McLaren Falls Park (Bay of Plenty) McLaren Falls, North Island, New Zealand
By Lion Fish on 04-Sep-10. Waypoint GC2C8RJ

Today we visited **McLaren Falls Park** and removed all the 6 Waypoints, and the cache. The area around the final has changed drastically over the years and is sadly now overgrown with gorse.
Mr Lion Fish sustained quite a few scratches in retrieving the cache [xx(]..... archiving is now appropriate.

Over the last couple of years, the area around the location of the Final has deteriorated - it is no longer being maintained as it has been in the past .

After all the time and effort spent visiting the 6 Waypoints, the Final deserves to be in a worthwhile place to visit, and we feel this is no longer the case.

With that in mind, we have decided that we will retrieve all the Waypoints and Archive this cache in the near future. For the time being though, it remains in place.

We did this multi partly by car today although I think we walked the same distance as if we had parked in the indicated spot and walked the loop (might have had to backtrack to get to the waterfall). You do go to a lot of interesting spots that I would not have found by myself. We had no trouble with any of the way points but the access to the final was very difficult. There was flooding, tangled plants and nasty plants had it been a traditional I might have given it a miss. Still what is life without a little challenge .

Probably my last cache of the year as domestics now loom. Went for a fantastic morning kayak up the river with my daughter and grabbed this on the way back, having done the multi before Christmas. TFTC. Happy New Year!

Wow!! Such a good place

Found this a few days back! Tonnes of walking - our legs were sore. Holly found this one pretty darn quick even though the phone was dead. Tftc!

DATH #10 D2.5 A3 T1 H3.5

Well that filled in a morning!! Had a few wayward moments and in my hot and bothered state resorted to paf on #6. Little did I know I was at the correct place all along. Duh!! Thanks for the adventure and prickly scratches Lion Fish. Cheers

Well we finally came back to find this multi after attempting it back in May 2013. I have had the co-ordinates in my wallet for those two years and I am glad Gabby suggested we attempt this today. Awesome multi.

Took us a while with our 2 yr old and 11 month old (he just sat and ate sticks but it was great encouragement) and we may (!!) have looked at the clue...but it was our first ever geocache. A quick snack back at the car and now we're off to find the next one. Thank you for providing such awesome entertainment

Well I tried this as a first multi a little while back and got this so wrong. Lol Done a few now and have a better understanding of them. Meet some newbies on first one. Little idea of the game but have a better understanding now. Kids were going to take wp clue with them. Lucky I was there. No problems with wps. Yes 6 does come up as if it's lower down. But had a fair idea where it would be. Final was an easy find. Thank goodness cause this takes a while to do. And it was closing in on gates locking up for the night. Lol nice to see cache has a supply of goodies in it. added bubbles and a small ball. Left a TB. Tftc.

This multi was done in three goes. First day we found several other caches in the wider area and decided to start this one off, knowing we were running out of time. After a bit of tooing and froing WP1 was found. Then we got side tracked with another cache which had me all but swimming - too cold so flagged it and decided enough for one day. A few days later we decided to complete this multi. WP2 had two guys playing backgammon in the Rotunda. We managed to spot the required information without attracting too much attention. On to WP3 and dodging "disc golf" enthusiasts. The park was full of them - and the game taken very seriously. On to WP4 and another hill. In the car this time to WP5 and then a slog up the Zigzag to find WP6. This one took us a while as gps had us lower, but all good in the end. Quick entry of required coordinates and off we went to the final. My phone had me out in the water. I was beginning to think I had a coordinate out so a sprint to the top of the zigzag to confirm. Another walk around, but it was after beer o'clock so decided another day to find. Today we walked straight to the cache with no effort at all. Thanks for the multi and very enjoyable "stroll" around the park.

