High Tech - Low Tech (BOP) Tauranga, North Island, New Zealand
By nzkites on 18-Oct-14. Waypoint GC5ETNH

Solved this puzzle a while back with kimbathelion. Only just managed to get out today to find cache. A quick kind

Thanks to the CO for the hints to solve this. Had to go to nearby to pick up a parcel so good excuse to grab this cache I recently solved. The first place I put my hand there it was, so co-ords pretty spot on. Tftc

PLEASE NOTE: Geocaching is not permitted during Covid levels 3 and 4.

See [NZ Geocaching Wiki](https://wiki.groundspeak.com/display/GEO/New+Zealand?fbclid=IwAR1WHzfOP0U-Ab7NOjhOujjgETYYHQ8WDY8hPmbZGJEXbiB8QoMoPF4Rc1U) for more info.

Any found logs received during the lockdown will be deleted.

We were out for a bike ride this morning before the rain set in, so checked this one while passing. It’s in place awaiting the next finder.

The hardest part of this cache was crossing the road! Can’t remember how we solved it, was ages ago, found some time today to come and collect the final. Thanks for setting this up nzkites

Now NZ has moved to Alert Level 2, Geocaching is allowed but it’s up to each one of us to keep the rest of us safe.

Let's not turn Caching into Catching COVID-19

These are the most important things that you can remember and do:

COVID-19 is still out there. Play it safe.

Keep your distance from other people in public.

If you’re sick, stay home. Don’t. find this cache.

If you have symptoms of cold or flu get advice about being tested.

Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands.

Sneeze and cough into your elbow, Sanitise your hands before looking for this cache if possible.

Log online each cache found and keep a record of anyone you meet.

Stay Happy and Safe while caching.

Disabling this one until the lockdown is over. Please stay home and keep your family and the country safe.

Down from Whangarei to do a few days caching in Tauranga and trying to pick up as many of the solved puzzles as possible from my list. The weather today wasn't promising to be that good, with very blustery winds and the possibility of rain arriving, so I tried to get on the road as early as possible to get the maximum time in before the worse weather hit.

Was pleased to get on to the solve on this one reasonably quickly and quite fun to do. Parked down the road and took a short walk to GZ, where short search soon turned up what I was looking for. Signed the log and then replaced safe and secure as found. TFTC

Pretty neat idea for a puzzle here and once you spot the right thing you can see what to do. Not saying I didn't need a hint because I did, but now I see it it seems so obvious.

Here this weekend on a caching weekend wtih Benett24 and he went and got this one for us. Good thing as it's getting a bit late by now and my glass of wine is calling for me back at the air bnb. All good here, thanks for the cache.

Solved this one a long time ago, I enjoyed the puzzle and had to look at it again for a few minutes to resolve before coming back down this weekend with Tuolei.
We decided to do an evening drive to grab a few caches after a disappointing afternoon with a trail of DNF's. Parked a little way down the road and took a nice walk to GZ. Cache was found be Tuolei in a spot that I had seen earlier in the day when driving past. All god here, TFTC.

In the Mount for the weekend with KirsTim and we were on our way back to Auckland after stopping nearby for a lovely brunch. A straightforward puzzle and find here, nice to tick it off. Thanks for the hide!

Solved this back in August on a rainy day in preparation for our trip down here and after brunch nearby with Vamber, thought we'd tick another puzzle off the list. No problems finding or retrieving the cache, and did some CITO too (picking a bottle can up). Thanks for the puzzle, nice easy solve. Signed the log as KKKT

Nice hide pick up with EyespyBen its raining like mad over here.Any way thanks

Found with abcdf4

Headed to Tauranga for a long weekend of caching with Merlot58 and Jag50. The carpark indicated closeby on the map wasn't actually a carpark, and we had to park a distance away and walk to GZ. I made a quick find here.

I quite enjoyed solving this puzzle which I solved in anticipation of our forthcoming trip to Tauranga. Traffic was busy and the car park close to gz was closed so we had to park a little further away and walk back. Aiden29 quickly found this cache which i was happy about as the breeze was very cold this morning!

