JMG Observes the Natives (Canterbury) Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand
By justmeg on 27-May-12. Waypoint GC3M917

ItchyFeet2020 and NZ_B are travelling south for the Mega and stopped in to Christchurch for a few days. We planned Sunday brunch and did a spot of geocaching afterwards, as you do.The hunt was quite long for this cache, probably about half an hour. IF managed to get some pretty nasty scratches from the prickles, and we had all but given up when I did one last sweep and found the battered cache lying on the ground. We replaced the cache to a much more sensible posy for future finders.Thanks for the cache.

NZ_B and I are on a road trip to the Geo Toroa Mega - Oct 24. I am also keen to get a multi everyday so it is now the Mega Multi Road Trip. Today is Day 2 of our trip hanging out in Christchurch. This cache was one on our journey. I really enjoyed the puzzle solve and it's right up my interests. Now the find was a different story. Having met up with ThatDarnBear the three of us were looking for a long time. I managed to scratch myself a fair bit. Eventually ThatDarnBear made the find on the ground. A big cheer allround, signed and returned to an obvious spot consistent with hint, but lower. It's nice to have a trip where alongside targeted caches we also take time to find one's on a whim or ones that take a bit longer. We have all day and the caches are calling...

I solved this one yesterday while on the ferry crossing Cook Strait. I did enjoy solving the puzzle -all layers.Today we visited GZ and searched; not a quick search but a thorough search. Itchyfeet2020 incurred some scratches. After discussion we were just about to give up when ThatDarnBear said she had found it -right where I had walked, but not looked in that particular spot. We returned the cache to a more safer spot, about 10 cms above GK and within 1 metre of the coordinates.I am using this cache for the Challenging Caches module of the [GC30AD8](http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC30AD8) DGSC Challenge (West Coast), New Zealand. To be able to start it I needed to have completed the Bachelor series and the Masters cache which I did in 2022.And so 7 days after returning home from a five month trip to the UK and Europe, I am off on another trip. This time its within New Zealand as Itchyfeet2020 and I are on our mega road trip to Dunedin. We are focussing on particular caches for various challenges, as well as having a great lot of fun and seeing the scenery in our wonderful land. TFTC justmeg.-LET US HAVE A BLOCK PARTY!!!On May 3rd, 2025, we will be celebrating 25 years of geocaching in Rotorua, New Zealand with a special Block Party event. Join us to celebrate 25 years of this amazing game, and that the very first geocache hidden outside of the United States, 25 years ago, was hidden here in New Zealand.You do not want to miss this event, so check out the "[GCAKR25](https://coord.info/GCAKR25) 25 Years of Geocaching NZ! event page, the [event website](http://25years.geocache.nz/) for more details, join the [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/924894455969387) group, and sign up to the [email list](http://25years.geocache.nz/?p=4) to get updates...If you intend to come, please make sure you get your "Will Attend" log onto the page as soon as you can in order to assist with planning the first ever Block Party in New Zealand.-

Found it! The puzzle fell into place pretty quickly once I worked out what was going on, and a little hunt around at GZ turned up this lovely thematic cache. TFTC!

This was a fun puzzle! Solved quite quickly once I figured out the theme! Coordinates for final were spot on. The cache is looking a bit worse for wear but still usable! TFTC!

Surprised myself by being able to complete the puzzle, although it did take more sitting. Cache retrieval was uneventful, the coordinates being spot on for me. Enjoyed the cache decoration; TFTC

A little adventure with offspring. Given my previous unsuccessful visit(s), I was hoping daughter could provide some clues. She did not, but I managed to get there with the granddaughter! I realised later in the day that it was the 22nd already, so I put the wrong date in the logbook... TFTC!!

Very cute cache, we loved it! TFTH and the puzzle.

