Allen Key (Otago) Hoopers Inlet, South Island, New Zealand
By iguana on 14-Feb-10. Waypoint GC23YFT

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Came here having not read the previous logs. Track was majorly overgrown, and had to bash though gorse - though that wouldn't be an issue - then I started looking expecting a find even more so given noone has obviously been here!

Then read the logs.
The dead sheep on top of GZ that other logs mention is now well and truly decomposed, with only the bones remaining. Under that, there is no cache.

Given it wasnt found in over 2 years, I took a stick, and dug holes all round the tree in the sand, incase the sand had begun swallowing up the container. No such luck.

Since there is no maintenance attempts, and the owners have not logged on to GC.com in a while, perhaps this one should go to free up some space.

NO Luck. Even lifted the sheep.

Yep, dead sheep still there. I moved a bit of the carcass in case it had intentionally decided to die right on top of GZ (how coincidental would that be). Would be great to have a better hint to see whether we are all really cache blind, or just too focussed on that dead .... mmmm .... sheep ? As we walked away, I thought .... didn't move all the carcass ... should I go back .... tempting ..... tempting ..... nah. At least we saw a couple of sea lines lazin' on the beach .... made the long walk worthwhile.

Had a great family day out - our 2nd cache ever. We love coming to the beach and were not disappointed in terms of wildlife. Two sea lions, one a large male, were sighted. Recent storms have also changed the relevant end of the beach once more - beyond recognition. Sadly we were unlucky - my etrex30 claimed I was standing right on top of the GZ, but no luck - I presume it was about 5 m off. The most obvious place for the GZ was occupied by a very dead sheep. Did not feel like having a look underneath. Maybe we'll come back in a year or so.

GZ initially had me right on a well departed hogget. A couple of minutes later it was between 4-5 lupin plants - searches of all revealed...zip. . Walked back via the track for a bit of variety. HOTA

Dead sheep at what I presume is the GZ. didn't poke around too much because of it

Allan's beach, even without the cache, is well worth a visit. Beautiful scenery and seals playing in the surf. Awesome.

If this box is hidden where I think it is (according to other logs the coords are a bit off) there is a problem logging it right now. Will contact owner and send a pic shortly.

Nice place even without the cache! Saw some sea lions on the beach, one of them was really big!

First Weekend in New Zealand. Heading to MEGA this weekend. One cache after another - that's nice. First it looked like all day raining, but then we sometimes had good conditions. Thanks for bringing us here.

in: gift coin

I find myself liking walks now for geocaching - rather than the "cache behind the tree in the urban park" nowadays. This one ticked the box for me.

I made my way down the beach toward GZ. It was quite cold but that's why I bought my big jacket with me I was treated to two different sea lions on the way... giving them a wide berth.

There was very little muggle activity on the beach at all - and none at GZ.. except for some adventurous sheep. I started my hunt at GZ. My GPSr wanted me to go down over the side. Don't think so eh... Decided to look in places where I would hide a cache and soon found the beastie. It was in good condition. I cleaned the sand out from the container, signed the log, and returned it to its home.

A great beach - and a nice walk for the afternoon. TFTC iguana

A long and enjoyable walk along the beach with the sea surging up the beach. A bit of a challenge at high tide ! No seals or penguins today. My GPS co-ordinates had me searching 10M off GZ.

Really nice day gr8 walk,logged dnf 18 months ago,went 4 another look and there it was,how i didnt find it last time i will never know TFTC

Enjoyed the walk and the sea lions! Great beach! Cache was easily spotted once there! TFTC

Battled a stinking southerly front complete with heavy rain on the beach to get to the cache. Then another one hit on the return, but pleased we went.

TFTC

What a beautiful beach! Fabulous walk, saw 3 sea lions. My, the young ones move fast! Didn't fancy getting even as close as the recommended 10m! Got a little caught up in the dunes trying to get to the cache, so was relieved by a quick find. Tried to find a quicker way back onto the beach ... And failed! TFTC!

Good walk down the beach

nice beach stroll with heaps of sea lions

This was a great walk, on a lovely morning.-Bitsprayer

What a great morning for a walk along to this cache. Families were starting to gather for a day out as we departed.
Thanks
erninz

Great calm day for a nice walk along the beech at full tide. TFTC

while making my way to the cache I realised a bit late why it's not a good idea to go caching in shorts... awesome walk along a completely empty beach on a beautiful sunny day, TFTC!!!

