Fantail Forest (Manawatu) Colyton, North Island, New Zealand
By Iarekt on 31-Jan-11. Waypoint GC2N3HR

First to find this year tftc

No much happening here today so cache signed & returned.

Nice little walk along here. Didn't take us too long & cache was quickly signed. Tftc

Had the day off work so headed out for some caches. Enjoyed a great circular walk here and the bonus of a smiley. Cache and log all fine. Thanks for bringing me to a place I would never have found had it not been for geocaching.

Wandered around the loop as were staying overnight at camping area . Precise coordinates and clue .
Well placed. Thanks

2nd times the charm. Took the family as reinforcements. Tftc

No luck this time. I'll have to try again on my next walk

This was my second time here and as I knew the difficulty in zero-ing in on this one I thought I'd try the direct route from Forlongs Rd. The gravel road is a bit rough but as I have AWD I was able to park off the road not far from the obvious entry point.

I headed in to the corner of the bush-walk and then 40m off-track to GZ...

This time I could see the cache as I approached, sitting in the hinted location but it us a very small gerr.
Signed Log and replaced as found

Thanks Iarekt for placing this cache

TNLNSL TFTC

Last few days of Covid-19 Lock-down after the gummint extended this level until after ANZAC weekend. Personally I'm so over this. But then I guess we're not doing it as tough as our forebears who lived under the confines and deprivations of war. Not to mention those who served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. After standing at dawn at the gate in a show of solidarity for the ANZACS I went back to bed. Naughty I know, but this Saturday I didn't have to work as it's a public holiday. Usually after attending the Dawn Parade I'd head off to a cafe for breakfast but they're still closed under Level-4.
Roll on to Level-3, although it won't be very different, but I will be able to start hiking for geocaches again. And hunt for geocaches
A few days ago I drove out to Almadale Ford with the idea of crossing the river and walking on to the geocache here. Ahh, no! That was too deep to walk across and on my own, I was not prepared to commit the Santa Fe to a swim. So here I am today.
I parked out on the road that Google Maps doesn't even see. It tried to send me via the private driveway back up the hill. Fortunately c:geo knows exactly where I want to go.
Then I wandered into the open into the nearby paddock to get a clear view of the GPS satellites to load the coordinates into the GPS as I assumed the phone wouldn't oblige me under the trees. I crossed into the trees 30m out from GZ and followed the GPS. Then it decided to turn itself off despite fresh batteries.
I needn't have worried as c:geo took me close enough (<2 m away ) for the hint to be obvious. From there it was an easy find.
The swag is looking a bit sad, as it's getting damp and hence, mouldy. TNLNSL. Over six months between finds. Another one!

Saw several fantails at GZ ... but alas we didn't find the cache, despite searching and widening the area. Still no find in half an hour.

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

Parked at the camping spot. Nice relaxed walk in the morning. Found the cache quickly with the GPS working well here. Thanks for hiding the cache!

Found 4pm
Day one of our Manawatu Road Trip.
Decided to aim for caches we had missed on our last 2 trips.
Caches spread over a large area but managed to get most of our target.
Sorry but as our cache collect was big, paste and copy had to be our option.
Thanks to the CO's for all these cache placements. SLTFTC

Out with Fapandgap and Squirrel nutcase for a weekend adventure.
Tftc.

With Gap (of Fap and Gap), and Mr Davidson (Davidson clan)... The weather was much improved, and it looked like we were heading for a cracker day. Our cache planning took on a bit of form as we spied a rather large 'S.H.I.E.L.D' on the horizon... We decided to skirt around the geoart today, and visit any hides still on the geomap. All logs were signed with our first name initial - BGH...

We have covered a lot of ground today for the sake of a few caches... At least the geomap looks great! We're not sure how this cache was positioned originally. All of the described effort to approach ground zone seems meaningless when one can gain direct entry from the roadside... A quick find. TFTC.

