PONDERING PENTOMINOES (Otago) Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand
By katie w on 08-Aug-13. Waypoint GC4JAQK

Sadly and reluctantly archiving this cache. The "renovations" at GZ have removed all the cover and GZ is open to view.
There is no place to hide.
Not able to reposition nearby at this stage.

It's still unclear whether the area is open to the public,as warning signs still in place at upper gate.

Cache removed for safekeeping while tracks closed for tree felling and race and dam maintenance.

area will be closed for the next few weeks for site maintenance

Cache replaced, tethered to base of small tree.

Checked, and its gone, replacing soon.

Puzzle was easy using hint and shuffling pieces of paper. Sadly no luck at gz. Only found a trap.

Solved this a few weeks ago and then lost the answer. Solved again last night and headed to GZ today. Muggles were sitting by GZ so waited till clear. Couldn’t find it for some time and was about to give up then bingo! Tftc

Love these types of puzzles. Didn’t take too many attempts to get the pieces fitting. Headed to GZ last weekend but ended up in the wrong side and ran out of time so went for a quick walk this morning. All good here. Tftc

The cache page has been updated with a new checker which contains additional information about how to access the cache. Also new hint to make it easier to solve the puzzle.

Cache back in position with new log book and baggie.

Removed for maintenance.

After a bit of googling and a second look the CO was right! It was there!! Fun puzzle and lovely spot for the final!! TFTC!

Checked placement. Still in position, and all good.

Was so happy to finally solve this puzzle but after long look today, no smiley.

I received a pointer from the CO as to the whereabouts of the cache so I went back today in search of it. This time I spotted it on approach. Rather ironically I had been specifically admiring a certain object and didn't even notice the cache when I was here previously! Good to have this one done. Thanks

I've had this on the solved pile for ages so I thought I'd try get it into the found pile today. Unfortunately I came up with nothing. I had a couple of thoughts about what the hint meant but it was no help to me today.

8/4/17 Writing this note in anticipation of finding the final cache but muggles are aplenty on this sunny autumnal afternoon. We arrive to find on sitting in the sun within metres of the final so went for a stroll only to return with a couple of muggles metres ahead who promptly sat down in the same spot. So here we sit 50m away waiting.

My wife is something if a pentomino expert. Her grandfather design many puzzles using these blocks and the family produced lovely wooden versions, one of which we used in solving this cache.

As a primary school teacher I have employed pentominoes in my teaching of maths over the years, most recently in 2016 where children designed and made their own, printing them on our school 3D printer.

You can see why this puzzle cache appealed to us. TFTC

Now back to the wait on the muggles.

Footnote: Finally the mingles left but even after an hour of hunting we still couldn't find it! Gave up and decided to ask CO for help.

15/4/17
Thanks so much to katiew for a little more help. This time accompanied by my 18 year old son who has grown up caching we found it. He had it before I had even finished reading the extra clue.

Hard won cache this one but loved the puzzle and the adventure. Off to find some more.

Had another look today but in a slightly different place. Found in the end I wasn't going to give up. Pleased to tick this one off.
Thanks for creating the puzzle

Puzzle solved yonks ago, cache found finally today (attempt #4).

I knew from previous visits that my old Garmin was quite convinced that GZ was in the water, and my new one did no better, so I abandoned it and checked the sort of places that i vaguely remembered the CO telling me. After some searching, in particular finding the broken branches mentioned by the previous cacher, I saw something black hanging in some horopito. "Aha", I thought and nearly tripped over myself in my haste, only to find a bird's nest, complete with dead bird ().

Checked the Garmin again and decided to look at the hint, which I did not understand, so I googled it and the light bulb went off -- not in that bush but in **that** one. Felt around and short order the container was found, logbook signed, container returned and I headed off home for lunch, glad to finally scratch that one off my list.

TNLN. TFTC.

Had a good look but no luck a few broken branches on the ground so I wonder if it has been buried.
Will wait till someone else finds it before I look again.

There is something nice about ticking off the puzzle ones. I don't do many - but when I do it's pretty cool! Solved the puzzle awhile ago and headed up to the cache location this morning Took me longer than it should have but I did find it in the end!

Another excellent puzzle and finding the GZ was almost as hard a puzzle, maybe harder. What a place. Walked down 2 paths before we realised we weren't getting any closer. Then got to within 15m but still not right so another long walk. When we got to the right place finally the GPS and the arrow would not settle. About to give up when M found it. A real wahoo moment as it is getting late and jolly cold. A favourite for the puzzle and the long walk in a place we have never been before.

Popped in late afternoon to have a look for the cache and after only about 30 seconds of searching managed to rip my scalp open on a sharp piece of tree where a branch had broken off. Scalp wounds always bleed profusely and blood was literally running down my face and on to the ground. Thought a retreat was probably in order. What surprised me was that while walking back to the car, bloodied handkerchief clamped firmly to my head and blood all over my face, several people passed me, looked at me and couldn't possibly have not noticed the situation, yet not one of them asked if I was OK or needed help. I know I would have asked if the roles were reversed. What sort of society have we become?

Suitably cleaned up after my bloody exploits earlier I sallied forth again. Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more! GPS had me in a slightly different place this time, consistent with what the CO had told me. A bit of to-ing and fro-ing and soon in hand. And not a drop of blood spilled this time. TFTC.

Removed the offensive trash at GZ, and replaced cache at a new location 1m east with revised coordinates.
The puzzle remains the same, but do make the necessary adjustments to the numbers after you have done the geocheck!

