Pararaha Point Pa (Auckland) Karekare, North Island, New Zealand
By M@ on 04-Mar-11. Waypoint GC2PNKB

This cache can be reached via the coast without going along the tracks.

Temporarily disabled to support the Waitakere Rahui (http://tekawerau.iwi.nz/node/13), in an effort to prevent the spread of Kauri dieback disease.

We approached this cache with my 8 year old sister - and no swimming gear at all (even though the details said to bring a snorkel). We first walked all the way across the boardwalk to the big dune, and cut across the the swamp there. We were almost at the other side and were only wet to our knees. I said, "who needs a snorkel!" Whoops. I shouldn't have said it. A few seconds later, I almost fell into an area of marsh that looked pretty deep. I stepped in with one foot. It went to my thighs. I said, "It's, " then I lost my balance and fell in completely. After my head came up I said "deep!" We had a good laugh after that. We also almost fell 5 metres into the marsh when we were scrambling over the rocks, too! Finally we were at GZ. Our GPS had frozen for the last few caches but started working again for this cache, and luckily too, so we could find the cache quickly - good because we were cold and it was almost sunset. By the time we got back over the swamp it was sunset, so we pulled out our torches for the last walk up the beach. Our KK adventure was more of an adventure than we thought! TFTC!

P.S. I would definitely recommend going the way that we did. There is a rough path through the reeds, and the deep part I mentioned was only 2 metres wide.

you can only imagine the cacher swear words when.. after a brilliant adventure we had found a nice cheeky way to virtually GZ without to much swimming and remembering there was "gold" to be had here from the mapping prior to the trip, you can only imagine the "words of blue" when for some reason unknown to life on earth( human error!) the coords.. had not made it to the GPS load ... while the muggles accompanying attempted to find a way walking way across the water feature in the style we had become accustomed to.... i took a look around any way.. hoping to spot it.... no luck.. and i had to retire to catch up with the muggles now very wet and giggling ( odd reaction..) .. when i got home i found my " ill have a look any way" track log got with in 10m's ... SON OF A LADY DOG... oh well.. "where shall we go in a fortnight?" has been solved... - we will go sus out that even more creative route we spotted.. again... thanks for the motivation:-)(post script... the even more creative route turned in to hours of soul caressing bush bashing where you move bout a meter every three days...and discover so many cool things you know you will never see again, because you aren't going to be put a cache on it cause you never want to come here again .. kinda of day:-)

One of twenty or so finds during an amazing day out in the Waitakeres today in the company of FMZ, 11hpg11, HKCB, IamMrWalker, Cats&Dragons and our tour guide, Paultaps, on our 15-16km circuit which, with a bit of car shuffling, saw us start off at Odlin’s track, drop into the Parahara gorge, find our way down the stream into Parahara Bay for a bite of lunch before a crazy part-wade, part-swim adventure through the swamps and then wind our way back to Karekare via the lower end of Buck Taylor track, with a few brave souls in the group taking the more direct route up and over Baldy, and then up and over Mt Zion on the the Zion Hill track.

As usual, Cats&Dragons had done most of the planning for the day’s caching mission, this time aided and abetted by Paultaps, and I was just naively following along. I’ve long since learnt not to ask too many questions when missions like this are being planned, other than maybe getting a rough idea of where we're going. I’ve found it better, with my somewhat cautious nature, not to know exactly what crazy adventure I’ve signed up to although I know from past experiences that a day with this caching crew means I’m going to get muddy, wet, tired, sore, covered in enough scratches and bruises for muggle friends to wonder if I’ve been attacked and that I’ll have a massive amount of fun in the process. Today was no exception: explored so many awesome spots that I would never have visited on my own, with such amazing scenery, fantastic company and a lot of laughs along the way. A day I won’t forget in a long time. Good times!

As is becoming the norm on our group caching trips, we chose an abbreviation of our caching names to save on log-book space and, if we’re honest, coz it’s also part of the fun debating which sequence of everyone’s initials to use: finally settled on 1HICK for the motley crew from the mighty Tron plus or minus an F, as and when required for our brave Auckland accomplice.

