Stonefields Rocks (Auckland) Mt Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
By Trout-fly on 28-Jan-11. Waypoint GC2N1HP

Gone, or at least moved to where I cant find it and I cant log a DNF on my own cache.

Four people searching, a mountain of rock moved, and yet no cache reward. Sadly 1 fail/11 found today, I like those odds. Will have to return, when the trees have grown

Another extended search today but no luck spotting this tricky hide again

Had another look tonight...and still now luck...had been given a hint, but still didn't help...oh well...will try another day :-p

Two of us hunted but no joy. Maybe we'll try again one day and I'll wear more sensible shoes!

After a second go with 2 other sets of eyes... Nothing. This has really almost have to be by chance. Or plenty of effort to get.

We had been closely following all the DNFs on this cache and waiting until someone actually found it before making our attempt. Our good friends Vamber meanwhile had tried and failed several times previously. We decided to make a combined effort as soon as Day Light Saving rolled around and so it was I found myself turning over rocks without much hope....just as I had resigned myself to a long night ahead - the cry was sounded "Looks like an Eclipse Mint Tin !!".
WeeeeHeee - thanks so much Vamber and well done FijiGirls on finding it so easily.

TFTC
# 1755

After the recent find for this cache and the increasing hours of daylight in the evening, we thought we would have another go! This might be around our 4th attempt at this cache and, with the help of our caching partner in crime, we have finally nailed this sneaky hide. Credit is due to fijigals for finding this so easily! Well done! Thanks for the cache.

@fijigals.. about a million dnfs and you casually go for a walk and find it.. congrats...will now have a third crack at it..

Im impressed too. Well done.

Decided to stop for a walk around the lake with friends...and search for a cache while we were in the area

Spent an hour on this before losing interest and heading to the next cache.

Didn't have the time or inclination.

Looked for about twenty mins. Nothing jumped out at me.

2nd attempt, overall searching time one hour, found a lot of interesting stuff, turned 1000 rocks upside down and failed. Will have to return...

Was down in Stonefields before pub quiz so spent about 10 minutes looking to no luck; will have to search another day when it looks like I'll need a bit more time!

Checked it out and found the 2nd version, not the replacement I put out last time. Good luck to everyone looking for this, you will need it. I have had a few emails asking for hints.... it took me 20 mins to find this one and I had placed it, so just look under a rock! Cache creep does seem to move them around a bit.

Ugh. Not a wise seek after a large amount of food from the nearby Carl's Jr with nzanz and sjp999. Lots of rocks, lots of trash, not a lot of luck.

So many rocks. So So Many.
DNF will be back!

Third time lucky!!! This cache took a whole lot of perseverance! No wonder it took so long to find though, it's like finding a needle in a haystack and both our GPSs refused to settle which didn't help. A bit of CITO around GZ was a good diversion for evening walking muggles. Good to finally tick this one of our list. TFTC!

No luck today and quite a few muggles walking nearby - another day!

Too many muggles around and too many rocks. Will try another day

WHO MOVED IT!!! Please replace it under the rock that you found it under, so I can find it again. Replaced it where it should be... again. There are probably 3 containers scattered around at GZ, so let me know which one you find.

I think this cache needs to be checked up on. Would absolutely love to tick this cache off our to-find list!

Too many rocks on the ground, not enough food in the stomach. Another time perhaps.

Take two.... nope. No luck here today.

Wish I had read previous log before attempting this one. Put me down for a dnf as well

Had a really good look and was unable to locate this cache.

In the area for the other caches so thought I would take a look. Just like the previous searchers, I couldn't find it. I came with Lycurgon who had previously found it with his girlfriend Reveurs, and he also couldn't find it this time, though with so many rocks he couldn't swear that he was looking in the right place! I think it might need the owner to check up on it.

Too many rock!

So many rocks and potential hiding spots!! No luck today. hope it is still there!!

Had a good look, but no luck today. Could you please check to see if its still there. Thanks

My Dad and I looked for this for a while, but couldn't seem to find it.

Didn't find it. Too many rocks, not enough time, or patience.

Would have found it if it wasn't for all the rocks....

TFTC

This entry was edited by Reveurs on Monday, 06 August 2012 at 08:00:56 UTC.

Took a bit of time searching and had to pause a few times for passing muggles, but eventually found it. It was just where the hint said it was.
TFTC.

I couldn't let this one rest, so I brought my son along for a fresh perspective. He found it in less than 3 minutes. He says it was an "easy find".

Third try at this one and even with a bit of direction from another cacher that had found it, I did not. As BB King says, "the thrill is gone." I'm going to file this one in the circular cabinet. The new park is worth the visit though, so thanks for bringing me here anyway. I've been meaning to check it out.

