Pukeko Hideaway (Wellington) Lower Hutt, North Island, New Zealand
By Troodles on 09-Sep-12. Waypoint GC3WDFD

Nice quick find on the way further up! TFTC!

Targeting size other caches this month brought me here this morning. Equipped with torch, I ventured up the track and could see a few hint objects, let the phone GPS settle down, went to the nearest one and found the cache just as the hint said but lying in the open. Seemed like no better place for it but covered a little with some natural cover. Thanks Troodles#1220

Lovely find. Had someone walk past me on the trail who I dont think even realised I was in the trees!

On our way for a walk up the firebreak to the top. Nice to be able to pick up a few caches on the way. TFTC

A fairly quick find after walking up the wet slippery path, with a few possible hint objects. We went equipped with a new log and plastic bag, only to discover, as we thought, that TwigNZ had beaten us to it yesterday. As the new logsheet wasn't waterproof, we added our plastic bag for good measure. We now find the logsheet was added before TwigNZ's visit. TFTC

This evening, a work 'thing' meant that I was in a part of Lower Hutt that I seldom visit. Having sorted the ;'thing' out, I looked at the app to see if there was a nearby cache, and sure enough there was this one. An easy walk along the brookside brought me to GZ, where the find was pretty much instant. It's only now as I read the previous log that I realise that some kind soul has done some maintenance as I found a pristine log in the container.Thanks for setting this one up.

Thanks to the unknown person who replaced the log book.

I no longer live in the area so would be very grateful if the next finder brings a very small logbook and plastic bag as a replacement.

Found it forgot pen

Notebook has been waterlogged and needs attention from cache owner.

The long grass was wet as we made our way to the cache but you’d expect that where the pukekos live! Cache was in hand quickly - very clever hide once again. Log was disintegrating so we couldn’t sign it but have a photo of proof of find. TFTC

Found! Interesting little track!

Love it! Log a bit damp but writable
Many thanks

A lovely fun obvious cache to finish my trek through the hills. Thanks Troodles!

To days the day for a walk to pick up this one . Back in my happy place in the hills any where .
To day it took me a car ride , then a plane and a train and of course a nice walk the best part to get this one .
In the hill over looking Wellington
It was a spectacular Wellington day for a walk in the hill with not a breath of wind .
It was a slippery walk in the hills today but that not going to stop my adventures and I soon had the gz in my sites.
After a quick search I soon had the cache in hand and the log book signed.
Now to slide my way down .
It's been a beautiful day where else would you want to be .
Now on with my Wellington adventures

Getting out and about int the out doors is my happy place so any excuse to go caching.

Life is short. Live one foot step at a time.Never say" I'm gonna "- Just do it!!
Thanks for the hide
tftc

Cuuuuuute!

On my way up the hill to find and log "The 1000 Day Challenge" cache. Decided to take this track up to nab a few caches on the way. GeoHubby came up the track a little way to grab this cache too.
Cache was a quick find, but some ants had begun to make a nest in the container... Yuck... Cleaned out as many ants as we could, logged and replaced. Then I went one way, up the hill, and GeoHubby went the other way, back to the car. It wasn't long before I thought to myself that I should have gone back to the car with him....... Some gnarly climbs on this track...

Day 2 of my road trip to the Mega.
I decided that this was the closest access point to the Challenge cache up the hill not realising that I didn’t have the final coordinates loaded.
I got quite a surprise to discover a Troodles cache here. You two sure do get around.
The poor Puke has lost his legs but the log is remaining dry.
A quick find before the huff and puff.
TFTC

Perched there nicely. Tftc!

Awesome fine and the best out of all of them yet

My main aim for the day was to head up into the hills to log the 1000 day challenge. As I was driving I still hadn't entirely decided which route up I was going to take, it would depend on my mood and the weather. As I got closer the view of the fire break was a bit daunting but I decided to head up this way (from Wilkie Crescent) as there were a few caches to encourage me. This was my first of the day, and a quick find. Cute container. Thanks for the information in the cache description about accessing the track. TFTC

Nice to find this as the nearby entrance looked closed ie padlocked gates. However, I ventured in on foot and found the pukeko. Log a bit damp, but signable. Tftc

#1128. I was on a mission over the last few days to get a bunch of virtuals, letterbox hybrids, challenge caches and any traditionals that happened to get in the way during my trip to Wellington. This cache right here was one such traditional that I got on the way to the 1000 Day challenge further up the hill.