Found the cache while doing the multi in the area. Took a few moments to find and love the cache

We were able to solve the puzzle even though we never worked out the "Don't be greedy!" word. We had a little hunt at GZ, finding the hint just a little bit off. The "shrub" is more of a tree by now, and "waist-high" is more like knee high. There is blackberry at the edge of the clearing but not at GZ, which is further in. The cache is very cute. Favorite. TFTC justmeg!

Lockdown is now level two so I'm enabling my caches again. Please use hand sanitiser thanks.

Due to NZ being in lockdown for EVERYONE, tourist or resident alike, ALL logs will be deleted until the lockdown period is over and this cache has ben enabled again. Stay home, be safe people.

No joy at GZ

On a soggy wet afternoon this was a bright spot. Best not to ask where we got the answer, but it was worthwhile. This quite old cache was all warm and dry and not that hard to find. There were no prickles, no clinging vines, just a little darkness and very clear underfoot. Add in the Kingfishers and the Piwakawaka and the world took on a brighter hue. Thanks.

hmmm... geocheck agrees, but no luck finding the cache. Plenty of blackberry near and far.

Did a couple of wide circles before diving in and having a good look. Spotted it but didn't actually click that that was it. But sure enough. Nice hide tucked away. Cold blustery overcast day, unsurprisingly, hidden away in the bush while signing was quite sheltered and nice haha. GLB1721 TFTC (4415)

Ah ha, glad to have a second crack at this and with my little helpers to throw in and collect, much more luck this time. A challenging puzzle and glad to have it finally ticked off. Cute little cache hiding spot too. Cheers

When we got near the site we saw a gentleman with a very large camera taking photos of the birds. Oh oh right where we want to go! Not quite thank goodness. Loved the cache. Thanks for the puzzle its taken us a while to get round to solving it. A favourite from us. TFTC

I started this puzzle several months ago and after filling in Level 2, I really didn't have a clue what to do. CO helpfully provided a hint and I worked out I had one wrong answer even in Level 1. A rethink and and an "ah that's it" moment gave me the numbers I needed. A visit today to find the cache and success - not quite at the height I was expecting but spotted it quite quickly all the same. Thanks Just Meg for another awesome puzzle and cache.

I had previously looked at this puzzle and thought it was much too difficult but last night I glanced at it again and something clicked. I didn't get all the required answers but enough to let the numbers speak for themselves. It was a nice find at GZ although the main container is hanging a little precariously. Signed log. TFTC!

09/09/2016 2:58:00 PM
7472
Cache for the day time.

I'd meant to leave earlier in the day, but decided to finally try get round to sorting out some photobooks for the last 3 years like I've been meaning to!

Well, spent the entire morning therefore re-arranging photos on the computer! And that hasn't even involved starting the photobook yet! This will take a while!!

So I finally decided to get up and go. I was planning a couple hours to attack all my solved and unfound puzzles in the vicinity.

Well, this one has been sitting on the to find list for a while, and today was finally time for it!!

Cache was surprisingly a quick find ! yay! But logsheet it quite wet unfortunately! Not a muggle in sight on a weather day like today and a weekday too!

Consec caching day # 1405

TFTC!!

Took a few nights to get this puzzle solved but eventually got some good looking co-ordinates. Was out this way for a family outing so decided to try and locate this cache. Spotted the cache pretty quickly. Nicely done. Thanks for the puzzle, and the cache

We were planning to go to the Groynes to do the multi so I thought it was high time that I solved this puzzle. With the help of Mr Google I got all the answers except two but I had enough information to get the final co ords.
The cache was quickly spotted but it definitely made me look twice. Very well made. We will give this one a favourite point for the cache alone! TFTC.

Finally got this sorted.no muggles at 1611 to look out for so was able to do a search and recovery. Found all good and we'll intact looked impressive. ..signed the log. Thanks for bringing me here to this place, TFTC justmeg , from Mr Cuddly Brick 20 April 2016, cache number #1310! FP from me

Cache was found on Day 4 of the NZ MEGA 2015 caching trip, as Gunnie69 and myself started the day by heading up the very scenic Dyers Pass Road, for a couple of caches and some magnificent views. We were then joined by GreenGeckos, Kyzabra, Jinta29, tealby and urch, with the aim of collecting 12 different cache types in a day, that stretched from Kaiapoi to the centre of Christchurch!

