Leap of Faith (BOP) Lower Kaimai, North Island, New Zealand
By TNXPro on 29-Feb-16. Waypoint GC6B35A

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We set off on an afternoon adventure to get the Wairoa river caches seeing as there are now 2 more newly placed caches to get. We left from redwood lane and had a leisurely paddle up the river while getting used to kayaking again. I was pleasantly surprised by gz, and had to give it a few goes. Next time we plan to come down the river with an air bed and a chilly bin floating behind, should make for a cool adventure. Another one of our local hidden treasures. Thanks heaps!

Monday - 24/01/2022 #3,876

On a week long trip up and down the middle part of the North Island. Same weekend as the Mega event in Auckland (but that's not where I ended up). Targeting a few specific caches, and a few others. This is one of them.

Having spent yesterday paddling the ocean for a couple of island caches, today was all about the rivers. Parked as advised at the end of Redwood and paddled up here. Wasn't too sure what I was gonna be looking for, until I saw it, then it all made sense. Cache was an easy find and in great shape with a fresh log sheet from some recent visitors. All good here TFTC.

*Found with [Geooh GO](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobiltal.geoohGO)*

**#14,999**
Rapidly approaching our 15,000th find we had a few options to fill that spot, should we go to the MEGA and make that it?
Or Should we head over to Taranaki to scale that mountain for a FTF?
No, instead we decided our 15,000th would be filled by Kayak..... This one was a candidate but instead fills the last position of the 14,000's... Well..... it almost didn't......... I parked the van not all too far away as the spot I intended to launch from was occupied by some "rough" individuals so I decided to drive a bit closer. Parked up, read the relevant signs and made the call it would be OK, launched the boat and a short while later GZ was reached..... spotted the potential method of the hide but fished up an empty line........ luck wasn't on my side!!!
I sent a few messages to confirm I had the correct hiding spot and it seemed pretty likely it was a goner. What to do? I forgot to take a spare cache so then made the call to paddle back to the van for a fresh Bison and log and then paddled back to GZ to make the replacement. Great spot, I'm sure the structure gets a bit of use over summer!!

Thanks for not finding me during the lockdown.

Due to Covid19, and to encourage people to "stay at home" to prevent spreading the virus, I am joining others in temporarily disabling my caches.

After a good read through past logs we parked at the end of redwood lane and paddled upstream to this cache. A great paddle and I spotted this cache pretty quickly. It’s a beauty but I couldn’t open it - fortunately my muggle hubbie did. Loved our morning on the river - this one scores a favourite from me TFTC

Kiwi69, 11hpg11 and I found this cache on a mini mission, which was hatched at a local event in Hamilton a month or two ago. We left Hamilton around midday once Saturday morning sport was finished and got home about 10:30pm. Having borrowed a double and single Kayak for the weekend we were keen to get as many of the T5 caches we had identified as the priority finds for the day and everything else was a bonus. We were very lucky to get some great weather, especially given the time of year. On some logs we signed as HOAC as has become customary for us when out together. We had a great time and saw some new and cool places thanks to the CO’s placing Geocaches in some unique and interesting locations.

This was the second find of the day. We paddled up from another cache down stream after getting in by Redwood drive. After reaching GZ I soon realised what was going to be needed and took the hit for the team. After some rummaging about I was able to make the find and was surprised to find the log nice and dry. A memorable and fun find....although maybe best found in summer?

Out and about on this glorious day with Kiwis69 and Iammrwalker. We had a few kayak caches in our sights today since we had gone to the effort of hunting down some kayaks, a trailer, a tow car, a driver and lugging them all this way. We had picked the best day of the weekend with some stunning weather. We headed over the hill after morning sport had finished and had the head torches packed, ready for a good afternoon/night of caching. Logs signed with names or HOAC to save room (although we are probably more HUAC, Hamilton Under Achievers club)

We unloaded at Redwood Lane and headed to the confluence cache first. Then it was the long slog upstream to this one. The arms were burning as we were watching the metres drop on the GPS and it wasn't too long before we spotted something in the water. Once at GZ we all had a tentative feel of the structure with no luck. We then read the description and D/T rating and realised what needed to be done. Iammrwalker offered to do the honors and with a bit of a wet arm he soon had the cache. The log was lovely and dry and we soon had it signed sealed and returned.

A smooth trip back to the the landing spot, my arms were thankful for going with the current.