Teamed up with Merlot58 and Aiden29 to form team JAM. A quick find on what was a very busy area. Signed as Team JAM

Didn't take too long to work out how to solve this one & then it took me no effort at all to get the answer, other than persuading my teen to do all the hard work for me Visiting Tauranga today for a work meeting and managed to arrange my day so that I could get here early and grab a few caches beforehand. Keen to grab a few solved puzzles but also keen not to get work attire too filthy so my focus is very much on urban hides today, like this one. Thankfully no muggles near GZ when I got here and the cache was a nice quick find. Safely replaced. Thanks for the puzzle and TFTC.

Managed to solve this on Saturday on a quick try to see if I could solve any mystery caches in Tauranga before coming here. Knew almost straight away what was going on here. After dropping GAR off at the stocktaking we were in the area for in the first place I decided this was to be my first stop - too many mystery caches solved without a subsequent find of the final before the caches were archived and this isn't going to be one of those. Surprised myself with an immediate find once I got to GZ. Thanks for the neat puzzle and hide nzkites!

Find number 3828. I decided that I would spend the day in Tauranga attempting to clear some of the solved puzzle caches I have. And collecting points for the Planetary challenge. Unfortunately I did not leave Hamilton until 12 pm.
I have looked at this one a number of times with no idea. Then the other day I suddenly had an Ahaa moment. I made use of Excel to do the solve. I parked up and walked over to GZ. A number of muggles went by and I had to wait to retrieve as 2 more went passed. Walked over to some shade to do the signing. All quiet when I went back to return it. Cache all good. Thank you for the placement.

Solved this on a very slow and wet sunday afternoon with not much else to do.

Puzzle: I have one problem which was I have no printer to do the low-tech. HMMMM how to do this? Coffee time, what did program did I use all the time? PAINT!!! Took way longer than it would have the low-tech way. Then had to get the high-tech side sorted which took a few minutes.

Cache: As careful as i was it was pretty windy tonight and I dropped the log on to the road, and as it was 4am and no cars around retrieved without an issue, signed and put back with nothing else to go wrong.

TFTC and the challenge of the low-tech

Solved this one in advance of coming down today after seeing what needed to be done quite quickly which was a rare victory in itself. Negotiated the traffic with TheMexiKiwi to get on the right side the fought against the wind to get to GZ. One place stood out as matching the hint and the cache was soon found almost a year since the last find. Really fun puzzle and a nice spot to finish. TFTC

Wow, I feel so great and proud of myself,, thanks for letting me know I was on the right track, how on earth do you guys even think up these things??? You are so clever. Many thanks for making me try these puzzles, I'll keep chipping away at others over time. Was a windy day today with skifty showers coming through. I parked near GZ but started to bucket down, took shelter at a nearby cafe to have a cuppa and ponder my retrieval, nek minut, SUNSHINE.... I was off....A quick find at a sneaky GZ....Many thanks again and def FP from me. Cheers.

Puzzled over this for about 20 minutes, totally over-thinking it. Tried a second approach. That didn't work either. Finally, it clicked and I got on with the low tech then scratted around for the high tech. Brilliant puzzle! Great clue! Wonderful cache! TFTC

Solved so long ago I can't remember how I solved it, must of got it right as the geochecker agreed and it was a nice walk to GZ today to make the find. TFTC

Solved at home, found inTauranga. Quickly found at GZ, Cheers.

A night at The Mount, a short days cache from Waihi Beach. A nice warm sunny drive, unusual for this time of year.

Thanks to the CO's for the hides. Cheers.

square square eyes. Being new to the "game" I struggled to understand what I was looking at. Small nudge from a friend and off I went. In hind-sight I can now understand this concept. Slowly lerning. Finding the cache was much easier, but I don't recommend trying a 3pm - the traffic was horrendous. Thanks yet again for stretching the brain cells.

