Hinemaiaia Gorge (Central Plateau) Hatepe, North Island, New Zealand
By Taupotiger on 09-May-10. Waypoint GC2879N

I am unable to drive now, so I can no longer maintain this cache.

MPLC

On our way home from Ohakune, grab a few on the way with dark approaching

Found it

Now being so close to this one, it would be rude not to follow the road for a little bit longer. Over shooting GZ we were soon looking a the man made structure.

Then back tracked to the bridge. Now I was lucky, I soon spotted something, which was the cache. It was now late in the afternoon, and in the gloom I could not be sure, but I suspect there was something moving in the cache hiding spot. Weta?

Tried to take a picture, and tentatively retrieved the cache. Log was signed and I survived to tell the tale. Thanks again for the hide Taupotiger, and for bringing us to this lovely spot

Our four days in Taupo with the grandkids has come to an end.
Everyone really enjoyed themselves.
The good thing about departing is that I get to finally do some caching while Ms M heads South with the grandkids.

Another really good hide. Needed the clue. My GPS was still reading 50+ metres - lol.
Walked onto the bridge and had a look over. Cool wee canyon.
TFTC

TFTC

People with weak hearts be warned !
The spot of the container was full of baby wetas

Nice place albeit a little wet inside. Picked up a TB. Love exploring off the main road.

Away for a few days in our newly acquired camper and Mr S spotted this interesting cache way up some little dirt road in the middle of nowhere. The gravel road to GZ was a bit rough but we made it without mishap and the camper handled it okay. We even spied some places we could stay maybe, one day. Mrs S found the cache and we took nothing, and left nothing except the weta who was inhabiting the hide.

Thanks Taupotiger. An awesome hidden road that we would never have investigated without there being a cache there. Have a FAV.

A great place we would not have known about had it not been for geocaching. Fairly quick find - tftc

Another great location TFTC

I have set myself a challenge for this year to have at least the same number of caches on each day of my calender as the number of years I have been caching.

Today the target is only two but thought I might get a couple more that were close by. I never knew that this dinky toy-sized hydro-electric power station was here. That's a lot of water going down that pipe. Thanks for bringing me here.

In: TB.

Cheers for the cache.

Off to the mountain for a weekend adventure with fanfan-77. We have a bit of time so make a small detour/explore on the way. Finding this reminded me that that kind of hide was allowed way back then. Getting a bit cool we are off as soon as the log is signed. TFTC

After finding the previous cache the drive to this one was short. We really should have walked to stretch the legs and enjoy the cold winter air, but hey, we do have to move on to Whakapapa. Arrived near GZ, the forest is damp and dark, the gorge interesting, I look around a bit for the cache but sveppi turns up witht he goods. Another Taupotiger special that won't get muggled. Unfortunately the container has lots a bit of its waterproofness. THe logbook is still useable but is damp so the whole cache could do with a bit of TLC...
TFTC

Out in area collecting some caches
Love the places these caches bring you to that tourists dont normaly see
Tflc

Here for the nzmega. Beautiful day for a spot of geocaching, perfect weekend really.

Well worth the drive up to this lovely spot

Turangi Mega Event NZ Day 3
Today we chose to tour the western side of Lake Taupo, picking up caches as we made our way along.
What a great way to visit this very scenic area. Mountains & Lakes views from every turn in the road

I notice that this said it was in the William Gillies Memorial Reserve, we were really touuche by this as Willy was one of geo hubby Bill's best mates as school boys. The incident was a real tragedy. RIP Willy
Favourite point given. We did not know of this Reserve untill we came to find the cache.
Thanks for placing this cache Taupotiger

Lovely spot! Geocache mega

Enjoyed a new area to explore. Thanks for the cache!