Of all the finds today, this was one of the most insane and, like others have noted, a cache that I would have ignored if I'd been alone. But, with a healthy dose of peer pressure, we all headed off, opting to squelch through the reeds and mud for as far as possible, and then a short swim. The swamp trudge was hilarious - so many different styles and techniques as to how best to cover the terrain but all of which had the same result - mud, mud and more stinking mud! The short swim was surprisingly welcome at the end of the squelch; not a big distance but still impressed that the non-swimmers in the group managed to get across, aided and abetted with improvised flotation devices, as you'd expect with caching ingenuity With lots of eyes and hands searching today, it wasn't long till the cache was in hand, signed & safely returned... an insane cache that was a lot of fun but oh so nice to be back on more solid ground ... TFTC

This cache was found on another memorable 'mission' in the company of fellow Hamiltonians 11hpg11, HKCB, CatsandDragons, Kiwi69 and Aucklanders Funkymonkeyzone and Paultapps. We signed the logs (F)1HICK to save on log space and as its become a custom for us to try and come up with anachronisms for our trips together.

This trip came about after Zorgon told 11hpg11 and I about one of his most memorable/ favorite days Geocaching in this area. A suggestion here and there and before you know it C&D had organised us to replicate that trip and had expanded on it. I was new to the area and was blown away by how amazing it was. I really enjoyed the variety in the tracks, views and locations. It was a long, challenging day in which we collected in excess of 20 caches, 10 of those T4 (or higher) and it took me out of my comfort zone which also made it one of the most memorable. Experiences like these are best shared and I was lucky enough to do so with a great bunch of people.

How did I get talked into this one? Full of bravado HKCB, K69 and I lead the charge weaving our way through the mud and reeds. Some helpful navigation tips from Paultapps ensured a short swim which was wise since we were all wearing hiking boots which felt like weights attached to our legs. Cache was found in a minute or two, we had a quick rest and then charged off again. Watching 11hpg11 try and pull herself from the water was well worth the stench.

Finally. Have always wanted to come back with the kids as figured they'd enjoy the swim and they float better than I do anyway. Had to oversell the picturesque pristine qualities of the river to be swum to get a least one of the GreenBlat jnr's to join today's expedition.

We met up with a bunch of fugitives from the Tron who had fun coming down the Piranha gorge and were craving for the taste of swamp-meal under the skilful guidance of experienced bog-wrangler PaulTaps. They proved excellent company and moral support to take the plunge and complete the swim. I know the Waikato is low-lying and attracts it's fair share of rain but I've seldom seen a wallow-fetish to that degree

Glad to get this one ticked off and even gladder that we decided to head up the gorge afterwards for a plunge in the clear pools to 'freshen-up'

Fave point. T4TC

This entry was edited by Greenblat on Saturday, 24 January 2015 at 08:54:57 UTC.

It has only been a couple of weeks since I was last in the area collecting a few other caches so back here once again to see what else we can find in the way of small plastic boxes in the Bush. This time we are caching as F1HICKS being made up of FMZ, Paultaps, 11HPG11, kiwis69, HKCB, iammrwalker, Cats&Dragons.

This was always going to be a long and interesting day, possibly due to the many little sidebars that we took to find other caches nearby as it seemed a shame to pass them up. By the end of the day we had covered approx 15-16kms through some very different landscapes than what we normally find in the Waikato.

It was finally nice to be out in the open again and this time to collect one that we had passed up last time we were here a fortnight previously. Having met senior and junior Greenblat hiding at Room with a view we proceeded to swamp wollow or way to this one. Not being a strong swimmer any longer and an improvised floatation device I made it across to see the log. Heading back to slightly firmer land I couldn't help but make kiwis69 scream by touching her leg and she thinking it a very very large eel. hehe
A very nice location a little off trail and a great spot in the Parahaha Valley. After swimming here I was glad of the clear pools later on.

