Watering the Punga Auckland, North Island, New Zealand
By scottydow on 01-Jul-15. Waypoint GC5YGJD

No longer there.

Unable to log due to sog. Reading previous logs helped. My feet got wet and muddy. Not sure why this is two parts?

Team Flag (Flossieteacake, Liz's Crew, Myself and Gorby) did the walk and the series of caches from the Mount Donald McLean car park down to the Karamatura Valley. Once that was completed we went our separate ways, after a rest and a bite to eat. I decided to keep caching and swung by here to start. I parked up in the nearly full car park and followed the dog owners along the trail. After a nice walk it was time to cross the stream. While the tide was mostly in at this time I was able to get across with only a slight splash inside one of my hiking boots. I then made my way across the swampy area and arrived at the published coordinates. I didn't find anything there (except more swamp) so decided to search further afield. Climbed up the bank and soon spotted something of interest. Closer inspection confirmed the find. Note, I don't think this is operating as intended now as the punga has deteriorated over the years. Despite that, it was still a fun journey to get to GZ; favourite point applied. I am happy to give this hide a little love since it is over a year since the last visit. Cheers for the little adventure and the cache placement!

Returned today when out walking the dog and it was an easy find when I explored further. Very clever cache. Love the 2 parts. Thanks

When to look for this just cos we were at the beach. Found half but with wind and overgrown nature of the area- decide to come back another time to find the second half - if it is still there.

Didnt find today but will come back. Lovely walk. Low tide so dry feet and found the area of cache. Lots of cutty grass so gave up searching.

Our mission today was collecting Bigsea Bay on the Cornwallis Peninsula. Successfully completed that and we still had some time on our hands. This cache looked interesting and as it was in a location we have never visited before we decided to give it a go. Popular place today on Waitangi Day. Car park was overflowing but we timed it right and got here just as someone was leaving. Enjoyed our walk down to gz mostly paddling in the creek.

Scottie quickly located the 1st part of the cache. After initially failing to find stage 2 we put our heads together and figured out what we were most likely looking for and after that it was plain sailing dear Liza. Great idea that is well executed (which we have encountered before).

Thanks for bringing us to this location. Very popular with dog owners today. Fav point given

We decided to come out and give Albert the Geohound a run at Kakamatua before we go back to work on Monday and he had a grand old time running up and down the beach. We all had a wade and the water was incredibly warm.

After a good time on the beach we came back here and shoes and socks off I waded across the stream and after a quick hunt found the first bit. Aha...should have paid more attention to the DT rating and cache description.

As I had Albert with me, he carries a very suitable tott with him and we used that as well as an item at GZ to retrieve the cache - very helpful.

A nice clever cache here and quite fun. Think I had a perfect day to do this as it was mostly dry at GZ and a good day to be out.

Thanks for the cache, very good effort here.

So great! love the twist!!

Very cool cache! Took some new cachers out with us and they brought their eager geopups. Very exciting first cache for them and an equally cool cache to us also! Thanks very much for the truly inspired cache! (The tool wasn't of any help but the cache was still obtainable)

Left some fun treasure!

Was meeting up with some fellow cachers later in the day to make the intrepid adventure to the nearby Entropy cache, and merlot58 suggested we come out earlier and find a couple of caches in the area. She had already found this one, so was happy to stand back and watch me do all the work. Thankfully she had warned me about the creek crossing, so I wouldn't end up in waterlogged hiking boots and wet socks all day. The tide was heading out and the creek was far lower than I was expecting.

I have never watered a punga before, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience . This earns a well-deserved favourite point.

Fab cache, seen a few online like this but never found one. Superb! Great way to end a day at the beach. TFTC

Toby the geohound loved this one! Very clever! TFTC

Staying in the Huia region over the New Year break with teh Team SEAC crew.

A few of the others had done this cache the previous day while we were hiking. Decided on a night drive to claim some more caches.

We had parked close by and walked to where we believed we should enter the bush to make our way to the beach to attempt another cache nearby.

As we were this close and it was low tide we made our way here not really having to use our torches as it was such a lovely night.

Made the find and then found the twist to this cache. Relocated and discovered what we had to do. I made my way to fulFILL one of the conditions only to get back and find that the container had been extracted without the need of additional input.

The log was signed and we made our way back to the car.

A neat cache and adventure at night and gets a FAV point.

TFTC

After picking up the nearby geodogs playground cache we skipped across the inlet for this one.... no chance of muggles here tonight and the stars looked extra sparkly tonight as we grabbed more cache smileys....
Found what we thought to be the cache but not quite...loved this twist... the real cache was soon located and sorted...