When I saw the cache I got a big smile on my face and so for that reason it gets a favourite point from me.

Thanks very much for the cache!

Awesome find in the heart of Naenae

#1050. Last day of 2019, and I needed a couple more caches to complete a couple of self-imposed challenges. After attending the Get Smart 2019 event, and nabbing the Beeps and Boops multi nearby, this was the next to seek out. A beautiful day for a walk with GB Leader and JustLookingOO for a nice easy find. Loved the cache. Nicely hidden.

Tftc Troodles. FP.

This was an easy retrieve, don't be put off by the description. Can easily slip through the entrance gates to get access to clear/dry dirt path to the cache - guess it might be different if wet. There are no nasty blackberry/gorse bushes at the actual cache site either, and they don't hinder the trail currently.
Loved the creative cache - well worth the wee walk with RogerW1nz and GB Leader.
TFTC

# 1625 Trying to knock off caches down the valley from me in ever increasing distances from home. This one has a clue I need for the museum mystery challenge so it needed to be found so I can progress. A fun wee walk on a very slippery track in entirely inappropriate shoes. Thoroughly enjoyed it though and made me aware of yet another track into the eastern hills. Cheers Troodles for this one.

Even though this cache is not far away from the street for some reason I'd never come here before until I decided to use this route to climb up the firebreak. The entry from Wilkie Cres feels a bit dubious with not one but two gates preventing access. However I saw no legitimate reason to prevent access to the Firebreak this way so in I went.

As is usually the case when I haven't found any caches for while my first find doesn't go very smoothy but I eventually found the highly amusing container without having to retry on my return. The log is dry enough though not double bagged any more as advertised. Something else is a bit odd with what appears to be a mounting post next the cache. I wasn't sure if the cache was supposed to be on it but I returned things as found.

The start of a good several hours of hiking today. TFTC.

I'm at the end of the loop that I did starting at Summit Rd with a side trip to my objective for this walk, the 1000 day challenge. Lots of ripe blackberries here slowed me down. a couple of weeks or so ahead of Dunedin. Log was quickly found and put back in the care of the pukeko.

MEGA TRIP 2018.

As usual with the annual MEGA event, we partook in our annual MEGA Trip. However this year was a little different from others, with much more sleep and a little less time caching than usual, but just as much fun being had along the way.
The general goal for the trip was to focus on all the new Virtual caches published over the last year, visiting Cape Palliser (for the Southern most cache in the NI), and Castle Point, along with spending time at the MEGA Event. With this in mind hiring a campervan from Hamilton and seemed like the best way to tackle this goal, plus sleeping in a car with four people, would just be too cramped!
The trip was a great success, and our goals were achieved. A big thanks to all CO's for there hides.

LEG 2: Virtuals and exploring Wellington: Todays plan was to tackle the two new Wellington region virtuals, plus a few of other caches we had on the must do list.

The second walk of the day and also the second big slog up a hill. Barely started up the hill and already please for a rest. Thanks for the hide.

During lunch time on Friday I flew into Wellington from Auckland to meet up with some crazy Hamilton’s (11HPG11, Cats&Dragons & HKCB) to spend some time at the 2018 WENZ Mega and then driving the huge campervan back to the Tron. Before heading up towards the area of the Mega we had a tramp planned in to collect the 1000-day lonely cache. This one was collected on the way up. TFTC

It's Mega time! This year we decided to hire a motorhome and travel down in relative luxury, very different to the last few years. Our team this year consisted of Cats&Dragons, HKCB and later on Alpenmilch80, and myself, logs were signed as MEGAHOAC. We went on a bit of a whirlwind trip round the lower half of the north island, chasing virtuals, earthcaches and anything a little bit different.

After a big walk this morning the legs were a little tired but still plenty of caches to be found. Looks like a great place to explore. Loved the hide on this one, very cute.