Mission planning is a common theme at the monthly caching events in Hamilton and last month's event was no exception ... so here we are, on another adventure over the Kaimais, this time with borrowed kayaks to collect the Wairoa river caches before heading to McLaren Falls for a spot of night caching. Weather was perfect today and the lovely scenery gave us plenty of reasons/excuses to stop on our paddle upstream for yet another photo. A lot of banter with 11hpg11 and Iammrwalker added to the fun as we made our way up the river from the conflux cache. Arrived at GZ which was the first time I realised this one is a 5/5 cache; I'd done my homework about the river levels but not the actual hide. Thankfully Iammrwalker decided this tricky hide would allow him to display the wonders of testosterone as a cache-finding and retrieval super-power. We didn't take much persuading (its JUNE!!) & watched with suitable levels of admiration as he dipped into the dark cold water in the hope of success. Worries that the cache might have disappeared again after recent floods & storms quickly evaporated as he grinned and held the cache aloft. Log all good and still dry, signed and replaced. Thanks for the fun cache and for the incentive for our fab adventure today, def gets a fav from me too, TNXPro.

Out with ApacheD Philip.Perry and the CO sometime ago can't remember when.
After getting the other cache ApacheD and the CO took one kayak by car further up the road closer to this cache whole Philip.Perry and I kayaked up to this one i must say it was alot easier to paddle in a real Kayak compared to my blow up doll version of a kayak. Philip.Perry and I arrived at GZ before ApacheD and the CO did and were hoping to get the cache found signed sealed etc before they arrived but no such luck . The CO arrived at GZ and watched us for a while but we couldn't find the cache . Lucky the CO had his maintenance kit with him as the cache had gone so while he replaced the cache we beached our kayak and waited until he was done then went in to make the find and add our names to the log sheet. A really cool location Tnxpro enjoyed our afternoon a pity we didn't get to find the next cache.
FP from me I enjoy these hard to get caches.

Another very much spur of the moment decision to head out to these today. Davidsonclan, ApacheD and the CO would complete our group of four. We parked at the end of Redwood Lane and launched from there grabbing Wairoa Conflux first. Now we'd have to put the hard work in as the next 3.7km would be paddled against the current. Good conditions and great company made for a very pleasant paddle though - I thoroughly enjoyed the change of scenery viewing the Wairoa from water level. GZ was obvious and the search immediately began but we weren't having any luck. We were soon joined by the CO and quickly discovered that..... the cache may reappear if we paddle away and return shortly As you can imagine it was a fairly straight forward find after CO maintenance but I must admit we were incredibly lucky to have TNXPro on hand. A clever but risky hide - I hope it lasts. TFTC.

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**A major maybe even 'Mega' Event has been organised for Wellington - Labour Weekend 2018. Check out the details on the [WENZ Website](https://sites.google.com/site/wenzgeo2018/home) or visit the event's page on [FaceBook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/590545297801072/) and don't forget to log your attendance on the [WENZ Geocache Event Page](https://www.geocaching.com/…/GC78NMQ_wenz-event-2018-wellin…)**
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**Early 2015 a group of Tauranga based cachers started a [BOP Geocaching Facebook Page](https://www.facebook.com/groups/GeocachingBOP/).
173 cachers currently make up this [Closed](https://www.facebook.com/help/220336891328465#What-are-the-privacy-options-for-groups) group where we organise various geocaching events and excursions as well as share information and friendly banter. Please check us out if you're interested.**

A little maintenance required before some local characters could make the find. All good again.

HKCB had a leave pass for the morning so a quick bit of texting and arrangemnts were made for an early morning trip to collect these ones that have been on our radar for quite some time. So departing Hamilton at 4.30am we headed over here knowing that the light would be on our side. Sun was up as we unloaded the kayak, made our way down to the launch site.

A great early morning paddle upstream for this one following the previous cache on the river as we both thought that a gentle paddle back to the car would be best.Great to see the bird life along the river bank including geese and herons along the way. As we approached closer to GZ the site of the cache soon greated us and was quickly in hand. Log all nice and dry ready for the next person to visit.
Am surprised how few have bothered to locate these caches as the paddle is easy, or maybe that there are not too many adventerous cachers over this side of the hill ?????

thanks for the cache and the early morning paddle

Another early morning mission with Cats&Dragons. We had been talking about the caches on the Wairoa river for a while now, but couldn't seem to get the plans to align. Managed to get a last minute leave pass for a few hours caching in the morning, however needed to be back home by 9am. With four kayak caches on the cards this morning, with a combined 8km paddle, a early start was needed. We were on the water a few minutes before the sun was up heading towards the first cache of the day.

