Fancy A Workout? (Waikato) Oparau, North Island, New Zealand
By cashkids on 11-Feb-12. Waypoint GC3CCCT

Yep definitely a work out, came up from the hut this morning on our way down in the clouds.

No views for us as we were right in the clouds up here, but a quick find of the cache at least! TFTC

Finally knocked this one off! We came up the Bell Track and quickly grabbed cache. We continued to the hut and summit then down the Tahaunui Track. Pretty epic 30km round trip in 9 1/2 hours. We certainly got a wee bit of a workout!!! Hardly any mud, and only one knee deep encounter with the real brown stuff. Totally a summer cache! Was surprised at how much of the track between The Cone and the hut was broadwalk.

Covid released us so we decided to explore a bit of Pirongia. I am a causal geocacher with muggles along.
Was enjoying the view and a friend found the cache for me.
Nice to get another one on the mountain, I walk past quite a few. It is well worth the walk from the hut to the Cone, amazing goblin forest and stunning views.

Managed to dodge all the mud today and such a beautiful morning. Got here 2hr 10 via the Hihikiwi track so was really happy with that time, meant I’d be home by lunchtime. Only two more caches on Pirongia eluding me now.
Thanks for the placement and cache is all in great condition

All there

Had my eye on the Bell track for a while, so finally here i was standing on the Cone( another outstanding target...by the time one gets to hut one is not inclinded to carry on one finds..) couldnt see the hint photo as i was using a gpx file,but it was pretty easy to tell where the cache would be and it was, log nice and dry and some god of caching had left me a pencil.. ( having used my pen for packing checklists and clearly not packed it..) spent bout and hour up here admiring the hot sun that had finally popped out at the end of the day.... before i start climbing the peaks to the cone.. it had been totally covered in cloud.. as it had all day.. i looked down to fiddle with my camera and then looked up not 2minutes later and the cloud had gone and the summits and ridge lines where bright in sun and clear skys.. fast! must have been the swearing i directed at the gods?

Fancy a workout? .... yeh sure Just maybe not all that mud. Still it's part of it. We stayed in the hut last night (very nice indeed) and this morning feeling refreshed we are off down Bell track to camp on the return trip. Just first a short climb up here. Great views. We had a good break at the landing pad before slip sliding our way down. + FP for location and pointing out resistance is futile!! TFTC

Sveppi and I have extended the Anzac break by taking Thursday and Friday off too. We are taking this opportunity to do our second multi-night tramp, and also our second overnight walk with the tent. Stayed in Raglan last night, and plan now is to go up Tahuanui track and down Bell track.
We stayed at Pahautea Hut last night (had it all to ourselves too!), and although we were pretty sore and tired when we got there we feel relatively recovered today. We had been warned about the mud at lunchtime as we met a family coming down as we were going up. We thought we'd seen it, but the worse was yet to come! Left the hut at about 9am and got to Cone at about 10am. In our book tramps turn into climbs when hands are required. We had a short climb yesterday, but a pretty big one today already! As we were coming up the slippery and steep slope I was thinking I wouldn't like to come down this way... but the other side turned out even worse!
Anyways, we enjoyed our time at the top, took photos, ate a snack, had to put the fleece layer back on as the wind and cloud picked up. Cache in OK condition, interesting to find 3-4 logbooks in there, one of which signed by the DOC track cutting crew dated 2013 (from memory).

apologies for all my late logs for my pirongia caches. life has rather run away with me since i got back to england from new zealand at the end of february & today is the first chance i have had to catch up with logs for these (& other more recent) caches
i headed over to new zealand for a friends wedding & now all the celebrations were over i was trying to complete some outdoor activities in this glorious country friends of my friend had recommended a tramp up pirongia, so here i am ...
i was dropped off this morning (by another friend of my friend) at the pirongia forest park lodge & have now summited the hill & settled into life at the pahautea hut
so the question now is ... do i fancy a workout? the sensible answer, after such a strenuous day, would be no ... but i thought the cone might be a good vantage point for sunset. thus, as the appropriate time approached, off i set to see if it was
initially the going was good (over the duckboards), but it soon deteriorated to a boggy quagmire which was quite difficult to negotiate in the failing light (& even more so in the dark on the way back)
but i got there & yes the cone was a good vantage point from which to watch the sunset ... had there been one worth watching ]
an exciting adventure though ... & at least i found the cache
tnln
sl
tftc
#3590