A nice quick find. Love the container. TFTC

Quickly grabbed this one on my way up the mountain. Really enjoyed the container. TFTC

Awesome cache! Lost pen on the way to finding though

I've had this cache and this firebreak in my sights for a while, after a trip down the track about 20 years ago. We remembered it was steep! but now it's even steeper.
perfect day - dry and calm and cloudy, though very humid (and light rain after topping out and along to the Riser).
Came from Petone on the convenient 130 bus, and home on it again from Ludlam Crescent.
Book a bit damp but ok.
Easy find, thank you Troodles.

A quick walk from the trailhead resulted in a nice find of something poking its head around a tree. Everything in order. TFTC

#1621. Last find today after a loop up the firebreak from Summit Rd, then across the ridge and down to here. Didn't look in the right place initially due to the GPSr being behind while I was on the move, but I soon got it. TFTC.

I have been keeping an eye on this cache for a while now, since January. When I saw wb's comment that the log had deteriorated I came up to check it out. It was only by chance that I noticed that I had not previously logged a visit, so today is the day that it turns into a smile on my map!

The log does need replacing. I will attend to this shortly.

Thank you

Cherrys Rule

Found with wb-jnr. Quick find, log wet, temporary logsheet placed in bag inside container

Thanks for another smilie.

Did you know that planning has started for a Mega Event in Wellington in 2018? Check out the details on the [Wellington Event NZ (WENZ) Website](https://sites.google.com/site/wenzgeo2018/home) or visit the event’s page on [FaceBook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/590545297801072/)


Hoping to see you at the [Oamaru Geofest](https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC6M2V0_oamaru-geofest-2017) during Labour Weekend 21-22 October 2017. Let’s all help this a successful event!


Thanks to the Cache Owner who has gone to the trouble of creating this cache, determining the coordinates and then averaging them to make sure they are accurate, placing the cache and registering it online for our enjoyment. Without Cache Owners doing their bit, there wouldn’t be a fun hobby that we all love - so again a big THANK YOU. For our bit, all we need to do is find and log the cache that was carefully placed for our personal enjoyment. As we log it we should consider that the Cache Owner also needs to maintain it - when the log sheet fills up, they must replace it. When the container becomes full of water, they need to empty it. When the container is broken, they need to repair it. When it goes missing they need to find or replace it. Well..... the great news is we can do our bit too - make sure your log doesn’t take an entire page - just a name and date. If full of water, empty and dry the cache as best as possible. Be careful when handling the cache and make sure you replace it where you found it. If it has a bag, seal it. Just remember - the Cache Owner showed respect to you by placing the cache - please respect them and fellow cachers that follow you by being careful with the cache. And if you have a spare log sheet and the cache you are at needs one, please leave it behind. Finally, if the cache does need maintenance, please let the Cache Owner know - you can log a Maintenance Log or you can drop a line to the Cache Owner. Above all - have fun and remember the Geocaching Code.

On a holiday in New Zealand with geopartner in Wellington to explore and find a number of interesting caches. This one was collected on my return from getting the 1000 day challenge. TFTC

Found during a loop run across the Summit Road and Naenae fire breaks. Nice quick find here, all in good order. Had a bit of unwanted attention from a large dog, but nothing too serious. The dog's owner was very apologetic which was appreciated.

Good find after a good walk

A nice quick find and cute container! I've lived in Naenae my entire life and had no idea this existed so thank you for bringing me here! It's quite a nice walk. Also thank you Bruzie for the fresh paper, all nice and dry even after a night of rain

Headed up this way for a dot-day cache. Going all the way up the track wasn't an option, but this seemed close enough. A quick find at the GZ and a neat container. Left a scrap of paper in a fresh snaplock bag. TFTC+Fav

I would appreciate it if the next finder brings a replacement log book and plastic bag (micro sized) as I no longer live in the area.
Thanks.

Nice quick find in the last few minutes of daylight. Log is almost unusable. Loved the container !

Down in Stokes Valley today with D6NZ visiting friends and thought we would grab a few caches while we were there. Rain was not our friend today but that was not going to stop us. We headed up the track but once we reached this cache we decided we would turn back as we were getting rather damp.

Good clue making it a quick find, glad we had an appropriate extraction tool with us.

The log sheet however was a bit damp.

