Mountain Belle (Auckland) Mt Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
By Lostcourse on 13-Mar-11. Waypoint GC2Q597

A good run, but all good things must come to an end. Time to put the Belle to rest. Thanks to all the visitors!

Tried to get this as it is a bit lonely but the item at wp1 is not working and the Tott required is not some thing that I carry in the caching bag. Had a good hunt based on the written description but hard with the gorse along the fence line. Dnf for us today.

Wp1 no longer working as intended sorry, and did not have anything to fix it.

found but needs some maintenance

The local bullocks were busy feeding their faces so popped in and grabbed the cache. TFTC

Lovely to finally nail this one !
Don't know why I haven't done it before !
Only prob was the bell didn't ring....probably needs new batteries ....
Thanks !

CC2XL and I had so much fun finding this. Definitely gets a favourite from us. Thanks so much for your efforts to place this!!!!

The mission of today was to grab a few caches with specific attributes for my current geolicence. This was he fifth cache of the day and a nice quick multi. Love the idea.. just needs new batteries I think the cows were wondering what we were up to lol! TFTC!

Dropped Mrs & Mini McArgister off at the markets at Ellerslie and headed off with Micro to do something I enjoy a lot more. Needed a multi for the HQ mission but with Micro strapped to my chest and limited time I needed it to be a reasonably quick one. An earlier check with the CO about parking and access helped make this doable. WP1 found easily and after pacing out the instructions, we found the final too. Thanks for the advice and for the quick multi! Fun concept.

Team selfie

Poor old Belle has lost her voice, but she gets a favourite point from me anyway because it's such a cool idea. #72

Up from Christchurch and staying nearby so popped out for a walk to find this before dinner. I had an idea what it would be and I was right, but unfortunately mechanism was not working. But I was still able to find the final without it. TFTC!

Good find!!!! Nice easy multi/cache. Even if we had to go through the wet paddock!!!!

So apparently I found this cache way back on 21/01/2012 with my daughter and never logged it. This is one of two caches on this mountain that I have left to find and I wanted to finish the job this morning. As soon as I opened up the log though I found my previous signature with my daughter's right below. I had figured that the deja vu I was feeling was just a glitch in The Matrix, but apparently not...crazy! So yeah, found then and found again now...still as fun this time around! TFTC!

Love this cache!! Although I kept a firm eye on the moo's the entire time being somewhat afraid. Had a blonde moment nd wandered round in circles before having that aha moment. TFTC

Pleasant walk in the park today.
All the bulls were at the other end of the field and I was wearing green. Soon had WP1 and took the easy option. A favourite here as though I did not get the system to work, it is a great concept. Tftc

Out for some cache finds after a day at work with No. 1 Son, it's a great way for him to burn off some energy after being quiet all day.

First approach proved to be from a direction neither No. 1 Son nor I could reasonably use to access way point one so I went to to the map to get my bearings.

Our second approach was spot on. WP1 was quickly located. We had a little excursion, as I interpreted the information provided literally. A short rain shower that No. 1 Son thought might substitute for his evening ablutions (not so) and we were back to WP1 for the application of a little common sense.

Final located and log signed. An excellent idea for a multi. Thank you.

Out with MissK1103 after being at work all day. I didn't want to find the cache the first way we tried but I enjoyed running up and down when we went the other way. It rained and I tried to catch the rain drops in my mouth for a drink. Thank you.

A few of us got together to plan our new years last night and of course the talk turned to caching. I had my eye on this and another on the mountain as I needed the terrain ratings to complete the licence I am currently working on. NZ Travellers were keen as they didn't have either so a plan was hatched to meet up this morning. Then as we arrived UncleSamNZ decided to join us and NewlynFam came along a little later so it turned into a bit of a party up the mountain.

Unfortunately the technology didn't work for us today but we still managed to make the find.

Thanks for the cache.

Out with keylev, laval and some friends. Had lots of fun up this mountain today.

Thanks for the fun and cache!!

Out with keylev, cragger and some friends.

Thanks for the fun and cache!!

Had been to an evening with a few fellow cachers when the idea was muted to do a few caches on Mt Wellington. How could I refuse as we needed these to clean the area up.

Headed here with Keylev, UncleSam, Cragger and Laval and Newlynfam.

Found WP 1 however there was a little issue meaning that the final couldn't be found in the intended way. However there was additional info and we soon made the final find.

Pity we had issues as the idea is awesome.


TFTC

I had originally said no to joining the caching party made up of keylev, cragger, laval, NZTravellers and UncleSamNZ, as I had a 10km walk scheduled with my workmates earlier that morning. However, I finished earlier than thought, so thought I would go and meet the others, as I had a couple of hours spare.
This was the second one we found today, and was a nice easy multi, despite the previously-mentioned technology issues! Glad to get the smiley though- TFTC!

Did this the hard way. I came up from the adjacent walkway up the steep bank, and had to climb the fence. Then back again before I realised it wasn't necessary to get to WP1.The belle is still resting. Following the instructions I wandered around for a while without much sucess. Then had a good think and came up with the cache. Very original. TFTC.

