Kapakapanui Loop De Loop Trig Tararua Forest Park Reikorangi, North Island, New Zealand
By skeetinnz on 09-Jan-11. Waypoint GC2M8YE

Awesome day for a hike up! Stunning views! TFTC

I had a great time around the track today. I took the anti-clockwise route and it took me 7 hours including a 30 minute lunch stop.It was very satisfying to reach the trig after four hours of climbing, and the cache was a quick find as per the hint. It was great to find a decently sized cache after a morning of smalls and micros.I added a new log sheet inside a small plastic container, so hopefully this will stay dry for future visitors.Thanks very much for a great cache. FP added.

Log unusable unfortunately. Replacement needed

Find but no way to log

#665Glad to have made it to the top! Log was mush so we put in a used receipt instead. TFTH

Quick find in almost white out conditions Cache is unfortunately saturated and log book impossible to sign. Thanks for the cache.

Great day for a great view!!

#12,008. Well today was one of mixed fortunes. The weather forecast was great with clear skies and light winds forecast. Been meaning to do the remaining caches on this circuit for ages and today seemed a good opportunity. Plan originally was to go anticlockwise up to the tops and pick up the remaining caches then return by the same route as I remembered the track going clockwise had a very steep section in the lower part. But best laid plans came unstuck on the top. A woman was camping in a tent near the summit with two highly aggressive dogs. They charged out of her tent and attacked me, biting me hard on the leg. I staggered off to bandage up the wounds. I had one more cache to get and did not want to go past her out of control dogs again so carried on with an injured leg all the way around the loop. Ended up being a 10 hour hike as I made my way gingerly off the mountain with blood leaking from the puncture wounds. Then a trip to A&E to get it cleaned up once back at home.

Finally at the top! Nice open areas with great views and patches of goblin forest. Good to see the old style trig. The cache was found after a short search thanks to the hint. The old logbook was soaked and unable to be written on. One new one was covered in sticky goo as an idiot had left a lolly in the bag and it had turned to a sticky mush. Removed that bag and sweet. Left a clean logsheet and plastic bag. Great views. Hell of slog to get up here but worth it once you reach the top. Thanks skeetinnz for the cache.

Amazing view up here worth the slog up! Tftc.
Water damage cache

Very happy to get here! Lots of water in the cache, managed to vaguely scribble initials again. Now for all the down! TFTC

Glad to get to the top! Thanks

Had the best time doing this loop with a friend, staying at the hut overnight - we have superb weather. Spent a while basking in the sunshine at the top, there wasn't even a breath of wind. Quick find, TFTC!

Found on return overnight tramp to Renata Hut. Main log damp. Back up log ok. TFTC

Tftc very cool one

At last, at 6:40 in the evening, after walking a cool (read: sweaty and hot) 4 hours, I placed my hand upon the trig and gave myself quite a lot of well-earned rest. Cache was a decent size for such an auspicious location- however, the logbook was damp and almost impossible to write on. Not an issue as I aired out the container for a while as I chowed down on some dinnery meals, checked the map, and charted my course back out of the ranges. Thank you for taking me to this simply incredible view and I feel it was just the perfect way to see out the year that's been. TFTC

The Kapakapanui Loop Track attracted me because of the many caches with high terrain values.
It was a partly exhausting hike due to the steep slope, but also a very nice experience in the magical nature. Wading through the water at the beginning and end of the loop was a welcome change that we had prepared for with water sandals.
Many cans were easy to find, but we had to search for others for a long time. We didn't find four.
Unfortunately, many of the logbooks are wet and bad. A maintenance round would be appropriate.
It took us about 10 hours to hike the track. Then we were happy and exhausted. Thanks for this cache round.
Oh what a great place and great view!

Awesome views today! FP awarded without a hesitation. Thanks.

Found as a part of a previous group TanjackMüley, now WanderingSparrow. Now I'm continuing on my own. TFTC

Incredible view up here with a lovely sized cache. Fp for the view.