This was a good multi cache... Had a great time dodging the frisbee's from the golfers ....I think there must have been a tournament on as they were every where. I was very happy that the way points were hidden In your particular manner this was great and helped being stealthful .It took a bit of time to locate way point six ...must have been the cloudy damp day as the GPS co ords were ordinary ....finally found and quickly found the cache at the final ....still in good condition. This was most enjoyable but a lot of work for one cache ...thanks Lionfish for the great effort and a wonderful cache

Wow, our first multi cache and it was great. Thanks Lionfish! Down from Auckland to pick the kids up from their grandparents. New to geocaching but having fun. We had almost all the family in tow, so Nana had to stay back for 3,4 and 6 as a bit hilly. WP 6 took two goes, as we were looking for something similar to 2, 3 and 4. Special mention to master 8 who found WP5 and scampered back up for WP6. Final was a bit of a scramble but successful in the end. Beautiful Anzac Day adventure.

Love the walk to it fun fun

Checked on Waypoint 6 (Zig Zag) ... happily for us, it's not missing. Happy caching everyone.

7.20pm - As we went around the park there were people every where, amazing the the number of people camping in here. The size of this park I reckon more caches could be in area. SLTFTC

For anyone doing the multi before we can check on the Zig Zag Waypoint: F = 9.

After a morning of walking around Marshall's Animal Farm with my nephew and his parents, I told them to get lost in their car so I could grab a few caches here.
The multi was first, and it was fun. I brought my bike so did it all on that. i was certainly cursing Lionfish's name under my breath while riding to the 5th waypoint (top of the park). But managed to get up there then got stuck on the last WP. After ditching the bike at the bottom, I climbed the zig zag path to the top, glad it was an overcast day as I was pretty hot and sweaty by now. Couldn't find the last WP at all. I was gutted. Once I got back to the bottom of the hill and concluded that my bike was still safe, I messaged the CO for a clue. I didn't want to have to come back just to find the last WP and the Final, so I went to the Falls Cafe for a steak sandwich and got the message back while I was eating. Now with all coords loaded I was off and found the Final with no trouble, except for the gorse......but I survived and so will anyone else attempting this. Cache in good nick, fresh new log and I left a block head and took a scorpion.

Thanks to Lionfish for this awesome multi which will get a fave from me, and the extra clue as well!!

I've had this one on my do to list for a long time but I was waiting for the perfect excuse. Tonight some of the guys organised a trip to get Glow Me Down and a new one Hot or Cold via kayaks. So I figured I'd whip down here during the day and finish this off - I did it by car and took just over an hour. I had my 2 yr old with me and without him it would have been much faster.
I'm always a little hesitant with multi's because it's like finding 7 caches and only getting stats for 1. But this multi took me to a variety of places around this park that were very picturesque, places I'd never seen nor would venture to - it was well worth the trip and as for multi's in general, this one gets a favourite
All WPs were found in good condition - WP1 by hint and luck - WP2 easy - WP3 easy - WP4 unsure which way to approach this one but ended up walking 700m return but a quick find - WP5 easy - WP6 was a little hike, zig zagging if you will... The final was found where I figured to would be but knew better then to attempt without the solve and in the end - I saw the geo-trail well before the hints.
Cheers Lion Fish

Wau had a whole day planned for the multi and I needed it. Wanted to always walk all tracks at mclaren falls and thanks to the multi, I could. Seen amazing places and so much different views.
Wp 1 was a great start. A place I didn't see before and might have left out when not for the cache. Such a short track but nice and secretive for me. Then straight to Wp 2;3 and 4. At the second one I wasn't even sure if it is the right place because I have never seen a cache so out in the open and obviouse. Needed to look through some logs to be sure I am right ... So cool..At least with the following I knew what to look for and it was easy on me. Took my lunch after a walk up the nikau track and watched the sheep and hills in front of me. after a minute of relaxing I thought of looking where Wp 4 might be and found out that I was sitting right on it

One of our biggest ever multi's .... a beautiful day and we ended up seeing a lot of places in McLarens Falls that we have never ever seen before - some amazing views

We decided to walk the multi - seemed like a good idea at the time - but it was a hell of a good workout

TFT (multi lol)C

This entry was edited by Clan Murray on Sunday, 27 September 2015 at 08:00:47 UTC.

