"First New Zealand" GC45 Memorial Plaque (BOP) Tihi O Tonga, North Island, New Zealand
By geocoinsnz on 12-May-20. Waypoint GC892XR

Day 38 of our Enzed adventures with Robmc and today we spent the morning at Wai O Tapu Geothermal Pools. On the way home we were happy to find a quiet road and collect some solved puzzles and this pretty cool cache.Thanks for contributing to an amazing holiday.

Thank you for this virtual cache!I was visiting Wai o tapu with a group and on our way back to Rotorua they graciously agreed that I could jump out here for a few minutes.Great geocaching memory place!Greetings from Finland

#4268 Today is day 42 of my geocaching vacation in New Zealand. I'm roaming around Rotorua. The main goal is to visit ["First New Zealand" GC45 Memorial Plaque (BOP)](https://coord.info/GC892XR).Found it! I knew buying the geocoin at [Geo Toroa (Dunedin, NZ)](https://coord.info/GCA7ZHD) was a correct move. I had my eye on this since I started planning my New Zealand trip. I went to [Original Stash Tribute Plaque](https://coord.info/GCGV0P) back in 2022, and I knew the significance of these memorial plaques. This was not part of the original plan as it was too far from Auckland or Wellington, the only two places on North Island I planned to visit. But then, I saw the geocoin on the website, and a fellow geocacher from Taiwan visited the place. I got a bit jealous and felt the need to put this into the plan. I bought the geocoin at [Geo Toroa (Dunedin, NZ)](https://coord.info/GCA7ZHD) and started to plan a day trip from Auckland just to get a photo with this plaque. I got the rental car researved and the map ready. The trip was to happen on October 30th, the day before I was supposed to head back to Taiwan. On October 29, I noticed a category 4 typhoon slowly but surely approaching Taiwan. For sure, the flight would be affected. So, I made the decision to change my flight and extend my journey in New Zealand. I added a whole bunch of places to the plan, and now this one became the goal for today, November 11, or 1111, the First First First First. FP added. geocoinsnz, thank you for the cache! -crystaloops from Taipei, Taiwan on November 11, 2024 @ 14:42:44[GC892XR] "First New Zealand" GC45 Memorial Plaque (BOP) was a D1.0/T1.5 Virtual Virtual Cache at the time of finding.

We are out sightseeing while on our way to Auckland and stopped overnight in Napier and found this cache while on our way to Rotorua answer sent to CO TFTC

how do not do this cache ... it is history -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --French version below-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --Short late log but more complete now that we are back home.Our vacation will take us to the other side of the world to the land of the Maoris. After many, many hours of flying, a passage through China on the way there and through the United States of America on the way back, we will finally arrive in Christchurch which will be the starting point of our journey.We will enjoy the beaches of the Pacific Ocean and we will go back towards the North Island via State Highway 1. To combine business with pleasure, we will take regular breaks and small detours according to the caches that seem the most accessible to us.With a little more than 3500 km in 20 days, we will have discovered many facets of this island which is soothing. We will have to come back because there are so many places that we have not done . In broad strokes, the path will go from Christchurch to the Kaikoura Peninsula then towards Picton for the crossing to Wellington.New island, new road, and by State Highway 2 we go towards Hastings and Napier. We will leave the seaside for several days to go to Tongariro and Taupo. We will continue north towards Rotorua and Hamilton (without forgetting a detour via Hobbiton ) A detour to the Coromandel Peninsula and finally the almost north of the island with Whangarei and Waitangi to learn the history of this country.There will only be a few days left to spend towards Auckland and its suburbs before taking the plane back to the grayness of our European autumn.The majority of the boxes will be found, we have abandoned those where our English was lacking and where we could not understand the clue. Thanks to all the owners who brightened up our path, who took us to incredible places (that's also geocaching)In short, we had a great vacation, saw beautiful places that simply ask us to come back. We learned a lot about the history of this country and its traditions, it's a great motivation for our destinations.-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --Petit log en retard mais un peu plus complet maintenant que nous sommes rentrs la maison. Nos vacances vont nous emmener lautre bout du monde au pays des Maoris. Aprs beaucoup, beaucoup dheures davion, un passage par la Chine laller et par les Etats-Unis dAmrique au retour, nous arriverons enfin Christchurch qui sera le point de dpart de notre priple.Nous profiterons des plages du de locan Pacifique et nous remonterons en direction de lile du nord via la State highway 1. Pour joindre lutile et lagrable, nous ferons des pauses rgulires et de petits dtours au gr des caches qui nous semble les plus accessibles. Avec un peu plus de 3500 km en 20 jours, nous aurons dcouverts pleins de facettes de cette ile qui est apaisante. Il nous faudra revenir car il y a tellement dendroit que nous navons pas fait . Dans les grand traits, le chemin ira de Christchurch la pninsule Kaikoura puis direction Picton pour la traverse vers Wellington.Nouvelle ile, nouvelle route, et par la State Highway 2 nous remontrons en direction de Hastings et Napier. Nous laisserons le bord de mer plusieurs jours pour aller au Tongariro et Taupo. Nous continuerons vers le nord en direction de Rotorua et Hamilton (sans oublier un dtour par Hobbiton ). Un crochet pour la pninsule de Coromandel et pour finir le presque nord de lile avec Whangarei et Waitangi pour apprendre lhistoire de ce pays. Il ne restera que quelques jours passer vers Auckland et sa banlieue avant de ne reprendre lavion pour retourner dans la grisaille de notre automne europen.La majorit des boites seront trouves, nous avons dlaisser celles o notre anglais faisait dfaut et ou que nous narrivions pas comprendre lindice. Merci tous les poseurs qui ont gay notre chemin, qui nous ont emmen dans des endroits incroyables (cest aussi cela le geocaching)Bref, nous avons pass de superbes vacances, vu des endroits magnifiques qui demandent simplement que lon revienne. Nous avons appris beaucoup de chose sur lhistoire de ce pays et de ces traditions, cest une grande motivation pour nos destinations.

