Taking the Strain (Eyreton) Eyrewell Forest, South Island, New Zealand
By Hotspud on 03-Jan-15. Waypoint GC5JNDT

Farmer came out while we were looking for the cache. He said that a lot of people had been looking for it, but unsuccessfully. He had a grader through this area recently, and the fence line had changed, so might be missing.

It seems to be gone, according to others notes. I won't be replacing it as the cache container was very specific to the name, ie, it was a fence strainer holding the micro container.

A DNF here for us today. As MPM said, spoke with the farmer who confirmed it was no longer there.

TFTC took a while to find but after a few yes nos finally found

Tricky! A very well constructed cache, even having an inkling what I was looking for, was still very impressed upon finding it. Retrevial and signing was not helped by my short stuby fingers; TFTC +FP

Second visit was successful after a hint from a friend. tftc.

Found only because it was the second of this type I have found the other in Invercargill nice hide and muggle proof signed as Z R with ZEALOG

Looked in what seemed to be the obvious places then had to rethink after reading a previous log. With Rayzr . Signed RZ tftc

16:28
Took a bit of searching. Started on the wrong fence. Once I stopped confusing stays and strainers, found the cache without too much trouble.

Kia ora! Paldies!
Thanks for the cache, Hotspud!
#9665

Although we have found this type of hide before, it took us quite a while to find this cache, with a number of other possibilities in the vicinity. Still worth of a favourite. TFTC

Had a good look around

Aha looked for this one last time without any luck so happy to find it today! A favourite from us TFTC

Team G0LD: Geocachers 0B80B8, Lis's crew and DaffyNZ are down from Whangarei for a few days. We've all solved the 4 big geoarts so they are the main target for the trip. Of course there were many other solved puzzles that we collected as well.

This was our Big Day out plan where we'd planned to get as many caches as we could. Unfortunately we just fell short of our target as we lost track of the exact number of finds. Good preparation and a fantastic team to work with made this an enjoyable and successful day. We'd completed the Fresh Breath, the Smurfs and the new Skelly series. This line up of lollies was our next target caches.

Taking a quick break for my dentist bills sake from the lolly series. This was just the hide I was expecting. I had seen this clever type up north in my early caching days. Pleased to find it after the dnfs. Thanks for the fun hide

Team G0LD ( 0B80B8, Lis's crew & DaffyNZ ) on a caching mission to Christchurch. We had travelled down from Whangarei on Wednesday avo. Solved puzzles were going to be the main focus of our trip. We had spent a lot of 2020 and 2021 solving over 400 puzzles, so we had a lot on our list.

Today looked like being the best weather for our trip, despite a heavy thunderstorm overnight. We had a Big Day Out planned, with a perhaps optimistic target of finding 300 caches in one day. Working together well as a team, with a driver, a navigator and a jumper, we made good progress, but in the end, the bigger distances between caches, that we hadn't anticipated, meant we ended the day a bit short.

A fun day though certainly, and sincere thanks to the GeoArt & Trail CO's, and others, for placing and then maintaining such large numbers of caches so well. A testament to your dedication to Geocaching was the very low number of DNF's during the day. Apologies for the mostly generic logs, but be assured your efforts were truly appreciated.

Thought I knew what this one could be and luckily I was right and went straight to it. Just as well too, as muggles living nearby were outside their home .. !! Took it back to the cache mobile to sign and then a quick unobtrusive replacement dash.

Northland's Team Gold (0B80B8, Liz Crew, DaffyNZ) are in Christchurch for a few days collecting all our solved puzzles and other cache types as we drive past. This is our "Big Day Out" to collect as many caches as we can in a day. Sorry for the generic logs. Thanks for placing the cache. We are loving every cache we locate that adds to our tally for the day.
Found it. Thanks for placing.

Not seeing anything here.

Nothing too obvious here however, it's right up against someones property and we were'nt in the snooping mood

Had a quick look but the home owner was working outside so I didn't linger for to long

Probably we were going blind here. No luck here today for us.

Very clever

Very nice thanks

Typical. Spend a week down south with the family visiting the outlaws, and ChCh bakes. Get back .. about 40 caches shy of where I want to be for the year, and it rains. I guess I have a jacket... They say you don't have to be mad to Cache, but sometimes it helps.

Very clever only found it was I've found one like that before. Missed it at first. Fav from me...Cheers!

I was on the lolly scramble trail and stopped by for this one too. I had looked at all the items that were taking the strain and was about to give up when I had an epiphany and worked out what I should be looking for. This proved correct. The cache was very reluctant to be retrieved and the log itself had to be extracted with the TOTT I fortunately had with me. This is a very clever and crafty hide. TFTC.