Thanks for the placement

I was meant to be elsewhere, but this trip had been planned for a while. I almost pulled out in favour of race team responsibilities, but really glad I joined the team of 11HPG11, HKCB, iammrwalker, Cats&Dragons, kiwis69 and Paultaps. Had not been out for a good long hike in quite a while so this circuit definitely took its toll on my legs - not so much on the day, but 3 days afterwards I'm still feeling it in my thighs.

Our route took us down Odlins track to the Pararaha Stream where we turned off and headed downstream stopping off at various caches along the way. We stopped for lunch at the campground at the bottom and then swam across the swamp to the Pararaha Point Pa cache. Then, while some went for Baldy, the rest of us went up the Zion Hill track and spent a while chilling out at Zion's Pool where we waited for the others to join back up. From there we continued up to Mt Zion, and then onwards down to Karekare.

To be honest I never thought I would actually attempt this cache, purely because of the need for swimming through that horribly stinky swamp. But today was the day, and as part of team F1 Hicks, and with my dry bag inflated up as a bouyancy aid (not really needed as it turned out) and GPS attached to my waist in another little dry bag, we conquered the swamp. We opted for the mushy spongy wade out to the closest point for the shortest swim, and then just a 10m swim. Felt very self conscious and sorry for all the hikers we encountered as we continued on as we absolutely reeked from the swamp. Very very glad for the soak in Zion's Pool a bit later to get some of the stench off! TFTC!!!

Another Hamilton mission, with some crazy keen cachers. Today I teamed up with FMZ, myself, HKCB, Iammrwalker, Catsanddragons, Kiwis69 to form the team F1HICK. We were also kept company by the wonderful guide/guinea pig Paultapps.

Isn't it amazing what peer pressure does? Don't think I would have been too keen to attempt this one solo or without the large group to keep the spirits up while wading through that horrible horrible mud and reed. Was greatful to actually get to the water where progress was a little faster. The dry bag flotation devices was handy and saved exerting more energy that required. A quick rest stop and then we all logged the cache before diving back into the glorious swampmeal.

Out for another mission with 11HPG11, Kiwis69, Cats&Dragons, IamMrWalker, with Paultaps and FMZ. Funnily this mission was devised when we were last up here taking on multiple high terrain caches earlier in the month. All up it was a fantastic day out, about 15km's covered, a few stream swims and a swamp dealt with and a summit conquered, so the beer at the end of the day was well earned. The logs were signed F1HICK.

Had been looking forward to this one. Followed Paultaps threw the swamp as he knew a easier route which meant more reed bashing and not so much swimming. We managed to find a way that only required a 10m swim, void of the nasty looking swampmeal I had seen nearer the track. K69, MrWalker and me were the first to cross and were out and running to GZ, while the other's were still swimming across. Cache was found by K69. Another neat adventure for a awesome day out.

A find here was the goal of the day as it was the last Difficulty/Terrain for us to find. I went prepared for a swim and a thorny walk but not prepared for how far I need to wade through reeds and duck scum to get to the water. However once I found the water (remember I am only hobbit size so the mud was up to the hips just before the water) I was relieved to make faster progress. Got to the other side and then had a hunt for the cache.... found it almost by accident but found nevertheless. Retraced my steps, swim and mud slog to be congratulated by Mr P (who was dry and clean). A favourite point for all the adventure.

After getting the first to find at Ohaka Dike Swarm I decided to add another wilderness adventure to my hike. I decided to essentially hug the point as I made my way back through the swamp. This wasn't going to work initially but eventually I was able to get across to the headland. Making my way to GZ was no easy matter and required climbing and at times hanging on for dear life. At ground zero the hint helped me make a quick find. The cache was very wet and so was the log-I did manage to sign however. Not liking the prospect of backtracking as falling into the swamp from height seems suboptimal, I decided to earn that swimming attribute. I got the distance down to 50m or less by walking out into the Raupo. Of course my bag was still with me and the distance was too great to throw it over. I decided to use it as a flotation device. Which was fine, but while I had a 2l sistema for my electronics I was nix any dry sacks for my other sundries. Oh we'll, them the breaks. Swim went off with out a hitch, the water was cold but not unbearable. I had just finished drying out my gear as best I could when a heavy shower hit. Not a problem I'm already soaked! Time to head home. Cheers for a fine finish to an epics day caching!