First find of the day after spending the night at Pahautea Hut - took us an hour to get up to the cone. My friend dived into the scrub and came up triumphant while I was halfway through reading out the clue. Full story of my weekend adventure is [here](http://waitakathlete.blogspot.co.nz/2017/04/mt-pirongia.html)

We came up from
The Bell track and it was false summit after false summit. Rewarding once we got there though Thanks for the Cache

#5, 2015-10-07 at 20:45, Thanks

Found together with KiwiLeon, VictorTokaanu, 11hpg11, Evilno9, & PaulTaps after a short night at the new hut.

Thought we would have had the hut to ourselves but we ended up in the company of Mr Appleton, Master Jaeger, Simon R Noff, and an aged Scottish chap whose name we couldn't pronounce but proved company into the wee small hours. Got woken up 'early' to the ear-splitting sound of muesli-bar wrappers and the bruised ribs from bike tumble 2 days earlier insisting that carrying a 15kg pack wasn't a positive contribution to the healing process.

"Fancy a Workout?" mmmm nah it's too far (cough!)
"Cone will make the hangover feel better"- OMG I have woken up in the Waikato
"Come wallow in the mud" Oh why didn't you say straight off - I'm in

Felt a bit awkward clomping along the boardwalk for the first part probably because it goes in a straight line but the shriek from the front 5 steps after the carpentry ends indicated that chocolate carpet was of adequate depth to reach boot-top. Soon got into pace of hop-hop-hop-slop and dropped down into the slight saddle. The climb up was more a test of coordination than fitness (fail) but the view at the top was stunning and well worth the incredibly early start. I think Cone is short-changed by a few metres and is more deserved of the highest point than the actual summit. Cache was found, selfies taken, and we raced off back to the hut for lunch. Thanks for an iconic placement.

Out for another night adventure with GreenblAt, TucanoVic, Paultaps, 11HPG11 and Evilno9 this time to the Pahautea hut.
After a late start (party in the hut till 3am) we made our way through the mud up the hill for some amazing views over the area.
Made a little video from our adventure.
https://youtu.be/DSTyLFRPbfM

TFTC

Not every friday night consists of climbing a mountain and then partying till 3am but when there is a farewell to be had you just have to get amongst it. I had heard a cone before breakfast will cure all that ails you so was keen to test this theory but for some reason a small sleep in was had. I had a nice view of the sunrise from my hut window so looked on, bleary eyed and waited for the late risers to awaken.

The boardwalk was nice.... I was in front.... I now know why! I acted as the groups 'depth gauge' for the mud. Managed to get into a nice routine and only went knee deep a couple of times.

The last slog up to the cone was a good workout, got a bit dizzy, must of been the altitude but the views made it well worth it once we got there. No misty clouds here today, just glorious 360 views of the Waikato and beyond.

Found the cache easily and noted Paultaps bottle opener still there from his FTF a few years ago!

Found in the company of Greenblat, Kiwileon, Paultaps, Evil No 9 and TucanoVic.

Fantastic spot for a cache, and a awesome little wander from the hut through the brown much and up the hill.

Left the packs behind which made the going that much more comfortable and made pretty good progress once we came off the boardwalk. That last little push to the top was tough, but the end result was definitely worth it.

Enjoyed the view for a while and then made our way back to the hut for some lunch and to start the descent back to the cars. TFTC

843 Staying in the old hut probably for the last time before new hut comes into operation. Afternoon walk after getting 2 on Hiwikiwi this morning. Cash all good.

A superb day for a workout - up the Tirohanga track, up the main summit, up the Cone and then back via the Bell track. 8 1/2 hours in total including 5 caches and a detour for the Tirohanga Bluff cache.... Really enjoyed today as I've been wanting to climb here for a few years. TFTC

Great view of the coast here. Cache was a clever hide. Tftc!