Thanks for the cache and the full log at the start of the trail.

Thanks skeetinnz for the hint and for placing a cache up here!
Great climb on a fine day but wouldn't want to do it in bad conditions!!
Cache a bit empty so I added an emergency thermal blanket... but I hope you don't need it!!

Today was a planned meet up between Gr33nslime, Stardust718 and myself in order to have a crack at doing the Kapakapanui track loop walk. So depending on the size of the logsheet found, we generally signed ourselves as either Team G.S.T or else simply G.S.T.

We knew today would be a challenge physically, although as a team we cracked Mt Egmont 5 weeks ago so we were pretty confident of being to do this loop, although my knees were certainly feeling it on the descent! The thing that really surprised me was just how many of these caches were in a sorry state with waterlogged logsheets etc. Luckily my 2 compadres were tooled up with spare sheets and new baggies so we were able to replace all the dud ones we found.

Unfortunately for us today, we didn't stand a chance of getting to see the fantastic views available from here due to the thick rolling mist we had been walking through for the last hour or so. We can only imagine what they would be like from other people's photos, and I guess they go some way towards the FP's this cache has been awarded. It was a quick and easy find at GZ, and it was good to find the larger container compared to those we have mostly found on this track so far. There was nothing wrong with this cache so it was simply signed and we were back on our way again. Thank you for placing it and helping to give us a reason to make this trip.

# 1388 Team GST (Gr33nslime, Stardust 718 and TwigNZ) joined forces today to take on the Kapakapanui loop track. The date was set ages ago and we were hoping for good weather, which we got - today was not to be a drizzly walk in the Tararuas for once!

It was a long day out, car to car was 8 hours. We did a lot of cache maintenance along the way, replacing both logs and bags and it was unfortunate to see that even double containers plus plastic bags dont stop the insidious ingress of water. We managed to find all but two of the loop today so was a good haul and it is the highest total of caches i have gotten in one day. A good range of cache containers and d/t ratings too to boost my average terrain rating atleast.

All and all a good day out was had on a very well maintained track (but steep track), thanks DOC... in the back of our minds was the tragedgy that happened only yesterday, my thoughts are with those who have been affected by the events in Christchurch.. we stand with you

#20 of 32 today

Once again Team GST (Gr33nslime, stardust718 and TwigNZ) got together for a day hiking. This time it was in the Tararua Ranges to takle the Kapakapanui Loop Track. Having climbed Mt Egmont together 5 weeks ago we didn't think this track would cause too many problems. We work well together and it woudl appear we have adquate fitness for a full days walk.

We knew there was a decent climb involved of around 1000m though so some preparation was done with training walks and we made sure to pack plenty of food, water and clothing to accomodate the quickly changing weather conditions up here. We had cloud, mist and brilliant sunshine thoughout the day. Unfortunatley it was so clouded over when we got to the trig that there was no view.

Thanks to the various cache owners who have so many caches on this track that it became a target for us to complete. We did a lot of cache maintenance on our walk as abuot half the log sheets were too wet to write on. Fortunately Team GST were prepared with spare log paper and plastic bags.

#1627

nice easy find with youngest son at the summit, we did the loop clockwise, we had a great labour weekend trip staying at the hut overnight, we had a nice rest break here to enjoy the great views, could see snow on the Kaikouras, TFTC

Myself, my partner and our dog picked a couple of days where the weather looked decent to tackle this loop! Was a challenging walk up to the hut but amazing surroundings. Tried to grab as many caches as I could without slowing us down too much so only allowed a minute looking for each one. Missed about 5 on the whole loop. Cache's and hut were both in good condition!

Log too wet to write on!

