'Ave a Ball! (Auckland) Auckland, North Island, New Zealand
By funkymunkyzone on 29-Mar-14. Waypoint GC3ETFA

Known about this cache for a little while, after trying for two difficult caches, this was plan c. Tftc, good to get one for the day

This one hasnt been found in a while. Nice hide!

Found !

Found it!

Found it! Was right on top of it for quite a while, but need to look from a certain angle. Also didn't reach in to take it out, spiders wouldn't appreciate having their home disturbed.

Yep I see what you mean about spotting from the wrong angle, unless someone sees you I think this one will be around for a while, great hideout tftc

Wow, very cool hiding place. Spotted it right away but from the wrong angle. Took me a moment to figure out what was going on. Very creative hide. Gloves are a must in my book. No helicopters for me today.

On a bit of a mission tracking down caches for a challenge cache put out by tramyard involving the no park and grab attribute. I'm very close now, about 4 caches away from getting the required 250. Never noticed until late this afternoon that this cache was now on my radar.

The thing is with this challenge, you can not search for caches that have that attribute. It's a case of laboriously opening every cache to see if the attribute is on it. Other than that you can bribe a C.O to add it to their caches.... lol. So far I haven't bribed anyone.

Drove along this walkway on my excellent e-bike, about 1.6km from where I parked the van. Have been here one time before a good few years ago, but couldn't access the cache, No problem today, I bought along an appropriate tool for the occasion which worked a treat. Have replaced the log paper, it was rather full, have kept it just case the C.O might like to keep it.

Amazing how you even found that hole FMZ! Well done. Giving this a FP for it's simplicity and the fact it's been here for so long!

Wow... That took a bit but the we made the find and signed the ball's log...

Also found a bigger smiling ball while we searched

Thank you for the cache

My 1621. Smiley on the map

Post event caching with CC and _Pax_

After the last couple, this was definitely not a quick easy find. We all searched a few places and CC thought he'd seen something, but it turned out to be a smiley ball and not the ball that would give us a smiley (if that makes any sense). A bit more looking, some reading previous logs, then looking at it from a different angle... and then I thought I spotted a cache shaped hole... then a bit of teamwork for getting the cache out and then we could get our names on the log. Finally!!

Just after finding this one we got to watch a helicopter taking off nearby, which was pretty cool too.

Thanks for the cache! (#1652)

We weren’t having a ball looking for this cache, but suddenly I spotted something that was ball shaped…was quite the challenge fo grab it, but I managed to grab it.

Turns out it was a random ball with a smilie face on it!!

We resumed searched and after a few minutes started to walk away, got a few steps and decided to check one last area.

There it is! What a perfect sized hiding spot!

Walking away from this cache with two smilies (see photo).

Thanks

Saw it but didn’t reach to grab it

We came. We saw. We didn’t log

Saw it, but didn't extract it. No one in our party prepared to go for it this time

Found it!

Found it.
Not hard.
The question is how did you find the spot to start with?
Thanks for placing this cach and all the other stuff you do.

Did this with TaraTed while waiting for an extra key for my sprinter van, which had to be electronically done in Auckland. With no wheels available this involved over an hour walking for the round trip in warm conditions. However, it was worth it when after some dexterity (by Ted) we finally spied the entrance way and using a tool got hold of the cache. A great hide. Tftc funkymunkyzone. TFTC Blenheim Bear

Did this while waiting for an extra key which had to be electronically done in Auckland for our vehicle. With no wheels available this involved over an hours walking for the round trip in warm conditions. However it was worth it when after some dexterity we finally spied the entrance way and using a tool got hold of the cache. A great hide. Tftc funkymunkyzone.

In the area with the scooter
Gets a favorite from as

Nice easy find on the scooter today in the area thanks

didn't realize that there was a helicopter port nearby
searched for cache as 1 took off above us.
tftc

With Gap (of Fap and Gap)… The NZ Mega is done and dusted, and now behind us. What to do for the rest of the day? The plan is to continue caching together with (Mr) Davidson Clan, McJandals, and Philip.Perry…

The whirr of helicopter rotors made for an edgier visit… It took a slight change in angle to spot the cache. Thanks FMZ and TFTC.

Up in Auckland for the mega with Philip.Perry and McJandals. Left home at 0300 over the hill to Tauranga to pick up the others in Auckland by 6am. Only plans today are to attend Mega sign log there then follow the map to get as many caches as possible. Signed logs TeamBOP.

Team BOP is back on the road this time heading to Auckland with our sights set on some Labs, puzzle solves and the NZ Mega 2020… I mean 2022

Our current incarnation includes Davidson Clan, McJandals and myself and we’ve signed the cache logs as ‘Team BOP’ to save time and log space. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed the journey as most caches have been found quickly & without fuss thanks to accurate coords and a straight forward placements.