Awesome l discovered it first in a beautiful area out geocaching with watcache. ... facination with the bridge nearby. Tftc

Yes another lovely cache in this area. Thank you for placing them all the way out here for geocachers to continue to explore. Nice quick fins cache all good TFTC

I have been meaning to do these everytime I come here to fish the Hinemaiaia but then again I'm here to fish so I never make it up to do the caching. After todays fishing was unexpectedly cut short, decided to nab this and the other one. Nicley hidden they both are too! +fav for the location and the cache camo. TFTC!

Off on a big mission to find all the caches from Taupo to Turangi with 11hpg11, kiwis69 and HKCB.

The bridge felt a bit dodgy -- it was a long way down!! It was hilarious having 11hpg11 dealing with the cache. Gross creepy crawlies!

A bit of a last minute throw together caching mission today for a clean out run through Taupo/Turangi area with 11HPG11, Kiwis69, Kyb3r and myself. We thought we'd forgo our usual meticulous planning and just wing it for a change, though I couldn't help myself and I spent a few minutes working out a basic plan last night. With a 4am start this morning, we had a long but pretty successfull day, with only a handful of DNF's, though I think all but one GPS's had issues today (mine being pretty much useless) and achieving most of what we roughly set out to do and with the bonus of getting home before dark (just). We signed the logs with 11HK693R, a combination of our user names. A big thanks to all the CO's for placing all the hides.

HPG meet a friendly Weta gaurding the cache, which made it quite entertaining for us. Very cool gorge to, though some weren't to keen on the height.

Out and about on another fun-filled mission with a bunch of Hamilton cachers to pick up as many Taupo caches as possible before our 6pm curfew. Today's caching crew included myself, HKCB, 11hpg11 and kyb3r. We were missing a couple of regulars from our team which was a shame, not least because it meant inventing a new caching name instead of our usual abbreviated caching combo; challenging when our vowel hasn't fronted up! Hence why the log was signed as a bit of a nonsensical mis-mash of our names.

Having cached and dashed our way around Taupo, we're on our way towards Turangi hoping for a few more finds before it's time to hit the road home. It was well worth the detour to find this cache in a very special little spot. With four pairs of eyes & hands searching the various hint items here, it wasn't long until the find - good job there were no muggles around to hear the scream when the wetas were found too, though! Thanks for bringing us here & yet another cool cache placement, TFTC

A bit of a spur of the moment caching mission today, I don't think any of us were fully prepared but that is sometimes the funnest way to go... apart from when you have various GPS issues... grrr.. Today we decided to tackle Taupo and Turangi area and try and clean up as many caches as we could before we had to be back home to our families. Our team today consisted of HKCB, Kyb3r, Kiwis69 and myself and we had a few different names through out the day, either HKPG693R or 11HK693R depending on how tired our brains were. An early start, left Hamilton at 4am to make the most of our 'day off'

Wasn't expecting that! Both the gorge... and the weta underneath the cache. I may have squealed.... Very cool spot that is well worthy of a cache and a fav point. Thanks for showing us.

Wow, not what we were expecting to see. What a stunning part of NZ, thank you so much for bringing us here the bumpy drive here was well worth the visit. If your thinking about it definitely make the trip.

Nice spot on the bridge for a cool view. Quick find. Tftc

Really worth the time to walk up and have a look around. Added paracord keychain.

Good spot, lovely wetas!

Lovely setting. Hard to find great Location

Weka central. Log book a bit damp but still serviceable. TFTC.

Love it here, will come and camp sometime. Thanks

We have seen some lovely spots today. TFTC

Found en route from Wellington to Rotorua on a lovely sunny day. On the many occasions I've driven this way I have always looked down in wonder at this beautiful valley and thought it must contain some secrets (if not a lost tribe of dinosaurs...). I was therefore determined to explore when I spotted these caches. Most impressed and surprised by the gorge, and the lake behind the dam. Gorgeous hidden spot - thank you for bringing me here!