Up here on a wild and wet day.... nice evening at the hut last night, but no views... never mind.. there is a cache at the summit - this is geocaching for us. BEST place for one. Found a TB. Cool. Earns a FP for location and decent size TFTC

Sveppi and I have recently moved down to Wellington from Rotorua. This was our first chance for a tramp in a while, and we decided to make it an overnight at Kapakapanui hut. The weather turned out a bit worse than the forecast predicted (it was never going to be a perfect weekend, but we had more rain than expected). We grabbed a few geocaches along the way, but we didn't stop at every one as our goal was tramping, not stopping every 5 minutes.

Now, this is the whole point of this trip. Nevermind endless wet cloned microcaches every 250m (which is why we skipped a few), this is the goal: the oldest and biggest cache on the circuit, at the summit, what geocaching is meant to be! I was looking in the wrong spot, because you have a different definition of "tree" than I have, but sveppi was right and found the cache in the first place she looked. Unfortunately the cache is quite damp inside, there are a series of logbooks and replacement logbooks in there trying to make the cache useable. Ideally this would require attention from the CO. Bonus: a TB! So I picked that up to move along. No views for us today, which is really disappointing as I suspect it would be pretty awesome! I was looking forward to my first sight of the tops of the Tararuas!

In spite of the maintenance issues, I will give this one a favourite point, as it follows the spirit of the game better than any other cache found this weekend. TFTC

A group trip on a day when we had clear views Wonderful Cache was an easy find thanks All in good condition TFTC

Tftc

Tftc

Apologies to the cache owner for delay in completing the log.
I completed the Kapakapanui Loop Track on Wellington Anniversary Day - overcast and hot weather. Found all but three caches on the loop.
Thanks to the various cache owners for placing caches on this beautiful, though steep, track.
Dropped of a TB

Great size container Wrote on the replacement log that is in there and is dry.

A nice reward for climbing the mountain. Magnificent views. Container has water and pad wet. Unable to write on it properly.

Good start to the summer tramping season with a quick spin up the loop today. Didn’t bother with all the other caches, just the obvious ones we spotted on the way!

Great view up here, always love heading to the tops!

Good sized cache!
Done the loop walk with LCBuilder and the dogs. A cool winters day but luckily no rain and mostly clear skies so got to enjoy the views from the top. A very slow steep walk up, loved the gentle gradients of the ridge line and then a quick scurry down the other side made for a tough, long but enjoyable 7.5 hour long walk. The different sceneries were interesting and the dogs had a blast thanks for the caches!

Went on an adventure with Wafflekitties had a blast thanks for the memories! TFTC.

Dropped a TB here. Hope the owner enjoys seeing the views from the tops.

Time to have lunch. Very calm and a bit of blue sky. Great conditions!
Log was very wet; started new log and put in dry snaplock bag. TFTC

Took the kids (9 and 6) on an overnight tramp around the Kapakapanui Loop. What better way to occupy their minds than a spot of caching? And where better to do it than here - a fantastic walk, a great hut, and a wonderful series of caches. A good time had by all, despite the mud, thank you so much for bringing us to this magical place

My annual trip to the North Island, looking for a good hill to climb. This loop seemed to fit the bill, lots of caches and promises of great views. Go to the start at 12:30 and went around clockwise, back to the car at 6:15. Pretty steep up and then rather steep down. Unfortunately it was low overcast by the time I go to the top there were no views. Really enjoyed the walk all the same - thanks for the caches.

#2865 Finally at the top! This cache earns a Favourite Point - thanks skeetinnz for the walk up here and a trig crossed off. Signed both log sheets - the original was a bit wet. Thanks Just Lookin for the replacement. SOme hownhill coming up? Let's hope so

Another find of what was to become 37 cache finds today during an enjoyable walk around the Kapakapanui Loop with Yeetrees, Boxhill and GoneFishing. Logsheet signed and paperwork and cache replaced before we headed off for the next cache.

The weather was perfect for today beginning with a cool start for much of the clockwise climb, including walking into some cloud at a couple of points. The cloud burned off by the time we wanted to get some views and we had the gentlest of breeze along the top before the long downhill haul.