I appreciate there’s a stigma attached to cut’n’paste logs like these so I’ll try to provide cache specific notes retrospectively when I get home. We do genuinely respect the work put into these caches, particularly some of the puzzles, but with a numbers mission like this - the hides start to blur together unfortunately. So Cheers COs, TFTC and most importantly - thanks for bringing us here

FINALLY we get to attend the MEGA. Attending as part of Team BoP. We have a load of solved puzzles and whilst we are concentrating on those, won’t pass up on trads either.

I am logging using the Cachly app template so please excuse generic logging along the way. It’s just my way of keeping track, but I do genuinely thank each and every one of you cache owners for taking the time and energy to place these caches. Many Thanks for bringing me here. Cheers.

Could not find it.

Reading a few of the previous activity records gave us a clue.... Very clever

Coords spot on and Mrs Oz in NZ with the slender hand and arm soon had the cache revealed. Clever use of bison to keep the log protected and dry. Thank you funkymunkyzone for bringing us to an area we had never visited before.

Been in Auckland visiting family and now heading home. After Mrs Rubbishparty had some retail therapy at Sylvia Park we came here to walk the dog and collect some smileys. This took a while. Seemed more than a 1.5 difficulty. Pleased that we persisted and finally spotted it. Thanks for the smiley.

Out on bike ride but no pen to sign log. Tftc

TFTC DID NOT SIGN AS NO PEN

Found

Took a wee while to find....
Lucky to have small hands!
Harder to put it back in!

Found it complete with a friendly Weta

Mind the bees. Beautiful day for a walk during Level 3 (Sat 29 Aug) when I found this cache. Karo in flower and bees galore. Loved the thrill of the chase 9n this one. Reread multiple times for braving the jungle one last time and resorting to 'geocacher intuition'. Success! TFTC - one of my favs.

What a great cach. It was my son who spotted the hole, and said it must be down here. It the took us a while to figure out how to retrieve. Great fun. Thanks.

We found the log and Lydia was the one who got the geocache

Find number 3864. I spent some time at GZ before I discovered the hide. Not being able to extract the cache I resorted to having to use a natural tool from nearby. Thankfully this worked and I was able to sign the log. Thank you for the placement.

TFTC this was so fun!

Near little cache. Had to have 2 goes at it as we weren't in the right spot first time. Didn't have a pen to sign either

Took longer than it should as Mrs beconaze had to recheck an area that Mr beconaze had already been in. She found the likely spot but was not sticking her had in there so back Mr beconaze came to do the duties and to come up with the cache

Thank

Since we were in the area we thought we would carry on the walk to collect the other two caches on this path.We both really enjoyed this cache.Loved how it was themed and loved the hide even the fun that we had to retrieve it.Gets a fav point from us.

I was lucky today ..had a second go at this one ..good job I have got thin arms which was of advantage the first time in my life !!!

I'm from Switzerland and spend 4 months in New Zealand on vacation. Found this cache the second time quickly, thanks.

We had to give up because my partner banged his head..found it quite difficult...too and a helicopter nearly blew me off my feet while taking off..maybe we find it next time ?!

Love this hide. Had a ball. Tftc

We used one of our children as a “helper”. Very clever hide. TFTC

Found it. It took 2 people working together to reach it.

Had our bikes out in this part of town again. This time took the time to figure out where the caches were, that we hadn't done. Very clever hide here. SL. TFTC.

Enjoying a nice leisurely bike ride along here later on Saturday afternoon. Nice sneaky hide, TFTC

This area was in between appointments today and having a big time space decided to take a walk in the sunshine that Auckland shared today.

Only came across a few cyclist along the way to GZ and upon arriving had the place to myself....
A little search of the area and nothing stood out, so rechecked the maps and some of the older logs and found the required info to enable the find.....

The cache is all good and a nice hide.

TFTC.

Out with alpenmilch80 for some rage caching today as we'd been hoping to get out yesterday but chose the dry option of staying indoors instead.

Start of a good afternoon here for me with a nice quick find thanks to some long arms and a check for creepy crawlies. Cool balls, TFTC

After yesterdays storm today seemed a bit better. Did meet up with evilno9 to get some steps and geocaches into our day. Thanks to evilno9 long arms this one was retrieved easily. TFTC

Found another, more easily accessible ball nearby, but it clearly did not contain any cache or log. When we found it soon after that, I was trying to find an easier way of obtaining the cache - to no avail. Eventually we stopped and thought about where we were and used our surroundings to the best of our ability. It took some work, but we got the cache out after some effort.

Sneaky... Took a while to get though as we didn't want to use our hands in so we improvised. At least it's easier to put it back. Helicopter took off just as we were signing the log. Pretty cool. Tftc

Great hide in a interesting spot. Liked the container
TFTC

Spotted the cache, retrieval required teamwork but we got there and signed the log. Found with darthcacher1 and purply. Clever hide

Hit the ball. Thanks for the cache.

Nice little trip on my bike in the area. Quick find along way. TFTC

Loverly day for a bike ride with scouts TFTC.

