Cowan Pools (Waitakeres) Karekare, North Island, New Zealand
By M@ on 12-Mar-14. Waypoint GC504BH

This walk will be sorely missed, but the area is too sensitive

Temporarily disabled to support the Waitakere Rahui (http://tekawerau.iwi.nz/node/13), in an effort to prevent the spread of Kauri dieback disease.

What a picturesque hike down the Cowan Stream following all those pools on a nice late summer day. Quite a nice track to walk with a few crossings but nothing major. Cache in good shape, TFTC.

Been coming here for years and didn't even think of caching thru here. Perfect spot. Jumped in had a swim and chilled out. Cheers

As BBQ plans changed the night before due to an injured friend I decided spontaneous to go for a longer hike. I was anyhow overdue on some "me" time. Parked and started at the Lone Kauri Rd and moved fast along the Buck Taylor Track along onto Muir Track and back via Walker Ridge Track.
Another awesome side trip today. After finding Ohaka Head I started to run low on energy at this point. The description indicated that there is a trail, which made me decide to give this one a go. Glad that I didn’t miss out on this . Enjoyed a break with a great view to watch some muggles using the swing. After they left, the geocache was a quick find. TFTC

Well Came to a stream and with the cache only 71m away, this must be the right stream. Well no. Thankfully I didnt venture too far down the stream before heading back to the track and further along to where the actual stream is. Quick walk down to GZ, with a bit of bush bashing now and then to refind the track. At GZ cache was soon at hand. Stopped for lunch here and with definitely be back in summer for that rope swing.

Great day doing this tramp, great day to tramp and swim in the many pools & waterfalls, will be doing this again for sure.. TFTC

Was out with two caching buddies evilno9 and mike-miss today doing Pararaha valley and many other caches inc this one. Today was the first time caching here on this stream. evilno9 and mike-miss arranged to meet at Lone Kauri carpark and cache down Pararaha, then up Muir trk, Walker Ridge trk, Cowan's Pool etc back to our cars - which we did!! We reckoned between us we tramped almost 19km today and my legs were buggered afterwards.

I was a little hesitant on my last visit to this area, I put it off thinking I might need rope etc but today with company, I felt more brave and as it turns out no rope was needed, there are tracks - of sorts. Many beautiful spots to swim, but time was getting the best of us, it was almost 6pm (we clocked up 9 hours and 20mins of tramping today along with the caching) after getting back on the main track after finding this cache otherwise evilno9 would have made the jump off the rope swing and I would have gone to the bottom of the bigger falls down below. Absolutely coming back here straight from Lone Kauri carpark next time to see the falls.

Out for a wander in the Waitakeres with evilno9 and Gorbygorbachov for the day. We headed down the Pararaha gorge and then back via Muir / Walker Ridge / Odlins Timber Tracks and back to the car some 10 hours later and all up 19km. A very memorable day and what is arguably the most scenic place in the Waitakeres. My first mission down the Pararaha and loved every minute of it.

Our last stop for the day and what a little ripper this location is! Appreciated the water here after making our way back up the Walker Ridge Track in the humid afternoon heat. A little bit of wading, bush bashing and scrambling and we made it to GZ. Cache was quickly found and the duties done. We spent abit of time checking out the main falls just a little bit on from GZ but we couldn't stay for too long as it was getting late. An awesome spot here and at some point ill be back for a swim and a swing. Thanks for showing us this spot tofska! Fav point for sure!

This was a favourite before we even got to the cache. What an awesome spot in a very awesome place!

After a very long slog into the valley and back up via Muir and Odlins, this last cache of the day represented a bit of a diversion off the track to the car, but no one in the gang wanted to bypass it, so we came off the main track and made our way towards GZ.

Made the most of the side track when we could, and got wet when we needed to as well before hitting GZ much quicker than I was first expecting. The cache was found quickly and we all went off for an explore before eventually heading back to the main track and onwards up all those stairs.

Awesome spot for a cache, and a great way to end the day for us - TFTC

mopping up a few extra's to complete the pile of smileys from the face, due to a small group was able to add a most enjoyable side track to the list of tracks to come... ( all vowed - even the friendly muggle to come back later in summer to explore these pools.) - also found the legendary canyoning route in... bit perplexed by the sign across the river - noting one should take ones rubbish home by car? ?

I was out today with Alligatorsnz and a very tolerant muggle friend, doing a circular hike from Lone Kauri Road along Odlin Timber Track, Walker Ridge, Muir Track and returning via Buck Taylor Track, with a couple of stream excursions along the way. This was our first stream excursion of the day and we made our way down the stream to GZ from the Odlin Track crossing. There was more of a track than I was expecting and the trickier sections along the way weren't too bad. On arrival at GZ the cache was quickly found and in good condition. No one in the group was brave enough to have a go on the swing - but there were mutterings about returning another day just for that purpose! Thanks for placing this cache, the walk along all the pools was awesome - definitely a favourite!

I'd discovered both the entry and exit to Cowan stream on previous visits to the area, and put one and one together and realised it must be possible to navigate down. I knew the canyoning trips used it, but wasn't sure if it was navigatable without ropes etc. When I saw this cache I knew it had to be done, but unfortunately the nasty weather came before we got a chance so it has just had to wait until it fined up again. Really enjoyed the trip down, there is so much to stop and admire it does take a while. Probably slightly more demanding than we expected but nothing we couldn't handle and some definate challenging bits of navigation required. A little over 3 hours for the round trip from Lone Kauri car park for us.

TFTC

A trip down Cowan Stream has been on my to-do list for a long time, even if there was no cache on it. Discussed the option of placing a cache or two along this stream with Greenblat some time ago. Then this cache pops up and now I have to do it for sure.

Water levels were up slightly, but not too bad at all. I was hoping for a bit more rainfall drama form cyclone Lusi, but it looks like it didn't happen in the Waitaks. The trails in were damp, but not sodden. Odlins clay track was as slippery as ever, though. Almost went A/T a few times but manage to stay upright. Watch what you grab for to steady yourself. Cutty grass can help, but I do not not recommend grabbing for it. I felt every saw tooth as it went in. Now it's a real adventure!

Cowan Stream is amazing. The stream itself is pool after pool--a perfect place for waterdogs such as Greenblat and the CO. After you find the cache, move on downstream another 15 m for the view down the valley. It's an unexpected treat! The CO requested photos of people jumping into the pools, but it's kinda hard to do a jumping selfie. Standby for photos.

This is a great place for a cache. An easy favorite (I'll need to find a few more caches before I earn another point to award). Cheers for the cache.

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