Just for clarification for new cachers...
the idea with this multi is that you visit each of the 6 waypoints, and collect 6 'clues'.
Then use the 6 'clues' to work out where the 'final' is hidden.
The final (i.e. cache) is where you will sign the log book and find some small trade items.
Some of the waypoints along the way may look similar to micro caches, but they are just containers for hiding/protecting the 'clues'.

Great cache

Great camouflage cache

Hoping those is right

Think we have it

Found the next one

We found it very quickly

Can't find it

Out and about enjoying the sunshine while finding a few specific caches towards a challenge we are working on. Enjoyable afternoon locating all the required info and a great place for the final TFTC.

We started this last month and unfortunately one of the stages was missing so we had to leave it for another day. Today was the "another day" thanks to the CO's for replacing the waypoint, we feel this should last without being muggled. We have not done very many multis for some reason however we thoroughly enjoyed doing this one. We were taken to parts of the park we had never been to before and some we had but saw them from a different perspective. The views were great from many of the waypoints and the reflections on the lake this afternoon were spectacular from near GZ when locating the final. Thanks Lion Fish for the well set up and maintained multi, a favorite point from us. Found with Stickman 2000.

This entry was edited by nzkites on Sunday, 31 May 2015 at 23:51:50 UTC.

Part of WP3 was indeed missing. Replaced the waypoint today - it is now attached to the fence, and should be clearly visible on your approach.

Waypoint 3 is partly missing ... either it's been muggled or not replaced securely - needs attention.

We decided to visit McLaren Falls Park this afternoon to see how much autumn colour there was, before bad weather came and blew all the leaves down. We didn't allow enough time to complete this multi but thought we'd make a start anyway. WP1 wasn't too difficult to find though I think we took the long way around. At WP2 we had a good look but no joy, then were joined by muggles so decided to move on and come back another day. At WP3 we looked for a while, trying not to be too obvious as there were a few campers nearby. Eventually we found part of the cache, but unfortunately the bit we needed was missing. We started for WP4 then decided it was getting late in the day so we'd better head for Pine Tree Knoll instead. We hope to return and do better another time, as it looks like a well laid out multi.

Finally!

We started this about. 6 months ago. Like many others we got stuck at WP3 it looked like new fence had been put up. Good to see the CO has attended to this now.

We pressed on anyway up until the one with the zigzag path. At this time we'd already done a bit of bush bashing and time was running out. Couldn't find WP5 and had to abandon with a long jog back to the car in an attempt to make an apptmt.

So many months later we came back and attempted a best guess at the final. Turns out we were looking at the wrong fenceline and searching far too many of the wrong pongas!

Dejectedly we walked back to the car and spied another gravel path going down to the water. This was where we should have gone. In due course found the correct spot and scrabbled up the incline to lay out hands on the cache. Woohoo.

797 Missed my daughter's (muggle) birthday in Feb so this was her weekend to spend a few days camping and chilling out. After a coffee at the cafe we wandered around collecting this one. We saw parts of the park we didn't know existed. She fed a goat, Jumped a equestrian obstacle and sat while I tried to find the last. My phone had died so was trying to do it from memory. Up she got and immediately said "Is this what you are looking for. Back to camp charge the phone in the car and then back to get the final before dark. TB picked up

As always with geocaching ... the direct route is sometimes not the best or safest route .

Waypoint 3 replaced today - it is now a hanging bison tube (colour black) - can be reached without crossing to the other side of the new fence.

Ok so today we returned to finish this multi. Thanks for replacing number 3. Found the final one the hardest way possible, on the wettest day of the summer, I think I will have the battle scars for a few days to come. There was no TB as indicated but I did drop one off here. Thanks for the cache the bruises and the wet arse!!!

couldnt find clue C a new fence has been put up in the area and the old fence removed maybe the cache has gone with it???found all the other clues though were unable to find cache due t missing clue.