Reperio at 1510

I arrived into Auckland early in the week for the upcoming NZ Mega event, and whilst the entire week was fantastic, the walk along the Pararaha Gorge to Karekare Beach today was by far the highlight of the trip. I met up with the rest of the walking party at approximately 0800, and we set off shortly after.

During our lunch break earlier, it was discussed whether the group were keen on doing this one, and while there were a few ums and ahs about it, I don't think anyone of us was leaving here without it. After trudging through the swamp, it was sink or swim time...and fortunately all of us swam. I expected the water to be much colder than it was, and with the wind howling through, I expected it to be pretty chilly on the other side...but in both cases I was quite warm. This was certainly one of the more memorable geocaching experiences I've had, made even more so with a great bunch of people to do it with.

Thanks to Paultaps, Greenblat and evilno9 for organising and leading the group.

Gratias tofska.

Found with the Pararaha gorge walk group. Had a lot of fun finding these caches, and walking in the interesting terrain.
TFTC

1510 While 'we' were supposed to be on a half day walk we just couldn't stop!
10 keen walkers and cachers as group is a lot of fun. Having come from a variety of backgrounds we were having a blast on the Pararaha Gorge walk, and it certainly warrants the Terrain rating. We took a few different routes through the marsh. I was first over there from our small group, so no surprise that I found it. A truly amazing spot you have here.
It was full of water, but the log was just damp. Dried it out as best as possible, but it probably needs a bit of TLC and some sunshine.
Couldn't leave a Correct Site Marker - surgical marking pen, it wouldn't fit, but the coordinates were good.
Brought through for mileage: 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, PAP, Rienan TB, Spooky, steben6's DNF Duo - Super Cacher Geocoin, Trakabulldog geocoins, and trackable shirt.
TFTC tofska, and for the experience not just of the day, but for a lifetime! Favourited

25/10/2013 5:51:00 PM
3401
My mega NZ MEGA 2013 Trip!! Split into two halves - first, the journey up, and then the second half was the actual MEGA time.

This was the second half. After relocating a rental car to get up here, I now had 6 days in Auckland.
Friday was spent on the Pararaha Gorge guided walk. An epic as day out, finding some extremely epic and fun caches!! I love these higher terrain ones!!

Another cache that back when I lived here, I saw, and thought, wow... that would be an epic spot to visit! Except since I usually cached on my own - and still usually do, it was not really a good idea to try do something like that!!
So was pretty stoked to be able to find this one - along with the other ones along this walkway - if you can call it that -

Really was not keen to do the swim, as it was so cold and gross, but hey, got there in the end!!!!!! And happy to have done it...

Sorry about the not as epic logs - but otherwise I would still be logging till Christmas - and that's Christmas 2014 I mean! Haha.

TFTC!!

A definite highlight of the Pararaha Gorge mega group tramp for me!!! I love water, and even though this one was not too appetising, the swim was very refreshing after a good bush bash - I just wish it was after all the rest of the swamp walking we did for a bit of a clean (??). The water can't be that bad after all since I survived in spite of a good gulp when tunfisk jumped in next to me [B)] Thanks for placing a challenging cache!!!

The water was far from beautiful and I was a bit worried about what was in it. Decided to go for it. I found out how hard it is swimming with boots boots but it was really fun. TFTC!

I am logging this find as part of Rambler's Reward Challenge Cache (GC2XBA7).

I joined last minute the Mega Group Heading out to Pararaha Gorge/Karekare Beach. And oh boy did I learn a lot today. E.g.
Walking the whole day with new & watery shoes is not bad, I am not afraid of heights, I gained hands on experience about rock climbing and that swimming in a very cold stream could lead to hypothermia. Thanks to Paul and Alan for organising and thanks to the whole group helping me along the way...