In all, a great day out and even an opportunity to rinse the boots before coming home!

A cunning plan was hatched to complete the Kapakapanui Loop and a couple of other nearby caches. Two weeks out the weather looked perfect for today, and by some freak occurrence, it was actually a perfect, windless summmer day for the trip today.
A most enjoyable day out with Yeetrees, Boxhill and wb1116. We had a good few laughs on the way in a beautiful patch of bush, got some great views from the top, and found all the caches. Sounds like the perfect trip!
TFTC.

Wahoo! finally made it to the trig. The going's been pretty tough with poor weather conditions & carrying some injuries, but at least now it's down hill.
Cache was a quick find. Mr Rattll signed the log, & I'm pretty sure he didn't notice a new log from tmann421 & signed the soggy log book. oops [:8]
We left a pet rock -a turtle.
Thanks for setting this cache up on this awesome track. Shame the weather meant we weren't able to enjoy the views

Checked the weather forecast during the week and made the decision to complete the Kapakapanui Loop Track today with tmann421. Started out in sunshine, but soon clouded over as we reached the top. A great day out collecting caches with tmann.

Great to make it to the top after the hard slog up. A quick find thanks to the hint. Log wet so tmann replaced with dry log sheet.

TFTC

Very good instructions and clue led to a quick find. Container had a lot of water in it, so left it upside down in the hope this would keep it dryer. TFTC. No views today, but a great loop walk.

Did the loop track and stayed the night at Kapakapanui Hut, easy find, TFTC.

Great locations. Tftc

Quickly found. Great views of the Southern Crossing, but must to the West. TFTC.

No views for me today. Little bit of snow left, but still an awesome walk.

Came up to the trip. Bit of ice and snow but a beautiful day. Has a quick check on the phone to see if there was a cache around and lo and behold, had it within a minute. Great cache for a great view. Tftc

Out for a tramp with 1Bumblebee and friends.
Had come up from Akatarawa Saddle to spend the night at Renata Hut, then up to Kapakapanui Trig and down to Ngatiawa Rd.
Really struggled getting up here.
No view today... very misty, but a lot less wind than we were expecting.
Took longer to find than it should have.
TFTC

Great spot. TFTC

Awesome to get out into the tararuas again. This time a day walk on easterday to stretch the legs tftc. Cache nice and dry.

this one had us going in circles for ages as the coordinates were a bit rough. the clue should have got us there but we were brief in our searching. eventually someone had a proper look and the cache was found. TFTC

Found on the 14/12/2013, took my son up for his first time, unfortunately tops covered in cloud and he missed the view.

I visited the cache again today only to drop off a very special trackable!!!

Unfortunately, the container lay upside down on the ground. Therefore there was about 1cm red-brownish water in it, the few metal contents (candle, etc.) were pretty rusty and all other contents wet. It took me over one hour to dry everything, including the logbook, in the sun. I took the rusty rubbish with me and put everything else back in again. Now all should be dry and clean, including the trackable!

I hope the TB do not has to wait too long! Have a good further journey!

TFTC again skeetinnz, one of the greatest spots and caches in the Tararuas! One favorite point for it at my second and definitely not last visit here!

Third day of my Tararua-Crossing-Trip and third cache on that trip! I dedicated that log to my grandmother that day, because it was her 97th birthday and her grandchild is in New Zealand while she celebrated her birthday back home in Germany. Breathtaking view that day! TFTC

Great views from the trig today with only a very slight breeze to col things down after the climb. However the trig itself was looking a bit the worse for wear.

Out on a beautiful summer's day with simpsonsrgr8. We did the loop in a clockwise direction completing the circuit in 5 hours 20 including breaks. Not having been in here before I really enjopyed the walk and the scenery but I doubt that my knees would want me to return any time soon. TFTC

Found while completing the loop with Fozzmiester. We opted for the clockwise route and got around the full loop in 5:20, including our lunch break.

