Merlin's Woods (Waikato) Hamilton, North Island, New Zealand
By 2newkiwis (adopted by K69) on 04-Mar-12. Waypoint GC3DVCY

its not there any more =(

This geocacher reported that the cache might be missing.

Apparently its gone missing. I'm no longer geocaching, hence archiving this one.

Great place to go for a walk, found it, everything was good. TFTC

This was another find on my way to the Mega in Wellington with thegreatauk. We were on the road for 10 days and had a great trip. I haven't sorted out the stats for the trip yet as I'm just starting to log them but we found about 250-280 caches including about 90 puzzles, 6 earthcaches, 8 letterboxes, 4 virtuals, 2 wherigo caches, and a few events. We also achieved a new high of 10 different cache types in a day. I left home in Okaihau at 7am this morning and reached our friends for the night at 7pm. Fortunately for our friend wanted an evening walk so off we set. A nice hide in a lovely place. Thanks for the puzzle

On a long trip down to the mega with Lis's crew. So for me it good for numbers and favorites caches. With several stops and a lot of caches and several souvenirs up for grabs the trip was the perfect opportunity to get my numbers up and get some challenges that I have qualified for. For today we managed 25 which is good. Thanks to all the CO's for placing and maintaining the caches.

A magical place in the woods up from the Naki on a quest with the team great day great cache TFTC and the puzzle

JB, TT & I are on a day-trip to Hamilton to complete a Challenge qualification. And to retry a few DNFs from over the years. And finally, to grab some great caches to qualify for the Caching Connoisseur souvenir. We started the day turning a couple of DNFs into a smileys. One more DNF for the lads wanting to find the Hamilton TB Hotel & Spa.
Then onto the **Caching Connoisseur souvenir** hunt.
Having previously solved this one, this was our second big point find, and another easy find with accurate coords. TFTC

Cool cache. We often come caching in Hamilton but don't stop here. Today was the day. After a dnf it was nice to walk straight to this. I was busting for a comfort stop so after that I turned and spotted the "nqr" object. Thanks for maintaining this cache K69

Thanks K69 for looking after this cache ...a nice sudoku to solve and all was revealed..today we are out collecting the puzzles that we have solved ..nice tidy placement ..signed & replaced as found

What an amazing day! Set off to the Waikato with intentions to meet up with NZFlossy and TNXPro but somehow didn't see either of them - instead I managed to alternate my caching partners between Mr & Mrs Tryfyn & KayDeeGee and then Davidson Clan & Squirrel Nutcase for the late shift. I had a great time at both of the Hamilton events and enjoyed catching up with the locals here and from home. Lastly - a big 'thank you' to the CO's that made 2018's International Geocaching Day so awesome.

I'd been looking forward to this cache for a while now and I've been keen to see what these 25 favourite points were for. A nice wander to GZ where the search began. I soon found the cache by focusing less on the coords and more on the hint. I had no trouble getting the log on this one which made me a little unsure about the field puzzle aspect of this cache but I assume this one has changed over time. It appears to be in good condition though so cheers Kiwis69 and TFTC

***

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Looking for something special for our 500 th puzzle find, not keeping track of puzzle dnfs but after half an hour this has to go on it, sadly.

Solved the puzzle this morning before heading over to the Hamilton Gardens. Have to admit that I made finding this one WAY harder than it should have been. I misread the map and thought we had to go through the bush... we were walking along the river side track... we encountered mud... mud and more mud. We all slipped over and got dirty. After looking at the T/D rating again I realised I'd made a mistake so we back tracked... walked up the hill a bit and what do you know... there's a PROPER path to walk along! Totally having a numpty moment! Finally got to GZ and then hunted around. Took a few minutes and then spotted something that didn't quite fit... and there was the cache. Thanks so much

I had solved this puzzle some time ago and had a few attempts at finding it but with no luck. I was determined this to find it this time and was not going to give up until it was found. After a short hunt it was finally found. TFTC.

repaired container in place today. happy hunting

need to repair this

Solved the puzzle a while ago and went to pick up the cache today. Found the area ok, but then I found a log on the ground and the top of a berocca tube next to it. I surmised that this is part of the cache... the rest I will message the c/o, but this will need attention. Great puzzle (which a friend helped me with), TFTC

Solved puzzle. according to GPS was 1 metre away but saw nothing resembling the pictures. Very disappointing as , with the amount of rain, it really was hard to get to GZ.