Signed in as SEAC to save logbook space.

Fav. point given.

TFTC.

After dinner a few of the group staying at Huia Lodge for new years seceded to head out and grab a few caches that we had not been able to grab earlier due to the tides.
Enjoyed the twist, and a favourite point has been given for the cleverness of the cache. Signed as Team SEAC.

A group of us were staying at the nearby Huia Lodge when we decided to do a bit of night caching in the area. Having picked up a nearby cache we wandered over to GZ and luckily the tide was low so we only had a small jump to keep our feet dry Once at GZ the cache was quickly spotted.... or was it!!!! We then realised what we had to do to retrieve the log once we had located the actual cache. Love the work that's gone into this and definitely deserves a FP! Log signed as Team SEAC, TFTC!

Was in the area for New Years staying at Huia Lodge with a bunch of other Geocaching friends....also known as "Team S.E.A.C" Had about 20 of us there, young and not so young.

We did this one late at night.

Enjoyed the walk out there and found the cache without to much trouble. We didn't need the required tools

This one gets a fav point from me.

Thanks for bringing us to this amazing part of New Zealand.

Loved the adventure of getting this one. Went with a friend on her dog walk. Seems to be a drone flying zone too - but they weren't hovering around GZ. First time finding one of these, although read about them, so made it very rewarding. So thank you! The tool provided was used and returned.

After two trys we found it

Crossing the stream was fine, with the water level below knee height, but the bog between the stream and the cache was less pleasant, but at least I knew I would be clean again as soon as I got back to the other side.Cache soon in hand, but I slipped on the way down the bank, and thought I had lost a vital bit of the cache as it went flying. Very pleased to look down and spot it straight away.

TFTC

Keen to do this and several other tricky ones while in the area today !
What a fun find this proved to be !
Thanks scottydow !
A barrell of laughs !
Very awesome and cunning !
Although I did manage to get my boots full of water....
Not quite so fun !!!!!

A quick find, soon did the watering and the cache was in hand and signed. Glad I came while the tide was out though. Tftc

Went out again today with Yorkshirekiwi83 to find a few more caches between Titirangi and Huia. Tide was on its way out, so only a short jump required to keep my feet dry before we set about finding the cache. Soon found the tool and knew exactly what would be required and soon had the cache in hand. Another cool hide this one, so I'll add another favourite point. TFTC!

Vistra and I were in the area, have found many similar caches, so we knew what we needed to do so we quickly had our hands on the cache. TFTC

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#496 Walking GeoDog with GeoBoy today. This is our new favourite GeoDog walking spot. Now this one had me scratching my head as the name didn't match the clue... Then I found it and it all fell together. Yes I have seen this before and it is a fantastic cache. Gets a fav point from us.
TFTC

I came out here with ugnz as she wanted to give her geodog a run. The tide was out so it was an easy walk across the stream and having done this type of cache before, I knew exactly what I needed to do. After a bit of a slip and slide on the bank I was watering the punga. Nice one, fp from me

I didn't realize there were so many dogs in Auckland. They were everywhere. Realized what was required, as seen this container before. All worked well today. Tftc

Have been dogsitting so took the chance to wander down here this afternoon and get muddy while J was off getting hypnotised. Love this cache, it reminds me of that telly show from the 90s The Crystal Maze. Tftc <3 <3

I made a second visit here with a happy group of cachers. We had just ascended Jackie's Peak at Little Huia (no cache) and we had a DNF at 'Up the Creek' and now here, I tagged along with rustynz and Jag50 so they could claim this one. A walk out to the beach from the carpark was lovely, the beach had faaar too many dogs!! It wouldn't be so bad if the little blighters were restrained with leads instead of coming up to me and sniffing my a----! Anyway, we strode across the stream, boy it was warm! I went first so I could get fotos of my team. They soon had the cache in hand and in barefeet they slushed back to the water. Lots of fun!!

Visited this one with Gorby and RustyNZ after spending the earlier part of the morning scaling an epic peak that many do not get the chance to do.. Thanks guys. Hopefully see you next weekend.

After not being able to find the cache just further up the creek, a joyous group made our way along the stream to GZ. Luckily jag50 had data, and reception so that we could get the co-ordinates (had not planned on looking for this one today). As we approached the end, a tidal surge could be seen pushing up the stream as we were probably 1 hour from high tide.