Thanks justmeg for the efforts of putting out the cache and making it an enjoyable day!

An Aussie Army of hunters embarked on this one and the cache was found in quick time. Pack hunting with Ghostgums, Jinta29, Kyzabra, The Green Geckos, Tealby and Urch, we were picking off some solved puzzles between events over this weekend. The Green Geckos secured the find and we all added our names to the log... [^]

A nicely crafted container and a nice little puzzle.

Cheers justmeg.

Out with the Aussie lads for a bit of mega caching. Awesome caching in a beautiful unfamiliar place.. Thank you justmeg for placing and maintaining this cache.

Kyzabra and I headed over for the Christchurch Mega from Perth, WA. We teamed up with our caching buddies from Queensland, Gunnie69 and GhostGums for a bulk of the finds. We were joined by tealby, urch, Gunnie69, The Green Geckos, GhostGums on this leg of our journey.

A lot of planning was involved with literally hundreds of puzzles solved and we targeted some highly favorited caches as well as those that filled gaps in grids and calenders!

We had a fantastic time caching in the cooler climate and with no fear of snakes or other nasties! Christchurch is my old home town but I did not know about caching when I lived there so it was fun exploring the City with a different objective.

We were glad to grab the smiley on this one and we replaced the container as found. Thanks justmeg for placing this and bringing us to this spot!

This is my find #4246 and find #16 today.

Jinta29 and I decided to head out this morning and grab a few smileys. we joined up with gunnie69, Ghostgums, the green geckos, Urch and Tealby before heading to the Mega.
A fav here for the camo. Well done.

justmeg - Kyzabra found your cache JMG Observes the Natives (Canterbury) on 25/10/2015, 11:24 AM. This is my find #4147 and find #17 today. The cache is in good shape and we replaced it as found. Thanks for placing this and bringing us to this spot!

A group of us from Oz over for the Mega teamed up today to go cache hunting, with our wishlist being to find 12 varieties of caches in a day, a feat only possible whilst a Mega is being held.
With many eyes searching we had no problems spotting the cache.
Many thanks for the puzzle and the cache justmeg.

Urch and I were on a mission today, and joined up with Kyzabra and Jinta29 to find 12 different cache types in one day (or 11 types for me, as the Tealby B Team had already found the one & only virtual in Christchurch). This was one of many puzzle caches that were found - although the hint is a little misleading as the cache was much lower than expected and we had to go bush to find it. TFTC.

after a wet morning had a great walk in the afternoon and found it

Solved puzzles relatively easy, got to GZ and required a PAF (or EAF) to make the find after bout 20 minutes of fruitless searching. Nice hide. TFTC.

The second of 2 puzzle caches we looked for here today. We were so cold, and it took us a while. The clue had us a little off-track, but then Corunnaroad spotted it. Very cute. enjoyed the puzzle- got the brain-cells chugging. tftc

All quiet here in the park today as it was so cold. Took a while before it was spotted. Thanks for the challenge and cute cache container.

Whilst out and about with Nosynel at the Groynes I took the opportunity to find this one which I had previously solved. What a fun puzzle, soon twigged to the theme and loved the cryptic nature of the clues. The find took a bit of pottering about but then Nosynel and I honed in on the most likely target. Ah I might have expected a 'container' like that. I hope it doesn't get muggled by a cheeky pukeko! Thanks for the puzzle and hide JustMeg . A fav from me

Enjoyed this. Puzzle and cache were not too hard. Tftc

I dropped by today and put a new log in the cache. It's still waterproof paper so please make sure you use a pen to sign the log, thanks.