Hi found five stages only could not find 3. Spoke to the warden and new fence has gone up about 5months ago, maybe cache went with old one? Can you please confirm if this is Indeed the case. Loved all the others would be nice to finish and find the final cache. I shall return. Thanks for taking me to parts of the park I have not been to before.

it was a pleasure to solve the riddle and visit this geocache with bubblezone during our long trip .
many thanks to the owner!

sorry that our late log caused a missed-note of the trackable we removed of this cache - we just have too seldom internet-access here, during our trip atound the world. we too of course did not find WP3 but still managed to find the cache by kind of encircling it. and the hint helped too. we had to step through very high grass and honestly didn't really like the chosen hide-out. neither did we like the millions of sheep-leftovers we had to hop over. the log was completely wet, so honestly this was not one of our favourite caches. thank you anyway.

Yesterday we started to walk along the waypoints. We had some trouble finding our way from waypoint 5 to 4. Waypoint 3 we couldn't find.
Because of wet clothes and darkness we stopped our geocaching and finished our search today.
Thanks for the cache!

In: TB
Out: TB

Yesterday in the evening we visited all stations off this multicache, because the missing walkway in our garmin osm we needed a lot of time to visit all the spot... today in the morning we had a look for the final and were very lucky at the moment we got it.

Thank you for showing us all that spots, hiding the notes and the finalbox too.

Awesome day out riding, running and eating in McLaren Falls with the HambrookHunters for fathers day. We were glad to find out that the park gate has a sensor to let you out after hours

What a fantastic multi-cache to keep two families happy on an afternoons riding and walking at McLaren Falls, followed by a Fathers Day BBQ dinner. This multi was real teamwork, and it was made even more enjoyable by the excitement of the new-geocachers, who we think will be logging as SimonsenAdventurers. Mrs HH and MiniJ didn't quite have the legs to keep up on the bike ride, but that's ok as Mr HH completely missed WP 1, so we helped out! We left our bikes by the lake, climbed a bank, found a trail and hunted it out no problems. Mr HH and Midi K with the new cachers continued on bike and picked up WP 2, and 3, then walked out to 4. After leaving our bikes at the car, MiniJ and I wandered up the hill and saw everyone's bikes left at Pin Oak..... so hid Mr HHs lovely new MTB down the bank and enjoyed the panic on his face when they returned. The 6 year old new cacher was SO full of energy, MR HH took him off to WP 6, while others headed back to prepare dinner. They apparently rode right around the back and up the steep hill before realising the best access point was behind them. With the gates closing at 5.30pm, we rushed to get out, sadly not having time to get to WP 6. But wait - the gate opens automatically!! A quick U Turn and drive to WP 6, co-ordinates logged, a final walk with the lake reflecting the pink sunset and ecstatic kiddies had the final cache in hand.

Dropped off a TB, thinking that the next person to complete this multi-cache deserves it! This was an involved multi, which helped draw us around the Lake and discover places for future trips. Thanks SO much, best Father's Day ever.

Had a great day biking around the park collecting the wpts and admiring the autumn leaves. Worked welldoing wpt 6 and 5 first as we were camped at top flat and arrived at wpt 1 and the cafe just in time for lunch and then a gentle ride to complete the cache. Retrieved tb tftc and a great weekend at the park

This was really great multi, easy to find each waypoint, but a physical challenge doing the whole thing on foot. We started with WP2 the evening we arrived to camp, as it was close to Top Flat where we had parked Barnaby for the night. Then the next day we set off after breakfast to walk around all the tracks looking for the other waypoints. WP1 was first, then we bypassed WP3 and got WP4. From there we cut cross-country to WP5: I avoided going over the cross-country jumps in the equestrian area, which was devoid of horses, sheep and people as we traversed it . Then we found WP6 before dropping back down to Top Flat for some lunch. That was the only one that gave us a little trouble as the co-ordinates there seemed a few metres off, but the hint helped us get it in the end.

After a kayak trip to find 'Glow me down' we headed back onto the tracks to find WP3 and then a partial cross-country trip to finally arrive at GZ for the final. There we were presented with an unexpected challenge. The plants we needed to wade through looked to us like they might be stinging nettles and we were were NOT going to find out the hard way if we were correct. So we improvised a secure path with the aid of some dead mamaku fronds that were nearby and the cache was soon in hand and the log signed.

Several hours of very worthwhile effort. We visited parts of the park that we certainly would not have done without the lure of this multi. It is well worth a favourite point. TFTC

It was our first one, and we had heaps of fun. thanks to our friends for introducing this to us. My sharp eyes came in very handy. Kids had so much fun also.

