Opureora Marae (Matakana Island) Matakana Island, North Island, New Zealand
By Te Reo Maori whanau on 20-Sep-09. Waypoint GC1YX1W

A lovely place for a cache. Thankyou for bringing me here. An easy find once i went through the gate. Voodoo tramp, mystery at the museum and marks frog enjoyed the visit here.

Thankfully it was nice and quiet here today as well. I imagine it would be difficult to get if something was on at the marae.
We weren't sure where the hint was referring to until we went through the gate, and then it was obvious.
Thanks for putting this here

Wow what a lonely cache. This has been a long time coming. We have traveled to Matakana island several times, all pre caching. The last time we were here was after the Rena grounding when we were part of a volunteer clean up group with our local marae. The Opureora marae hosted us for lunch. This cache was exactly where the hint said it would be, but well covered in natural camo. All ok. Thanks for the cache placement Te Reo Maori whanau.

Today was a spur of the minute plan to visit this great island...we took the ferry across...we were invited up top to the control tower what a great ride awesome view from up here...now back to geocaching after disembarking from our ride we headed to GZ...after à sort scratch around we soon found the container in hand.. ..in good condition given its long hiding spell..over 2 years 4 months...signed and replaced.. thanks for the nice adventure Te Reo Maori Whanaugreat that it is still lives on

693 Drove around island. TFTC

I have been keeping an eye on the two caches on Matakana Island for a while now, but they aren't really caches you can do a whim and a bit of planning, so in short these two caches needed a specific mission to go find them. So having decided to take the day off of work, today was going to be the day.

An early start meant I was at the wharf a little after 7am, and was awarded with a great view of the sun rising over the water. Took a few minutes to sort out what I needed and then stood in line for the ferry. The plan was to walk to the sports ground first and then head back to the wharf and find the cache there on the way back. Once the ferry was loaded up, it turned out I was the only one on the boat for non-work reasons, and got talking to someone who has a family connection to the Island and kindly offered me a ride to the sports ground which saved the day in the end.

After a 20min search at the last cache I really needed a quickish find here, after checking a few spots the hint was pointing to one likely spot and a scratch around there the cache was found. And perfect timing as when I got back to the wharf just as the ferry was landing, which meant I didn't have a 3 hour wait for the next one. On the way back to the mainland had a chat with another local wondering what I had been up to, so explained Geocaching to him and he told me a little bit of history about the island. A every interesting trip which I'm not going to forget for a while. Thanks for bringing me to this Island.

Unfortunately ferry working a short day today so this is a very quick find!...TFTC

A last minute invite to take the bikes over to Matakana was not to be refused, especially as I knew there were a couple of caches to be knocked off over there. Cache still hidden well and everything dry. tftc

A little bit under pressure as the barge had arrived as I was looking for this one. I needn't have worried as the barge had to unload and load -it left punctually at the appointed time, by which time cache was found and logged. TFTC

Nice straightforward cache in a beautiful spot. A great day cycling around Matakana.

I've been looking forward to picking these up for ages but could never figure out the right means - until my sons kapa haka group announced a trip over for the purpose of intensive practice for this years Ra Whakangahau in Katikati.

We had left the barge and were just waiting to be welcomed onto Opureora which was plenty of time to find this cache. 20 finds in 6 years a testament to Matakanas isolation - stoked to have this one. Log was a little damp, tnlnsl.

Cheers Te Reo Maori Whanau

Lovely day at matakana island tftc

The best cultural find so far, matakana island is a real treat! Easy find but was out in the open so disguised it how it should be, swapped a pink bear for a donkey tftc

Had to go to Matakana island for work so made the most of the opportunity to locate a couple of caches.