Ahhh bother. Solved it a while ago and we were stopping here to eat our dinner and led the kids on a fun walk around the place. Stopped at GZ, found a lovely little bracelet which the kids started arguing over (typical) but no cache seen. Hmmmm. i'll come back for another hash at it. Cheers

I enjoyed all parts of this puzzle. I had to put the puzzle away for a bit and think about step two. Then when I found it it was such a cute wee surprise.

I had solved this and was in the area and had the cache to hand relatively quickly. A clever end to a clever puzzle. Such a shame there are some over zealous searchers the GZ has taken a bit of a hiding. Thanks for the hide and puzzle.

OK so it was my powers of observation at fault last time. Sorry to send you out on a pointless maintenance run
An easy find today, and one that put a smile on my face <- like that.
Thanks for the puzzle and the cache.

The cache is exactly where it should be. I took the opportunity to put a water resistant log in place though so please use a pen to sign. Happy caching

yep this one and pukeko were the two I mentioned earlier today. Pretty sure nothing is wrong with this one and its still in place

It seems that in the storms the other month a pine tree feel on or very near the cache. As a result I was unable to locate it without trashing the planting (and I wasn't about to start that behaviour).

This was fine last time I checked but will disable until checked

Popped back today to replace temp log with the "real" one which has stirred out nicely overnight.
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[blue][size=1]This log was posted with CacheSense for Android - [url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.barees.android.cachesensedemo]CacheSense at Google Play[/url][/size][/blue]

Cache #900.
Solved this puzzle a while ago - and like most of JMG's it wasn't easy.
This is my "J" puzzle for the Z-A Puzzle cache - just one more needed, a "Z". There is one in Auckland that I have solved, located, but failed to extracted before doing myself an injury. So guess I'll be using the wildcard if I want to get the Z-A Puzzle cache before getting back to Auckland in October.

Made my way to GZ. Surprisingly google navigate took me to with metres of the actual cache. A park and grab. Yeah!
Found the required container and did need the help of something from my caching bag. Initially thought the log as black with mildew, but it was just the logo. The paper was really damp, so after phoning CO I have left a replacement sheet and taken the log to dry it out.

Thanks for the work put into all aspects of this cache.

I'm so busy taking pictures again while sevren looking for the cache.nice cache i thought its real but not.tftc

Found the theme and answers quickly with this JMG puzzle (not often I do that) and had the coordinates in hand quite quickly. I actually had no addition miss-calculations either. Today was the day for walks around lakes and this one was a must do for the day. Little bit of searching but found the cool cache within a few minutes with few people in the area or wandering by. Great hide and thanks for the puzzle and hunt.

Out and about on a surprisingly warm 'winters day' chasing a few puzzles with Hello Mrs. A very enjoyable visit to the area, and cache spotted without any disturbance to the natives.

Many thanks for the cache justmeg

This one was on our must do list for solved puzzles this weekend. A great day out with ADV. TFTC

Had no option but to leave this last trip. We first arrived with the original co-ordinates then rain stopped us returning. Back on a lovely day today with the solved values carefully recorded. Second from the CO today that gave us a nice short walk and a quick find. Cute cache container that made us smile.
Thanks for the puzzle and cache. A favourite.

We are familiar with the theme of this puzzle and found it very enjoyable to solve. Took the long way to GZ today, but once there made a quick find of the nicely camoed container. Gets a favourite point from us.

I dropped by the cache today and replaced the log as it was a little damp. Everything else is was looking good here.

#4295. Troodles had found this one the day before. We had other business in the area, so we called by here. Coords seemed a bit off, but I got a nudge in the right direction. TFTC.

7 - This was a pretty cool find, puzzle was a bit of a killer but worth it!

Enjoyed the puzzle very much and the hide as well, though took a while to find as the GPSr wanted me to search elsewhere (and judging by the elephant tracks, others may also have had this problem). After expanding the search, Oma was delighted to find it.
Thanks for the puzzle and the cache.