Happy New Zealand trip with geocaching.A pity were with muggle friends and cant visit as much as geocaches as we like. I appreciate all the caches we passed and visited.Thanks, geocoinsnz, for the cache. Greetings from Taiwan.

Armed with jandals and a chilly bin, a couple of Aussies headed across the ditch for a 3-week tiki tour, exploring the beauty of New Zealand.DAY 4: Rotorua to Whanganui via Taupo & Turangi.This took longer than it should have to locate what was needed, but GT eventually came up with the goods.Thanks for showing us this special place by placing this cache, geocoinsnz tn koe~~

Passing here this afternoon and I couldn't resist stopping to have a look at this plaque. Many thanks for setting this up, a great little bit of history here. Photo attached, TFTC!

Hubby came up to ride in the redwoods, so at last minute I joined him but went caching. I managed a few before I got the phone call to come collect. Thanks for placement even if it was only for 1.5hours the weather was fantastic.Added required photo such a great virtual.

So pleased Jennyfromthefarm and I found this on our visit to NZ. Tftc

I saw this one on the map and really wanted to come here for the history. I have not visited the original stash plaque, but I would like to one day. Pulling into the rest area we made our way over to GZ and only just as we got super close did we spot the plaque. I used a leaf to brush the debris off and we got our photos. OCW irondale on our NZ trip. TFTC

Found it, very cold night time search but couldn't miss finding this one

A great piece of history found by my daughter. Love that nz was the first place out of US. Thanks for the placement.

Heading from Rotorua to Napier via Taupo, I stopped off for a few select caches en route.This was the first & a **must do** cache on my trip. I parked up as suggested & after a short wander around I spotted the plaque. My geowidow took the requisite photo & we headed on our way. It's good that this little piece of geocaching history has an acknowledgement. Found at 11:14Cache #10427TFTC geocoinsnz

TFTF

Wow! What a fabulous hide

So pleased to have found the location memorial for the first NZ cache, equally happy that it was found during a fairly substantial bike ride..the journey is always part of the fun too. Glad to visit with kiwitrecker1 today.shoe shot included as requested

Just a wee diversion on my way home to Napier from Tokoroa. I didn't want to wait till next year when I was so close now and I am so glad I got it!

Paying respect for the original oldie with Hippitiainen. Greetings from Finland!

In Rotorua for the weekend with rattll. While hunting down a few of the X series, I took the opportunity to grab this one. The plaque was covered up by trimmed branches, took a bit of hunting to spot. Tftc!

Found this one on a ride into Rotorua. Didnt read the description fully until I reached my destination. A very cool piece of Geocaching history. Thanks for info.

We've been in Rotorua helping a 96 year old distant cousin move into a rest home. I knew of this plaque but tbh hadn't clicked it was in this area until I was browsing the map. So had to make the pilgrimage on our way South. Can now tick this one off the bucket list! TFTC. Gets a favorite from me.

### BLOCK PARTY!!! ###On May 3rd and 4th 2025, in Rotorua, the most important event in NZ caching history will be taking place, celebrating 25 years of geocaching! Just up the road from where the very first geocache was hidden outside the US!Not only will it be a Block Party event (that's a special event icon), we will also have the first GPS Adventures Maze in NZ (also a special cache icon).[Log your Will Attend now!](https://coord.info/GCAKR25)

I was killing time this morning waiting for Whakarewarewa Village to open, and I spotted this Virtual. I decided I needed to find it before leaving the region and headed out to look for it.Nothing stuck out immediately, but then I spotted a flat area covered in vegetation and realised I'd found it.A quick clean-up exposed the plaque, and I took the photo as required.