Found on route bit difficult. Land owner knows about this one.

Thanks to a kind person with Toker

Was about to admit defeat when a closer revealed what I was looking for.

No luck here today but only a quick look at people at home in the nearby house

This one should be called Murphy’s law, what can go wrong will go wrong. This is my second visit and today had more time to hunt. First I found the cache where I had already looked twice already but didn’t see it. Then the pen wouldn’t work. It had at the previous cache. Then realised I had dropped part of the container in the long grass and spent the next 5 minutes looking for it. Thank you Murphy thank you so much. Hehe all good and back in place. TFTH and the very well hidden cache.

Having a tiki tour around Canterbury and after lunch in Oxford had some fun caching for a few hours. Had fun doing about half the lolly scramble for the day...some were easy, some a took a little more searching. A few prickles got me and long grass + pine needles made me itch but a fun way to spend the afternoon. Tftc

Hot

Found it, tftc (unfortunately my pen wouldn't write on that paper!)

Down in Christchurch with the Squirrel, ABCDF4 and eyespyben. During Covid lockdown, we solved a load of puzzles and decided that this would be a good time to visit. We've enjoyed a few days of good weather and seeing the Canterbury countryside. The caches have been in varying states - some good, some not so much. Our time here has been a blast, and we'd like to thank all COs who have made this adventure possible. Thank you and TFTC.

With ABCDF4, eyespyben, and Gap (of Fap and Gap). Logging all finds as Team HRP (Huntly, Rotorua, Papamoa - Our hometowns)... During Covid-19 lockdown, we solved a truck load of puzzles around Christchurch - Canterbury region. No use thrashing the old grey matter for no cause - We decided we should make good on this handiwork...

There are lots of interesting trails and geoart surrounding Christchurch. What you aren’t told is how far flung some of these caches actually are. Some beforehand advice would have been great, so here are some of my notes... You’re welcome!

1. Mobile coverage is patchy, especially in those quiet, rural areas where it was most needed. Saving caches to offline might show that you are prepared and organised...
2. There are many dusty metal roads on the trails. The car will get messy, and your hair will feel like cardboard at the end of the day...
3. Suitable clothing and footwear are essential. You will climb in and out of hedges, gorse, and other rough stuff. You might get scratched, cut to shreds, and bleed a lot. It’s not advised to wear your brand new jacket on the day...
4. Take lots of food and drink. You’ll probably be head down, tail up and not realise you haven’t eaten until late afternoon. There are very few shops or gas stations out there...
5. Make sure that you secure keys and wallet and know where these are placed for easy retrieval. A full box of pens might be useful too, especially if you’re inclined to free some into the wild...
6. Know the difference between left and right, and north, south, east, and west. Turning right and heading north will not get you to South Christchurch quickly.
7. Look with girl’s eyes rather than boys eyes... Some caches haven’t been found in a while and you might have to get down on your knees to pray.
8. Always be prepared for misleading hints. This is what turns simple caches into D5/T5 hides... “Head height” could mean the cache is positioned at your toes.
9. Have a sense of humour and like the people you go caching with. It’s going to be a very long day, and you might want to hurt someone during the journey...
10. Make sure you can operate your phone/device and it doesn’t crash when you most need it...
11. Learn to cut and paste logs because you’re going to repeat this function so often when logging all of your finds.
12. Above all else, have fun and be kind...

We have another one of those punishing plans to cache until we drop - An early morning start with the hope that we'll finish at a reasonable time... From South Christchurch, we took Highway 1 and crossed the Waimakariri River into Northern Christchurch... We've been lucky to have great weather, and extended daylight hours have given us more time to cache. Unfortunately, the sun must set each day and it's become a race to squeeze in a few more finds. The coordinates took us to the neighbouring driveway. Not sure that the householder was impressed when she arrived home. In any case, the cache was a quick find once we widened our zone. We have seen cache hides like this before. Thanks Hotspud and TFTC.

Once we read log properly we relooked and found quickly. TFTC

Had a DNF of this cache over 3 years ago, and hadn't been back this way since then. May my 4000th find at a cache nearby then came here. Cache was found pretty much instantly. Very well hidden. Thanks for the cache.

Wow, a little toughy! Great cache!!!

After a big day yesterday collecting caches around the Mt Thomas tracks, we headed out in the car today to clear some roadside caches. We had a pretty successful day with 55 finds and just 2 DNF's. All finds were nice and quick and any specific notes will be mentioned below. Thanks to all CO's for your caches and sorry for copy and paste log but I had no internet at time to make detailed logs.