The group full of excitement sprinted fully closed to the starting point of the 100m swim. I had a harsh argument with myself and off I went as well and jumped into the water. Uhhhhhh soooo cold... Had a heavy breathing moment after the swim to win some warms back and power before signing the logbook. I thankfully decided to take the shorter swim back. Great experience. Would I do it again…. Hell yeahhh (but preferred in summer ). TFTC

This entry was edited by alpenmilch80 on Friday, 25 October 2013 at 18:41:17 UTC.

I've been waiting for a chance to do this one for a while, and with the Mega Event group all feeling keen enough to give it a go decided that there was no reason not to put it off any longer and try my luck in the swamp.

Definitely helped having some previous finders to follow and the eventual crossing point wasn't as bad as I was expecting, so in I went and out I came straight away as I decided I wasn't having any of that.

Really didn't want to leave this one alone though so I found a slightly different launch point and splashed my way across to where the cache was just being signed.

Back across to somewhat firmer ground without any hassles and feeling pretty pleased for finally knocking this one off.

Always enjoy a cache that pushes you mentally as much as anything else, TFTC

After an aborted attempt on Thursday where we tried bushbashing along the edge of the peninsula from the Pararaha shelter and failed to make good progress, I returned today via Whatipu walk cache first, and then continued picking my way through the swamp to the end of the headland. Then it was a reasonably easy scramble through gorse and flax along the water line to the cache. Yay! Great to get it. Not wanting to back track all the way through the swamp I opted to go straight across the water. It was a chestdeep wade at one point but by far the easiest and quickest way to the cache. TFTC!!

Arrived here with the rest of the Waitangi walk-about crew. Master Jacksonz wisely decided to let Mr Jacksonz head off across the swamp to do this one. Stretch showed us where to start, which was with waist deep swamp wading. It turns out we would have been better off further east on the bullrushes, which was only knee deep (if careful), as I found out on the way back. The width of the swim looked daunting with tramping boots, and it looked like it should be possible to avoid the swim by heading further west. Swamp wading, and rush hopping got me within 2m of solid ground. There was one small reed growing in the middle, so I figured it would have some ground under it somewhere which should get me to the far bank. Good theory, but there was no ground beneath it, but my momentum put me within reach of the far bank, so I was able to stop my descent, and haul myself out having only gone under to chest deep.

It was hard work getting around the edge of the swamp through the gorse to get to GZ. By the time I got there, the find had already been made. Decided to do the swim to get back - it's not that far ~6m or so at one particular point. Luckily, found the car-alarm-remote-and-keys in my pocket before setting out, so popped them in the ziplock bag with my GPS/phone. Hmm. Didn't trust the ziplock bag for full immersion, so put them on top of my head, underneath my hat. Swam across side-stroke. Very hard work with tramping boots on. Was glad to be hauling myself out onto the swampy-goo on the far side. Last out of the water, but first back to dry land by sticking to the bullrushes, rather than re-tracing our steps like the others did.

Thanks for a super-challenging cache. And we still had ahead of us a gruelling 2hr+ walk down the beach in the hot, hot sun.

Found with the Gibbons track crew from the Waitangi at Whatipu event.
When I tell my friends that I walked for ages, crawled through a smelly swamp and swam a pond, all in the aid of signing a bit of paper in a little box - well - it's a good thing they love me!
Got across and found the cache ok. Laying back and soaking up the sunshine while signing the log, with comments of "the mad one's were the one's who didn't come and were now standing on the hot sand dune waiting. However after swimming back it was then trying to get back throught he swamp that the legs began to really protest.
Definately one of those caches that although at the time of doing it, it isn't all enjoyment; however it's great to be able to say 'yes' I did that. Gets a favourite point from me. TFTC

This is were getting smelly was essential. A group of 5 of us made the crawl/swim across the swamp and stream. Even Jacksonz got his boots wet this time! It was a challenge, and by the end of it, I was physically exhausted. However, it was a good one and just gave me a taste of what real geocaching can be. I have to admit, despite exhaustion, I was extremely pleased to have made the effort to get this one. TFTC!