Thank you, found it. Lovely place, we camped there for two nights, had camped there before but you took us all round the park to places we had not been, took friends to show them, and they really enjoyed it. Was fun watching the kids rush ahead looking for a clue. Plus it was our first multi.

Thanks for this multi, we love this special place in Tauranga. We brought a picnic dinner and enjoyed our evening searching. We had to come back the next day to finish the final stage as the rain came on heavy and hindered our looking. All coordinates were spot on. Enjoyed this cache heaps.

Thanks Lionfish, a relatively quick find once we had WP5, and figured out the correct fence to be following. TFTC

WP5 replaced today - corner post; a small hanging bison tube.

All going well, we'll be able to fix up the missing waypoint this coming weekend - our apologies to the recent searchers.

We got stuck on waypoint 5 too, the fence that's there looks pretty new so maybe it's gone. We did try find the cache using a process of elimination with the co-ordinates but after a lot of frustration gave in. Will try again another time

It was a fantastic day at McLaren Falls so we thought we would give this multi a go with a few friends. Took us all over the park were we hadn't been before. The only problem is when we got to way point 5 we could not find the clue. It looked like a new fence had been erected and some work had been done in the area where the clue should of been so I assume the clue went missing in all the work.

Are you able to check on this to confirm that way point 5 is still there or not. Would love to go back and finish this cache.

Thanks

Staying in our motorhome in the park, this is our very first Multi Cache, a great way to spend the afternoon. Most of it done on our bikes except #5 and #6, we had to take the car up to the equestrian park to check on a horse we have padlocked overnight anyway.

The final location we followed the fence from the wrong direction which was interesting, but there was the cache as promised.

An enjoyable afternoon. TFTC.

This entry was edited by WoodyNZ on Sunday, 07 July 2013 at 08:19:11 UTC.

Checked Waypoints & Final today ... all good.

Teamed up with Spiderhouse to have a crack at the biggest pocket of caches still on my 'to find' list around Omanawa, Ruahihi, and McLaren Falls...

Began this epic multi soon after working out the one-way system of roads. The park was busy with a wedding, campers, an equestrian meet, and a PD crew. We had to work around these many groups of muggles. Waypoints 1-5 were quick finds. Waypoint 6 was hard and about 10 metres out for us. I struggled here because my track log kept crossing over and I couldn't work out where to go next. Luckily, Mr Spiderhouse came, as he found the clue.

We integrated our waypoint searches with other cache hunts, and this kept things flowing nicely. We also managed to collect some chestnuts before going after the final. This was a beautiful area to visit, and an enjoyable multi. Thanks for bringing us here and TFTC.

What a fabulous park this is. Really enjoyed doing the multi just for the drive around the park. It looks like a well used park, with campers and walkers and various events happening all over the park.

We saw the wedding group on our way out having the reception down by the lake under the trees, tables set up with the food and drink and it looked idyllic. We couldn't help commenting what a fabulous and different idea. Thank goodness the weather was fine for them.

Cache bonus was the pile of Chessnuts we picked up one of the waypoints.

Thanks once again Lion Fish, would like to come back here one day. Maybe bring the boat and do Glow Me Down. This earns a FAV from us.

I did this over two visits and a couple of days. There was a lot of walking involved and a few challenges along the way, and that is how it should be. Deserves a favourite award! TFTC

What a fantastic way to spend a day at the park! Our first multi. TFTC

Was exhausted by end but had a great time.

Checked on cache today ... all is well, happy caching everyone!

Thanks for the fun!!! Black Parrot and I enjoyed our first multi cache today.

9322… An enjoyable ramble through McLaren Falls Park - yep, lots of one way roads. We were accompanied by lots of woolly muggles to some of the waypoints. A very nice location for the final, many thanks Lion Fish for bringing us back here.