Completed the puzzle prior to the visit. Track was a little slippery after recent rain but not a problem. Hunted around for a while before realising a muggle was meditating in the solitude of the bush just out of my sight. Quietened my search bush before he ambled past - oblivious I hoped to my presence. Shortly afterwards located the cache and had no problems with extracting it. Replaced as found. tftc

Solved this puzzle a little while ago and enjoyed the walk to the cache. We had quite a hunt around and thought we had found something that was needed to grab the cache which put us on the wrong path. After a bit more of a hunt managed to find what we were looking for. TFTC.

Solved a while ago but always had something else to do in Hamilton. Today's the day to do the paperwork. TFTC.

I good little walk off a track. Nice

Quick find today and solve on sweep of area greetings from Australia TFTC

Tftc very clever cache

Found this one while out with Ezrangahunter. Haven't seen a cache like this before, really good so find something different. TFTC.

Found it! We think but it was empty

Went geocaching with NZPatoto to complete the caches in the Hamilton Gardens, her hubby also came along but he went biking around Hamilton while we hunted for the smiles. We also went is style, in their motorhome. Glad we did as it rained before we got finished and we got wet. Being in this vehicle there was room to change into dry clothes and sit and have a relaxed lunch with a hot cuppa. Had 12 on our list to complete, finished with 10 finds, 1? and 1 not attempted due to the wet weather. #3 – We started early in the morning to beat the muggles. This took a bit to find. We thought we would take the short cut and go cross country thru the bush. We turned back as it was much easier if you stick to the well-formed tracks. Found by NZPatoto but we needed more than our hand. With a touch to see and a stick to extract we soon had the log signed and replaced as it should be. As we were replacing the log this muggle dog came racing thru the bush. I don’t think he was expecting to see anyone in the bush because the look on his face was comical like a kid caught in the act of doing something he shouldn’t be. No owner around to keep him in control. Luckily he was not an aggressive dog. TFTC

Another day geocaching with Nahkins. Decided to do the Hamilton Gardens. We travelled over in the motor home as hubby decided to do some bike trails around Hamilton while we went geocaching. The weather wasn't looking very bright. Had 12 to look for. Found 10, 1 cache wasn't there and 1 postpone due to the rain. #3. I came across this one. It was very hard to get out. The magnetic container had dropped to bottom of outer container or else it wasn't put back properly last time. My tweezers were too short so had to use a stick. Signed log and put back gently. The magnetic end with log in it is very rusty. Had a little dog came hurrying through the bush and stopping suddenly when he saw us. You would have thought he was up to mischief the way he quickly scurried away. Made our day. TFTC.

Ah yes I remember this. Coordinates worked out easily enough, but geting to the log was a little challenging. Got there in the end. Cheers.

I was granted a leave pass for the afternoon. The rest of the family wanted to go "shopping". Time to find a few little boxes around Cambridge and Hamilton.....

Thanks to the CO's for the hides. Cheers.

After sliding down through mud (it was raining) we got near GZ only to find the iPhone said we were 12m away regardless of how far we wandered. Then the 4 legged team leader spotted a rabbit and that was the end of our search. Will have to try again another day.

13/08/16 16:40 Spent some time relaxing by a trig, resolving this. Mis-keying a number was soon sorted then a search for this crafty hide began. As stated, tool is part of the cache. So simple, so effective, so worthy of a fav... Yay! Thanks for the fun and making a cache worthwhile. Cheers, GC.

Came here with a super keen group of West Aucklanders named Team Westies. For the day to save room on the log and time off course we signed ourselves in as such. Down from Auckland for the whole weekend, we slipped down to the cache literally, today as a small part of the team there was urbangypsynz, supernanny, Rebel98, rustynz and Aiden29 and myself. Others of the team have been and gone. I found the cache but it was Aiden who had the appropriate tool to extricate the cache from it's hidey hole!! Well done her on that score. we were so excited to get this one. Caching is ALWAYS more fun in a group!! Thanks kiwis69 for your cache.

