorial Meuseum for the Exhibitions that are currrently running (at both places).
All in all it was a wonderful weekend and we were most fortunate that the weather played the game by staying fine (but cold). It was all helped by the fact that I was given a repreive from shopping so that I could also get the time to collect the off cache that I have been wanting to get for some time.

Nice spot here and a quick find with a view back to the city
thanks for the cache thanks for the placement

Have been working on this one on and off over the years since publication, and finally in the area today to finish it off, a quick find.

TFTC

Found when out enjoying a lovely day with Selesi & Ulmuslynx. Interesting venue. TFTC.

It was a pretty bracing stroll today ( whichever way I went I couldn't seem to get out of the wind), but all the information was find-able, and much to my surprise, the cache was a quick find in the first place I looked! TFTC, still a few multis in this area for me to find, but those will have to wait for another day.

Nice easy find. Thanks for the multi

Thanks, that was really fun, tftc!

So much fun! Got to cache just at sunset. TFTC.

It's blustery in Island Bay this morning - good for blowing weekend cobwebs away. I enjoyed the 'entrance' waypoint: how long has it taken to fill like that? Cache located easily, all in good order, thanks for the tour

This has been on my unfound list for way too long. We did the waypoints ages ago but just couldn't get our hands on the cache despite being confident we were at GZ . After seeing the cache had been recently replaced thought it was worth another try and this time it was an easy find in the first place we looked. Unfortunately that was the end of our ventures today as when we got back to the car it wouldn't start so instead of heading to the next unfound we were off in search of a new car battery. TFTC

#1911. The family headed south this morning for some of the GSEL team to go snorkling at the Marine Education Centre. Miss L and I headed over to a nearby park to start on one of the multis in this bay. But ran into a few problems trying to get the numbers to work. So swapped over to do this one instead. The first stage took a little while as I stuffed up one of the clues but working my way through the options I soon found the plaque. The next two waypoints came together just fine. Then it was short stroll to locate the final. All good here. Cache intact and new logbook nice and dry. Signed and left covered as found. Was a bit of a ramble in the bay. Nice to get one of the three multis completed this morning. Thanks for the cache.

Ready to go again.

New 400ml container in place.

Out for the day with bkj97 and little blue hen to discover some of the caches of the area, Although we have been to Wellington several times we haven't been round here before, a lovely area, we signed this as CO replaced the cache. TFTC

May be AWOL so will check next time passing.

Had another go today, ended up in the same spot, still no cache. Cache owner may need to check it hasn't been removed.

Had fun doing clues and sure of final spot but no cache.

Pretty sure I found the right place, matched the descriptions and seemed logical for it to be there, but there was no cache to be found and had a pretty good rummage too. Sad times but the clues were fun.

Sure I got the location right but there is so much rubbish in the potential GZ that makes it impossible to tell for sure.

Learnt alot about the phone app doing this multi. A good ine for a hor day. Tftc and lesson.

First off: a favourite! Multis are my least-preferred type of cache, but I really enjoyed this one. The clues all made sense, the coordinates were accurate, and the cache itself ... well, that was a very sneaky hide! I'd just announced my intention to log a DNF, when Yosser triumphantly came up with the goods. Very satisfying
An interesting ramble and a nice way to spend the morning before heading off to work in the afternoon - TFTC!

Convinced I am I right place but no sign of the cache. Might have to give it another look tomorrow.

Made a mistake at WP1 (my fault!) and ended up looking in front of someones house but of course there weren't any plaques there. Went back for another go and saw what I'd done wrong. All smooth sailing from there Quite tiring in the hot sun and the final did take a few minutes of searching but then quickly found after reading some previous logs Thanks for the multi!

Thanks for the multi! Had us scrambling all around Island Bay and this is my 900th cache

I think this was my third attempt at the final - previous attempts were definitely not successful. I was about to give up again when I discovered the right location and the log was quickly signed. TFTC

Did this one at night which provided a few hiccups at WP1, we soon sorted those out and went on our tour of island bay. Interesting to learn that the council may be looking to develop this whole area. quick find at GZ, lid had rusted shut a little but managed to force it open. TFTC

#1136 Had some time up my sleeve today while out running errands so decided to find a few more caches around the South coast that I hadn't found yet. This one was first- really enjoyed my wander around Island Bay. It was sunny and still- a perfect day to be out and about. Found the cache quickly although it took a bit longer to get the lid open- it's quite stiff. TFTC.

Enjoyed walking around the waypoints. We did this at the same time as Island Bay Memorial Rotunda which turned out to be a good move. The final is not that easy, the wife was ready to give up but I went back for one last look. I would say the hint is a bit misleading possibly some scattering has occurred since it was written and this makes the place harder to spot, coordinates are good. I was also looking for a unique object which is not the case so when you pick up something and think that would have been a good place for a hide you are on the right track.