Caught the ferry across from Omokoroa at 2pm to give us plenty of time to grab this cache and the other one and return back at 4.30. Nice quick find, everything nice and dry. TFTC

First in 2014. An easy walk from the barge. Found while waiting for a low tide crossing. tftc

Have been planning this trip for a while but needed the stars in alignment, the tides just right (for later in the day) and Mrs Dragon willing.
Met a muggle mountain biker in the ferry who accompanied me to the other cache before continuing his ride and so headed back to meet Mrs Dragon sitting in the shade of a large tree. THe cache was soon found and signed, in great condition considering the length of time between finds.
Thanks for giving us a reason to come across here TFTC

[Finally a nice day and a trip to Matakana - Bit worried at first - lots of people going over for an Unveiling - luckily most people went off to the beautiful church - and with the help of a friend as to the exact location - we made our find as quick as possible and were on our way TFTC] - cache under piece of wood

Wasn't sure we were all going to fit on the ferry - was an unveiling on the island,so very very busy - did not think we would get the first one

Took the 9.00am ferry to do the 2 caches on the island. Did this one on the way back to the ferry. All good. Thankyou

Coordinates changed from:
S 37° 37.257 E 176° 04.482

Coordinates changed to:
S 37° 37.260 E 176° 04.482

Distance from original: 18.2 feet or 5.6 meters.

These might be more accurate

Took the ferry to Matakana Island this afternoon. Thought we were going to DNF this one. GPS was pointing about 20m onto private property. Felt a bit conspicuous searching, as there were several people mowing lawns nearby, including around the Marae. Tried a few places that fitted the hint, then resorted to the PAF option, which encouraged us to give it one more look. This time we immediately spotted the cache. The cache is listed as a micro, but it is a 200ml sistema, so we hadn't been expecting that placement. Relief, and still plenty of time till the ferry! T4TC
Took a reading at GZ and have added our co-ords to this log.

# 3111

YEP - - -PEE GOT IT THIS TIME NO GPS HAD A ROUGH IDEA WERE IT WAS AND WAS BANG ON.THIS TIME HAD A GOOD 45min TO KILL SO EVEN GOT IN A NANA NAP IN LOL..

my first one i didn't get only had 10min to get before ferry turned up will have another go soon

Great little hiding place and had a lovely couple of hours on the island. TFTC

Found it while on holiday, easy find. Nice trip on boat (even though the weather wasn't).

Another good find while in the area on a geocaching holiday.
Soon found and log signed.
TFTC

A family adventure today on the kayaks. Just as well we weren't on the ferry, it got stuck with the low tide and had to hang around for a couple of hours! Not enough water to paddle round to get the other cache, so we'll have to return another day. TFTC. Our GPS was also taking us into the nearby orchard - just as well for the clue!

Thought we would have a bit of an adventure today as it was such a beautiful day today, so took the ferry to Matakana to have a crack at the 2 caches on the island. Snared this one first within minutes of stepping off the boat. A little off the co-ords but hey its Matakana NINO TFTC

A nice easy find on Valentine's Day. We caught the 9am ferry from Omokoroa ... now on to explore more of Matakana Island on foot. We enjoyed our time on the island so many thanks for bringing us here. (See photo for ferry timetable and costs).

Obviously a busy spot this weekend!
Sailed over Friday night on "Quinella" prior to a trip out to Mayor Island.
Walked up from wharf about 7am. Sat before proceeding on to the other cache.
A great place to visit. Thanks

[B]#1719

Time to tick off the long awaited FTF on this one, purchased a kayak off TradeMe especially to claim this one!! a bumpy paddle out from Omokoroa, a much better hide than the previous Matakana cache we found. Thanks Te Reo, and also to Trevor for the verification, Our Colorado had it 15 metres out, but the hint was bang on.

Took Jeep trackable.

Thanks to TreMichLan for verifying co-ordinates and placement of the cache. FTF is still up for grabs.

Published

Are we also to assume that this cache has been signed by TreMichLan prior to being published?

Yes, it has. He undertook to verify the cache location and co-ordinates after the cache was placed as we have an old Etrex which is not always accurate. There was a small pen in the cache. TreMichLan has not claimed the FTF, nor will he, so we really fail to see what the big deal is. Grow up!

[This entry was edited by Te Reo Maori on Sunday, November 01, 2009 at 9:28:04 PM.]

Found before listing was published to check co-ordinates and placement. Left FTF prize for when the cache is published. All good.