Delighted to find this. Feel a very proud kiwi geocacher!

We made a stop here to check out this special plaque on our way back to Taupo from Rotorua. Really stoked to be able to visit this historical geocaching spot. Great idea to place a plaque here, TFTC!

Driven past here many times, but today was the day we stopped to claim this historic cache. Thanks

Found it while on vacation from WI USA. This is very exciting find as we found the one in Oregon. TFTC

#799What a privilege to be standing so close to the site of NZ's first cache!

On secondment to Melbourne, Australia, combined with short holidays here and there. From day 49/74, I was accompanied by my dear son, geocacher Ruupertti, who travelled from Finland to visit me in Australia and to spend a holiday with me in New Zealand at the end of my secondment. Day 66/74, Wednesday, and also my birthday. Finally time for our holiday in the beautiful New Zealand, day 2/7! Today was a long day. We drove from Auckland to Wellington, and experienced some awesome things between, such as Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland, Huka Falls, World's coolest McDonalds and the oldest cache of New Zealand. It was just one day on the North Island and a lot of kilometers, but at least we managed to see some lovely places. We were in Wellington at midnight. A great day!Awesome! A favorite point from me, this was an important one! A photo attached. Thanks for the cache and greetings from Vaasa, Finland! Logged with [GCDroid](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gcdroid).

Thanks geocoinsnz for the cache!

Quick found, TFTC.

As a sucker for old caches, and places for them, I just had to make a visit here. I also activated my new coin here. see https://coord.info/TB9JCKK it will take off from here.Thanks for the cache./herrFamaxe from Sweden

Day 9 Lake Taup to Rotorua, New Zealand. The drive Lake Taup had some amazing locations to do over and cache.This was a must do cache on my adventures around the North Island. Disappointed that its still not active though. Log signed and replaced as found.Thanks for the Virtual cache Geocoinsnz #7,872

Hello from Seattle, geocaching ground zero!!! This is a thrill to find and therefore gets a fave! Thanks for the history.

Found while exploring nearby areas. TFTC! Greetings from Estonia!

TFTC! Greeting from Estonia!

On our fivth day in New Zealand we travel from Rotorua to Turangi.This nice cache lay on our way.TFTCHennesAt the end comes the poem of the day.New Zealand By James K. Baxter (for Monte Holcroft)These unshaped islands, on the sawyers bench,Wait for the chisel of the mind,Green canyons to the south, immense and passive,Penetrated rarely, seeded onlyBy the deer-cullers shot, or else in the northTribes of the shark and the octopus,Mangroves, black hair on a boxers hand.The founding fathers with their guns and bibles,Botanist, whaler, added bones and namesTo the land, to us a bridleAs if the id were a horse: the swampy townsLike dreamers that struggle to wake,Longing for the poets truthAnd the lovers pride. Something new and oldExplores its own pain, hearingThe rains choir on curtains of grey mossOr fingers of the Tasman pressingOn breasts of hardening sand, as actorsFind their own solitude in mirrors,As one who has buried his dead,Able at last to give with an open hand.

Sad memory of an olden cache. But better than forgetting him.TFTC from Bavaria

Kaum in Rotorua angekommem konnte dieser Geist gefunden werden, wie schn.Danke fr den Cache sagt der Whlhase.

On my journey through New Zealand with the group (DownUnder24) I passed many beautiful places. It is very impressive. Thank you very much. Greetings from Germany, muschel3

Thx for this memory

Found this cache on a 24-day trip to Australia and New Zealand with a night of stopover in Qatar.In Qatar we have an evening and almost a full day of geocaching before we take the long flight to Downunder.In Australia we will visit the citys of Sydney, Melbourne, Aidelaide and Cairns. Our stays in New Zealand will be in Aukland, Rotorua, Wellington, Blenheim, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown.For me the focus will be on old caches, placed in 2000 and obviously on the remaining webcams in Australia and New Zealand.We are a group of 38 Geocachers from Germany, Denmark and Luxembourg. At geocaches that we visit as a group, we sign the logbooks with our team-name "Team DownUnder24" to safe the owners a lot of space in the logbooks.First stop in the morning with the whole Bus. Took some time to get the pictures for all of the group, but in the end we had all of them.Merci frs Dosal sogt da GoanToni Thanks to geocoinsnz for hiding and maintaining this geocache.