Took some time to solve ....Kahluis was onto it ....nice easy find in the end thanks for the cache NZkites

After breakfast, we had a short bike ride around the Mount where we found a couple of caches, then we returned to base for a coffee and to plan the rest of the day. As we had yet to visit central Tauranga, that was the main objective, together with some solved puzzles and the web cam at Sulphur Point.
I had looked at this puzzle last year without making any headway, but with our visit to the area imminent, had another look earlier in the week, and something caught my eye. Soon I was working my way through the solve - may not have been the most efficient or high tech method, but the means justifies the end!
We had a pleasant walk to GZ and soon StreetWalker found the cache.
Thanks for the interesting puzzle and TFTC.

#11834. We decided to park the car and walk to a few caches. Had to cross a busy road to get to this one. TFTC.

Heading over to Tauranga once again to catch up with friends along with making a very short appearance at the local event (thanks TNXPro). Grabbed this one after leaving the event and before heading to friends. Great puzzle concept and may have to copy the idea

thanks for the placement, thanks for the fun

Solved this puzzle a while ago now parked up nearby and walked the 350m to GZ and oh my goodness it's so windy here this evening I was sure I was going to be blown away. I had to hang on tight to everything so I didn't lose them but manged to retrieve and sign the log.
Tftc

Another all day mission with 11HPG11 and iammrwalker, this time focusing on the other side of Tauranga. I had just finished logging the all the caches we had found in Papamoa when I looked at the map and thought why not have a crack at the other side as well!

A early start as we were on the road at 4.30am as we needed to be back not to late otherwise we'd be in the dog box when we got back home. Another fantastic day out with lots of the usual laughter and this time the weather was much better behaved. In total over 80 finds, with only a couple of DNF's and we got back in time to stay out of the dog boxes, just!

We signed the log books with Hi1, an acronym of our caching handles. A big thanks to all the CO's for all the placements, and for taking us to places we hadn't been before.

Struggled on this puzzle but a small nudge from HPG had everything revealing itself quickly. A great puzzle, thanks for the hide.

Out and about trying to clear off another chunk of Tauranga geocaches. Again accompanied by HKCB and Iammrwalker, this seems to becoming a habit. Early start, head to Tauranga, cache the whole day, say we will be home early, end up being home later and then grovelling out of the dog box. This time we set off from Hamilton at 4.30am to try and get more caching done before we had to turn around. We seem to be enjoying this so much we are planning a return visit again soon. Signed our logs as "HI1" as an acronym of our respective caching names. A great, laugh filled day that was thoroughly enjoyed.

This one quickly fell into place for me (now why can't that happen more often with puzzles!) Kept me occupied at work for a few minutes at least. No problems grabbing the final, just had to find a park first!

This was one of nearly eighty Geocaches I found in the company of HKCB and 11hpg11, we signed the log HI1, an anachronism made up of the first initials of our Geocaching handles to save on log space. This was our second trip to the Bay of Plenty. A few weeks ago we conquered The Mount and Papamoa and were back today on another infamous mad mission. We left Hamilton at 4:30 am and I was back at home in time to read my two boys a story and tuck them into bed at 7:30pm. We had a fun day exploring the area and got to see lots of parts of the area we hadn’t experienced before. A big thanks to all the cache owners who took the time and effort to place so many high quality and well maintained hides. Thanks also to HKCB for organising the day and driving. I think it was fitting to undertake these trips during the ‘Geocaching Road trip’ Groundspeak promotion, as it typified all those things that make a good road trip, most importantly good company. There were plenty of laughs and some memorable shenanigans.

Like 11hpg11 I printed this one out at work and spent some time on it even showing it to workmates for inspiration. I thought it was really cleaver. A very quick find at GZ today.