Log signed as "Team Westie"

A bit of a steep climb down to the cache, but I suspect there was probably an easier way, and we missed it. Now aiden29 is probably the newest cacher in our group, came the most prepared. In bag of goodies she had just the tool required to easily retrieve the cache

Clever little puzzle, hidden in a beautiful spot in Hamilton.

I enjoyed the sudoku puzzle, and as the sun came out again the walk here was pleasant albeit a tad slippery down the hill. Geocchi spied the cache then we put our heads together to figure out how to retrieve the log. Nice one!

found with a group of Westies out and about without there passports hitting the hamilton caches TFTC

One of our last finds before leaving Hamilton after our short raid in Hamilton !
Prob my favourite !
We almost overlooked it !
Then how to extract the cache ?
Aiden29 always has a trusty backpack of handy tools !
Thanks guys for this placement .

Nice puzzle and even a nicer spot for a hide despite the slippery slide down. Many eyes make a quick find. Logged as Team Westie. fp from me

I love the great outdoors, I love Sudoku and I love field puzzles. What's not to love about this. A fp.

I really enjoy sudoku, so this was a great puzzle for me to solve. GZ was a bit difficult to get to with the recent rain, but the walk there was worth it. Some of our fellow geocachers, who had earlier found the cache, told us not to take it the cache so literally. Once we found the cache we realised what the hint meant. Nothing nearby to extract the log, but luckily I came prepared with a bag full of TOTT. Using the correct method of extraction, the log was quickly in hand and signed.

This warrants a fav point from me. TFTC.

Find # 15 on the Sunday of the Westies go to Hamilton.

Down for a weekend of night caching and whereigos with Team Westies, we decided to get a head start and try and do a number of puzzles and Trads. Making the most of our effort to get down here and time out in the open. After early efforts to find some other caches in the Gardens we had walked some way before we managed to capture this one. Our first of the day. Had some fun extracting the log holder when it came out in two parts. All fitted together nicely and returned for the next cacher. Expect to see a few of them this weekend.

Very nice find. Had to explain to my S/O the rules around geocaching, also approaching through the cemetery made it pretty scary . Overall TFTC.

Had a muggler at GZ ,so carried on to another cache first. On return, the coast was clear, BUT, I only had the coordinates and no other information. After a bit of a search, I got lucky and soon had what I was after.
Found another track, which I didn't know existed. Tftc.

Wow, great puzzle at each level, solving, finding and extracting. Have to say the hardest was finding but then that usually is the case Eagle eyed MSP half spotted it, much to the relief of N & G Ratbag who had visited the site before too! Added an FP for the whole experience. Tftc

Jimsta and Moose - Mission 2/8
I solved the puzzle, but sadly didn't bring the co-ords with me today. But we had a rough idea and soon we were heading down a hill (and I only fell once) and then we used the hint picture to find roughly where it would be.
It took a bit of back-tracking to actually find the container, and as with everyone else you feel stupid once you have found it. Unfortunately we didn't find the correct "wand", but used a wooden one instead - said a few spells of hope and soon we had the cache in hand.

Worked out the coordinates a while ago but only found cache today. Excellent wand.

Found with Jimsta, who helpfully forgot to note down the coordinates From his rough Paint drawing of our route for the day we were fairly sure we had the right area and once we spotted a few key features from the photos we were certain. Took a while to find the actual cache - turns out we had walked right past it on the way in and had just been looking from the wrong angle since.
On our way in we were followed & watched by a muggle, but not of the human kind

Checked today after recent comment that the log was missing: nice to find the log in place

found the tube, it had no log in there, or maybe i missed a clue or something,definitely tube empty though.

great cache very well hidden in pain sight

Out and about today in the Waikato region looking to sign off on solved puzzle caches and the odd traditional. No problem with the solve on this puzzle as I have had plenty of practice with these. Anyway, made the short walk to GZ and circled into the bush. Found myself walking around in circles for several minutes as I tried to spot the elusive final. Must have walked passed it on a couple of occasions. Eventually spotted something that deserved closer inspection, and there was the the cache. Took a few goes to retrieve the log but I got there after a bit of practice. Cheers for the puzzle and the fun final!

