Italian Campaign (Marlborough) Blenheim, South Island, New Zealand
By Kiwi_Explorer on 03-Mar-13. Waypoint GC46Z8R

Needed a cache today to fill a mystery dot day. Failed to get a couple of other caches as I was called back to work. Fortunately finished at 11 pm and detoured to pick up this cache on the way home. Stealth night raid that was successful because of my previous patrols. Great cache. Happy to add a favourite point.

Have been battling in the trenches with this one for 6 months. Finally spotted the enemy camp while on patrol but will leave it till a surprise attack is required.

I thought I'd completed this years ago so now I'm thinking I got as far as the second waypoint, as I had definitely been to this site before, maybe with Arandee. But why wouldn't I have looked for the final! No idea. Anyway today on a bike ride with Dee of Arandee we had time to look for the final, and after rereading the cache description worked out where we should explore. A bit of green was spotted and hooray, the log was signed. Thanks, Kiwi_Explorer. #10158

**20,028**Started this one from home, did a bit more yesterday evening and then a bit more today and finally made the cache find. Was very pleased to hear the words Oh wait, whats this! Woohoo, quite a campaign getting here but all sorted now and worth a favourite point for the effort involved in the set up. TFTC

Tftc more later

Not quite a hundred year war, but it is ten years since our campaign faltered at the final hurdle when we couldn't find the cache. We decided it was time for another try, and this time eventually succeeded in finding the cache. TFTC

This one has been accumulated slowly over the years with the different waypoints info being gathered at different times. Finally got around to making the find today . Not an initial quick find but perseverance paid off and eventually had the cache in hand. Thanks for the cache.

This was a bit of a convoluted operation but managed to battle through with it. I enjoyed doing all the parts that it deserves a favourite point.

The final GZ stalled my advance a bit but was able to push through after reading the plan again.

I needed a puzzle today to help me qualify for a Christchurch Challenge.

Cheers for the cache.

While based in Blenheim, my focus is on finding caches for solved puzzles. This is one for which I competed the first stage back in 2018 but wasn't able to continue. Today, I put things right but it did take me a while to track down the cache itself. Although there is nothing wrong with the coordinates, there are plenty of possible hiding places so it was very satisfying to get my hands on the treasure.

Thanks Kiwi_Explorer for another F.A.B multi. When I first looked at this one as a newbie, a lot of it just didn't make sense (probably because I was speed reading it!) but with a few hundred caches now under my belt, it all became clearer. Thank you for bringing me to these historic and moving locations. As an amateur family historian who has traced 1200+ relatives, I have dozens of cousins & ancestors who were caught up in the many wars that have taken place in the last 200 years and their graves can be found across Europe and into the Levant. I am always moved by what an enormous sacrifice our stoic ancestors made and I feel them with me when I visit any memorial for these occasions. The olive grove is especially poignant. I am grateful to know that the horrors that happened on the other side of the world are still felt, remembered and commemorated here. ⚘Ricorderemo⚘.

What a cracker. It was a mission to crack the code, the angles, heights, trajectories and muggles, BUT it all came together in the end and we soldiers retired to our barracks satisfied with our effort. If only it was the same for those armies of soldiers operating in real time, in war time. The memorials never fail to stir emotions of futility. Excellent puzzle and well deserving of a favourite, tftc.

Second time’s a charm - GPS had us on the wrong “side” - I looked more widely this morning and there it was! TFTC!

For some reason I still have this one on my watchlist and saw the two recent DNFs so popped by this morning and saw that it is still where I found it. The container is visible but an item at GZ needs to be removed to retrieve it before replacing.

Disappointing end to my Italian Campaign after solving and finding GZ that fit perfectly with the final clues. After an extensive search I came up empty handed.

Last day in Blenheim as I head home tomorrow. Been stuck here a week but enjoyed some great caching. Collected about 200 caches and walked a ridiculous number of kms. Today walked out to Wither Hill winery and Omaka Heritage aviation centre. Collected some caches in the way. So disappointed not to find this one. Worked through each stage and pretty certain we were at GZ but after a 15 minute search gave up. Maybe next time?