Completed on my morning run. Was a fun multi. The clues were fairly straight forward, although the bar code took a bit of spotting. All the coordinates where spot on. The final has bit elusive, until I started looking for a 'stone' rather than a stone. TFTC.

Had been saving this for my ten day multi streak but after lots if DNF and DNL because of the rain ended up in IB, at least I knew where this was. TFTP. Taken a while but now have new love of the south coast.

This has been a nemesis for a while. Last year's storm removed wp2. Saw it was replaced recently so off to next stop. Didn't spot the correct carving. So had to give up at that visit. Back today and aha! On to last wp and quick calculation got us to the final. Happy to report all well here. Will return to sign when I commence the ten day multi streak. Thanks BKJ97 - usually love your multis but this was a marathon.

This entry was edited by Renard & Co on Wednesday, 26 February 2014 at 06:46:22 UTC.

Signed the log on the CO's car as we reinstated the cache this morning - the old one had gone walkies. Then a small planning session with the CO re the Auckland Mega. Another DNF cleared off, not just the earlier attempt with the missing cache, but also the waay earlier attempt, when I got the numbers wrong and just got nowhere.

Back up and running. New eclipse container courtesy of Mrs Yeetrees who sacrificed it at dinner last night.

Thanks to the seagnoid for the heads up. Checked today. His description fitted location down to the last groove and textural description so he can log it anyway. Will replace Monday.

Was surprised by an email from the CO telling me I was in the right place, and containing a little hint. I had searched there, but well, I've been blind before. Went back this morning for another look - alas no dice. I think I found the hide, but not the cache. I think it has gone missing.

Had a hunt for this - got to the barcode after noticing that the CO had mis-counted the number of fingers (there is actually one more, pointing backwards, like a broken thumb). The barcode led me across the road to a likely place, but I found nothing except stuff that I would rather not have stepped in. After a bit more of a hunt getting nowhere I went back to my sister's place (staying there for a few days) to wash my shoes.
Hint is a little incongruous - seems to say don't go where the GPS says the cache is. Will have another stab at this in a few days.

we always enjoy bkj97's Island Bay caches. So after the round the bays event today, we decided this was going to be the cache to gently wind down.
Enjoyed the little challenges sent with this one. 2nd WP is more suited to those with very short legs now. Been there before!
Next WP was also familiar - but another challenge. Relying so much on the word, and getting 2 possible answers, we had to make a decision - and went with the unique number option. We then found ourselves on the footpath, between a bus stop and two seats, one of which had memorial flowers tied to it.
We spent much time, checking, counting, rechecking our figures. And the possible alternative WP on the map.
The day was moving on, and still we could not find anything near our calculated WP that would yield a barcode...... so we had to call it quits, regretably before finding the finale!

I picked up the first couple of waypoints some months ago but hadn't got around to completing the ramble. Today I was in the area with some time to spare and soon had the business completed. TFTC

Solved and attempted a while back and struggled to find it. Nearly didn't find it again, but stumbled across it after looking in the same location at least 3 times. Thanks for the ramble and cache. Did with The Wandering Dragons

Cache #539 - attempted 2 months ago with Crystal Fairy. Back for a second go, and it still took a while at the final, but we were successful this time. TFTC!

Checked GZ out this afternoon. Cache a bit buried with leaf litter but now extracted and good to go.

Went on an hour long ramble today with Crystal Fairy. Very nice walk. Unfortunately we had absolutely no luck at the final.

Can't say we were really impressed with the cache itself.. The first waypoint was great.. The second was okay, the third was interesting and the fourth I'm not sure the point of (unless its the building we were supposed to be noting). The final location wasn't great and we searched for a good 25 minutes under every rock with no luck.. I really wonder if this one is still there... Will wait for owner to check or another cacher to find before we try again..

Very nice multi close to home, did it a couple months ago but failed to log it.

We solved this one quite some time ago but the final was missing.

Headed back today and signed the clean log book. Good to have this one off the list.

New logbook in place. Go ramble.

Found after an enjoyable ramble in the early evening. I love the structure at WP3! Cache container was mysteriously empty - find logged with owner's permission. TFTC

Logbook missing from cache container.

New log as soon.

New eclipse container and logbook in place.

No luck for us today. Manged to solve each of the 3 waypoints easily. Got to a spot which makes sense for the final but no luck.

Some difficult waypoint puzzles but soon found it
TFTC

Found the "rock". TFTC

Nice wee wander on a suuny day. Thanks