(# 4670). I cannot believe it is 568 days since this was last found. Went for a walk across the bridge. Didn't do the loop walk to get the cache but relied on my GPS to go directly to the GZ. Now for the challenge as the coords were bouncing around in the trees and there were plenty of placed to hide the container. Took a systematic search and eventually found the well covered container. Walk back on the loop track rather chuffed with myself and talked to the Fantail's flying near me. Everything in order. TFTC

This was always going to be a bit of a caching trip in the company once again of HKCB. Having though about it and done a fair bit of planning over the past couple of weeks this was a chance for a reasonable clean out of an area that we don't normally get to. So with families in mind, rather than setting out on the Friday evening we left home at 2am on the Saturday morning to make our way south before either the heat of the day or there was too much traffic on the road.

Some stats for the weekend
- Distance Traveled = 1457 kms
- Petrol = 3 x Fills
- Time Away from Home = 42 hours
- Straight Driving Time = 6 hours
- Sleep = 4 hours
- Caches Found = 250
- DNF's = 3

So after a straight forward drive down here this was the first that we located of what was going to be a very long day, and followed by another very long day.

While I apologize that these are 'copy & paste" logs, I would just like to say thank you to all the CO's that have have put out and maintained these caches for us out of 'non-locals' to find. It was a great weekend and we traveled though some amazing countryside.
A key learning from the weekend was that a Mazda CX5 is not designed to ford rivers.
So thank you for the placement, thank you for the cache.

On a weekend mission with Cats&Dragons, for a bit of a numbers run along the new trails around the Northern Manawatu area, and anything else along the way. As usual these types of trips mean maximizing caching time and minimizing sleep time. So with a 2am start time Saturday morning we left home and headed South, and not getting back home til 8.30pm Sunday night. Some numbers for the trip as I know we all like caching stats are:
* 1450km traveled.
* 286 caches found (192 on Saturday, 94 on Sunday) with only 3 DNF's
* 4 hours sleep
* With a 3 hour each way drive to the Caching area, so about 32 hours of caching in the 42 hours we were away at an average of nearly 9 caches per hour, this isn't including stopping for fuel and coffee!!!

So a huge thanks to all the CO's for the placements, and for the reason to see some more of our wonderful country, we saw some pretty amazing places. Sorry for the copy and paste logs. We signed the log books HKCD, or HKCBC&D.

I think we took the short route to the cache, as we parked within 40m of GZ. Took a good hunt to find this cache, after wandering around checking all possible spots thinking about the hint it evenutally made sense, and once I'd adjusted my search area, it was quickly uncovered. Glad to get this find, oh and yes we saw Fantails.

What a gorgeous place so many native birds about all singing. Definitely worth and stop and wander around. Thank you so much for sharing this location with us. GPS took us straight to the cache Fav point from us.

DNF this one

No luck for me today. Lost the track fairly quickly once into the bush. No matter, enjoyed my walk through the bush tailed by 6 fantails enjoying the bugs in my wake. Beautiful spot both bush and river, terrifying bridge

GPS had me going in circle. Than decided to put my geo ninja brain into action until victory was mine. Tftc

Heading to Feilding and grabbing some caches on the way. Had to head down this road as there are three caches down here. Parked up and enjoyed stretching my legs making my way to GZ. Figured I was close so wandered off the track and headed for the hills as suggested. Some seriously big vines here and some great native trees which I had a look around before rereading the hint and there you go, walked right up to it. Nice spot for a bit cache - TNLNSL.

Thanks for the placement at this great bushwalk Iarekt.

WOW i am so happy to finally be able to log this as found, this was my third attempt, this time with my new shiny GPS - love it. it took me to the general area but it still took me 30 minute of searching but victory is mine ! Picked up the travel bug. Thanks so much for the placement that brought me to somewhere new in my very own back yard.

Lovely place. Dropped a trackable. Hardest bit for me was crossing the bridge lol ... scared of heights. Great place to come. Thanks.

GPS took me straight to it tftc

A nice little walk and a very well named cache. A fantail followed us all the way to the cache.

GPS was all over the place but we enjoyed our stroll and thanks to the good clue, ended up signing the log. Lot of goodies here and deserves more visits.