Spent ages looking but obviously not in the right place. Will be back again

Looked for a while, but no luck. So many hiding options. I'll be back with a fresh set of eyes!

This took a bit of searching and has some nice-looking camo on it. I had to be careful of where I searched for about ten minutes because there was a car parked close by with a couple of people hanging out, but they left and a short search later I had the cache. TFTC!

This was one of those challenging caches where the hint could be applied to 100s of sites. It didn't help having jumping coords on our GPS. After looooong search we found it - yay! SL. TFTC

Nice day . I take my friend and mountain bikes for hunting some cache T4TC and Greatings from Czech republic

4th time, found - yipeee. no actual rock lifting was required, and thanks to nosh123 for the hints.

This entry was edited by dagonNZ on Sunday, 26 February 2012 at 04:14:47 UTC.

I must admit that I was a bit nervous approaching the GZ based on the number of DNFs. However the GPSr was spot on and I immediately recognized the hint. Net result was a quick easy find. TFTC.

YAY Finally 3rd 4th??? time lucky,yet we found it and it was a nice little find SLTFTC

3rd DNF, i quit.

Second time there and still no luck..have had to leave both times due to young ones coming down in car loads to sit there and get wasted as they yell out ..saw some cute little frogs though lol..better luck next time.

We were in between a rock and a hard place today, turned over so many stones but no luck finding the cache.

It's the holidays, 7 kids! Thank god for geocaching!! After an hour of looking, DNF!! Love the area though.
Will have another look next time.

Well, the joke is probably on me. I placed this for all those cachers who like the 3 "Rocks" caches in Orewa, and have asked for more. BUT.....It took me ages to find the thing. WHO MOVED IT!!! Please replace it under the rock that you found it under, so I can find it again. Replaced it where it should be... on a rock, under a rock, next to a rock.

Been here 3 times in the last week, is it still there or am I looking under the Wrong rocks??

After three attempts we are still to locate this one. Can someone confirm it is still there.

Turned over all the rocks for about 20mins then called it.
My Gps is only accurate to 5-10m so that was a large space to work in. Quite unfulfilled, more of a hint would be appreciated.

Found after attempting in the dark (do not recommend). Left no stone unturned.

TFTC

2nd try DNF, help?

Second visit to this area. After last times DNF I was pleased to find the little fellow! SL TFTC

My third visit back to Stonefields to find this one. A few words were vented again after about 10 mins of searching without any luck. Resorted to the text a friend option to put me back on track. Ended up having to retreat back to the car as a muggle turned up and didnt want to leave. My patience paid off and eventually he left. Found the cache straight away and was able to sign log and head back to work. TFTC! Im glad i dont have to come back here again!

Didn't take too long before we found the right rock! Lovely sunny day to check out the wetlands. TFTC

Took a walk around the lakes to pick this one up.

Had little trust in my Galaxy S2, so I grabbed my trusty Garmin Etrex - turned out the Galaxy was pointing right to begin with.

Under the first rock I picked up.

This afternoon I Thought I would tackle this one before its boardwalk hidden cousin. However within a couple of mins of my search beginning some council muggles came out from the small building in which they had been hiding and proceeded to intently watch this strange guy looking at rocks. With my search foiled I moved on. Hope to be back some day soon to turn this DNF frown upside down.

Would you believe this time there was no-one around and the second rock revealed the cache. Sometimes it does happen. t4tc

Second time looking here. the clue had me turning rocks over within a very wide radius. Was about to give up when I finally turned it over. Phew!

Workmen were working around GZ. One asked me "Was I looking for something?" So I started on Geology 101 (thank you Earthcaches) mind you I'm not sure half the stuff was in text books. So a cache for another day.

Having a wander through this new subdivision and found this cache while Mrs S kept an eye out for muggles. Your GPS needs to be pretty accurate to find this one as there are more than a few rocks here!!! We even went and looked at a couple of open homes to make us look more bona fide. TFTC.

Out and about with Mrs TWS today, nice spot, nice hide

TFTC

PAF needed here

I was off eastwards today for a hunt for caches. As there are rocks by rocks on rocks by more rocks I decided after 10 minutes of searching to PAF. This was a little more successful.

Nice area.

Cheers for the cache.

After placing a challenging cache together with dh1saj.
It's getting dark fast and with no flashlight.....hmmm. We turned a lot of stones but we have to close this one of with a DNF

7.52am. I was lucky I found it before using the hint as it wouldn't help you much with this find.
TNLNSL
TFTC
Cheers M+S [:O)] (1921)

Quick find between muggles etc.
TNLNSL TFTC.