Looks like it is time for the biannual logging of this cache. I solved this one during that lockdown time earlier in the year on a couple of fitness bike rides. Now was time to pop out and get it. After dropping the kids off at the pool (literally, not figuratively) I popped out here for a wee walk and an easy find with spot on coordinates and perfect hint. And as I was, there were a couple of WWI aircraft out loose from their hangars and then a Harvard as well.

While in lockdown, the first part was solved. Several rides out for exercise were needed so the information from the green item was first and then on another day, the information from the projected site. Now the wait until we're allowed out again to go finding. The final point looks quite likely so we'll see.

This would have been so much easier if I'd had a real map and a protractor ... or .. I could learn how to do some of these things with the more modern tools at my disposal
A good lesson to start the new year with

TFTC

That’s an awesome spot for the final, very cool. TYFTC

Had an awesome time tonight, working on this cache with eltee291, crman1 and coastalmartinis! Had a nice walk in to the Final, beautiful night for it. Bright pink skies, very cool! Signed the log and replaced as found. Visiting from Victoria, BC, Canada. Thanks for the awesome puzzle cache, Kiwi_Explorer! A favorite for sure!

Found this evening with hingis20, crman1, and coastalmartinis. Hingis20 had figured out the coords for the second stage and then we all got together and gathered all the info we needed for the the final. It was a fun evening and a great stroll to get the cache. Here from Victoria, BC, Canada and spending time with my daughter and her family in Blenheim. TFTC, a fave for me.

I always thought this cache deserved a FP but was fresh out of them when I logged it. I've got the odd spare at the moment so better late than never.

Once again TFTC KE

Didn't have the last value from the puzzle but still didn't make the find

Good fun multi puzzle cache with the kids.

We had solved the first step of this interesting puzzle back home in preparation for this South Island trip. This morning we stopped at the Wp to continue our campaign. Worked out what was needed and headed off to GZ. Found the cache after a short search. Really enjoyed this one, both for the subject matter and the location, so we are adding a Favourite Point. Thanks.

Enjoyed completing the Italian campaign cache. We visited some interesting places and enjoyed the challenge of the maths. Had to learn how to project a waypoint. Projected the wrong way point which led into a vineyard. Got onto the final and enjoyed the story there.

Today has been a day off ticking off previous DNF's. I solved this puzzle months ago and found the final site, but due to there being thousands of possible hiding locations at the GZ, I was unable to locate the hide.
After an email of reassurance from KE, I returned, only to find the cache in seconds and without having to consult the hint KE had given me.
TFTC and great puzzle.
FP from me for the mechanics, especially the bearing/distance thing. Good fun.

First mystery cache for us. We chose to make this our first as it came up on the map quite near our house. Bit of a trek later, we found it hidden exactly as described.

I had first started solving this one a couple of weeks back and finally knocked it off today. I regularly visit the home of the green thing anyway so just took my time. Have not figured out how to plot distance and bearing from my iPhone so resorted to a topographic map option and a bit of estimation regarding direction. One location in the vicinity made sense and it was easy from there. Clue for the final location was key. Took about 30 seconds once at Gz. TFTC kiwi explorer. Great theme and very enjoyable

After completing all puzzle stages and arriving at the final GZ, I searched for a while but unable to find the cache. Will return.

rainday, so it was time to see the map of blenheim and there was still a [?]
i don´t like mysteries, if you need to spend more time in front of computer than outside...
but when i realized that i just need to find 2 answers i was motivated enough.
the rain stopped a while so i took my chance and gave it a go.
all was good and i just needed a few minutes to find the final.
thanks for the nice tour
+ FP

#1312

I've had the final for this loaded up for a while now and decided it would be a good option for the mystery cache required to finish off my caching road trip. A short walk on the way to work this morning in the dark. Found relatively quickly thanks to good coordinates and my head torch. A very fitting final and interesting history along the way. TFTC