Enjoyable walk to start the day

We did three GCs in the loop and ended up with the last being almost where we were parked. A lovely spot and a beautifully clean river.
Nothing in or out. TFTC

Funny little patch of forest, nice little walk. Tftc

Great little walk, good cache with lots of treasures, GPS on the phone was a bit unreliable under the trees

Wasn't able to find this one and ran out of time..I will return another day.

found at last.tftc

Bit tricky reception. Take note of hint snf search!

Caching in the MW, on a blustery spring Saturday.
An unknown piece of bush hideaway.
Once we got to GZ, happy for a straightforward find. All in order; log signed, cache safely re-hidden, just as found.
TFTC found with team cacher Sweet P too
The Turtle strikes again!

Needed the clue for this one and even then it took us a while - was further away than we had thought but got there in the end - tftc and bringing us to a lovely area we had not been to before.

Lovely walk in the bush thanks for bringing us to this area TFTC

Nice walk in here with a lot of fantails about. Thanks for the cache.

Discarded the GPS once at GZ and relied on the hint, making for a relatively quick find. TFTC, #6885

another day caching over here ,hard to find even with a gps, cords seem to be out . TFTC

DNF… A fantastic enchanted Fantail Forest, GPS was all over the place so looked at a few likely candidates based on the hint…..still no luck, but well worth the visit, many thanks for bringing us here.

Found at 10 this morning with the help of a torch and a handful of brave fantails that were almost landing on us. It was freezing cold in here this morning and miss and mrs Z did managed to get a bit lost on the way back as the track just blends in with the surroundings! Found a beautiful big tree in the middle. TFTC this gets a FP

Tftc. Nice hide. Very tricky but got there in the end. 28/4/14

Drove very close to it. Co-ords were spot on. Lovely little place. Thanks for bringing me here. TFTC iarekt.

A nice walk and a good find with a bit of searching, TFTC!

Warning! Be careful when finding this cache, the track is quite overgrown and we ended up easily lost off the track and had to find the river to then get back to the bridge. Just a warning for those not as experienced bush walkers, possibly not suited to take children unless you are confident in finding your way back. Happy geocaching all

As warned, the GPS reception was not good so I took the time to understand exactly what the hint was saying. I then proceeded to walk straight to the cache. Netty, Biddy and I enjoyed the walk around the forest. Great stuff.

A great cache. Really enjoyed it.

Nice walk with the rellies. Another one for cafrin.

This was so much fun to find with helbaby7 and my 11 year old son, I freeked out at the swinging bridge, I did not like that! was an awesome walk to find the cache, and we got lost on the way back ended up coming out of the bush three times but we got back to the bridge in the end thank you for an awesome cache we loved it.

Had heaps of fun doing this one. Gps got us to about 10m then i used the hint and found pretty easily. Got a bit lost on the way back but wasnt too hard to find the way again.

Nice walk, and only on the way out did we realise there was another road that gets close by on the same side as the cache. Had to use the clue to find the cache.
Left: a pair of disposable scissors and a pencil.
TFTC Iarekt

1355 While heading South we stopped off for a few caches. This one intrigued us, and even tho there was a lot of bird calls none followed us around. Soon found GZ, and then had to search around for quite a while. Took a rough position, and will add that, it may help.
TNLNSL
Brought through for mileage: "Mineral Mountain (CO)" Green Jeep Travel Bug, 12-12-12 Event, 3 Bros, Aust Light Houses, BEAGLE BIXBY, B 2 B ingot, BROWN BEAR 15, Coin of Danmark, CRDAVIS-Scottish Thistle Geocoin, Fishing Bell TB, GoLeo Travel Bug Dog Tag, Iconic Bridges, land rover TB, Lil' Miss TB, cache critters Baa, Neigh Neddy, and Oink, NZ Mega 2013 GCookie Coin, PAP, Raban, Red Jandal, Rienan TB, Spooky, steben6's DNF Duo - Super Cacher Geocoin, Trakabulldog geocoins, VIRGINia TAG, and trackable shirts.
TFTC Iarekt - a favourite for the experience

A quick diversion on a drive up to AKL vie Palmie. A neat little walk to (approx) GZ, followed by 15 mins scrabbling around until I spotted it, almost blocked by a large fallen branch which also blocks a track (if you have a vivid imagination) up the hill. Coordinates 13 m out today. TFTC

We stopped off here on our way north to overnite. Very quiet with lots of birds. Did the bush walk but was a bit confused as to where the cache was as the clue said "head for the hills", so we did,and it was not there. GPS was no help due to bush coverage, so looked at hint again."apex" hmmmm,and noticed a marker. Headed inland a way,still no help from GPS, and stumbled opon it as I hoped we would. Not well hidden, so you should spot it if you scout around.