Auf der Fahrt nach Wellington mit unserer Gruppe "Downunder24"einen kurzen Stopp eingelegt,um diesen virtuellen Cache mit seiner tollen Geschichte zu loggen.TFTC sagt keeiner

Ach wie schn,noch so ein schner alter das gefllt mir sehr.Thx sagt viko76 ?? aus Berlin

Zusammen mit dem Team DownUnder24 diesen Cache gefunden. TFTC B@cker-1

After a while, it was finally time to visit some caches in distant countries again. This time the destination should be australia ???? and new zealand ???? What an amazing continent. Met some nice people there, saw a lot of interesting spots and also found some geocaches, of course. Signed in with our teamname downunder24. Thanks to the owner for laying and maintaining the cache and many greetings from Bergkamen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Lenny LoveDanke fr den Cache - Thanks for that Cache- Merci pour la Cache - Dziki za Cache - Grazie per questo Cache - Takk for at Cache - Obrigado por isso Cache - Gracias por el Cache - Diky za ke - Ai u t talpykl - Paldies par o Cache - Aith selle eest Cache - - Kiitos, ett Cache - Tack fr att Cache - Tak for denne Cache - Hvala cache - E cache - - nbellek iin teekkrler - Ksznjk, hogy a cache - Bedankt voor de cache - Graas para o cache - Dankon pro la kamemo

On our round trip through New Zealand, a group of 38 people, there is a lot to see and also some caches to find, this was one of them. Thanks says XenSuo

First Geocache in march 24!Three weeks 3?? travel with a group of 38 people through Australia ???? and New Zealand ????. We want to discover some old geocaches, wants to see lots of sightseeing-points ??, but also animals such as penguins??, turtles ??, whales ??, Koalas ??, dolphins ?? and much more in the beautiful water ??? or on land ??. Of course, a cacher trip ?? also includes many geocaches. So we also chose this cache "First New Zealand" GC45 Memorial Plaque (BOP), searched for it, found it and logged it ??. He has made our journey through two wonderful countries very embellished. We often logged with our group name "Team Downunder 2024".Thanks ?? to geocoinsnz for laying and maintaining this geocache, say the Brummelbren ?? from Worms/Germany ????

We are on our way from Rotorua to Wellington. And of course, we did some caches. This was one of them.Thanks for the Virtual remembering the First Cache in New Zealand. Greetings from Germany, ???? Biggidag

Gemeinsam mit einer Gruppe Gleichgesinnter in Qatar, Australien und Neuseeland unterwegs.Sightseeingtour und dabei auch diesen beehrt und signiert.Danke frs Einrichten, Hegen und Pflegen.TFTC in/out -/-**Gru aus Kln, Trier / Greetings from Cologne, Treverer****Der mit dem Wolff cacht / Caches with wolves****Lupus54 / Ralf**

Heute sind wir in Rotorua los um nach Wellington zu fahren. Und da musste der Weg an dieser Plaque auch vorbei gehen. Nach einem kurzen Halt, gabs dann auch das passende Bild dazu. TftC

Together with my B@cker and a lot of crazy Cachers from Germany and Denmark, we have an exciting Trip to Qatar, Australien and New Zealand. The name of the Group is easy Downunder24.The Team isAmoebeST, AndyausDu, B@cker-1, Biggidag, Brummelbren, CacheTaucher, cooljo, Fotopinguin, Freizeit-Tina, Gazelle5111, -GC-, GEOKaren, GoanToni, Hfi1, hupsi-1, karrai*, keeiner, Leilah03, lenny love, Lupus54, Maxipimpf, muschel3, Ollilein, OpaundEnkel, penalty96, Rheins, Simowl, sozioma, Sr.Elli, Team Zyanor, viko76, webmasterrollerin, Whlhase and XenSuo. Exhausting but beautyful. Thanks for the Cache. Best regards from Buxtehude ( Germany) ?? ?? ??

I am also part of the large tour group (DownUnder2024) from Germany and passed this cache today. We had a great time in New Zealand.Thank you for luring and showing, says ollilein The tour group includes: gc, AndyausDu, AmoebeST, B@cker-1, Biggidag, Brummelbren, CacheTaucher, cooljo, Fotopinguin, Freizeit-Tina, Gazelle5111, GEO Karen, GoanToni, HFo, hupsi-1, karrai *, Leilah03, lenny love, Lupus54, Maxipimpf, muschel3, ollilein, Opaundenkel, penalty96, Rheins, Simowl, sozioma, Sr. Elli, Team Zyanor, viko76, Webmasterrollerin, Whlhase, XenSuo