We found a dirty nappy, a used condom and lastly a dried up dog turd. The cache remained unfound. Hopefully its not hidden in the nappy.

Hadn't thought this was a driveby but we ran back to the car when the heavens opened after "Boardwalk" and thought we'd see how close we could get. Took a dry moment. Swooped and signed. Think we must of been very lucky - a second time with good co-ords. NINO TFTC

No find for me, however I gave up fairly quickly due to heavy rain falling.

Thanks G-NZ, its good to see that you get it!.... there has been some that didnt.

Cache owner definitely has a sense of humor!! TFTC

We surprised ourselves here, actually a quicker find that the boardwalk cache in the same area. Asking ourselves where we would put the cache if we were the owner resulted in a find in under 10secs. Thanks for the challenge, the smiley face and the cache.

Was well into the search when a Fire appliance turned up and the crew got out and wandered around the area and checked out the nearby structure. Used the time to PAF but still had to go do the other nearby cache before the brigade left. On returning found the cache in the first place I looked, no the clue wasn't that specific.

TFTC

Quick find, but had a major clue given to us by LostCourse and 10cc a while ago. TFTC. Enjoyed walking the area.

6442 Back with reinforcements after a reconnaissance mission earlier in the week. Nice hide, took us about 10mins to uncover, went for another walk along the stonefields boardwalk afterwards. TFTC.

Out and about on a sunny Sunday afternoon. This must have been our lucky day as we do dread these rocky horror caches. Had just arrived at GZ and with our caching thoughts almost found this in the first place we looked. The container may need some panel beating soon. This area is going to be fantastic when fully completed. TFTC.

Found after looking at all the possiblities.

#%?!%$&

These hides are EVIL. So many options so little time. Could literally be anywhere. Spend too much time in the hot humid sun. Not a good look to arrive back at work smelly and hot so decided to use a PAF lifeline. Glad I did as I would have been here a fair bit longer. Looks like a great area is developing though. TFTC

Spend a wee while had to use a PAF to confirm that I was searching in the right area.
Can be anywhere
Nice area. Looked at myself to place one when it was still under development.
TFTC

After the DNF after publication I thought I would try again this evening in daylight. My GPS was more in alignment with Trout-fly's today, which narrowed the search area and meant only a 20 minute search at GZ today, instead of 2 hours. A great location that certainly deserves a cache. However, I think this cache, would of benefited from additional thought and planning. The cache listing is sparse and is it really that difficult to supply a pencil? The hide is not great and in no way matched the glue--it was basically in plain view today. A micro, given typical GPS error, in this awkward terrian creates a very large potential GZ riddled with possible placements. These are pretty minor quibles by themselves, but they add up to a frustrating, rather than a rewarding, caching experience overall. Well, cheers for the experience!

After the hours spend looking for this one, I was glad to get it crossed off the list....TFTC

Got curious when I noted that the usual FTF group posted DNF's. Was heading sort of that direction anyway so auto-routed to GZ. Haven't been here before. Looks like a nice reserve - maybe a new orienteering venue. An abandoned Subaru close to GZ! A muggle? A fellow geocacher? Stolen and dumped? No one in sight. Started reshaping the rocky terrain, seeking the cache. Then FMZ arrives back from his walk. Exchange ideas and continue a team search, probably turning over the same rocks again and again. Where should it be? Turn over rocks that must have been checked before and there it was, looking a bit like its surroundings. Thanks FMZ for the conversation and the joint FTF.

This entry was edited by Mapper Ted on Monday, 31 January 2011 at 12:01:40.

Nope, spent over 1.5 hrs looking for this one - shifted every moveable rock within 4m of where our GPS units reliably put us, and also a lot that were further away. Some kids even turned up at one point - thought they might join in, but they just sat in their car drinking.

Looked for over 2 hours - nothing

Teamed up with 10centcoin and FMZ for some midnight caching. Nice to finally meet you guys! Unfortunetly, even after an extensive and intensive search in awkward terrain, we didn't come up with the goods.

Wow, after another 2.5 hours of searching today, finally in the company of Mapper Ted it was found. These things always seem easier once they are found, don't they. Had to watch out for muggles from many angles today - across the water, looking down from above, or driving down and stopping for a look or a walk with kids. After about 2 hours, and a brief visit from 10centcoin, I went off for a walk, to come back with a clear mind and continue searching, and on the way back saw another vehicle pull up, and someone get out and begin searching, so headed back over and rejoined the fun - it was Mapper Ted. Between us, comparing GPS readings, and working around the likely spots, again, Mapper Ted lifted the correct rock(s) and there it was, for a joint FTF . I *want* to say TFTC but...

TFTC!!!

Not found yet but we did find this...

Published