I love sudokus so the puzzle was easy to solve from the comfort of my home in the Manawatu. Enjoyed the walk to GZ with my partner & 2 kids & it was soon a race to find it. Didn't take long altho we clearly weren't thinking outside the box to retrieve the log the way we should've. Did manage to sign it tho before heading off on our next find. TFTC

I saw this puzzle cache the other day while logging my find at the trig and decided to have a crack at the sudoku during lunch. It has been a while, so it took me a couple of attempts. But I was pleased to stop in to GZ this morning on the way to work and eventually make a find...though I was just about to give up.

A favorite for me, as this one is a little different than the normal caches.
TFTC

Looked all around. Many trees lying on the ground.

Solved the sudoku this morning over a cup of coffee, figuring we could find this before heading home to waihi. Took a wee while to locate gz as our gps was all over the place. But the photos put us on the right track. Junior scoobydoo waved a magic wand around, while snr scoobydoo retrieved the logbook and signed it.

Yay - a nice little puzzle to solve! I solved it just before heading over to hamilton. Cool cache! Figured it out easily, but on a bad day this could have been REAL tricky!! Very clever. Pity I can only give this 1 favourite point. Thanks - this is definitely in my top ten list.

wow! spent a fair bit of time solving the first puzzle (this dr is not very mathematically inclined..) but I got the green tick of joy
on the next available caching day I set off in the hope of avoiding rain and muggles to find Merlins wood. with my trusty gps I hand I stumbled across country following its celestial guide! the search began muggles appearing out of nowhere and the heavens threatening to unleash their watery wrath I stumbled around untill I stopped to think then I saw it, how the hell could I have missed that!

tftc

1026 Solved the Sudoku some time ago. In fact it was the first ever Sudoku I have ever done. Called one evening but never really looked in the dusk. Back today. GPS died so I just did a grid search. After passing spot several times I stood and then thought how did I miss it before.

This entry was edited by KayGeeDee on Saturday, 20 June 2015 at 06:31:22 UTC.

Well thought out hide. Had us puzzled for a short moment, then click, it all came together.

Out with my sudoko-solving bff who keeps me inspired. We have done quite a few caches in this general area and it is usually quite a delightful place on a nice day.
The GPS was wandering around a bit so we went straight to the most obvious place, and the next, and the next until we eventually came across something that really didn't look as though it had grown there. We puzzled a bit over how to get our hands on the log but finally the sensible person figured it out.
Many thanks.

Check & fixed today & added a waterproof log as well. All in working order but may require some patience to extract the log coz it's no longer floating in water near the top & no longer within easy reach Agree that the area around GZ has changed since placement but actual cache location is all good. Happy hunting

Cache container needs to be replaced - holes in the lid is keeping the log sitting in water and signing the log is pretty near impossible. Our efforts to dry it out I weren't overly successful. Maybe drainage holes would help?

Found out I was able to come to Hamilton with GAR to do some caching (while he mainly worked) just a day ago and decided I wanted to solve at least one mystery cache down here and saw this mystery cache while looking at the Hamilton Gardens part of the geocaching map of the area (lived in town during our university days and loved to bring our dogs here). Managed to solve it before heading down to Hamilton and had a bit of time with GAR before he had to go back to work to make the find for the final. Took a while to locate and as always wondered how we missed it once found. Unfortunately the log was completely soggy and the container full of water. Tried to make it less so but not able to dry it out as much as it needed and a hole in the lid probably made our efforts redundant. Will post a needs maintenance log as well. Thanks for bringing us out here though kiwis69 - lots of changes in this part of the gardens/cemetry area since we last were here. Nostalgia all around.

There's a couple of trees cut down in the area and the GPS was all over the place. we will have to return another day for another search.