After success with the down stream cache, we headed back up hill past our lauch point and onto this cache. Was quite pleased the current didn't seem to affect the kayak to much and we made reasonable time to this cache. Cats&Dragons spotted why this cache is called "Leap of Faith" and a quick check of the GPS confirmed the spot. Nice easy find, with a bone dry log book. The return journey to the lauch site was much quicker now that we had the current with us again. Both caches on the river found and back to the car before 7am, not a to bad of a start to the day I reckon.

It was time to get out as we had lazed around the house for a few days with family and guests. We walked out on everyone and loaded up the kayaks. Headed up stream to gz. I coulodn't believe our bad luck that many tents and camper vans were settled in almost opposite gz. There was quite a group of them watching so we just mossied around. They soon lost interest and all went walking - except one who got in his kayak and kept us under surveilance. We each headed to other locations nearby. He cornered me and asked what I was looking for - I said Koura and kept looking in dark rocky pools. He paddled off and asked Macwatt if he had found any koura "oh I'm not looking for koura" say Macwatt WTF my cover blown! Needed some quick talking to get out of that one. He eventually lost interest and paddled away. Now we could look in earnest. Finally spotted something worth investigating. With Macwatt holding my kayak I reached in and pulled. Yes!!!! It was well camoed in natural cover. I had to use Macwatt's handkerchief to open, All very dry inside. Good to see only two other logs. Signed and replaaced. Thanks TNXPro for a great, enjoyable challenge.

Had this cache on my to do list for a while...just needed to sort my gear out....now that I am all organized today was a great day for a paddle even though it was up stream with a ebbing tide ..it was most relaxing and I arrived at GZ before to long and began my search ....the one who has to be obeyed said it's not there as I headed for a likely spot.....so we looked else where ...I should have followed my geo instinct and also trusted my GPS and it would have been done and dusted quickly ......finally we found it and a team effort was required to fetch the cleverly hidden cache ....the natural camo was doing a great job ...all was safe sound and dry and cache in good condition. Thanks TNX for a great adventure type cache ...the paddle back down stream was fast and easy and when we reached our landing spot the water level had dropped about half a meter which made landing and recovery a little more tricky so all in all a great typical TNXpro type cache

The prospects of a great day on the water was slim, but the sky brightened and Alberica and I set off on her first kayaking adventure. The wind was blowing very strongly and showers kept passing overhead, but we were undeterred. Found GZ readily enough, but the river was higher than usual, and it was obvious that someone was going to get wet. I was volunteered while Alberica held my ride. I was not sure where to actually look, and didn't bring any suggested items to help with the process. Investigated an obvious possibility but this did not turn out to be correct. I had a choice; leave without finding it, or get wet looking. In I went, and up to the waist it was. A firm base gave support, but what I was looking for was well beyond arms length. We decided to go fishing with the paddle, and with a little experimentation, managed to latch on to the elusive little blighter. After a couple of tries, the cache was in hand. It was dry as a bone and the log signed below Flossy for a third to find. We felt rather pleased with ourselves and raced a threatening rain cloud downriver to the car. My kayak partner managed to fall in along the way, so this capped off a very successful hour on the water! Many thanks for your challenging cache... always a sense of achievement when successful.

My son and I came out here to scope out the river access from the gate by the bridge to use for a Scout kayak trip down the river, and with an hour up our sleeve we decided to go for a bit of a paddle, i had remembered reading about this cache and its location. we paddled up to the GZ and though since we are here we spend a few minutes looking around, then davies56 junior put his hand on it. the Cache is still on good nick. We did not sign the log as we did not have a pen with us, because we did not expect to find it. we will return and sign. Fav for us. TFTC

FTF What is the meaning of Valentines Day -Rose, chocolates?? No! its going for a kayak up the Wairoa River together and Richard rowing - but I did help out. It was a lovely morning and as usual Richard planned the tides perfectly and we were off to collect two caches - this being the first. The water was like glass and the scenery was beautiful and we enjoyed the paddle up. Approaching the GZ we knew we were in the right spot and smiled - I looked at Richard and asked - Lovers Leap??? but no he thought I might like a swim and after a look around the cache was spotted. Thanks for a great morning and a great cache. TFTC

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