We had an idea of what to look for as we have come across others like this. A nice quick find. tftc

In May 2019 I had a brief but unsuccessful look for this one and wrote a note accordingly. Today I was in the area finding a lot of caches, but unfortunately not this one. I didn’t spend a long time looking for it, but enough to admit that it’s still got me beat. There are several items that fit the hint/title. I was unable to pin it down sufficiently to locate the hide. Next time I may bring an extra pair of eyes with me, so to speak!

Caught by the owner as they were leaving the property. He is ok with the cache staying put. Just on the verge of giving up and had one more look at the clue. Love it. Number 99 - TFTC

Exceedingly happy to get this wee blighter, actually it's very clever. Lytteltonwitch was with me and had found it before, even she had a 10 minute look. TFTC

Sunday caching adventure. Thanks for the hide.

While there were a few reasons why I should not have been out this morning, here I was! Quick find, but I am glad I read the last log and then the description! TFTC!!

Located 21 caches in the Swannanoa – West Eyreton area this afternoon, but this wasn’t one of them. I won’t record it as a DNF as I’d barely started looking for it when the dog at the nearby house starting barking and I spotted one of the residents outside looking in my direction. Decided I’d cease acting in a suspicious manner and disappear before he got out his shotgun. Hopefully I’ll be back another time when the dog’s asleep!
P.S. I may have been less concerned if I’d read the description more thoroughly! However it’s still preferable to be searching for a cache without anyone ’watching’.

Found with Tom my five year old son. We dropped the cache container and spent a while retrieving it! Thanks to all cache owners for taking the time to place and maintain your caches. Team Broadbent (signed TB on micros). Find # 2092

In Christchurch with ABCDF4 for zephyr club convention and tagged along to pick up a few caches.Alot of quick finds an tons of park and grabs.Thanks to the COs

On holiday in CH/CH for zephyr Car Convention
Weather was great.Up early to get a good day cacheing
Thanks to COs for your placements
Happy Easter

Next time!!!!

Out cyclocaching around the area. Stopped at GZ and the resident woofer came running over. I waved at the owner and told him why I was there. "It's a tricky one", he replied.
No kidding! I searched high and low and was about to call it quits when I decided to check one more place. And there it was! It is a tricky one but what a sense of satisfaction when you find it.
TFTC and have a favourite.

I was in Rangiora for a WoF for the geomobile today (stalking our mechanic who is now working there).
I figured while I was out this way I'd try to find a few caches, including some I'd seen get archived but it appeared the containers were left as geo-trash.
This cache wasn't one of the archived ones, by this stage I'd done all those and was just caching my way home.

This hide is genius! A definite favourite, even though it's a nano in the country. It just works perfectly.
TFTC Hotspud
Find # 3564

I thought I knew what I was looking for and it still took me quick a while. That is a very clever hide. FP from me. Thanks! #2919

Yah! FP from me! Tftc

Loved this one.
Very clever done.
Thanks

A quick detour on the way home from the Oxford A & P Show on a perfect Autumn day. Knew what I was looking for so soon had the log signed and back in place. Nice to chat to the family member at the gate too. Thanks.....

Cache checked and still in place. No maintenance required.

Its gone

This geocacher reported that the cache might be missing.

This one has beaten me

Spotted the occupant of one of the properties knocking around and was careful not to attract too much attention to myself... I was pretty sure at that point he had spotted me though... A few more failed scratchings later, being careful not to over invest myself too much just in case he came over and wasn't the right guy... He did eventually come over and was very good about it. Simon. And I can confirm he gave no clues whatsoever... it was a complete coincidence that I found it within about 30 seconds of speaking to him... Nice once.. Happy to tick if off. GLB1721 TFTC (4150)

I had thought about this one since I DNF'd it a few months ago - today it was a quick find as it was in the 2nd place I checked = argggh so easy when you know where tftc

too good for me!

Having spent a long time looking in obvious places for this cache in times past with no luck we found it this time by sticking to the name of the cache and it became a favourite because of obvious reasons that become clear when you discover it in the its unusual place. certainly a nano size.

Found with Jayjewel. Great hide, took a little time to find but got there in the end

Mrs SB was away with her girlfriends so Daddy was in charge. Number 2 got to go geocaching yesterday as her big sister was at a birthday party. Today they both wanted to go. So off we went with the hope and equipment to open a very special cache! This was the third of the day. Thanks for the effort that goes in to placing and maintaining the cache.