Heading off to Stokes Valley today to do visit some friends and do some caching on the way and some while we are there When we got there it starting to rain.

We walk in the rain along the track to find Pukeko Hidaway

Great cache Container

Found it and lovely hide but couldn't leave details as log totally soaked. Didn't have bag or paper to replace.

The kids loved this one! Tftc !!

As per the previous comments, there is no logbook to speak of, so we had to take desperate measures and stick a signed orange post it in the cache, even though we know it won't last more than a week or so!

We have a picture if ever needed as proof we came this way Fun and different little cache, thanks Troodles!

Took a while but we got it! Log book is missing though. Only the container remains.

After a boaring day in Waterloo with a series of no finds we did this one. Earns a FP. With greetings from Germany. :=)

Very slippery walk up in the dark, easy find at GZ, very cute cache container log was dry but so feathery it was hard to write on so I added a fresh piece of paper.

Found with Wafflekitties, very cool cache container

First search revealed nothing so today I cam back with my secateurs and gardening gloves to hack back some of the blackberry etc. Still no luck so I headed on up the firebreak to pick up a couple of caches higher up. On the way down I bumped into a fellow cacher who informed me I had been looking on the wrong side of the track. An easy find once I switched sides. duh! TFTC! and a FP from me for the swamp hen theme.

Great place for a swamp hen - bring your gumboots. The cache itself was high and dry but the log was a little damp. The outer bag had completely disintegrated and was just making it hard to extract the log so I have removed it. Possibly a very small inner bag would work. A FP for a fun container.

We found it, near a slightly less obvious punga. Our first ever geocache.

Heading up the hill to get some harder caches, and collected this on the way.

Loved the cache container - worth a favourite point from me - TFTC !

Found this cache while walking back down the hill late at night. What a great cache to find in the bush. TFTC

What a lovely Pukeko.tftc

#657. Had the day off work and it was stunningly calm and fine. So decided to visit Naenae and do some walks on the steeper tracks near the suburb. This was the first cache of the day and fortunately a straightforward find next to the hint object. A different type of cache container. Reminded me of the Christmas song. "And a pukeko in a **** tree". All good. TFTC

Thank you. I got to the general area but spent a while looking in the wrong spot. When I stopped and had a think about all i could I discern from the cache page I came up with a new idea of where to look and there it was. Very nice cache container.

Found it today with a couple mates. Very cool cache!

Was worried that the cache had been washed away by a landslide but checked out another location and found it without too much trouble. Loved the container! Thanks for the cache

Having finished my work at the client's site, and going back to the airport for the flight home, I took a slight detour to go and find this cache. Parked at the suggested place, jumped the gates and up on the track. Suddenly a cat shot out from the bushes and ran away in a haste. Arrived at GZ, and soon found the cache after not too much searching. Nice hide, but I think the camo was broken, in that it was lose of the stake in the ground.
Signed the log, and headed back to the car, taking off to the airport.

Macfam41 found on 1st dec. Nice cache.ta

Quick find this afternoon, a little soggy around the cache site but all was well at ground zero with the cache container and log book, great container, loved it. TFTC

This entry was edited by The3BearsNZ on Sunday, 19 October 2014 at 04:08:27 UTC.

Nice easy find this afternoon the track was a bit damp but not slippery and I soon had the cache to hand. Its no hanging about any more bits now very close to the punga. TFTC

#1157 Little detour after work to pick up my daily cache. Found quickly and without any muggle interference. Clever cache- very cute hanging out in the bushes.

Okay so we are the only ones who logged as not been able to find it, went back today and found it within seconds - we were overthinking this one big time last time!

Ideal conditions for swamp hens. Thanks

Great find close to home. Our first since being back in NZ. Log damp as bags have holes now. We forgot our pen so will have to go back and will take some bags with us.

While staying in Wellington I like to make the most of the caching opportunities that present themselves and this collecting caches after work was no exception.
Managed to get up here after a light shower which made the track rather slippery and thought that the cache container was brilliant

thanks for the placement

No trouble with this one. Cool use of the container. Tftc

Soon had the nicely themed container in hand. Extracting the log took a little longer though. TFTC

Quick find while out riding

Hi there we only live a couple of hundred metres away so are keen to find this one.
Spend a good hour roaming around tonight but the Wondering Willy weed has really taken over and we wondered if due to this and the storm debris it has gone into hiding big time. Any chance the owner could check it out and get back to us? Keen to get this before the weather turns - lovely area once you are inside the wood canopy.