Unfortunately the trig has fallen/been knocked over but the cache is still in place and in god condition.

Great views up here today now for the decent.

I chose a perfect day for this adventure; I couldn't believe how still it was at the top. I quickly found the cache which is in excellent condition. Further good news in that this was another D/T rated cache that I hadn't snared before. TVMFTC.

Reasonably quick find on a perfect day for enjoying the views. Absolutely still on the top too! The path was very muddy, but the vegetation was dry, so casting around at GZ was very pleasant.
TNLN, TFTC

Found this one. Great day and fantastic views from the top of Kapakapanui over the coast and all the way down to the Kaikouras.

Awesome view. First tramp for me in NZ and first cache for everyone with me.

Found this one and had a long lunch break at the trig. Great weather and great views today. A memorable cache. In : GC. TFTC. Sherlock Hood.

Found with Chucky3. Unfortunately no views for us today, despite the good forecast and the sunshine when we left the car. A nice walk and day out though; thanks for the cache.

No views today

Primo lunch spot with 360 degree views. Thoroughly enjoying the ridge walk. Not too much mud, great views and good company. TFTC

Out for a day tramp/geocaching - a group of six of us. This was a great destination for lunch and the views were stunning.

Nice location on a fine day.

Have had this loop on the to do list since they were published, so great to finally knock them off. The climb up from the Hut was reasonably quick, through some very cool moss-filled bush and finally out into the open to enjoy the views. A perfect day today, with some warm sunshine, no wind and no cloud making the Trig a perfect lunch spot to enjoy some great views down to Waikanae and Kapiti Island to the West and of the Southern Crossing to the East. Cache was another nice quick find - thanks for the caches on a great loop!
+ Sandal TB

Last day in Kapiti before I head back to uni....so I decide this venture was worth it. Dragged much, much more fit brother along, and had a great tramp. Did the whole loop too! Was good to see the hut, complete with plaque dedicated to my late grandfather. Cache was a good find - very satisfying! TNLNSL

Cheers,
Vaudevillain.

Found with agcnz, boxhill and Hurricane Luke, found this one after doing the cache back down the track. No issues at GZ today as it was a great day to do this walk. Decided to rescue GreenBLATs NZ Fern coin from the cache to move it on. This was a great day as we were able to see all around the surrounding landscape. Thanks for bringing us up to this great spot. TFTC LNSL (2571)

#370. A find in the esteemed company boxhill, Yeetrees, & agcnz. Yeetrees happily signed the log - how many weeks of delay had it been??? Amazing views from up top, past the snowline which arrived a short time after crossing 1000 metres. A little bit of discussion about whether a point on the ridge we walked before the trig was the taller - looks it... A quick find, took a few photos + a video panorama. Log Attempt > Found > Done. My first terrain 5. SL TFTC!

Third cache of the day on a very enjoyable hike with Boxhill, Hurricane Luke and Yeetrees. A pleasant walk up from the Kapakapanui Hut after lunch having done the hard part of the climb earlier, then out of the lichen-draped beech forest through the snowline onto the top and to the trig.. Cache was a quick find. Great company, great exercise, good weather and a few caches for good measure, all made for a great day. Signed log, TFTC!

Enjoyed a great day tramp with Yeetrees, Hurricane Luke and agcnz to bag this T5 star cache. A most enjoyable experience made even better by doing it with some great company.

A excellent walk it had a bit of everything terrain wise. Wasn’t too windy at the top and we were able to sit and enjoy the views while we recharged our engines for the decent. Brownie came along for the trip as well.

TNLN SL TFTC

Just logging personal coins in and out.

*FTF* On and up to the trig area. No views at all today - lower areas all too overgrown, in open near top no vision due to low cloud. Visibility only about 80m and very cold with a couple of light showers. Soon found excellent cache and left a GC that wanted to go to mountains or high areas. Left the FTF prize for 2TF - its a really good prize, but I am happy to get the first find. SL TFTC

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