Solved this a couple months back but was keeping it for an emergency or the puzzle challenge souvenir. Running low on caches in Tauranga for my streak so thought I'd have to sacrifice this one seeing as I solved another puzzle yesterday to hold onto.
Came down before work this morning, it was very cold and windy. Found the cache quickly as I had remembered the hint from the geochecker. Signed log between traffic and replaced.
Lamented the fact that I now had to go to work when all I really want to do is go find some more caches!
Thanks nzkites for a great puzzle, I did need a hand with this one but very well thought out and a lot of fun.
TFTC

Really cool puzzle! Didn't take long to figure it out. Forgot to read the hint (if there is one) so it took a little bit of hunting around before we had the cache in our hands. Thanks for setting this up, it was fun

Back on the 19 October we solved this puzzle but have not had the time or the occasion to come to Tauranga, until today, to make the find. Lots of traffic but a quick look picked a likely spot and an even quicker retrieve by Mr S soon had the cache in hand. Had to hang on to the log so it did not blow away but soon had it signed and replaced.

Thanks nzkites for another cool little puzzle, and another smilie face in Tauranga.

#357 -Yay loved this puzzle, solved pretty quick once i noticed what it was. Finally got a chance to find this morning, was a bit dubious when i noticed where the co-ords lead but off i went. Stood there for a minute, thinking thinking, bingo there it is. thanks for the great puzzle, might get me into doing a few more. TFTC

After attending the 15 Years of Geocaching event this afternoon we had just a few hours left to pick up some solved puzzles around the Tauranga area.
We were first to solve this puzzle on the night of publication, so we were keen to make the find on this trip. We really enjoyed the solve, and love the cache name. With a chilly wind we were pleased to make a quick find at GZ. Many thanks for the puzzle and the hide.

After team Geckoh helped me solve this puzzle we arrived on site and after I had located the cache a few cyclists biked past and I had only seen one so I stepped back to place the cache back and almost walked into a second cyclist, great hide. TFTC

Yes finally managed to tick this one off. Made it so much hard for myself and acted like a troll. Came to my senses and finally found it.

Great puzzle and nice hiding spot!

I have just realised that I never went looking for this, even after solving it way back then. Had to re-do the puzzle as I hadn't noted the coords! Will have to get out on the mountainbike this weekend and pick this up up.

A cool puzzle and it was a fun to solve, enjoyed a pleasant walk to GZ, sneaky hide, thanks for setting up this High Tech cache.

Checked on this tonight while out for a ride and it is waiting to be found.

Have to admit this wasn't a fast puzzle solve for us. Showed it to my brother who was visiting from Wellington ... and after a bit he recognised what he was looking at, whew .

Thanks to the local event and a helpful nudge from the CO, this one was quickly solved. It all seems so easy now but for the life of me I had no clue before hand. It's like John said "You're using the wrong colour..." Really enjoyed this one so another favourite from me.
GZ did bring with it some interesting options as my co-ords had me in an unlikely spot. I've made everything about this cache far more difficult then it ever needed it to be but then again - more evil ideas for the future. cheers again.

This cache had me fooled until I was offered assistance from the noodlekidz which I greatfully accepted,then everything fell into place.Good hide,thanks nzkites.

Had a half day a school today because of the teacher's PPTA meeting. Needed to come over to Tauranga to do some stuff so we grabbed the cache at the same time. The weather wasn't to nice this afternoon, so there were no muggles around. Arrived at GZ and quickly spied where the cache was hiding.
Cool Puzzle and Nice Camo.
SLTFTP
Thanks nzkites

7.30pm - This one was a bonus for us as we had only come to do 2 caches that we had attempted several times and failed, easy find while Mr Gap parked the car. SLTFTC

Out on an afternoon drive with Mum, the kids and the dog... A brilliant day to be out of the house...

I needed a nudge with this puzzle... My puzzle solving senses were not firing, and as soon as I was given a hint, I knew what to do. First, a couple of blows to the head to shake off the lethargy and then into the solve... That was clever!

I dropped Mum and the kids off at a nearby shop and walked to ground zone. Though quite busy in daylight, it was easy enough to access the cache without too much need for excessive stealth. The view from ground zone was nice at the time of visit. I could have spent more time here just watching the world go by... TFTP and TFTC.