More of a walk than anticipated, but enjoyed it all the same. Went with ingidayna, and thanks to Ingi for the find. Was looking for the wrong cache site initially, but it soon became obvious. Co-ordinates were a bit off (or the GPS was not quite on). TFTC

Great colourful cache TFTC
went with wethreefourdices

yeah the cache is still there. I spied a dash of colour at Capt'n Obvious.
A good day for a walk. On the way back there were a few sea lions doing some fight'n.
TFTC.

A very long walk but nice Spent an hour at gz but no luck grrrr

A very windy late evening walk. Expecting to see heaps of wildlife but no penguins or sea lions. The tree lupins however were intoxicating - I've never smelt them as strong or flowering in such profusion as today. Came back with a bagful of pine cones - a nice bonus - tftc.

Found with Squidgeo

Found with t.ethers, lovely walk along the beach. Took Safari Tiger.

Long walk to GZ but a good one. Saw 2 sea-lions along the way just resting in the sand. Quite windy down the beach as it was late afternoon, would be a great place to come for a swim, one of the better beaches we have seen! TFTC

Very nice thanks. The walk along the beach was windy but well worth the effort.

Great cache! Nice *windy* walk along the beach, with geogeek2. Had a great time here, hope this cache gets a lot more finds, since it'a really beautiful and remote out here. The sand was really blowing along the beach. Then a nice walk through the tussok to the cache. Dropped TB here. TFTC!

Nice day for a walk along the beach. Not too much difficulty finding the box either.

Found after a rather physical orienteering course at the Pyramids. We made it more physical than we should have!! We parked at the parking spot near the faraway end of the beach and walked the 1.5kms to the cache. The hiding spot became obvious as we left the beach.
We have found the cache U.N.C.L.E. mentions in his log and it was VERY challenging.
TFTC

This was an event! The cache find itself was easy, despite the surveyor perched on top of the knoll with a total station! I told her what I was doing and she knew all about geocaching and had found some herself. The drama was seeing a hang glider crash! I was watching it flying over Sandymount as I walked along Allans Beach and then it just started to fall out of the sky! Must have stalled or lost the updraft or something (I know nothing about the physics of flight). A parachute suddenly came out of the glider (never knew they had those) but it still hit the ground hard and upside down. I could see the shape of the pilot and it wasn't moving! I thought I should maybe phone 111 but then saw two people running down the hill. I assume it was the pilot's mates. They got him out and he seemed to be moving OK so panic over. But quite a scare!
Walked the beach to the cache and took the vehicle track back but strayed off it and ended up almost in the farmer's back yard. Allans Beach is home to one of the most dangerous caches I have come across. I won't say which one as it is the final of a puzzle. I refused to do it when I saw where the cache obviously was. If (when?) someone is "killed to death" trying to get it I will the first to call for the police to charge the cache owner with criminal nuisance. This cache was a sweetie though

Yep, another DNF for a day with more than I've ever had before.A coded hint might save a lot of beating about the bush!

TNLN TFTC well yahoo got the bugger after walking in a different way, was wondering where the hell it could be but there it was waiting to be found what a magic evening walked back along the beach no seals but heaps of muggles about and a couple of surfers enjoy the ones day the Peninsula

Yep got this sucker last night lots of sunlight took about ten minutes to find TFTC nice walk back to carpark

DNF but well get this one again got dark and had a long walk back but all good

The darn dark came along too darn quick took the long walk back to the car park nice walk I ave to attack it another day hopefully soon

No. 503

Yay, an unexpected FTF here.
Nice walk along the beach - probably/possibly saw the owner on Sunday as we logged Coastal Rambles 3.
Left Rachel's Rucksack geocoin
TFTC

Both Daywalkers, plus The Rustle, Vicky and Caro. We went up Mt Charles this morning for a fantastic view. Highly recommended, but note that access is only with prior permission from Mr and Mrs Clearwater (ph 478-0274). (And we did ask but no, they have decided not to have a geocache on their property due to problems with misbehaving public, DCC and ORC.) Then lunch on the beach, admiration of sealions and a gentle stroll down to this cache. Took geocoin. Wonderful place! Note: Phone DoC on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) if you see any wildlife being molested.

[This entry was edited by daywalk on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 11:47:10 PM.]

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