Found it

A day dedicated to as many finds as possible. TFTC

thanks for the placement, we have been loved travelling and visiting the roads of Christchurch and the many caches each CO has taken the time to place, thank you for taking the time to place and maintain them. + fav

Great day out caching, bit of a strong wind . - Many Thanks Bitsprayer

Too clever for me today

No problems here, geocache is still in place.

Out with Pinksouth
Had no joy with this one

Out with Wurzel 1947
No success on this one

This one got me

dnf

I had a few hours to spare after completing my work commitments on a day trip to Canterbury. I decided to head off in this direction to see what I could find. Although the weather was a bit grim, I made the best of it and had a nice time out in the countryside. The cache is definitely still there. Wasn't too hard for me as I've got one of these at home waiting to be deployed. Took a bit of an effort to get the lid off though. Retreated to the dry of the car to do that before returning the cache to its proper place. TFTC, Biggles.

Must be a bit small for my tired eyes.

Must not have been looking in the last place. Met the dog.

Great hide!! Found this one pretty quickly but can see that it could take a bit to find! TFTC

#13482. Troodles was quickly on to this one. Just as well as the nearby house has a good view of GZ (it's good that the owners know about the cache). No dogs (yappy or otherwise) encountered today. TFTC.

Today I had two missions: to increase my finds count for the 17th Dec from a sub par 7 to at least double figures and to inch my way to 3,000 finds for 2016. We had been nibbling away at the Lolly Scramble series for a few years now, so decided today was the day to finally scoff the lot, then carry on to find some caches around Oxford. Many thanks to the COs for contributing to an enjoyable day with some fabulous and inventive hides.
As soon as I saw GZ, I had a fair idea of where the cache would be hidden, so was an instant find as I have found similar ones before. A really sneaky hide, that would have taken a while to find otherwise. TFTC.

Had a couple of hours spare this afternoon and was in the area so came for a drive to find some of the caches along here. I spotted this one after a bit of wandering around checking likely spots - kicked myself for not spotting it sooner as I have an identical container sitting around at home. Signed log, TFTC

Not today.

Yet one more cache today that we failed to find the first time. We gave up on the search here before due to muggles close by that now we realise could have known about the cache. Today nobody around but still took a little searching before finding the cunning little cache. Cool hide.

Found on our way to Oxford.tftc

Looked at a couple of options before finding the correct spot. dog came to hate and barked at us. On a 11 day caching trip around the south island. Log signed as b&p.Tftc . Find # 3374

Submitted via Garmin Oregon 7xx

Found with moneydork TFTC

Wow cool one so small

Nice hide. Found on the way to work. TFTC.

Great little cache

Clever wee hide

24/05/2016 12:56:00 PM
6985
Had the day off work today, so decided, why not find some caches?

Have been meaning to knock off more of these lollies - there's just so many around!! So drove out along the road to oxford, found a few tinkers too, and then headed home.

Took a total of about 2 and a half hours, and managed to score more caches in a single day today than I have in quite a while!!

A fun arvo, and hopefully will expand my area of 1000 closest unfound to home a bit!

Consec caching day # 1297

TFTC!!

We are having a few days in Chch visiting family and of course finding some caches as well.After a couple of days SW of the city today we headed NW and as well as most of the Lolly Scramble trail we found several others in and around the areas nearby.A great variety of containers and hides made it a very enjoyable day. The logs were signed HZ+HM, H+H, or on some case with our full names.Thank you to all the CO's for making these 59 finds possible today.

It was a combination of holidays, family visit and caching. Since our last visit lots of trails have appeared and there were many puzzles to be solved. And a lot of trads thrown in for good measure. We almost forgot what it's like to be cut, scraped, prodded, pricked, bruised and stabbed by the large variety of hedges you can find caches under in Canterbury. We were not deterred and it was fun to find them. On our way home again and trying to find as many caches as pos. In the end they made us stay another night in the area Thank you Hotspud

A good find in the early evening

TFTC

Decided that on my last day of my holiday I'd do a blitz in the area before I fly home tomorrow, now a very tired bunny!

Found during bike trek near Oxford, 55km in one day, TFTC

Quick find. Nice hide.

Quick find. Out and about with Team Welsh on a caching holiday. T4tc

I almost parted ways with this one when I saw a couple of dnfs but explaining the title to a 6yr old proved fruitful and our favourite cache of the day was soon discovered by Crood K. Very cool. Tftc

Last day in ChCh for Pagenz and myself so thought we would play the numbers game today but doing the lolly trail and a few others added into the mix. Love these little nanos. TFTC