Love the concept but (like others have noted) Belle was too tired to play today. But still very quickly had the cache in hand and signed and with this Multi, I have now completed Stage 2 of the GIO Licence Challenge. TFTC

Great concept however like others we discovered that Belle had no energy today. Despite this we had the extra info we needed to locate Belle.

Loved the concept, & we found it without too much trouble. Unfortunately some of the rocks in the wall attacked Mrs beconaze and she's now got a bloodied sore paw

The Belle may be dead but the cache is very much find-able. Clearing "needs maintenance" icon.

# 910 and our 5th find in NZ this trip.
We are over the ditch for 18 days, with the goal of achieving our 1000 milestone at East Cape, which will give us our Most Easterly Find as well, 4* east of our current one.
An easy find, and all with the cache.
TFTC Lostcourse

Found with firemansam

Bella is dead

So scurrying around the Mount to collect the WP info for the other multi here. On the way back to the car I think about walking down and grabbing this one, but decide against it and i will drive around to the walk way that I know the cache is on from when I looked it up the other day. Well I think I must have been drunk, hungover or looking at a different cache becacuse this was no where near the walkway and has some fairly impressive terrain to over come if you come this route to the GZ. Much easier to just have walked across the field like i should have done. I found the cache quick eough but after repeated knocking I came to the conclusion the Bella was dead, so kicked in the door to find the final without her help.

Great idea, pitty it didnt work.

In Auckland for a few days work so decided to use some spare time to find some cache types for the August Souvenir collection. Decided to make this cache my multi cache type. Found WP1 without any problem and followed my nose to the final cache without any other problems. TFTC, Biggles.

A quick find after church. Was concerned I'd have trouble with the cows nearby but the waypoint turned out to be 20 metres or so short of them. Belle wasn't up to her normal self today but fortunately she provided a back up plan and the final was quickly located. Thanks!

Having read the previous log, came armed with an array of batteries. Found WP1 and looked inside the device- bugger! Wrong type of battery. From then we used caching naus and soon had the final prize. A lovely morning for a walk despite the showers. Tftc

Knocked and knocked but the silence was golden...a few four legged locals weren't much help. ..just wonder if batteries need replacing

Found orginally as part of phasevisitor team, now created own account, re-logging as yorkshirekiwi83.

After attending the breakfast event out West this morning we joined forces with YuGeo4, Sonia26642 and UncleSamNZ and headed out to Mt Wellington - we found this cache while wandering around the mountain completing the Maungarei Walk Multi. The belle wasn't responding, but the cache was found soon enough. Thanks for the cache!

16/11/2013
# 3598
So I had been dying to get this cache for a while, but it seemed to have been disabled every time I was free to get it... ) - At the event though, the offer was put out there of going to grab another cache - and this too! Well, of course I couldn't pass up this opportunity!!

Came here whilst we were in the middle of doing the other multi, and had a crack - unfortunately it wasn't working as intended entirely, but still got the final. An awesome as idea though! Loved that!

We eventually got round to the finish, and what a great time in great company!

TFTC!!
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After attending the breakfast event out West this morning we joined forces with YuGeo4, Sonia26642 and UncleSamNZ and headed out to Mt Wellington - we found this cache while wandering around the mountain completing the Maungarei Walk Multi. The belle wasn't responding, but the cache was found soon enough. Thanks for the cache!

Was out with sonia26642, YuGeo4 & Phasevisitor. Had been wanting to get this for a while, so was pleased that we could get it done.

Cheers
Sam

Snuck out at lunch time on my bike and found this pretty easily. Didn't know what to expect. All quiet but a really good idea. Picked up a Travel Bug - my first. Thanks for the fun.

Silence is golden sometimes. Shame it was today. However loved the idea. Took T B and left TB. TFTC

I rang the bell but the Belle didn't answer. Never mind I still managed to find her. A clear favourite.

Yet another great day out caching with Vamber.

Started with this one. Made slightly more amusing by the fact that one of our companions thought they could hear "noises"!

Other than that, a quick easy find!

#1292

A fun cache to find!! TFTC

We saw this one had a number of favourites when we were in the area a week ago; but didn't have time to do it on the day.
We thought this would be a nice one for the family to do together for our 300th cache.
We thought we had timed the weather well, however just after we located WP1, it started raining again [:(!]
We saw in previous logs that we were looking for a silent one - eventually Dad located it and left the Yellow Guy travel bug behind.
We have given a favourite - hopefully owner can bring the voice back to Belle - we all though this would be so cool!

I like this one--great idea and a fave point from me! Good fun, even if Belle is speechless now. There is enough info at WP1 to find the final. Cheers for the cache.

Quick find on a georun during lunch time to Mt. Wellington. Unfortunately, the electrical part of the cache is down at the moment. Maybe it's just a power issue. But nice idea, anyway! Thanks!
We took the TB.

Time for a quick multi after a few more trads and before heading off to visit family. Still dry as a bone here at moment. Lovely walk from the vehicle exit into gz.
Thx for a cache with a difference!

Found cache but not with any help from the Belle unfortunately. Still gets a favourite point though! Thanks! Dropped TB.