Checked again today while walking past, and its been souvenired. Replacemnt in the pipeline already.

Solved the puzzle a long time ago, and have just never found the time to go searching even when I have been in the area because, knowing the CO, I suspected that this would not be a walk by and grab, and so it turned out.

Was pretty sure where it was, and Google Earth confirmed the general locality, but my Garmin decided that seeing I was test riding an electric bike I therefore needed some exercise, so took me on a merry dance. I am not sure how many time I crossed the ditch in various places, and then, having checked all the likely spots, I gave up when my Garmin settled down and consistently said that the cache was 3-5 metres into the dam! I will have to try again some time, probably when I have my own electric bike.

I have been working on this puzzle over a year ago now during a holiday when I had no internet access and only went by the printed pages I took with me. Ended up with a few options and had no way of checking if they make sense - and then completely forgot about having solved it!! Looking at my map a few days ago I realised I did have a few solutions somewhere, great!!

I was not really sure this morning that it was the best day to head out for a cache, but we did anyway, and managed to catch a break in the persistent rain. I luckily had my new fingerless mitts with me, specially made by a friend for my geocaching adventures and freshly delivered yesterday. I have not been around here for a while... We ended up taking the wrong path and had to cross a rather deep ditch to get to gz, increasing terrain to a good 3, typical... My fingers almost froze off while I was trying to sign the log... What's with this weather anyway?? Thanks for the fun puzzle and the cache in a nice spot!!

Come and join us the next New Zealand geocaching MEGA event!! Register now at http://www.nzmega2015.com to receive newsletter updates and be the first to know. Let us know you are coming by posting a 'will attend' at http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC587BC_nz-mega-christchurch-2015 It will be a great event, come and be a part of it!!

Went from the wrong side making reaching it a bit more difficult but quickly found the cache.

Found with CJ-Curry after he jumped the ditch. This was find 139 . Thanks!

Found after a good deal of searching with CJ-Curry and Hevic. Now we all know what a Mapou is! Tftc

When I was back in Australia planning my move here, I asked Hevic to send me over some local puzzles to crack. This one took me all of about ten minutes, such is the nature of my mathematical brain Finding the cache, though, proved difficult. When Hevic, Silvachief, and I got to GZ I suddenly came down with a mild dizzy spell that I blame for my lack of concentration. We checked and rechecked the coordinates, checked and rechecked the spot we thought it was at, then found it some twenty minutes after we started when Silva and I looked a little further afield. Cheers!

Found it last weekend with a mate. Good hiding plqce. You can really appreciate the view.

Mr-Pig and I found it after a good half-hour of searching! Clever spot, and was a great walk to the site. Damn that puzzle was tricky though.

Found at 8:50:00 a.m. on 5/09/2014.

Having solved this a while back it has taken me a while to get around to filling in the log, Managed today on misty day off work...

TFTC katie w

I now know what a Mapou is, just another additional fact to be stored way.
With some help from Drawp a walk in this glorious area was well rewarded today.
Thanks
erninz

The puzzle took a while to sort out, and today took an enjoyable wonder along to GZ. TFTC

Many Thanks for the cache, Most I have done in a day for at least 8 months. - Bitsprayer

Easy find with some ravenous duckilings nearby. Didn't realise that the water had been lowered so much. Kia ora for the cache Katie

Found with Us04 and Spydude13. TFTC

Found with Us04 and Lollipopcat. TFTC

http://isomerdesign.com/Pentomino/index.html says there are 3408 possible solutions and it's a DEGENERATE puzzle. Which was also a useful word to use about the CO while attempting to solve it... Definitely a lot of fun! This was the final day for the caching-every-day-of-the-year grid so it was important to choose a nice cache. This was 1 1/2 terrain so took Mrs Daywalk Senior for a short walk to a lovely place, fumbled round at GZ for a while, resisted the temptation to start climbing, looked a little wider and saw it. Thanks katiew!

Solved the puzzle reasonably quickly (once I copied it out correctly!). Spent half an hour hunted a couple of days ago with no luck at all - suspect I basically repeated the first WEKA visit. Read Stegan's log and went back - found it inside 30s!

What a difference a little daylight makes! We met Stegan and his boys at the car park, and headed off for another try. We arrived there and Stegan put his hand on the cache immediately, only a few metres from where we were searching last night, but not somewhere we had looked - the hint was just slightly misleading. Joint FTF with Stegan and Supercat135 at 9.45 a.m. TFTC

As WEKA have said we met up in the car park and wandered over to GZ and as I sized up the general search area I had a look t the nearest hint object and there it was! Very happy, even though we had lots of searchers we weren't expecting that quick a find. TFTC and a joint FTF.

Published

A rather tricky puzzle, but after a lot of trial and error we had a solution, but no, geochecker was not happy. Oh, we can't use the same shape twice - back to the drawing board. Eventually we both simultaneously came up with the same answer, and this time geochecker agreed, and as the terrain was only 1.5 we decided it should be ok to try it in the dark. Unfortunately getting to the coordinates was more like terrain 3 and we were at serious risk of getting very wet. However, we persevered but after searching for an hour without success, were forced to admit defeat.

My first puzzle solution yielded co-ords near redroofs which looks suspiciously like a set of pentominoes from the air...more fiddling yielded another solution that the checker agreed with just now. A check of the cache page showed WEKA's log which is enough to discourage me from venturing over there tonight...