Spotted something and thought "nah, not likely but ill check for the sake of it", and there it was! TFTC

Headed down late last night for the weekend to scope out some possible locations for the NZ MEGA 2016 with Yorkshirekiwi83.
After having scoped out what we came for and got a fantastic reception form the locals we were heading north. Headed up here to the end of the track and worked our way back out. Only saw a single other vehicle here and made a nice quick find
This was to be a memorable weekend

Thanks for the placement

Cats&Dragons and I were spending the weekend in the Turangi / Central Plateau area organising some aspects of the 2016 Mega. Whilst out and about we were picking up the caches as we came across them.

We drove to the far end first and worked backwards down this mini trail, the track was actually far better than we had anticipated. Was a quick find when we were at GZ, thank you for brining people down here it is a lovely area.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Check out www.nzmega2016.nz

Quit an awesome gorge.My wife being very much green fingers pointed out immediately the appropriate trees.Nice easy find but I must commend you on the effort you have gone to with these placements,thankyou.

yaaaa this was cool

11.55am Mr JF was here on a site visit during construction of power station. Looks a lot prettier now. Left pathtag.

This entry was edited by Just Floundering on Sunday, 14 September 2014 at 01:49:16 UTC.

Out for the weekend celebrating my 40th birthday!

Not sure this weather will be up to much this weekend but we're out here doing it.

40 today!

Find #546. Thanks for the cache. 13/07/2014 14:55

Found it TFTC

This entry was edited by Outtatime on Tuesday, 08 July 2014 at 05:04:31 UTC.

A surprisingly large lake. Thanks for bringing us on this detour. A great final cache spot to finish our day's caching. TFTCSL

Found with bkj97. A favourite from me. Thanks for the detour which we had to ourselves today. T4TCSL

This is what caching is all about. Enjoyed looking for this, thanks. Bridge to nowhere?

Yay

Nice hidden away spot... Wonderful on a damp afternoon

I like the hide. Enjoyed looking over the bridge into the gorge.

Never knew this place existed. Thanks for showing us the valley with this series. Tftc

Impressive little gorge. Would have been a sight with full flow in it. Tftc

tftc

On our way south so planned this series to be our lunch stop. Parked the motorhome in the carpark alongside SH1 and disconnected the newly acquired little geo-explorer and set off. Got to GZ after almost running down a tramping group. Easy find. Great spot. Love the gorge. Worth a fav point. TFTC.

Waitangi Day. On a road trip and heading toward Tongariro National Park. The plan is to visit the Chateau and Tangiwai, but secretly I have cache business.

This is our second visit to Hinemaiaia. The road in was quite busy; we came across two runners, two cyclists and three motorists. After what seemed like a long drive, we arrived near ground zone. A short walk down the track brought us to the bridge with an interesting view. It was hard to determine the depth of the creek below or what lies beneath. We found the cache after a quick search. Thanks for bringing us here and TFTC.

THE FIRST OF THE HINEMAIAIA CACHES FOUND WHILE OUT HUNTING WITH OUR DAUGHTER AND LITTLE POPPY. IT WAS QUICKLY IN HAND, TOOK A DINOSAUR, LEFT A DICE AND GORILLA. WE HAD A SPOT OF LUNCH IN THE SHADE BEFORE MOVING ON TO THE SECOND OF THE SERIES. THIS WAS OUR 300th CACHE. THANKS

OH MY !!! I was half way across quaint wooden bridge before looked over side..... I was expecting a quiet babbling brook. I am not sure if I could see the bottom of the chasm . .. but that could have been my fear of heights and shock rather actually distance to bottom. (I guess the name of cache explains all... TYFC tho.

A good we dirt road, missed these last xmas - must of been busy fishing

TFTC

Last of the 3 Hinemaiaia caches for me. TFTC

Decided to take the detour on our drive round the lake. Just getting here in our little Subaru was an adventure, swerving to avoid pot holes and bottoming out the car. Hope to make it back out without losing any car parts :-/ Neat camo job! TFTC

We did a nice sunday afternoon walk up to the gorge and looked up a few caches. All caches are ok and and its place. Nice gorge, nice bushwalk! Thanks for these caches from Germany. crispyhaugio and Pandabär13!