I solved this puzzle last night before our visit to Hamilton we got to GZ and couldn't find the cache we looked and looked spread out still no luck so I sent the kids up to find the trig cache nearby and watched them when they got back I when down and approached from a different way and boom there it was right where we were looking.
Log sheet is very wet and The container is a bit squashed at the lid letting the water in.
Tftc

Hermann solved the puzzle while Linea was having a face to face encounter with the tigers in Hamilton Zoo. Later in the day we went and located the cache. Quite an easy find - we walked straight to it. The log is a bit damp and there was not much of a challenge in retrieving the log book. Maybe CO should check if everything is as intended. We left the cache as we found it, as we could not intends of the container.
Mums (treat): Sour winegums
T4T$
Linea and Hermann from Denmark

Solved some time ago but unable to turn up the goods at that time. Managed to make it a quick find tonight while using up some time as I made my way to the airport. TFTC, #7113

Found it after staring at it for 20mins
Great hide!

B and A

Found after the Pipe Band Contest in the Gardens, neat little field puzzle. TFTC

After a couple of attempts solved the sudoku but waited until the week end to head to site. Area now slightly different to top photo as a number of trees have now been lowered and the earth formations are shaped differently. GPS bounced around so used the hint photo to establish GZ. Great hide and loved the magic wand. No tools required. Well done CO.

Cache repaired & good to go again

went with a new log after recent logs, but cache is broken & needs repair ... disabling until I can get the necessary bits & pieces.

Sorted

I finally got around to printing out the sudoku in order to do it. Usually I succeed with easy and sometimes medium ones but alas not this time, necessitating some internet cheating. Found the cache after checking a few places and enjoyed the log-extraction method. Log-holding device was present but no log, and like an amateur I didn't have any paper with me so I signed a small piece of leaf.

Found and returned log and removed leaf.

This entry was edited by rjm1234 on Saturday, 18 October 2014 at 22:01:49 UTC.

Awesome little spot. I grew up in Hillcrest and I've never been to that part of the gardens before. I tried getting to this last week, but it was very slippery after recent rain and I nearly ended up on my backside, (in my work clothes, at lunchtime) so exercised a modicum of prudence and returned on a dryer day. TFTP & TFTC

Great cache, even better location. Tftc.

Took a while to find this but got it in the end...nicely hidden

Found gz going from photo, took a while to find and even went around it a couple of times lucky didn't have to look in pongas.
T4TC

Found with macswain61, many moons ago, but finally remember to log, took a while to spot, TFTC

We solved this puzzle before our trip down to Hamilton for the day, and managed to make this find after the event at the cafe. What a nice little cache! The cache did take us a little while to spot, but got there in the end. Retrieval didn't keep us stumped for long, as we have done something similar ourselves. +1 favourite point. Thanks for the puzzle cache!

It took a while to spot this but extraction was not a problem.

This puzzle was easily solved while travelling in our golden rental car by lady Gepard and lady Busther. We had a pleasant walk in Hamilton gardens before we headed towards GZ. It was a nice sunny afternoon and the gardens was very nice with some beautiful flowers and interesting historical garden designs from different parts of the world.

When we arrived at GZ we located the hide fairly quickly. We also managed to understand how we could get the log from this clever construction.
Thanks for this nice cache and greetings from Sweden

Decided to visit the Hamilton Botanical Garden and solved this puzzle in the car on our way there.
Started with a walk from the parking to this one. Found it quickly and managed to log without using extra tools.

Ah, a puzzle that was not too hard to solve beforehand, thank you! And geochecker appreciated too. Found with the Seagnoid - he was quick to solve the puzzle in the field. Thank you for the fun kiwis69.

[green] Well, the Auckland Mega is over but there is no going home yet. Now it is the GeoTour South tour of some great caches between Auckland and Hamilton. Beautiful day in the gardens today. We split up and did our own thing. Edvern and I decided to loop one end of the garden and pick this up on the way. Edvern was about to check out the rat bait station when I spied the real cache. Retrieval of the log was easy, having done something similar before. Did take a couple of attempts though.

I have no idea how many sodokus I have solved for a cache! I could almost do them in my sleep!

Cache was definently in the hidden woods, but I managed to unhide the cache!