Das groe Abenteuer beginnt. Qatar ?? Australien ?? Neuseeland. Zusammen mit 37 anderen Cachern bereise ich diese Lnder. Wir haben uns den Gruppennamen Downunder 2024 gegeben.Das sind die Teilnehmer:gc, AndyausDu, AmoebeST, B@cker-1, Biggidag, Brummelbren,CacheTaucher, cooljo, Fotopinguin, Freizeit-Tina, Gazelle5111, GEOKaren, GoanToni, HFo, hupsi-1, karrai *, keeiner, Leilah03, lenny love,Lupus54, Maxipimpf, muschel3, Ollilein, Opaundenkel, penalty96, Rheins,Simowl, sozioma, Sr. Elli, Team Zyanor, viko76, Webmasterrollerin,Whlhase, XenSuo.Wir haben uns nicht alle im Logbuch verewigt um den Ownern nicht gleich nach unserem Besuch zur Wartung zu rufen. Ab und an habe ich mich auch mal mit meinem Namen persnlich eingetragen. Wie cool, die Plakette in Amerika habe ich schon und jetzt auch die von Neuseeland. Ich bin Glcklich ??Vielen Dank an geocoinsnz fr diesen Cache, liebe Gre aus Apensen von der webmasterrollerin Silvia ?? ??1. Mrz 2024 09:10

On our Downunder Journey our Team made a stop on this "historical" cache.Thank you for maintaining this cache over all the years.

A group of 38 geocachers from Germany, Denmark, Luxembourg and Switzerland - Team Downunder24 - are traveling for 22 days from Frankfurt/Main via Doha to Australia and New Zealand. I was able to discover many wonderful things and irretrievable experiences are burned into my memory. Wow, another old cache, even if it only has a commemorative plaque. Still a special experience. Stopped by here on the way from Rotorua to Wellington. Thanks to geocoinsnz for the cache, luring and caring for it - kind regards from Switzerland ????

Bei unserer Gruppenreise nach Australien und Neuseeland konnten wir neben den vielen interessanten Eindrcken auf unseren Ausflgen auch viele Caches besuchen. Auch dieser Cache war auf unserer Liste.Danke an geocoinsnz fr diesen Cache.

Danke fr den schnen Cache

Auf der Fahrt von Rotorua nach Wellington haben wir hier eine kurze Rast eingelegt. Thank you very much for the cache!

We are also part of the large tour group from Germany and passed this cache today. We are from Ismaning/Bavaria. We had a great time inNew Zealand. For reasons of space, we have entered the logbook as **DownUnder 2024**.*Greetings from the sunny south of Germany.***Thanks to all owners for caring and caring.****IN: NOTHING****OUT: NOTHING****TFTC Leilah03***A game for all ages! Worldwide* **GEOCACHING**

Thanks for the cache.

TB journey .....

After arriving in New Zealand we (Team Downunder24) discovered the beautiful island ???????also by looking for some caches. ??""First New Zealand" GC45 Memorial Plaque (BOP)" was one of my personal favorites of the day, because I like virtuals a little bit more than other types of caches. ?? A great idea to commemorate the very first geocache in New Zealand. A footprint and an FP ??were happily left here.Thanks geocoinsnz??

A wet start to the day again. Today mainly Roturoa and Taupe to discover. Lots of caches and adventures! TFTC Wilbert67

We are visiting New Zealand from Australia with Wilbert67.We have seen some new interesting places and picking up caches along the way.Thank you to all the COs for their hides

Could not pass this historic location without stopping. Tree cover caused us to do the cachers walk right round GZ before homing in on the plaque. Tftc - pic attached.

Very pleased to have found this plaque. A great memorial to an old cache. Thank you for placing

