Thanks for nothing (Canterbury) Castle Hill Village, South Island, New Zealand
By Sandfly tucker on 02-Sep-10. Waypoint GC2CYAV

Found on a little snowy excursion to the lake to see how the freeze is going. Hopefully we get a few good frosts to let us skate again!!

Out with sandfly tucker for a wander to see how the lake ice going ….. disappearing fast in front of our eyes with the norwest ….cache all in good order and checked out …..

Nice walk and lake, a bit windy today though. Cache in good condition, log book nice and dry. Thanks!

"really good hiding spot! " Alice, 6

Today was one of those perfect days in Canterbury where (for once) there is not a breathe of wind around. It was beautiful in the sun but frosty in the shade. The first third of the walk was quite cold and wet which soaked the oldest one. With the two little ones it took about 2.5 hours to get out there. Little legs = slow pace. We were thankful for the better gps once we got to the lake as my phone hated the trees. We found the cache and picked up the kids for the walk out. Thanks for the cache. It is a beautiful spot.

A hot day with no wind to speak of and with some spare time, why not go for a walk to this piece of Canterbury winter history. A hot but pleasant 30 minutes found me at the old lodge and after an explore of the insides (and a look at 20 years of neglect since it was last accessable by car) it was time to go find the cache. A short stroll then a bit of a stretch and hunt - the guardians have grown a bit. The cache was a wet wreck so I've replaced it with a 200m Sistema. A short stroll around the place then time to wander back. A popular place today, 10 cars in the car park and I saw 3 fishermen on the lake plus a large splash from a trout about 10m away from GZ. Cheers

Thanks for the cache found today with grand children Amelie and Henry after a lovely walk around to here
And lunch at Lake Selfe

Great walk in today, bit breeezy but not too bad, surprised at the location when we arrived. Found the cache without too many problems. Cache lid is broken and won't screw on. I had no replacement container with me. Cache may need some maintenance soon. Thanks for bringing us here - would like to return in another season. TFTC.

Found it

Came out with the family for a bit of an adventure and a picnic lunch. Started out promising but when we pulled up at Lake Selfe it was a tad bit breezy.....White caps and rolling shore waves in a lake?! Boys a tad bit disappointed they couldn't have a swim?! Lol. Had some lunch (sheltered in the car) then headed out on the walk to Lake Ida. Beautiful. Windy but all good. Shame you can no longer drive in & the lodge to starting to fall apart. Wilding pines starting to take over the old carpark. Whitecaps on the lake due to the wind. Cache quick to hand. A bit of a nosey around before wandering back. Great fun. Boys liked the walk & magnificent views....must take a dedicated skater to drive out here then walk in now days!! Cheers!

Great scenery, great walk, great wind.

Well worth the tramp in. Great Lake shame about the access in for all those ice skaters. Great spot thanks for bringing us here. TFTC

After staying at castle hill for the weekend and exploring the Arthurs pass area today it was time to head home.
I have been wanting to do this one for a while but held off until my family came over from the uk. Couldn't have asked for a better day to walk around the hill definitely worth the detour .few people fishing around the lake quick find tftc deserve a fav

Amazing spot. Bit of gps interference due to the trees. Had a great trip with the Geraldine Tramping Club to Lake Catherine and beyond. Had some help from other members of the club to find the cache.

Most amazing place!! I was in a need for a walk, and this one seemed perfect for the purpose. There was another car parked up, but I never saw anyone along the track the whole time, until I was back, when a family was heading out. But there was a shoe. A reasonably new looking tramping shoe, only one, sitting on the side of the path. Still there as I was coming back, so I turned it over, to avoid the rain going straight in. If it ever rains.
The walk was very pleasant, with an ever changing view as I was progressing around Little Mount Ida. Once I made it to the lake, the view was so amazing that I just could not stop saying wow! Found the cache, and then I went to explore the area a little. The hut is in quite a bit of disrepair, but a little TLC would do it. It is obviously being used by the CMC, even a couple of stretchers and a gas bottle for the BBQ. The road is in an excellent condition, what a waste of infrastructure. On the other hand, if the road was still in use, the place would get busloads of tourists - now it gets visitors instead, and we can enjoy the solitude
Thank you for bringing me to this great place!!!!

A nice walk (albeit a bit warmish) into lake Ida with #2 Fantail to collect this one, easy find set in a beautiful location. Its a shame this cache is not visited often, if you have not been in this general area before it is well worth the day trip from Christchurch (1.5hrs). Take heed however re the cache owners warning regarding weather conditions etc.

One of my often visited areas over the years, went for a quick swim in the lake to cool down before heading back to Lake Selfe for a family picnic.

Nearby so I dropped in for a look, all good inside.
Lake 1/2 covered in ice but too weak to stand on

Lovely spot for a picnic lunch on a sunny, calm but cool day in the hills. Tftc

We had been expecting a relatively flat walk around to the lake, and although this was so, there were still a few ups and downs, which we noticed as we were still weary from climbing Peak Hill this morning, and the temperature was 30 degrees. Definitely not suitable for ice skating. Nevertheless we got there and the cache was a quick easy find at this peaceful wee lake. It’s a pity about the forbidden access. TFTC

I love ice skating too! Today I was swimming in the lake as it was so so hot.