Completed the multi today after solving some of the waypoints last weekend. All were exactly where described and in good condition. Our adventure gave us a good overview of the main features of the Park. The one-way road system kept us entertained for hours as we practiced the new road rules on our journey. Stopped off at the cafe for lunch but unfortunately unable to touch base with the man who is sometimes seen hiring kayaks on the weekends. A great spot for a family picnic. TFTC

Did all but the final during the week. There was about 40 PD workers in the vicinity of GZ so didnt even bother. Completed today. Thanks Lionfish,an enjoyable cache

WP6 did indeed need attention. We fixed it up this afternoon - thank you Kaimai Kid for alerting us to the problem. Enjoy!

A great way to waste the afternoon away with the waypoints taking you here and there. Brought back a lot of memories as I use to spend a lot of time here exploring and fishing. Waypoint "F" needs urgent maint. due to someones big heavy hoof from the looks (not mine) and had nothing with me to do repairs sorry. Final was in a great scenic location too. - TNLN TFTC

WENT FOR A BIKE RIDE WITH THE KIDS WITH ABIT OF WALKING. A CHOICE MULTI.

Did most of the work last trip but group working near end , All done now. In tb Pathtag Emissary Geocoin

Maintenance check ... all is good with the cache. Nice and dry, even after all our recent winter rain.

Really really enjoyed this one, and did it all on foot so got some good exercise for the day, and saw some parts of the park I had not seen, and others I had not been to for years.

Great day out with NZ Biscuit - certainly good exercise and I promised her we would have lunch before 2.30pm and we did 1.30pm lol but we certainly enjoyed it
Excellent cache thanks for all the work that went into it - Beautiful spot

After a DNF last month, Found final today easily now the cache has been re-sited and replaced. An enjoyable multi in a very attractive and large park. Cheers.

Replacement cache now in place, in its NEW location.....
Waypoint clues have been changed where necessary.
There are no longer 'special' instructions at WP6.

Please note... the co-ordinates have changed for the final location, and also, the cache is now 'offset' a few metres. You will therefore need to use the final's 'hint' to locate the cache.

The cache is now a 570ml xeonic plastic container.

Good luck, and have fun. It was lovely up at the park today, and amongst other things, we saw a small flock of 4 lorikeets.

Went for a drive up to McLaren Falls ... alas, the cache (at final location) is missing after the floods a couple of months ago. We will change the site to a higher, less flood-prone area.

Disabling - will check on the cache ASAP.

Found All way points and worked out final location easily. Found a very very likely spot, but I think recent flood has washed Cache away. Have emailed owner with description of suspected location to verify I was at the correct spot.

Maintenance check on the final; all a-okay. Took the 'Saving Little Hearts' geocoin, as it's been sitting up here for a couple of months.

Whew!! A hot spring day, never been here before so a good cache to have a look around. Great for the kids fitness!! Left Geocoin us6azn. Might have to come back for a fish soon!!



This entry was edited by ventura58 on Sunday, 24 October 2010 at 22:34:39.

Stayed at the park overnight. An absolutely splendid cache. A great walk with a bit of effort. Really enjoyed doing this one. Thanks heaps. Took Maestrosaps Night racer Geocoin.

It was a really nice day so thought it would be a good opportunity to finally do this cache with the family. Really enjoyed doing the cache with lots of nice walks with great views. It took a while at the final location to find the cache as the additional instructions threw me off a little bit. Left a couple of Hot Wheels cars. Took TB & left GC. SLTFTC

This entry was edited by hotwheelsnz on Wednesday, 06 October 2010 at 16:34:46.

2456 What else would you do with a couple of hours to kill in Tauranga in the pouring rain - what about a six stage some multi?
Had Mellee for company on this one - which was very useful.
This was a very well set out and most enjoyable multi - even in the rain. The weather even broke for the final and we were able to shed our full wet weather gear.
Thank you Lionfish for the thought and effort that went into this cache - it was a real pleasure to do! Nice quick find at the final and a podium finish to boot - where are all the locals??? (its only rain!!) TFTC

Recommended parking area for accessing the final location amended to S37 48.989 E176 02.378 .

WOO HOO FTF!!!!!
We could not believe it.
What a great cache a real tourist guide to the park.
Thankyou for the time this one must have taken to put together.

Published