Awesome cache tucked away and nice and big left behind a pirate.... Meet two very excited dogs on this walk with owners close behind lucky I'd finished my find.....TFTC...

Nice little afternoon walk with the family. Heard plenty of birds in the forest. Spud Jr loved spotting the next white tags on the trees. Found the cache after a wee search. About to sign the log when I realised that I forgot my pen. A quick run back to the car before returning to finish the mission. TFTC

We walked the track in both directions as it was so beautiful. Found the cache with the help of the hint.

Great bush walk with fantails to keep us company

Found on a rainy day great place to visit on a dry or wet day

Awesome place for a cache - just about missed it TFTC

Got lucky - as mentioned in the hints, GPS reception is very dodgy, so I took a guess at the right spot and found it easy.

The place is still full of fantails, quite pleasant. Looks like a nice spot for a dip in summer too.

This is in a very nice bit of bush we had no idea was out there. Heard lots of fantails overhead and saw a couple of nests. Kids loved the footbridge and Mum and Dad impressed by some very tall trees - maybe Totara and White Pine? Cache had not been found for a long time, but is all o.k. Put container right way up to avoid leaks inside. Log was damp and fallen apart, so put a new log book in there inside plastic bag. Big TFTC - a favourite

Funny that this cache hasn't been found in ages then is found on 2 consecutive days!
It was pleasant in the shade of the trees but didn't see any fantails until after we had found the cache, then one followed us on the return journey for part of the way.
We found the cache out in the open, at the base of a mound, so assume it had rolled out of its hidey hole and rehid it in a likely place (as described in the hint), even though my GPSr was saying GZ was 20m away.
TFTC.

4999. We enjoyed our walk around the forest. Took a little while to home in on GZ, and once there the coords seemed a bit out. TFTC.

Found with RachelsRiffRaff. Always great to meet up with other cachers! A nice spot for a cache in the forest & lots of welcoming fantails. Thanks for bringing us here

Had just parked and another van pulled in front with a familiar logo on the window - and then two familiar faces jumped out - so a tandem effort with Tui's Return & tmann421. A lovely little bush area - Fantails did indeed stop right in front of us to say Hi. Didn't get to enjoy much of it tho' as Mrs RiffRaff got slamdunked onto the steps after hitting a very slippery patch on the steps coming off the bridge (on the bush side). So a BIG HEADS UP to anyone doing this find, especially if its been raining. She was saved major injury by the constant companion of all women - her handbag, the backpack kind. It could have been much worse, given the medication she is on, but only sustained strained muscles in the end. It was a pity we couldn't take the time to enjoy it more.

- praying mantis
- jandal keyring
+ lightup car
+ (much coveted) Buzz Lightyear
SL TFTC

Very nice mid morning stroll in a lovely patch of bush. The cache was out in the open so we put it back in the most obvious place.

Quick and easy find, was not very well hidden could be seen easily so tried to hide it a little better. TFTC.
-Smurf TB +jandal Keyring

This entry was edited by we_are_wallies on Sunday, 22 July 2012 at 07:31:14 UTC.

EtherDad and the Seagnoid are looking for old caches and this was on the way to one.There were only a couple of fantail around, but we could hear lots of them

Lovely walk with Etherlord and little miss Etherlord. On the way back found a route onto a farmers road - thought this might be easier, but realised we would end up hitting the river. Found and followed a little side trail that ended up following the back, cut through the roses - until it got to somewhere where the roses were too thickso ducked off back into the bush where it was clear. This is one of the darkest patches of bush (thus the very clear ground layer) I have ever come across. Nice.