Fun with scouts

Out and about to get a few caches today to round off a big month for us. This is a good place to bring the hound for a walk so we walked down here and got this one. Always seems like there should be more caches along here, I assume there's a few puzzle finals we haven't solved, oh well will have to keep working on those.

Got to GZ, and once we looked from the right angle could see what we needed to retrieve - a job for the half with long(er) arms and managed to get it. Signed and replaced, a bit worried it would run away but no, very well done. Thanks for the fun cache.

Log to follow

Flash backs of a scene from "Temple of Doom". Thanks.

Tftf

Long arms definitely came in handy retrieving this one. It was a bit dark so we weren't 100% sure if what we were retrieving was actually the cache so were pleased to find it was and not something less appealing.
Great hide, we definitely had a ball finding it and were also rewarded with a fantastic rainbow. TFTC.

Cool hiding spot

Quick find but not so quick to retrieve. Eventually got it. Nice cache

Great hide. Jack wouldn't put his smaller arm in but we fished it out. The first ever cache for my son!!

Cool camo !

Great hide. Thanks for bringing us to this walkway.

Cool hiding spot!

After a bit of searching we found the nice hide. We also watched 3 helicopters take off from over the fence. Miss Davieland liked that! TFTC.

What an ingenious hide. I recognised it instantly. It helped having more than one set of hands. tftc

Out caching with pazzabella, Bertie Blowfish and merlot58, along with a few geodogs. Found the hide and spotted the cache. Now how to extract it? Pazza found a stick to push it out, but I just stuck my arm down and grabbed it out. What a nifty location for the cache .

Pazza was on to this quickly. A Very cool hide/camo. The geodogs loved it! Tftc

Nice little cache, little geocachers grabbed this one without trouble. Tftc

First time out geo-biking; took the kids for an out and back along this lovely walk/cycle way on a fairly windy afternoon. Nice clever little hide, which I found straight away. Didn't think I'd be able to get my arm in, so I pushed from the other end with a stick while the youngest cacher pulled it out the other end. Of course, when I put it back, I decided to see if I could put my arm all the way in and I could have... #166

Eventually found the little sucker in a really good hiding spot. Could I reach it. Nope! Found a handy tool locally which gave me just enough extra to reach it. Good hide and a fave for the idea. TFTC

Spending the morning cycling along this path as a family and of course knocking off a few caches at the same time. Made a quick find but took a little long to extract as the geokids wanted to have a go first but they didn't have the necessary length appendage needed to get at it. We liked the effort put into setting this one up - fav point from us. TFTC

Out enjoying a walk along the edge of the Manukau Harbour this afternoon, and stopped to find this cleverly hidden cache. Spied the container after a short search. Took a little while to extract it from its hide. Thanks, giving it a Favourite point.

Tinytree24 and I had a ball with this one and another cache grabbed. TFTC.

Found with Bennett24. Got to see a helicopter land right next to us while doing this. TFTC.

No luck for me here today.

Cool idea for a cache. Bit of a stretch but got it, just. Fav point from us. Tftc.

On our 50 day streak for our current GIO licence and this is day 4. As it was such a nice evening we thought we take a long stroll to this one. A nice quick find once at GZ, my attached TOTT was just about long enough to reach the cache! TFTC

Great view of mangere, very peaceful with the tide in. Bit of stretch to get me onto the dance floor though. Tftc!

Amazing hide spot. Found while on a 6km run. First found some promising rubbish that didn't turn out to be a cache. Then me and sis were stumped on how to get the cache out. Much easier with 2 people. After some stick action, we logged it. TFTC

Awesome hide tftc

A slow detour on my way home from work finding a couple so thought id stop for this one. Initially, parked on Hugo Johnson Dr but too far to walk with limited time. So drove over to Miami Pde and walked in from there. A quick find at GZ and nicely placed, TFTC!

An interesting hide. Lucky i have the necessary appendage on my body. Tftc

Love the hide.

Nice lunchtime walk alongside the Manukau Harbour. Tide right out and mud flats as far as the eye can see. Initially thought this may take some finding with many likely looking spots for hiding a micro cache available at gz but I soon noticed something a little different. Long arms came in handy and the cache was retrieved. Log signed. Liked the hide. Fav point given. Great place to come for a walk, run or cycle. TFTC - Kiwi

Found with kiwi adventurer while on a pleasant bike ride

Great find with kiwi adventure and daughter on a bike ride

GPS co-ordinates were spot on for this one. The youngest gave retrieval a go but some slightly longer arms were called for today - fortunately we had a spare set on hand. Excellent location - TFTC!!

Found it!

Out walking with GAR and sister and her kids (casaba3) and our 3 dogs this afternoon while our daughter and a friend visited the food show. We parked at the cemetery and walked in this direction, therefore passing this cache and, although casaba3 have already made the finds here, GAR and I had not. So we stopped and GAR found it in no time and I retrieved it, signed the log and had it replaced shortly after. Great to add to our finds this afternoon so thanks for the cache funkymunkyzone.

Had fun extracting it but you have to use Team work TFTC