Found during the Waitangi at Whatipu event with Arachnaphobe, Helefant, Jacksonz and mike-miss. We were shown a good starting point for our attack on the cache by stretch.kerr. We made our way in crawling into the swamp, sinking, and climbing out multiple times over. We finally reached the main body of water and swum over towards GZ which offered a refreshing cool down. After searching the wrong initial place for the cache it was soon quickly located, and once signed we got to repeat the whole rigmarole to get back to where we started from, albeit a bit slower. Despite getting complete soaked and swamped it was well worth the effort. Thanks!

Found as part of the Waitangi Campout walk via Gibbons/Muir/Pararaha Stream/Beach loop. This was my "must do" cache of the trip! We all made our way over the dunes to the swamp edge to ditch our bags for the swim. I had come prepared with a floatation device but decided that it wasnt needed. We all waded through the reeds to the waters edge and took the plunge into the murky, stinky water for the swim across to GZ. The swim wasnt as bad as i was expecting and once on the other side we promptly found the cache. Glad there was a pen inside the cache as the one in my pocket failed to work. All in all an epic cache and one of the stand out ones of the weekend!! Loved it and definitely worth a favourite!! TFTC!

I'll admit to putting this one off till the weather was kind and the water hopefully warmer and decided now was probably as good as it was likely to get.
I had decided long ago what my modus operandi was to be so today set off with the unusual cargo of flippers, life jacket and drybag.
Enjoyed the walk to the launch point as we always do, didn't follow the Hillary trail but stuck to our usual route higher up the dunes. On arrival spent a bit of time getting a bearing on where the cache was, as I didn't want to take any electronics across. Stashed a pair of sandals and a pen in the drybag, kitted up made an entry a bit further to the west than the waypoint, which while a bit tricky to get in, made it a shorter swim to my out point directly below GZ.
As I changed from flippers to sandals noticed I had drawn a crowd of observers on the sand dune on the other side. Bounded through the buffalo grass the short distance to the cache and soon had it in hand.
Reversed the proceedure and headed back to a waiting Mrs Sp8, and on exiting the water again noticed I had drawn another crowd of observers.
All up, with a little planning a fairly straight forward cache, but being that little different makes the sense of achievement and enjoyment so much greater. Bring on the next challenge!

TFTC

We decided on a little adventure today. We drove out to Karekare and approached Pararaha Point Pa along the beach. It took us a little while to find our way through the sand dune and swamp maze to the waypoint for the start of the "swim". Eventually we followed a circuitous quad bike track (with only 2 short water crossings) that took us to the Hillary Trail, and we were able to cover the last 400m much more directly.
One of us donned his flippers (which were so old we resorted to taping them to his ankles), and he then walked like a drunken duck across the reeds to the open water. Once there he launched himself off on one of the kid's boogie boards, and paddled off towards the far shore, which he reached impressively quickly. After hauling himself out at the other end he changed his footwear and set off to find the cache. Mrs Kiwicouple, waiting at base camp, used some binoculars to watch his antics from afar.
The search took just long enough for a little panic to set in, before the hide was spotted. A great relief, and doubly so to find a pen in the cache, as we had forgotten to bring one with us.
Thankfully the flippers survived the return journey across the "lake", but might now be ready for retirement. We followed the Hillary Trail back to Karekare Beach - the very occasional patch of shade was very welcome on this scorching hot day.
Thanks for the fun adventure, and sense of achievement - and for filling a new Difficulty/Terrain square for us. Earns a Favourite from us.

# 5754

This cache is counting towards the Rambler's Reward Challenge Cache in Dunedin.


This entry was edited by kiwicouple on Sunday, 13 January 2013 at 10:37:11 UTC.