TFTC , great cache container

Nice container..
SLB. TNLN. TFTC.

Last for the day. .... Phew. Cool cache

A pretty straightforward location. Getting the cache without getting bitten by the gorse was another story.

I enjoyed this one. Thanks.!

Haha neat cache!

Interesting neighbourhood this one. Interesting spot for a cache too. Getting a tad overgrown, all that spring growth and stuff, so a bit of a battle with the furze in order to gain access.
Surprise container which required unspeakable sorts of surgery in a part of its anatomy that I care not to report on. Be aware, take your surgical instrumentation with you, the sort used for extraction. Although I did try to make it easier by leaving the log 'hanging out', being passed so to speak!
TFTC found with team cacher Sweet P too
A chance to visit yet another part of the Hutt Valley hitherto unknown to me.
The Turtle strikes again!

Wondered how this cache got its name; no longer. TFTC

Like the cache container! Plus favourite for that.

Nice post work stroll in an area that I've not been before.

Tftc

This entry was edited by XboomstickX on Wednesday, 23 October 2013 at 06:42:55 UTC.

Coming down the hill also found this cache. Funny little box. TFTC. Sherlock Hood.

TFTC. Day 99 of the 100 day challenge! Love the container.

After exhausting myself climbing various Welly hills with JardisLikeTardis, I had to present myself at the parental home in Lower Hutt for a family meal.
Geodog Coca was a little high-spirited on the drive from Island Bay so we detoured here first - my closest unfound trad from their home - for a stroll.
Despite knowing that Troodles always takes care to accurately describe the location she's leading you to, I managed to convince myself I could complete her cache without the use of my hiking pole and without getting dirty.
However, I turned up at the family home covered in mud.
The terrain was fine even though slightly mucky but GZ was a lot wetter and after slipping over twice, my blue jeans and black boots had both turned a clay brown.
Great container, though Coca was a little confused as to why it didn't move in her presence. No need for the tweezers I'd stashed in my pocket before vacating the car either.
Well worth a favourite point. TFTC

Had a feeling what I would be looking for and that's what it was, thanks for a fun hide. #5038

Yeah I'd go along with that, Awesome! I could have done with webbed feet today to help negotiate the slippery track. Nice container, just wish I'd thought of it. TFTC

#awesome

A wee bit slippery in parts but managed OK. Enjoyed the short walk, and quite thrilled at the container. lovely [^]

Thanks for the hide.

Nice hide and quick find in between showers. TFTC

this cashe is the most likely the cutest cashe i've found so far! took 2 tries to get this one, my GPS on my phone led me 50m off GZ. some one has driven a bulldoser through(distroying a fair amount of good suplying black berry bushes!no forraging this year) so the cashe is closer to the path than i'm gessing it was before. log book was slightly damp but nothing serious.TNLN

I was relieved having seen the higher part of the track from a distance that I didn't have to clamber up there.
A lot easier than I thought it would be, just an easy walk on almost flat ground, gorse and (yummy!) blackberries were far enough from the track that it was just a leisurely stroll. Just a minor fight with gorse at GZ, and the only muddy patch was in the GZ area and easy enough to avoid though it might be more difficult in winter.
Interesting container, (I couldn't believe my eyes!): I hope the outside can stand up to the moisture in winter. The double bagging made it a bit tricky to return the log and bag in tidy manner in such a way as to make it easily retrievable for the next finder. It was also a bit tricky to persuade the container to stay in one piece when returning it!
Favorite awarded for the container, certainly raised a smile (Jackson St special I suspect lol.)
TFTC

Replaced damp logbook (and resident slug!) with a new one, this time double bagged which I hope will keep it dry. Please take the time to seal both bags, thanks.
Now is a good time to visit as the blackberries en route are delicious.

Cache log is very wet (almost unwritable) and needs to either be replaced or dried out and re-sealed in a new bag.