Finally twigged onto the theme when doing another puzzle, funny that. Great puzzle and final is excellent. A favorite from us. My eldest loved it and asked if it was real. Good job, good fun. Any excuse to come to this spot is welcomed. Last one for the afternoon back to the truck and off to watch some planes and McD's for dinner. Thanks for the effort.
#389

#410 Solved this one ages ago but had to do a fly by last time as PD Muggles at the GZ site. This time as we flew by to fish, we saw that the coast was clear. Swooped in to perch and look around. Carefully, so we didn't disturb any natives, we retrieved the cache. Log book a bit damp but still writeable. TFTC a favourite point from me.

Tried catching a fish but as had no hooks on line when practicing fly fishing a bit hard to catch one lol loved it

This entry was edited by Pokernet on Thursday, 20 September 2012 at 03:51:00 UTC.

9624... A nicely themed puzzle, was expecting lots of muggles at GZ, as luck would have it... no need to worry about being observed by the natives, it was all quiet today, TFTC.

A nice puzzle and a sweet cache at GZ. I liked the empty car park too. A quick find, thanks.

This one had the grey matter working hard,solved a week ago,found while passing today.Loved the final container,TFTC

Thought I knew the theme of the puzzle, made such a slow start as I was lost in translation at level 1. However with extra tuition I was able to make speedy progress at level 2. Today was a great day to visit GZ & was delighted it was so quiet so we could admire the surroundings of the cache. Happy to say the cache is safe & sound, signed the log & continued on our way.

A lovely warm afternoon so headed out with the fanily for a wander at The Groynes, feed the ducks and find a couple caches. Solved the puzzle back at publication without too much trouble but haven't been near the area during daylight hours to try and find it. Today was the lucky day. GPS co-ords bang on....found the cache in the first spot I checked & it was as I suspected. Nice one! Great puzzle and hide. Carried on our wander around the lake edge to a sunny sheltered spot so the wee dudes could enjoy their afternoon tea and feed the ducks. Thanks for the effort involed in creating the puzzle and placing the hide.

#1828 @1505
My eldest son needed some driving practice so it was off for a bit of caching. Solved this in the early hours of this morning so was keen to find it today. Enjoyed the puzzle. GPS had me a few metres off so was searching fruitlessly for a while, then read the hint and soon had the log signed. TFTC.

TFTC. Delighted to be second to find the puzzle cache. Well this cache was a pleasure from beginning to end. I was a bit slow to click to the puzzle connection at first, but it all became clear to me yesterday afternoon.
The visit to GZ was great this morning - lots of people about involved in their various recreational activities, but none anywhere near where I was heading.
I gave a laugh of delight when I was the cache container.
Puzzle, location and cache all added together to make a real favourite for me. Thanks JM for your efforts.

Interesting journey, having made a few wrong turns/typo's with our own caches so had some real empathy when could not get the geocher to go off . Could not get the GPS to settle at GZ but relatively quickly sorted

Like the puzzle and cache with a well thought out and constructed fully themed cache ( some may find it v familiar to one of ours - oh but thinking about it probably many can't solve it ! lol ) Thanks again JM for time and effort you have clearly invested in this cache for our enjoyment LGM

Nice little combination puzzle cache filled in yesterday morning for me nicely. Got the first green tick but then I decided I would leave finding the cache till tomorrow and it would satisfy my 'dot day' requirement as I returned from shopping in the city. Arrived near GZ at 1pm to find a granddad and 2 grandkids fishing right near where I wanted to go. I decided to wait them out. After 2 mins they gave up on the fishing (too weedy) and returned to and sat in their car for about 15mins before driving away. Phew, at last! The cache was discovered after a few minutes search, but I had to return to the cachemobile to fetch a tool. Love the cache placement. Was amazed to discover that I was FTF. This gets a favourite from me. Thanks for an interesting cache justmeg.

Minor error change on letters for 5 Down in Level 2 adjusted so letters match letter value and total... total did not change

Finally !

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