Cache 5 on my solo Waitakere mission. Having come down the Pararaha valley from Lovers Ensuite and Kauri Log jam, I found an appropriate (or should I say least inappropriate) spot to get across to GZ. ditched my pack, and everything but my shoes and my undies on dry sand, and walked to what looked like the smallest gap in the swamp. I had thoughts of taking a running leap, but had visions of utter failure as my leaping leg sinks into the swamp, robbing me of all power and I end up bellyflopping. I decided to take the gentle approach and lower myself in. I could actually see the bottom, but never did touch it. A couple of breast-strokes (being careful to keep my head out of the mank), and I was across the other side, but I still had about 30m of reeds to crawl/walk through. Once on dry land, I dodged the gorse and quickly found the cache. I had memorised the spoiler photo, and left my GPS with my clothes and pack (the rubber seal around the USB port is a bit dodgy).

The return trip was much the same as the outward journey, except I'd pushed the reeds flat and was now trying to retrace my path in the opposite direction, so those reeds were now trying to (succeeding at) stabbing me in the face and chest. I ended up having to take a slightly different path and cross the stream at a slightly wider point, but at this stage it didn't really matter - I was going to get wet up to my chest again regardless. Once back at my pack and clothes, I was off to find Whatipu Walk.

Came in from Whatipu end...not recommended...stayed the night with friends. Now...how to get out dry?

Editing this log now we are home and dry. A great adventure!
We walked in from Whatipu, intending to stay the night at Pararaha campground. However after the Whatipu Caves, we bushwhacked through the swamps and rocks along the base of the cliffs and hills. This involves a lot of getting wet and smelly through stagnant water, climbing over rocks and pushing through gorse and long grass. Not for the faint hearted or unfit...

Having misjudged the amount of time required due to the toughness of the terrain, plus losing an hour when we unsuccessfully tried to detour back out to the beach (virtually impenetrable) we ended up reaching ground zero with less than half an hour sunlight, so set up camp there.

A great night under canvas (ensure you bring plenty of water if attempting this, the swamp water don't look too nice!) and before breakfast the next morning had the cache in hand. Exiting the site was another matter...

We could see the dunes and track less than 200m away, but due to having a lot of electronic stuff - cameras, phones, GPS etc. - we didn't want to make the swim which was deep enough that we couldn't touch bottom. So we went up...over the hill. Not recommended unless you are confident with climbing and with bush whacking. There were some nervous moments, and plenty of times when only option is through gorse. Watch out for cliffs on other side. This took us two and a half hours to get over and back down to the stream at a point we could throw packs over. Even from the pa site there are no discernible tracks that we could find.

All good fun and this why you get a favourite point from me!

This entry was edited by bigfella3 on Sunday, 11 November 2012 at 01:31:35 UTC.

If it wasn't for a hole in my D/T grid I would not have been here today.

In preparation for this cache and not being the most proficient of swimmers I decided to purchase a couple of aids in the shape of a plastic lilo and a set of fins from the local Rebel Sports store. Armed with these and a change of clothes I set off for Karekare before the weather turned nasty today.

It was a nice day for walking, cloudy and a gentle breeze. The walk down to the suggested Trailhead went uneventful. I had noticed that there are now Orange marker posts in place marking the Ed Hillary Track. I unpacked and inflated the lilo, put an old pair of sneakers in a plastic bag, and the GPS, glasses and pencil in another. Now it was time to brave the chilly water. Everything went without a hitch until I tried to get up on the bank. That water was deep - couldn't reach the bottom. Finally managed to get myself up out of the water. Wasn't an easy task when I'm not used to wearing fins. I managed to replace the fins with the sneakers and it was off through the rushes to drier ground. As the breeze was starting to get up I decided to deflate the lilo. Just as I was about to pull the plug out I noticed the lilo didn't feel as tight as it was when I started off but I put this down to my hot breath cooling down in the chilly water. So I carefully placed the lilo with the fins on top in a place that was out of the wind. Then it was off to the cache.