Very easy find with Seagnoid and EtherMiss after an unsuccessful attempt at Alma's Rest.
...Very easy because it was sitting out in the open (not that there would be much muggle activity this far off the track).

Put it back in its obvious hidey hole (as per the hint)

T4TC. we heard a lot of Fantails but only saw a couple

Took a few minutes, no problems in the end.

Found during a drive on a very pleasant autumn day. This was a delightful walk rewarded by a generous sized cache, and yes fantails were everywhere, thanks Iarekt family.

Nice opportunity to head off track. Loved the close encounters with the fantails and neat hiding spot. GPS wasn't much help. TFTC

A quick find after I left the path. TFTC

A smaller tree than expected but easy enough.

Found after a short search with Boxhill, -gonefishing- and Yeetrees on a caching expedition in the area today. The GPS accuracy wasn't all that good under the canopy so we fanned out in different directions and Boxhill made the find. Nice little reserve. Signed log, TFTC!

Out and about caching in the area with agcnz, boxhill and yeetrees, we enjoyed a walk through the bush here. The GPS wasn't too cooperative near gz with the tree canopy overhead, however the cache turned up after a short search. We made it back to the car just before the rain started.
TFTC.

Stopped off for a look while on the way home from Rangiwahai. It took a little while to find, as the GPS reading was thrown out a bit by the tree cover. Just made it back to the car before the heavens opened. TNLN SL TFTC

Came in the back door for this one so not the end for the track for me.

No fantails met us today, but plenty of birdsong and activity high in the trees. GPS of limited help in here. Took Quebec Geocoin. TFTC

Nice fairly quick find at site today between showers of rain. A pleasant walk to area. SL TFTC

What a great day to cache in the Manawatu. Found this one after a very extensive search. We weren't quite sure where the furthermost point of the track actually was. Found the cache in the end after a very enjoyable hunt. The tracks were a little hard to follow today. A lot of fresh leaf litter about, looked like the place had been hit by a hurricane. Nice big cache as a reward for our efforts.

We took a rattl stone gorilla and left The Lord of the Caches GC.

Thanks for a very enjoyable cache Iarekt.

Took us about 20 minutes walking around in circles before we located this 'treasure'. A very cool cache. TFTC!

What a great piece of bush, thanks for bringing me here TFTC Iarekt

Found with kiwi_flyer. We had no GPS so were relying on Google Earth & measurements. I wouldn't have found it without help from kiwi_flyer
Real good camo around container & I loved the fish & the booklet on Corgi's inside the container
TFTC

found with bouncy 79

We set ourselves up for failure on this one. We went late in the day & it was getting pretty dark. Also we don't have a GPS & have just been looking at google earth shots & working out where caches are, which was rather difficult with this one.
Will try again as soon as we can borrow iphone or something

(278) Nice cache in a nice spot in a nice reserve on a nice winter's day.

Topped up cache a bit:
+ fish
+ pony

TFTC

~ Chrispy Twitch and Boots

This entry was edited by Chrispy Twitch on Thursday, 04 August 2011 at 07:02:56 UTC.

In retrospect, we approached this cache from the wrong direction, coming in on Forlong Rd, so didn’t succeed in finding the picnic area. However we found an easy entrance into the forest about 100 metres from the cache, and soon picked up the track. The cache took a while to locate, relying on the hint as the GPS was all over the place. Sadly we didn’t see a single fantail. TFTC

- TB Flederschaf

Just a neat area. Left TB. TFTC

After doing some work in Palmy I managed to get the rest of the day to do some caches around the area before heading home. Arriving near GZ and found a park close to the bridge and then it was a quick walk to the final GZ, found the cache quickly considering my GPS was bouncing all over the place so I started widening my search area and found the cache. What a nice spot for a cache, thanks for bringing me here, TFTC TNLNSL (3246)

TFTC

Nice easy find. TFTC

Good hiding spot :->

A nice family walk.
Saw a few fantails.
Thanks.

Enjoyed the walk to find this one after a vist to the Feildays in Feilding. Cache was left out in the open so hid a little better. NINO. TFTC