Good Condition

Smashed it! Nice climb what ever way you go to grab this. Went up the Tahuanui track, stayed overnight at campsite near summit, and returned via Bell track with friends over the weekend. Really enjoyed the steep downhill from the cache
TNLNSL Thanks

Found with Evo_freak? on our way down the Bell Track at the conclusion of a weekend spent 'Smashing Mt Pirongia'.

Trekked up here from the Pahautea Hut - 20 minutes of boardwalk, 20 minutes of mud, and 20 minutes of scramble - definitely a workout. Fantastic views in all directions, and seems just as high as Mt Pirongia. Only took us 45 minutes to get back to the hut.

#5 in Rambler's Reward Challenge (GLC0J8F8).

Boardwalks are GREAT!!! Pity it didn't last the entire way. Lots of mud but we did our best to avoid the really deep stuff, but still got mud up past the ankles. We made good time and got to the Cone in just under 45mins from the hut.

Some great views from up here! Well worth the slog. Thanks for placing the cache and bringing me here.

Had been procrastinating about this cache for way too long and have kept finding excuses why I didn't fancy a workout knowing that it would push my endurance limits. Eventually decided that drought conditions might make the trip easier if there was going to be less mud.
I was actually surprised to get to the Cone via Hihikiwi in 3 hours 45 min which was well under the DOC posted time of 4 hours 30. Little or no mud up the Hihikiwi but still some on the track out to the cone and managed to sink up to my ankle when not paying attention in one hole.
The boardwalk from the hut is being extended at present and is now about 350 m (150 m new)
Stunning views from the Cone today up and down the coast and could even see the mountains on the central plateau.
Headed back via the closed Tewarawara track which proved to be more of a challenge than anticipated.
Many thanks

Great workout up to the cone. Sadly no views as the clouds have rolled again. Never mind , still worth it, such a magic spot.

Finally found the time to get here, got up early in the morning at the hut and just boosted it there and back. The track is a little drier than normal (first time I've ever walked it with no rain), but yeah will forever be muddy till that boardwalk is finished. TFTC

Bit more of a workout than I anticipated ... track hopping to avoid mud or wallowing through it ... either way, the mud makes it more of a challenge than your average stroll. The final climb to the Cone was a welcome relief! Got lucky & the clouds cleared as I reached GZ, making it all seem worthwhile. It took me 7 hours up the Hihikiwi track to the Cone and back to the car, including all the caches along the way, so, yes, most definitely feel like I've had a workout today! Cache safely tucked away as per hint & all good, TFTC

No I Don't

I cant believe i survived this cache. It took me a full 6hr to complete the return trip collecting all the caches along the way. Once I was at the top it was an easy find to locate the cache and with the heli pad next to me it was like torture knowing i had to walk all the way down.

From the hut it is a full 1hr up to the cone. There is a board walk for a little bit (and i see they are extending it) Once the board walk finishes you are in for a very very WET time - the mud was unbelievable. What looks solid and flat is soft and deep and some of the parts that looked muddy were firm under foot. Would have been a quicker walk up if not for dodging all the mud (tried the stuff it ill walk through it method but ended up in mud to my knees)

Finally made it, the Objective for the day is acheived. Started walking as soon as I had enough light to see the track, nice to find the boardwalk as savd a heap t time and possible mud. Got to the hut and headed for "The Cone".

The ole DOC Construction crew are doing a wonderfull job boardwalking the first part of this track, however it just lulls you into a false sense of security, and then you get to the MUD, MUD oh Glorious MUD. Took a bit of time to skirt most of the worse, however there were times when it just snuck up and got you. Well, nothing a good shower couldn't fix.

Thanks for a great cahce along a track that I would have otherwise bypassed. Still had the low cloud but wasn't too cold, wet or windy, TFTC

My third FTF on 25 Feb 2012 at 1412. Postholing through knee deep mud for hours on end certainly makes for a good workout. Thanks to the cachekids for setting this one up. It definitely took heaps of effort. Took the pink slug TB to continue his (her?) slithers. In the spirit of the cache name, I left a bottle opener to help counter the health benefits of a workout after you get home.

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