So glad to see that this cache is back up and running!! This one was our list of caches near home and was eager to tick it off the list. Had a good search around WP1 to try and find the container, but the find at GZ was good and quick. Such a cool cache to find, love the idea. Was interesting to see how much damage the fire had caused, as we were watching them trying to put it out from our gym! didn't realize it had spread that far. TNLNSL TFTC

The Lady of the Mountain is awaiting your visit...

Cache is good to go once again. Sorry for the delay. I was waiting for the area to cool down, so to speak, after the recent scrub fire--see pics. GZ only narrowly missed the flames. Anyway, our Belle of the Mountain is ready for some new visitors!

A quick battery change had things back-up and running...until it didn't. Have removed cache to make more extensive repairs.

The Belle has gone silent, might need a check up to see if she's still working as she is supposed to.

Out this way with evilno9 to collect some caches and explore this domain. Nice way of exploring the hills and rocks around there. Nice little setup for this multi. Loved it. Yeah "The Lady" seems to have gone into hibernation but we were not beaten by it. Good search by extending the search area. It was very nice, worth a favorite point.

TFTC LC

Out with snakelion to do a few caches to aid with our license attempts. Had the Mountain Belle in hand pretty quickly but as the previous cacher mentioned she was a bit on the quiet side so we had to rely on instinct to make the final find. Initially projected too far but on our second go we had the find. Would be great to see this as it is supposed to be found - great idea for a cache. Thanks!

The lady appears to have lost her voice but is safe and well hidden. Gorgeous day to wander around the mountain. Took tb to move on so NITO TFTC

Cool clear morning to first find then hear the call of the Mountain Belle. The local cows looked on much amused.

A belated log due to a house move and lack of internet! Decided we must do a geocache on the 29th otherwise it would be another 4 years before we could get a tick in that box of the matrix! Had a lovely stroll to the cache from our new house in Stonefields. TFTC

Out for a run tonight so stopped by and checked on the Belle. Still in working order. But I relocated our lady slightly for better acoustics and asked her to sing a little louder in the future.

Cheers,

LC.

Unfortunately the bell did not toll for me today. Cheers, M@

Found!
The noisy wind makes it very hard to find the second stage... however with perseverance we managed it. Shame no space for swag in container.
-TB+TB

Thanks for your maintenance on this cache which enabled us to make the find. TFTC

Good to go!

Out for a long walk this morning checking on my caches in the area. WP1 has a craked lid and the mechanism was working fine then failed on me. Hmmm working fine again at home. Should be back in place soon.

What a great idea for a multi! I stopped by on my home from work to find this one. Had abit of trouble with finding WP1 initially as my GPS was sending me off in the wrong direction. Once found, WP2 was an easy find. Loved this clever idea! A favourite from me! Dropped travel tag and left another TB for someone else to find. TFTC!

LOVED this multi - so much fun. Mr P and I worked in harmony and tuned into the cache in no time- t4tc

This was a DNF for me. I must be a bit more deaf than I thought I was.

I'm known to be blind for some caches... now a new attribute can be added to my incapabilities. Even so it was immediately clear what it is about, I ran far away...... MarMis detected the final immediately.
TFTC!

After placing a challenging cache together with dh1saj. On our way to do some shopping. Weren't so successful. Luckily more successful in finding this cache

WOW love this one. Definitely a favourites point from me. I love people who put so many fantasy in hiding a cache. Double recommended. TFTC

Stopped by this morning and I found WP1 and Final to both be in working order. Final has creeped a little so made a slight adjustment, so it should now be easier to spot.

Found a random TB, so will get that moving again.

XC and TK out and about on cycles... Wanted to get some exercise and some caches at the same time.. Rode here for the last of the day. I was looking forward to this one... XC quickly uncovered the Wpt... However the call to final didn't work.. It was a windy day so we werent sure how far to go but no bells were heard... My guess is the energy that makes the call has run out...
Maybe a maintenance check required.
Cheers
XC

Nice short walk to cache site. No bells heard here today. TFTC

Got out this morning before the rain really kicked in.
The grass was long and wet.
Fun multi.
Swapped TB's.
TFTC

20 years in the record industry when I was a bit younger has given me excellent hearing....NOT. So I struggled to hear the Mountain Belle's dulcet tones. Thanks.

The wind made it just that bit more dificult and the ambulance didn't help either. Might pay to bag the instructions, any moisture will quickly destroy them.

TFTC

Weeeheee FTF!!! Thanks Lostcourse. Great find but had to hurry to get it!

An almost FTF attempt but had child drop-off duties . I got up there around 8.30am. A quick find - I liked the cache concept and execution....TFTC

Waited until daylight to be able to see where the cache was but obviously didn't need to
No sign of the locals (obviously sleeping in) but nice to meet fellow eastender avoyager (who else but a geocacher would be trudgeing through the dew-wet long grass at 06:30, but without a GPS?!?!).
Very pleasant to be out and about as the daylight rose most local residents (and some nearby geocachers) slept on. Cool idea for the multi - keep 'em coming. T4TC

6603 Found after work with Mrs YuGeo, she quickly chimed in with the find, nice concept, many thanks.

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