Lots of dogs and owners out and about. We watched Gorby cross, when the water stayed below his knees I knew it was safe

The GZ was a little overgrown, and whilst we split into two groups, with the help of the hint I called out to the others that I had found the cache! or had I? a combined effort with jag50, and the log was soon being signed. Thanks for the hide, very creative scottydow. The return was "interesting" as the water level was now higher

A dogs paradise! What a beautiful spot, gumboots definitely recommended. Soon found stage one and was wondering how I was going to locate the cache when it suddenly became obvious. TFTC!

Wracked with guilt having taken tool needed for this, I came back, forced the 2 geodogs to take a walk on this beach again and picked up cache. Looking at it now a finger would have done the job just as well if the person had 3 hands tftcooool cache!

Picked up tb and accidently tool( a cork) with it. [B)] [:o)] Did not find second stage so will have to come back under better conditions to return tool. Perhaps a well placed digit would do for the meantime ...

This one was a but different to others I have done . It was a chilly & foggy morning with not many muggles around so not too hard to find with lots of help from bradgoldy & FF ( Miss 5 ) . TFTC .... Was lots if fun

Tftc cool one, should of brought my gum boots as was pretty wet all around. Haven't done one of these before.

Watering the punga more like wetting the cacher, after safely crossing at thigh level the raging brown torrent that normally is the stream, then through the swamp to the first stage. Grandson and I went off to find stage two. Soon worked out was required and had cache in hand. Have been going to this beach with the dog for years but have never seen it so flooded. The track down was ankle deep too. Still the Sun was shining and we had a lovely, interesting day out, geodog enjoyed the run and swim. Home to dry out.

Foubd the initial cache and the tools but sadlynot the cache itself, geodog got restless and started to pester other dog owners to play ball, had to abandon search. All was not lost checked on my nearby cache and had a beautiful stroll along the beach. Dropped off a dog related trackable and will be back another day to find what I am looking for.

Enjoying a good day out with alpenmilch80 (and Kiwileon who'd left us earlier in the afternoon), and decided that this one seemed like a good one to finish up with.

Plenty of furry friends enjoying the overcast day out here, and without too much effort we made our way to GZ to try our luck here. Everything made sense reasonably quickly and before too long the cache was in hand after a bit of fiddling.

Nicely done here, great spot and a nice hide - TFTC

Evilno9 told me about this newbie in the area and we decided with perfect low tide to check it out. Made our way to GZ and found everything we needed to sign the log. I decided on our way back it was time to at least water one shoe with very cold water as well..... Great work was done on this one! TFTC

I was trying to reach Muriwai beach from another way than the beach itself... but no way ! I was stopped by private properties, hunters, closed gates and defence areas... Maybe in summer time it's possible but this was definitely not the day for this !
It's pretty far from Auckland, so I enjoyed discovering the surroundings as I was there !

I'll head step by step down, up to the Waitekere Ranges and to Te Huia area.

I managed to cross the stream with my shoes in the hands. Very surprising these big flows of waters coming in suddenly... you really have to wait for the right timing.

Thanks for the cache.

I was prepared to get cold and wet this morning! If the tide was in I was going to wade through it with my shoes off! As luck would have it I did not need to, a leap of faith and my feet are pretty much dry!!
I quickly found the gz and knew what to do from there! The cache is in a pretty delicate position so be careful! Nice effort on this one Scotty! Published for 2 days but I was able to claim the second spot! Tftc

I saw this cache come out last night and more or less decided I wouldn't do it, was aching to do so though, nothing like an early morning bush walk to liven up the body! But then later, I got an e-mail from a close friend saying she's off to France today to see her very sick sister - short notice - so I decided then I'd come and get this cache first then at a more decent hour, surprise my friend with a visit.

So that all decided, I took the route down to the beach via the Orpehus graves. Got a little bit lost until I realised I was walking in the wrong direction. Got that sorted, if you come by this way people you will definitely get wet feet, much swamp to walk through to get to the beach. Low tide welcomed me this morning, took some nice photos of the beach and saw a few people with their dogs. Crossed the stream at low tide ankle deep then found the cache, with accurate co-ords. Opened up the container then got a really neat surprise! Hoh, hoh hoh. I'd love to tell you more people but that would be giving away too much!! Except to say, be careful with the fragile punga, I'm giving this a fav for it's coolness, haven't quite seen a cache like this one. Then after signing the log and putting everything back together, I crossed the stream and sudeenly saw a great rush of water coming in, the tide had turned and a surge of water rushed up the inlet, that was cool too I thought but it seemed a lot more than I would expect! I asked a passerby if she thought that was normal, she said she walks here most days and said it was quite normal. So I carried on after a few more fotos. Well done scottydow on your hard work, excellent idea. But I see you haven't done Cornwall Hydrotechnics GC2KMkN yet, check that one out....

FTF #108

Published