Velk cesta do Ocenie - den 72 - Taupo, Central Plateau - Rotorua, Bay of Plenty, North Island, Nov Zland (autem asi 90 km) Jet rno bylo trochu zataeno, ale postupem dne se jen oteplovalo a svtilo slunce. Naveer bylo i u jezera Rotorua 25C a tady bv chladnji ne jinde. Vyklidila jsem pokoj a na rozlouen s jezerem i mstem Taupo jsem zajela znovu k ece Waikato pro earth ke v mst, kde se do n vlv hork potok Otumuheke. Na koupn bylo pro m moc brzy, ale dost lid se zde rchalo. Tady se neplat vstupn, tak toho lid vyuvaj. Jinak se plat vude a za ve. Vyrazila jsem po thermal scenic route smr Rotorua a zastavovala u rznch zajmavost a nkde la i na krtkou prochzku, nap. v mokadech. Geotermlnch jev je tu vude hodn a j jsem kolem koucch kopc projdla. Bl jsem zajela k fakt pardnmu bahennmu jezrku Wai-O-Tapu a k blzkmu horkmu potku s tn. I tady se lid rchali, ale nkte i se psy, tak to j nemusm. Navc tu byly vstran cedule, a nestrk hlavu pod vodu, e jsou zde jaksi nebezpen bakterie. No, tak to m do vody nikdo nedostane. Hned vedle byla opt asi pkn geotermln vychzka, ale za vstup na trasu chtli za osobu 45 dolar, co je asi 800 K, a to mi tedy pijde fakt hodn. Za vstup do cel oblasti bych to jet brala, ale platit toto v kadm dol a u kadho potoka mi pipad pedraen. Porovnm-li to s USA, kde jsem za vstup do celho Nrodnho parku Yellowstone dala na 5 dn 35 dolar pro celou osdku auta a 6 osob a park je o velikosti 100 x 100 km a je tam geotermln prvek na kadm kroku, tak nevm, kde berou Novozlanan tu drzost chtt takov penze. Bude to zejm tm, e jsou tyto atrakce asi soukrom a nikoliv sttn. Sttu jsem navc zaplatila na ochranu prody poplatek u pi placen vza. Nicmn bahenn jezrko bylo mimo trasu a zdarma a bylo fakt pkn a znan inn. Bahno stkalo a do pl metru. Pak jsem to vzala siln vedlej silnic kolem trailu s kekami a njak si odlovila. Kolem opt zvlnn kopekov zelen krajina, ovce a krvy. Po napojen na hlavn tah jsem se dostala k mstu, kde byla v 12. kvtna 2000 zaloena prvn novozlandsk keka GC45, kter u bohuel neexistuje, ale m zde pamtn desku. Byla to prvn keka zaloen mimo zem Spojench stt. Tak to byla kaersk povinnost. A u jsem byla u jezera Rotorua a ve stejnojmennm msteku, kter opravdu cel smrd sirovodkem. Udlala jsem tu potebnou fotku pro virtulku 5/5 a nakoupila vci na sndani a jela se ubytovat k jezeru. Budu tu dv noci, tak u jsem se dnes nikam nehnala a ve nechala na ztra. In the morning I went to the river for an earth cache and then set off in the direction of Rotorua. Along the way, I made stops at attractions and also at caches. It was beautiful, up to 25C in the afternoon. The path is scenic and leads past lakes and various geothermal features. I visited hot streams and a mud lake and in the evening I arrived at Lake Rotorua, where I will stay for 2 nights. Thanks to everyone for their caches and greetings from the Czech Republic. Catching this virtual was a duck's duty! I'm sending a favorite.

As a once in a lifetime holiday, this year we are traveling for 7 weeks to Vietnam, Bali, Australia and New Zealand. In Australia we meet Ellen Sch and MrVon sr and Ingsve to visit these last two countries, so here we cache together. We signed the log with N4. Now we have solved many caches so we have a large number of solved coordinates. But we are interested in all types of caches, so if you receive a log, it means that we have visited your cache. We haven't quite decided where we're going, but we'll probably let the weather decide for us. We want warmth because in Norway it is now freezing. We will stay for about 2 weeks in Australia and 2 weeks in New Zealand and we will end the trip with the Mega event in Adeleide on 29 February. So thank you very much to all of you who make it possible for us to travel around finding caches. On March 6, we set course for Norway again. There are extremely nice people everywhere and we are welcomed, we thank you very much. Thanks to our cache friends for good company on the trip.Som en gang i livets ferie reiser vi i r 7 uker til Vietnam, Bali, Australia og New Zealand. I australia mter vi Ellen Sch og MrVon sr og Ingsve for beske disse to siste landene, s her cacher vi sammen. N har vi lst mange cacher s vi har et stort antall med lste koordinater. Men vi er jo inntressert i alle typer cacher s hvis du mottar en logg s betyr det at vi har beskt cachen din. Vi har ikke bestemt oss helt hvor vi reiser men vi lar nok vret bestemme for oss. Vi nsker oss varme for i Norge er det n kuldegrader. Vi blir ca 2 uker i Australia og 2 uker p New Zealand og vi avslutter turen med Megaeventet i Adeleide den 29 februar. S tusen takk til alle dere som gjr det mulig for oss reise rundt finne cacher. 6 mars setter vi kursen mot Norge igjen. Det er srdeles hyggelige mennesker overalt og vi nskes velkommen, vi takker s mye. Takk til vre cachevenner for godt selskap p turen