Out on a road trip over the hill again with Bumandworker. Our mission to collect a few Mystery caches that need finding.
Mystery mission in Rarangi complete so it was time to come into town to finally pick this one up.
I have been very frustrated having made several attempts (years) at this one and never quite getting the projection right. Bum was the man. He knew where I needed the shell to land. Arrived there as rain threatened and did a few sums to realise that I didn't have the information from the previous waypoint with me - doh.
Luckily it was enough to follow Bum to where he thought the final should be and then extrapolate the numbers I did have to what eventually turned out to be a very accurate Final WP.
It still took us 20min of searching until I read the hint one more time to finally realise that I wasn't quite looking at the right height. Cache finally to hand and the monkey off my back.
A well thought out multi puzzle and an interesting subject with some interesting places to visit.
TFTC

Found this cache with paddle chicks help by her doing the ground work. tftc bum.

After getting quite a bit of assistance with this - I got to the 2 plaques - and finally worked out how to change a waypoint with my iPhone app.... yay! - I will try to do my next mystery without help. Found location of cache pretty quickly - but even with my small hands I struggled to get log out.
TFTC Kiwi Explorer

Prior to arriving in Blenheim this trip I had done some research so I knew where to go to discover the information for the next stage of this campaign. It erked me a little today that during the past two nights I had walked right by the object concerned a total of 4 times and never once gave thought to getting the info for the next step. In my defence I will plead to not having my gps with me on those occasions.

This morning I decided that the campaign would have to end today, for I am leaving town tomorrow. So, after breakfast I mounted my trusty MTB and headed off on the campaign trail. With the info quickly gathered I then rode some distance following the path of the projected shell. It was with some gratification to Garmin that I observed that my shell shot was bang on target. Further info was quickly gathered and then I was back on the bike again to hunt out the cache. At GZ I had a little difficulty and it was some 20 minutes later that I finally tracked down the well hidden cache, exactly where my calculations had stated it would be. [^] So endeth my Italian Campaign.

Thanks KE for an interesting and enjoyable puzzle.

The questions could answer with help of aunt google. Stages 1 and 2 could find well. The final took several minutes. Great cache! All fits together, even the fantastic final location and its surrounding.

Thanks and greetings from chomo along the way with ..punkt

very interesting this puzzle with historical backround! all stations could be found easy. it always plays in a matching area. fine! but to discover the cache we need a while - T4TC ..punkt on tour with chomo

A quick re-visit to drop off a Geocoin. Thanks again.

I bit of a mission to find this one! We spent A LOT of time looking in quite the wrong spot - that's what you get when you try and calculate the final on the spot while managing two reluctant children and a wayward dog. Decided last night, after a walk past the spot, to recalculate. Not surprisingly, different co-ords and Google maps put us over a kilometre further up the road. Today we parked up where G Maps suggested BUT the GPS said we were still 1.2km off. Whaat!?! Baby on my back and 3 yo on the bike - off we went on our way. FINALLY we got it! A great Pi Day achievement Appreciate the work that has gone into this one - a favourite for us. TFTC.

After cleaning out the eastern end of the Wither Hills Farm Park this morning with NZDi, we got stuck into what this day is all about, Pi and mystery/puzzle caches. This was one of four I got today, (3 for NZDi). This was the first puzzle/mystery cache that I solved. I actually did all the work on this over a couple of days two or three weeks ago, but decided to keep the final coordinates for Pi Day. I enjoyed doing this cache so much that I used a similar format for my own puzzle cache (Apple Pi) which was published on Pi Day 2015 (Today).

This was the first time I got to project a distance and azimuth to find a cache (or waypoint in this case) and I wasn't sure how I was going to achieve it. However my trusty c:geo app had the right tools and had me solving the puzzle fairly quickly. I had a pretty good idea of where the final would be located and this was confirmed when I checked GZ on Google Earth, but I must admit I was pretty daunted when I saw the size of the feature in real life and realized how many hiding places the cache could be in. Surprisingly, I discovered the cache within about two minutes of commencing my search and the log was retrieved, signed and replace as found in quick time.