This is Day 4 of our trip to the Land of the Long White Cloud for the 2013 NZ MEGA event in Auckland. I joined Gunnie69 and Kaisho53 for a fun packed 5 days of geocaching adventures. The day was in the Waikato region doing the Kiwi Art Project caches and some others in Hamilton.

TFTC kiwis69

Ghostgums, Kaisho53 and I took the slightly longer approach to GZ, by completely missing the open gate and parking a little further down the road... It's not that we needed the exercise today I can tell ya... Once on our way in, we found a path that took us right past GZ, but we kept walking as the GPS bounce was pretty nasty through here and we thought we needed to be another 20m or so over 'there'...

We wandered around for a while at both the higher and lower elevation and ruled out a number of places. After 15 minutes or so, Ghostgums made his way to the right location and let out the call we had been waiting for... [^] Kaisho53 and I joined him for the ceremonial signing of the log, but we couldn't as there was no log in the container... What the,,, [?] Instead, we added one of our Mega Event trip stickers to mark our visit, reassembled the container and headed off.

If the next hunter could slip some paper into the container, that would be handy...

Cheers 2newkiwis & K69

Out cahcing with out new caching freinds Hill149c. This is our first mystrey cache that we worked out by ourselves. Although I am a bit slow on the Suduko we got there. Lots of newly cut down trees at GZ but this does not interfer with the Cache. Had us looking and we even walked passed it a few times but got there in the end.

This took us on a lovely walk in the woods it was quickly found we had the right tool to retrieve this cache.TFTC

Solved the puzzle last night but it took a while, not sure that it was an easy one, but was good to have solved. Good walking to GZ but lots of trees chopped down so nothing looked like the pictures. Retrieved without any force & signed log, thanks for the cache.

love these puzzles so was easy to work out the answer, didn't take much notice of the spoiler pics but did pick up on a hint from someone elses log, parked nice and close and took a quick stroll, then being short I needed to turn into a mountain goat but it was all fun, a fav for me, tftc

Was a good easy puzzle to work out..... great getting back in to bushwalks.....the track was slippery and a good laugh at nufrats slip up... lol....tftc

Visiting our favourite geocaching city -so many interesting caches here! Enjoyed this puzzle. A bit uncertain about where to park, climbed over a few chopped trees to get to GZ. Got a bit distracted by a bait station, but soon found cache and enjoyed the tool challenge. A favourite for us.

It was a day to visit my old stamping ground from thirty-six years ago to pick up a few caches. I like solving these types of puzzles of which I try to do the ones in the NZ Herald every morning. The GZ certainly has had a recent workover with a few trees being sawn down.

Cheers for the cache.

Have been forcing myself into liking puzzle caches recently. As a result, I have bits of paper with solved puzzles everywhere. On yet another hunt to finish off the business... Picking up the odd traditional as well.

Solved this one a while back. The walk in was quite eventful... Took a rather large tool thinking I might need it... but didn't. The track was quite slippery and I ended up sliding on my backside downward. There seems to be some tree clearing at ground zone, so hope the cache will be safe. An excellent hide... TFTP and TFTC.

We're trying to clean up some puzzle caches today. I enjoyed doing the sudoku, although it would have helped if the printer had done its part, but no, so I had to draw the grid.

Drove up and visited Mum close by, then found the slippery path. Thanks for the photos, they really helped. All safe and sound at GZ. TFTC.

9.30am - Like Sudoku, good easy walk to location, only problem the magnetic wasnt working. Found a tool to retrieve, returned how it should be. SLTFTC

Went the long way round to the cache but found it easily and had no problem retrieving the log. Great puzzle and cache. TFTC and puzzle.

Nice pleasant walk on a sunny Sunday. Met a few people we knew on the way, so it made the day even nicer. TFTC

Nice to finally find this cache. I solved this late last year and attempted a find over the holiday period with my family in tow but was unsuccessful. Today however I spotted the cache before I had even turned the gps on and was left wondering why I hadn't been able to spot it on my previous visit. Enjoyed both the puzzle and the unique hide.

Nice puzzle, Clever hide, a favourite from me. t4tc

Know the original owners quite well so was keen to locate this cache. Loved the simplicity/ingenuity of the cache and a fav from us.