When I was about 85m away I noticed that the GPS had powered down. Damn, forgot to change the batteries before setting off. There were a fresh set across the water where I had left my pack. I powered it back up again but it died immediately. I thought I would then leave it until I was at the GZ before powering it up again. This would allow the batteries get a bit of surface charge back into them. Never mind, I had remembered the hint so I paced off the 85m or thereabouts where I powered it up again and after managing to turn off the backlight I found that I was 5m away so I searched the nearby cave and nothing. But it was in the next cave I searched. So I signed the log and returned to where I had left the lilo and fins.

After getting a bit of air into the lilo I noticed that there was two holes that had been punctured into the vinyl. Damn, what was I to do? Luckily the pillow was in a separate compartment and was still inflated. So with that tucked under my upper chest it was back to the other side and safety.

Boy. what an adventure. This cache gets a favourite from me only because it got my old ticker going a bit faster and also I don't think I'll ever forget this cache.

This cache is counting towards the daywalks's Rambler's Reward Challenge Cache in Dunedin.

Cheers for the cache, M@.

This entry was edited by Tufty on Wednesday, 07 March 2012 at 22:19:52 UTC.

Wow, what a slog! And a swim too. Me and my 11 yo son concur that this is perhaps the most exciting cache find yet! Epic journey! Thanks to the cache owner for the backstory and for setting this one up. Also, appropriate to vist a pa cache on Waitangi weekend.

Took the nudibranch geocoin (TB28AGM) TB to help it along on its coastal cache journey. I know nudibranches move slowly, but this one has rested for too long here. Left a US quarter and a cowboy.

The swamp crossing was an adventure. There is no easy way across. We noticed that the water gets deeper near cattails. Managed a chest deep wade across on the way there, then took the "open" water swim option on the way back. Shorter, but wetter.

Cheers,
Paultaps and Son

This entry was edited by Paultaps on Saturday, 04 February 2012 at 09:01:02 UTC.

Wow...this cache such a shame that we got so close to the cache but yet so far away!!!

We tried all the possible routes that we could follow (3 actually) but all of them lead us to the bit where we just have to swim. We decided that probably next time we will bring in some helping aid.

Luckily there was the fresh water from the sea to wash off the swampy water/smell from the shoes....

We shall be back next time.....

Out today having a crack at this cache with SnakeLion, Matt & Jax, Little Redhood, & RosMar. We weren't totally prepared to take the plunge for the 100m swim and the aerial photos suggested a couple of potential wading routes. Although we got frustratingly close by about 10m to terra-firma on the cache side at one point, this cache will require a re-visit. There may be other routes but the swim seems the most atrrtactive at this point. Totally awesone day out though.

Not a DNF as we didn't actually get to GZ. We did get frustratingly close and also disgustingly dirty and smelly wading through the swamp. Amazing fun though. If it had been a warmer / sunnier day then maybe the swim would have been more attractive. In retrospect that was by far the easiest option. Like Greenblat says we will be back for this one tooled up for the job.

Walking around in the smelly swamp with a fail result of trying to get where the cach is located! Good efforts to my team mates.

A bit of splash to get to the cache! Cheers for this one mate! Nothing out, TB in!

Couldn't resist the combination of leaving work a bit early, the beautiful weather and a probable FTF! Zoomed out to Whatipu and shot up the old coastline (hopefully) collecting EarthCache The Ballroom "Te Ana Ru" on the way. Spent the next 1.25 hours enjoying spectacular scenery whilst trying to dodge as much gorse and bramble as possible...and of course wading (waist deep) through lots of swampy bits.

Got to GZ and found the cache without any problems...and with an empty logbook

Chilled out for a while and enjoyed early evening at a truly awesome location (whilst consuming some much needed fuel). Time to escape...dropped the pack into a large plastic bag, inflated it, and then into the Pararaha Stream for the 100m swim to the adjacent sand dune. Quick change of clothes on the other side (hmmm...what's that smell...oh, it's me [xx(]) and then headed for the sea. The jog down the beach was pretty uneventful which was just perfect; could definitely be doing worse things on a Tuesday evening.

Thanks for the cache tofska! I'll try and upload some photos soon.

Published

Dropping off C3PO