I think this deserves a FP, but I'm freshly out of them. Perhaps Mrs Kiwimykl (aka NZDi) will award one for me when she logs the find.

TFTC Kiwi Explorer

Found with Kiwimykl.

Refer to his log for details.

And I agree with Kiwimykl, this cache does deserve a FP, so I'll award one on our behalf

Three visits to Blenheim since Christmas to work this one out. Had to use my local knowledge that I had and developed to work out the first two stages.

[green] I tried to solve this some time ago, twice actually. The first time I didn't have my GPS and I could not find a phone app that did projections nicely, so my shot landed in the wrong place. Second time I had my GPS in hand, shot landed perfectly, but I still could not come up with the goods. Today I decided to cycle the Wither Hills, and cycled to the BMX via the river. So I ended up cycling past the final again - time for another go. Yay! found it this time! I think part of the problem is that this location suggests a particular kind of container, which is exactly what it isn't. .
Anyway, this gets a favourite for a very well executed puzzle. Well done.

Very enjoyable puzzle with the variety of solves along the way. Have been meaning to do this one for ages but always pressed for time when passing through the area, but couldn't ignore this one anymore. Interesting waypoints and pleased at the quick find at GZ given the possibilities.

Many thanks to Kiwi_Explorer for the fun.

With a work trip to Marlborough for Hazedarus and some time to fill I decided it was an opportune time to head that way and hunt down a few caches. Unfortunately the technology decided to have a meltdown and we were forced to rely on memory, intuition, and a sometimes co-operative phone. We had figured where to get the required information to progress and proceeded to the general area to look for the final details to point us to GZ. Luckily for us a chance remark while chatting to a local narrowed the search area to within a few metres of where we needed to be. After that it was a simple exercise to plot GZ and soon enough we were signing the log. TFTC.

We couldn't attend the event in Blenheim last weekend because of work. This weekend I was in area because of work. Some solved puzzles were on the hit list and some other ones were to close to be ignored. While getting info for another cache we gathered the necessary details. While having a conversation with a local something said got us to the point where finding the final details was no problem. I really enjoyed doing this well constructed puzzle cache. A fav. TFTC

This cache find took a year.... as we are only in Blenheim occassionally.
This time last year it was for the Marlborough College Jubilee weekend. And we solved the puzzle, only to find it was also a major event on at GZ.
This time, we returned a day before the same annual event, and co-incidentally for a conference in town.
But we got it! Thanks for a great wee puzzle!

Private Muzza reporting in to advise campaign successfully completed despite a small bit of resistence encountered at GZ. Pleased to advise no casualties. TFTC

C.O. will know we are not big on puzzles, but once we saw it as a multi, ....that is us.
Nearly tripped at first hurdle, but after that all went sweet. We did love the final, all those memorials are amazing.
Cheers KE for "?"

This one took a couple of cracks before we got there. TFTC

Having had my kayaking weekend cancelled i changed plans for a Nelson Lakes-Wairau Valley-Blenheim caching weekend. I started this on my last visit to Blenheim but misread one stage and ran out of time to complete. Today i was determined to finish the job. Got to the final and didn't know where to start. Looked for a while and was just about to give up, thought I'd read the description one last time and found the clue i was missing. Found in seconds. Thanks for an interesting cache

#1802

TFTC

Find #255 for the BAMMJams - did our homework, then headed out at lunchtime to find this one. The mini-BammJams had fun looking for the final, and we soon had it in hand. Dropped off a dice, and "GeoWoodstock VIII gargoyle3" TB. TFTC - enjoyed this puzzle/multi.