EnglishWe are six Norwegians on a trip to Australia and New Zealand. We arrived in Melbourne at the beginning of February and are traveling home after the mega event in Adelaide. We travel by car and Geocaching helps us discover many nice places and often helps to decide where we choose the route between our goals which are: Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Dunedeen, and Adelaide. This is one of the caches we found on the trip and we thank you for showing us this place. We who are on tour have the nicknames: MrVonsr, ingsve, EllenSch and TeamEika. And signs the logs with N4.Great thanks for showing us and doing our tour wonderful NorwegianVi er seks nordmenn p tur i Australia og New Zealand. Vi ankom Melbourne i begynnelsen av Februar og reiser hjem etter Megaventet i Adelaide.Vi reiser med bil og Geocaching hjelper oss oppdage mange fine steder og bidrar ofte til avgjre hvor vi velger ruten mellom mlene vre som er:Sidney, Melbourne, Aukland, Dunedeen, and Adelaide.Dette er en av cachene vi fant p turen og vi takker for at du viste oss dette stedet.Vi som er p tur har nickene: MrVonsr, ingsve, EllenSch og TeamEika. Og signerer loggene med N4.Stor takk for at dere bidrar til gjre turen s flott

Out on a geocache trip with Ellen Sch , Team Eika and ingsve on holiday in New Zealand, and today it was this area that was prioritized If nothing else is mentioned, we found the cache at good coordinates and it was fine To save space in the log, we often log in with the nickname N4 Many thanks to CO for laying out and maintaining this Greetings from Norway TFTCUte p en geocache-tur med Ellen Sch,Team Eika og ingsve p ferien i New Zealand og idag var det dette omrdet som ble prioritert Hvis ikke annet er nevnt s fant vi cachen p gode koordinater og den hadde det braFor spare plass i loggen logger vi ofte med nick N4Tusen takk til Til CO for utlegg og vedlikehold av denne Hilsen fra Norge TFTC

Endelig har jeg og MrVon sr kommet oss ned til Australia og New Zealand, -en gammel drm er gtt i oppfyllelse. Team Eika og Ingsve har ogs reist i flge med oss p denne turen. Vi har reist p kryss og tvers i en mned, og mlet er ende opp i Adeleide og megaevent p skuddrsdagen. Vi har spesielt sett etter gamle cacher, for fylle jasmern, for et par stykker, og for oss to andre som har begynt tenke p gjennomgang to.De aller fleste dukket greit frem p plassene sine,noen ganger mtte vi lete litt, men var som regel heldige tilslutt. Noen DNFer ogs ble det ogs.Vi har for det meste logget med fellesnicket N4 (ingsve,Von sr. TeamEika og Ellen Sch) men ogs egne nicknavn er brukt.En stor takk til alle dere COer for utlegg og vedlikehold av cachene deres. Uten deres arbeid, hadde vi aldri kunnet kost oss med denne hobbyen.Alltid hyggelig med et nytt smilefjes p kartet.Cachehilsen fra Ellen Sch, NorgeMe and MrV sr have come down to Australia and New Zealand, -an old dream has finally come to an end. Team Eika and Ingsve have also traveled with us on this trip.We have been traveling cross-country for a month, and the goal is to end up in Adeleide and mega-event on the leap year. We have especially looked for old caches, to fill jasmer'n, for a couple of pieces, and for the other two of us who have started to think about reviewing more.The vast majority of them showed up at their places, sometimes we had to search a bit, but we were usually lucky in the end. There were also some DNFs.We have mostly logged in with the common nickname N4 (ingsve, Von sr. TeamEika and Ellen Sch), but our own nicknames are also used.A big thank you to all you CO's for laying out and maintaining your caches. Without their work, we would never have been able to make a living with this hobby.Always nice to have a new smiley face on the map.Cache greetings from Ellen Sch, Norway

What a great spot. Thanks for the cache otherwise we would not had stop there.

*Good short trip away with woolwood9 finding some geocaches along the way!*We soon had the plaque located. Thank you for the Virtual cache and reason to visit this area.

Heading north with tmann421 for a few days.This was day two with plenty of miles for us to cover.Enjoyed the hide hereTFTC

In the area and I just had to stop all the historical sites. Thanks for the virtual!

### LET'S HAVE A BLOCK PARTY!!! ###On **May 3rd, 2025**, we will be celebrating 25 years of geocaching in **Rotorua, New Zealand** with a special **Block Party** event. Join us to celebrate 25 years of this amazing game, and that the very first geocache hidden outside of the US, 25 years ago, was hidden here in Rotorua.You don't want to miss this event, so check out the [event website](http://25years.geocache.nz) for more details, join us on [facebook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/924894455969387), and sign up to the [email list](http://25years.geocache.nz?p=4) to get updates...**Happy caching and we will see you in 2025!**

When we were planning our trip to NZ, we knew we had to stop here. Happy to share in a small way this part of caching history.