We did a nice sunday afternoon walk up to the gorge and looked up a few caches. All caches are ok and and its place. Nice gorge, nice bushwalk! Thanks for these caches from Germany. crispyhaugio and Pandabär13!

Helpful hints

Quick find thanks.

This is my first visit up the river to the Dam, have driven past the side road many times. Had a look down into the Gorge, dark and ominous. Visited the top dam around 1960's from another road? The fishing spots look great must get back real soon. TFTC.

Dramatic views from the bridge, TFTC

Great spot - not visited for 43 years !!!

What a narrow gorge, viewed from the bridge. A good drive to within 30metres. Cache easily found.

Nice quick find

Me and herron found it nice calm place

The kids love caches full of trade options, and this was a goodie. Was happy that my 4-yr old son found this one. Good mission for a small fella too.

Awesome location we would never have found if not for geocaching. Amazing the depth of the gorge and the photo opportunities were endless. Thanks for the cache - great hide. Did with Mycro Man

Did with CrystalFairy

lovely spot been here before but didn't know there was a cache here TFTC oh and took geocoin

A straightforward find in an interesting area. TFTC

+ Golden Gate City geocoin

#2545. Lovely place. Thanks for bringing us here.
- Cow Cocky and the Dog TB
+ Wobbit the Weta. TB
TFTC.

Beaut place to visit tftc added a tb

After failing at the Hydro cache, it was good to find this one. Interesting little gorge, we wondered where the track beyond the bridge leads to.
The beehives beside the track down to the gorge caught my interest - all single super hives maybe being overwintered here although with the superb bush in the area, maybe a permanent apiary? If so, the air in the nearby camping area would be thick with foraging bees during the summer honey flow that could deter some campers!
The lake above the dam looks worthy of further investigation at a later date too, perhaps by kayak?
Thanks Taupotiger, for bringing us up into this valley.

Beautiful spot the gorge. Does the track go anywhere? Think I'll need to go back and find out!

Quick early morning find TFTC

Another great cache well worth the short detour

Did a cache check today, all OK.
There is a resident muggle living in a caravan up at the dam at the moment. He is a DOC staff member looking after a spawning fish trap in the area.

loved the area thanks for bringing me here

A few cars in the parking area but no one around. Out TB, In TB DUCK'S OUT OF WATER

Came on to here today after finding the cache at the nearby power station. Quite a spectacular spot that I would never have known to visit without the cache to lead me to it. Nicely hidden cache, found it after a brief search. Signed log, TFTC!

7148 Quick find in an interesting spot, TFTC.

A quick find in a quiet muggle free area. Left a pet rock - a crab. TFTC

Nice cache but you took my spot. I had my cache made and named, coordinates set and when I went to log it in, I found you had already placed yours. Now I'll have to find a new spot. Anyway, it's good to have some caches up this way. I love fishing the Hine and come up here quite a bit.

Nice walk around Hatepe and up to the dam. Thanks

Found with Pepsicool. TFTC

Another cool spot. Took disco ball and left behind a miniature Taupo Tiger.

Great spot .... awesome bridge an cache. Thanks

1.25pm - Amazing dam at this site.TFTC

Another great spot and a good hide. Wasn't sure whether to go on the bridge as it looked a bit old but it held me up long enough to watch the water racing underneath me. TFTC

The Freezer Mice strike again!!!
Down in the Taupo area for a few days, so a chance to grab a few quick caches.
Nice and easy drive here today, and a neat spot at the end.
TNLN, TFTC.

Easy find. Nice spot. Tftc

I have often fished this stream up to the fishing limits and the lower reaches, but this is the first time I have been this far up, thanks for bringing me up here, TNLN SL

Once we had worked out our left from our right we were fine. TFTC

Found the road after we over shot the first time.The road was a bit rough but got there ok.Found bridge and cache after a search.Thanks.

Had the pleasure to cache abroad...no better place than New Zealand! TFTC