Found it

#7017. The last cache of oue trip to CHC. Troodles had already worked out the first stage, and there was some initial confusion at the first WP when I started looking for some dates. Once that was cleared up and I started looking for the right info it didn't take long to work out where to go next, which proved to be a short drive away. Troodles got the required info, and then we headed off on foot to the final. We passed some structures along the way and I thought "I hope it's not hidden in one of those", and sure enough it was hidden in "one of those". We've struggled with this type of hide before, so went straight for the hint. Luckily I found the cache pretty much straightaway (I was thankful it was a decent size container, and not a micro). Then it was time to head to Picton and the ferry. TFTC.

Began the campaign quite some time ago, but on previous visits to Blenheim, we were always hurrying en route elsewhere. Today we made the time to complete it and visited some interesting WPs in the process. On arriving at the final, we were a little daunted, but luckily the CO had been thoughtful enough to lessen the search area with a good hint and StreetWalker soon laid hands on the cache.
Phew, quickly signed then back to the car and made it to the ferry in Picton with plenty of time to spare. TFTC.

In Blenheim with Waiiti20 for part of the day, so had to do a few caches. Waiiti20 had completed the first part, so from there it was straightforward around the WP's. A tricky find at GZ, but nicely located by Waiiti20 for a satisfying smiley. TFTC

Had completed the 'pre-work' at home quite some time ago so we decided to complete this one. The WP's and info were straight forward to find however some extensive searching was required at GZ before we came up with the prize - completed with Emvy_us while enjoying collecting a few caches in Blenheim. TFTC, #5999

Gotcha this time!!!

Very pleasing to nail this one this morning after the disappointment of my DNF back in May, found it almost straight away this time thanks to a bit of extra help from a previous finder who have me a pointer on where to concentrate the search. Great cache, I seem to associate Blenheim with olives theses days as we make our annual visit to the press in Riverlands with our harvest at Queens Birthday weekend. Cheers and TFTC

13844... A most enjoyable multi-stage puzzle... An appropriate location for the final, quickly found without turning over too many... TFTC.

Our campaign was progressing well. We quickly found the green item, and our projection was spot on, but our hearts sank as we approached the last obstacle, and after battling for some time, we had to concede defeat. TFTC

Will have to check, but think my grandfather may have been involved in operation olive. Good chance around Blenheim. Took a while at gz, but found eventually.

I recognised something here and realised I knew something from a previous encounter. So bypassed the first two steps and went on an espionage mission to see what I could see. Found the plaques and then with a bit of additional logic off for the find which took longer than it should have. Great to have a cache back here. Thanks Kiwi_Explorer for a very special cache. TFTC #5217

I had solved this some time ago and has been on our to do list for much the same time Had been to Blenheim a few times since but never quite got round to getting to Gz - this time after being treated out to tea for my birthday we decided a night time jaunt to an area we are familiar with (having lived here and done other caches nearby ) So out of our glad rags and grabbed the head lamps - wandered in and my workings out seemed to put us in an ideal spot - after a bit of a hunt round Stretch0 had the cache in hand Thanks for the cache and for the workings out to perform to find it !!!

FINALLY
After we had done all the groundwork on this cache we have now completed it! We managed to all have everything sorted after a few trip across and not having time to complete to failing to bring the fianl co-ordintes in the GPS. Out for dinner tonight so after a meal a small walk came about and after startting to search wondered if we had made the right decision to do this one at night but soon enough we spotted a tell tale and grabbed the cache TFTC

Solved the initial answer then headed to GZ for the next stage with an Aircraft Eng who understands these sorts of things. Got to WP 3 by trial and error and friend Tony made the final find at GZ.
A nice puzzle and a good chance to get out in the afternoon sun
TFTC, worth a fave point

Had a bit of spare time this evening before meeting Mrs agcnz off the ferry so decided to give this one a go. I wasn't sure how far I would get but I had solved the initial bit at home in advance and I very quickly found the required information at the waypoint. A quick projection calculation on the GPSr gave me a likely looking spot, and I was glad I had taken my vehicle instead of walking from my Blenheim accommodation. The next waypoint was in an interesting and quite poignant spot that I wasn't aware of - very nicely done. The required information was quickly gathered and I set off towards GZ. My heart sank a bit when I saw where I was heading for, cache hides in this sort of place are high on the list of places (after toetoe and flax) where I wouldn't hide a cache myself. However despite it being rather icy and slippery at 9pm on a frosty evening, I found the cache surprisingly quickly by torchlight. Quite a satisfying find and a really enjoyable cache, it gets a favourite point. Signed log, TFTC!