A nice quick virtual that dad suggested doing. TFTC

**taybee** is caching again with **taybee nz** for the daythis was the plan cache to get on the way home Quick find here today All in good order, sign log book as **taybee** or **TB's ** * joint sign* ) TFTC Cache was found at **21/01/2024 @ 15:00:00**

A little cache geekness. Found this with Melonthego1.

Never would have known this was here and it's so cool! Photos of my feet and of me and bsharwood. Tftc!

# #7,179 #----------This one was definitely on my must do list here whilst in New Zealand. Whilst I had found a various amount of the 2000 places caches, it was nice to see a plaque here for the very first ever one. I got the required photo after following the well written cache page. All good here, very happy. Pleased to have visited a good bit of Geocaching history. TFTC!!! ----------> All geocaches are signed as mmmPIZZA or mPZ

After dropping the family at the accommodation I headed back down Highway 5 to collect a few more caches targeting some solved puzzles. Parked at the rest area and a quick stroll to this historic spot. A pity that the original did not last long (unlike Australia where you can still claim the first as a Virtual).TFTC geocoinsnz

Visited here on the way to Taupo from Rotorua, after holidaying at Ohope for a couple of weeks. Managed to talk hubby into stopping. Very cool plaque!

We randomly started to research, and heard about this cache, being so close to home it is rude not to have come here sooner.

Cool piece of geocache history right on our backdoor here in rotorua, quick park n log with Kre8ive! Tftc

Picture didn't log with my submission, added here!

After a few days in Rotorua we are heading to Taupo today via the volcanic Valley. Stopped in the rest area and took attached feet photo with Mr and Mrs CNQ. Thanks for this interesting plaque and greetings from north Queensland.

**#17644** ??????????????????????Visiting New Zealand ???? this Virtual **?? First New Zealand GC45 Memorial Plaque (BOP)** had top priority on my bucket list!A very short walk lead me to the plaque and I happily took a photo of the site to attach to this log Because I like this sort of commemoration I honor this memorial cache with a blue heart ??!Thank you geocoinsnz for contributing to the game by this virtual ?? cache. TFTVC??????????????????????Greetings and happy geocaching in 2024tante resi from Switzerland ???? ..??..??.????????...???? ????..????....????...... ????...????.........tante..........????......????..........resi...........????.......????..........????.........????.........????...????????...????............????.????????.????...............????????????????..............??????????????????..............????????????????..................??????????????.....................??????????????.....................??????????????............?????????????? ...??????????????........????????????????..........????????????????????....??????????...????.......????...........????............????.........????..............................????............????..........................????................??...........................??......

Been looking to get this one for a while now, finally in Rotorua to check this one off the list. TFTC.

Visited during our way to Waimangu. So glad that I could visit this place. Tftc

Really great to see this tribute to the very first cache outside the US, tftc.

TFTC, great to be able to find one of the oldest geocaches in the world.

What a nice gesture and homage to the hobby!TFTCShrioyama

Here from the U.S. Since we were driving by here on the way to our Rotorua, I definitely wanted to stop for this one. Thanks for the virtual cache!

This was a definite on our list for our visit to NZ. Quickly found the plaque. Photo attached

Woohoo! Finally got here! I remember when this one got created and I was lucky enough to be able to get a Geocoin of the plaque sent to me in the states. Well we've finally moved back to Oz and finally came over to NZ for our first family Christmas in way too many years now. We were supposed to be here in March 2020 and we all know that that didn't happen!Luckily Air NZ was great and kept our flight credit alive for almost 4 years for us to be able to use it. I can't imagine what their accounting records must be for that - deferred revenue etc, but I digress.We (kiwisteve2 and I) got into AKL last night, picked up the car and drove to Rotorua last night. Kiwisteve2 at first wondered why we were diverting on the direct route to Awahuri (Palmerston North) but he quickly clued in! We'd done a similar detour from Wellington years ago for Kevin Anderson. Parked and was just about ready to jump out of the car and head down the path, when a sketchy shirtless dude pulls his car up right in front of us. We thought the better of deserting the car right at that moment. Watched with interest as he grabbed a gym bag, unloaded it, and mysteriously loaded it again with other "stuff". Had an animated phone call, then he grabbed the bag and headed off down the pathway. We waited a few minutes and he was back without the bag. Hmmm. I wonder what that was about? Not. He mucked around a few more minutes then drove off.We felt safe to head off. I darted directly for the location and kiwisteve2 kept a look-out on the car from the other path. As soon as the plaque was located we took the obligatory photo, high fived and headed off on our way to Palmerston North.Gets another fav point of course!Thanks for putting this plaque here to commemorate a great event.

Hard to find Very cool