Had a go at the puzzle soon after publishing, but spent far too much time and gave up in disgust!

Picked it up again on a Labour weekend and noticed a number of finds logged, and felt I needed to lift my game a bit. Eventually noticed something in the puzzle and printed out a few copies. Still had no clue where I was going with this, even with some extra helpers having a look. Then... light bulb moment... and in due course had the co-ords in hand.

Of course had to head out to GZ as soon as we could. Fortunately one of the junior grifter13s has good eyes and seems to find these kinds of caches relatively quickly.

A favourite from us. Thanks NZKites.

A nice quick solve on this new puzzle this week, prior to our trip down to Tauranga for the weekend. Enjoyed the walk to GZ from the car. Cache quickly found due to a well detailed hint. TFTPC!

Well NZSplatty, I think you should be very afraid... I got here before you Seriously though, what could possibly go wrong? A gale force westerly wind, king tide and massive vertical drops hold no fear for the Tparty. For the greater good I endured the elements to safely retrieve and return this sneaky little puzzle cache to its rightful place. No problems for the next cacher who happens along... this time at least. I'm not sure how many "nudges" is considered PC when it comes to solving geocaching puzzles; let's just say that we don't have a "puzzle brain" between us and having two or three friends is most appreciated. Splatty, Flossy and Ccrichie can all share in the kudos for developing our capacity to get these things. I've finally figured out our problem though. It's called over complicating the simple. Thanks NZkites for setting us a problem to resolve.

I spent a while looking at this one last night and gave up. When i got up this morning Mrs 56 took one look at my workings and got it I was looking for something much more complex. So we popped down after work to find it, nicely placed. Thanks for the puzzle.

This entry was edited by davies56 on Friday, 24 October 2014 at 08:00:28 UTC.

Righto. Solved the puzzle. Now to go find the cache. Well done to TNXPro for the ftf.

Saw this one come out on Sunday morning but I had to go to work and left it till Sunday night. Got home and saw the veteran cachers had solved it so quickly and even a first to find by TNXPro - Played around for quite awhile and starting to feel a bit thick - but no light bulbs flashed in my head. I even tried having a cup of tea while looking at it like the Spiders but no luck. Got home tonight and text another cacher and compared notes - went over what I had tried and he said " ............. it! " So I did and guess what - got it!!!! Off out to our running group tonight so I asked Richard if we could make a slight detour on the way home - got to the GZ and quickly located the cache ( getting used to these CO's and spotted the likely spot that they would like.) - Must admit though after my latest exploits I was very nervous about getting the cache back safe and sound but managed it - Thanks for a fun puzzle - especially now I have it - now where is my cup of tea! TFTC

Solved finally.... I'll be seeing oh oh oh oh all night when I close my eyes! Will get here by the end of the week hopefully as out of town for a few days. That's if tparty doesn't "knock another one off"!

Solved over a cup of tea.

Thanks nzkites. A good puzzle. it will be a little while before we can get over to sign the log.

FTF - Yay. I saw the notification late this morning and thought a new published cache close to home, cool. But then I saw it was a puzzle and thought oh crap, I am hopeless at puzzles and others have already solved it, so there was little chance of FTF. When I saw the puzzle, I eliminated some options and something stood out to me that I recognised. The geochecker worked out for me, and number one son decided it was a great opportunity for a driving lesson. We arrived at the location (safely - well done son) and immediately started looking in the obvious location. Turned up nothing for a few minutes, but then I had the AHA moment and expanded my search and found it immediately where I expected this CO would place something, almost exactly 12 hours after the cache was published [Curglaff cant be sleeping much lately]. Thanks nzkites for the great puzzle, one that I could actually solve, and a great hide. A fav from me.

Published

Just turned the light out and the phone beeped a new cache. Saw this new puzzle cache published and couldn't resist attempting a quick solve. And after a bit of High Tech - Low Tech we soon had some coords for the final. Fun puzzle, thanks. Adding it to our 'must collect' list.