After a couple of reconnaisance missions to acquire the relevant gen a final sortee was approved to deal with the location of the mysterious object. We are pleased to confirm a successful operation. All troops returned safely to base with another smiley to be added to the fuselage of the cache-mobile, and a fav for you. TNLN. TFTC. Over and out.

I started the day off yesterday with a DNF so I decided I might as well start today off with one (well two actually as things turned out). Having completed the first section at home I was able to go straight to Waypoint 2 and collect the information there. I was a little confused to start with as the configuration of the number on the item didn't quite match that on the paper work, but I worked out the required projection and headed off to check it out. I was delighted to find that my calcs took me to within a metre of the plaques and the last piece of the jigsaw was complete. It was now dark and raining but as the GZ I had worked out wasn't far away I set off to have look for the cache. When I arrived the first thing I did was groan. I spent about 20 minutes looking but to no avail.

I returned at first light this morning and groaned again, after another 30 minutes looking I gave up. It wasn't much fun given the the underfoot conditions and the fact that it was still raining.

Even though I left empty handed this time, I enjoyed solving the well set up puzzle. I’m pretty sure I was in the right place, so a return visit is on the list for the next time I’m down this way.

It seemed an appropriate day to be out and about completing this cache. Time to ponder on the futility of war and the sacrifice made by so many. Thanks for the work that went into this cache. A very interesting tour, new facts learned and new skills acquired.

The main focus on a trip to the area today, with the improved weather nicely timed with Anzac Day tomorrow. Mrs S sorted the first part on the first day and knew she was right when she spotted the spot on GE. No problem with getting the next values with 2 sets of eyes confirming values. Had done the prep so no problem to get the GPS to shoot to the right spot. This was no surprise - in fact Mrs had said she would be very disappointed if it had been anywhere else. Then a successful patrol had the log signed and returned - fortunately as we did pass a non caching family group on our way back to the car.
Mrs S had expected to enjoy this a lot...and was not disappointed. A great puzzle/multi/themed cache that was always going to be favourited.
Anzac Day tomorrow brings memories of both SoBad's and Mrs Sobad's fathers - one who served in the Pacific and one in Europe. They would have appreciated all aspects of this cache.
Thanks.

This entry was edited by SoBad on Wednesday, 24 April 2013 at 11:32:33 UTC.

Nice one! 2nd to log online but it looks like two others found the cache yesterday... Enjoyed the puzzle / multi / projection combo. Almost came unstuck in the process though, as I'd misread some of the instructions but caught myself and sorted that out. TFTC, Biggles.

I think I got a joint 2TF on this. Took a while to find the cache, but this was due to the vintage army airplanes making interesting formations in the sky overhead. Cache was quickly found by Banian, as I was too busy watching the airplanes! TFTC gets a favourite

Mrs banian worked out the first bit before we left home, this got us safely to the next location where we collected the necessary info which had us within metres of where we should be. All the while we were being buzzed by a mixture of bi-planes and aerobatic flyers. I spotted the final as we approached and was surprised at how quickly we found the cache. Surprised to find only one entry in the log. Thanks for a very good cache.

FTF
BB Company reporting for duty, mission accomplished. tricky little hide but found in good order. Would recommend using C:GEO for waypoint production on Android. Thanks for the mission, look forward to the next one..
Blenheim Bear

Think I have it solved, my trajectory was a bit off but found the penultimate waypoint, now if I can just get Cachsense to allow input of puzzle co-ords to go to... BB

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