Totally agree with the sentiment of the Title. I'm in the area for some R & R with my son and we were talking about the politics of the land ownership around here and the dispute about Lake Ida. So as we passed decided to bike in on the perfectly formed road and have a look. Oh what a beautiful day and as we approached Lake Ida it was even more magical the Lake and setting is just perfect. Its a shame access now is more difficult. On the plus side I think it has improved the fishery as I saw numerous fish cruising by, a shame I left my Fly Rod behind. There was a single fisherman there but he was a little inexperienced to land a fish, even with my advice! The Ice Club building is still intact and just needs a little TLC to bring up to condition, what a shame!! We stayed for a couple of hours enjoying the surroundings and Jono had a swim in the smaller lake. Thanks for placing the cache it is worth a visit.

Twas a hard slog in here today through the snow.
All well in the cache though

Found during a 10 hour day walk (with permission from the land owner) via Lake Ida, Clay range, Harper Valley, the Pinnacles and out again via lake Ida. Such superb scenery! Pleased to report that the cache is in excellent condition - it looks like a long time between visits. Thanks for placing it here - this find was an extra bonus on a great day out.

A nice day for a walk. A very narrow track, that is unforgiving if you put your feet slightly off the edge. For all that it's a nice walk, taking you around the hill on a fairly level terrain. The lake was beautiful and clear. Just myself and two others that were there. TFTC.

a very nice area. Enough ice to skate on the lake. TFTC

Great walk in. Jacob was extra keen on going got his first "hike"" with dad. Took an 1 1/2 with a 4 year old. Thin skin of ice over the smallest pond. Neat fun.

AWESOME spot!! We walked in from the suggested carpark on a still warm autumn afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed the track in - excellent views of mountains and valleys. Found the cache easily then spent the next few hours doing photography and having a picnic. Shame the lodge is no longer in use - what a waste. It must have been great here in it's heyday. Cache had practically no treats, so popped in what few smaller things I had. The skating rink lakes were like glass and the reflections looking across toward the lake were beautiful.
TN
+ old NZ 10 cent piece
+ small rubber ball
+ jandal keyring
Thanks so much for bringing us to such a special place

Access to the lake was not a problem for us - Mrs agcnz and I were staying at Glenthorne Station and had been walking some of the tracks in this impressive area. We had already been to nearby Lake Catherine as part of a day tramp, and as we had the key to the gate we were able to drive right to Lake Ida. A rather beautiful spot, although a shame about the vandalism to the old lodge building there. Some time ago someone had dragged a lot of the furniture out and made a bonfire from it, and just recently someone has broken a lot of the big plate-glass windows. We were talking to the station managers and they are definitely not happy about this sort of behaviour., the cost of repair will fall on them. They also have to maintain the road to the lake (which is unfenced and has stock on it), so I'm not unsympathetic about the restricted access. Additionally, the key to the gate is available on application for a fee for those who do not want to walk to the lake. The cache was a very quick find in the only likely place, although I hope the lake level doesn't rise too much or it's going to get wet. Signed log, TFTC and for giving us an excuse to divert to this lovely spot.

Idillic! What a wonderfully spot. 45 minutes quick walk in. Hot NW day, the wind keeping the sandflies away, yet the trees providing good shelter for lazing about in the sun after quick dip in the warm, larger skating pond. This would have been quite a spot with hundreds of skaters here back in it's prime. It's current isolation is not all bad though, and what a spectacular walk! TFTC

Impressive small, clear lake perched between steep mountainsides with patches of native forest.   Large trout cruising about occasionally creating rings on the surface as a bug became dinner.



BaldEd and womble-bbt companions on the day.  Relatively easy walk in for about an hour on a roughish track.    womble provided entertainment sinking his boots into boggy bits  and Ed grumbling about the fact we had to walk instead of cruise the perfectly good gravel road thanks to what we would say an inconsiderate landowner blocking off with locked gates.



Cache located easily without GPS     That's two today  :-)  Coming from many years in Australia is was nevetheless daunting poking hands into perfectly good places for snakes near logs and underbrush

The threesome of womble-bbt, Smooth Hound and BaldEd took exactly 1 hour to hike to this beautiful lake. We were met with magnificent mountain vistas, a lake with exceptionally clear water in which  we observed trout swimming just a few metres off shore. With no wind,  a mainly blue sky and the air temperature probably about 24C- 25C this was another of New Zealand gems. Pity the lodge (skating clubhouse?) has been allowed to deteriorate, probably hastened by the landowner now prohibiting access to the lake via an excellent gravel road that led to the lake.

What?? Over a month since this cache has been hidden and nobody tried to get the FTF? We had it on our list two weeks ago but could not find the time. We checked again last week and still nobody tried it.
So this Saturday it was our turn and we had an enjoyable short walk to the lake. Muddy in places and narrow as well, but not steep at all. The rain started later in the day when we were already on our way back.
But it is a shame that this lake is no longer easy accessible with all the facilities in place. Who will ever again go for a one hour hike for ice scating or fishing? Definitely a highly recommended cache for a nice stroll. Thank you for showing us this place.

Published