The Big I #29 (Southland) Invercargill, South Island, New Zealand
By southlandicebergs on 03-Oct-19. Waypoint GC8ECE0

i like the hint for this one, gave me advanced warning, i will always find a way to avoid gorse, with this cache i found a nice way to do that, tftc

I am happily working my way along this series, TFTC.

I'm down from Paihia for the Dunedin Mega event. We did a lot of caching around there. Our plan was then to come down to Invercargill to get the geoart here, find some other puzzles, visit Bluff and Slope Point. We'll then head north to Middlemarch and up to Christchurch.Todays plan was this I, the Winton W (not all solved yet) and the penguin jigsaws. We ended up finishing early so headed out to Clifden to see the old swing bridge and did a round trip via Monkey Island. Very pleased to get the old Donovan caches. Well this was another puzzle solved in September 2020. I've obviously logged these in the wrong order as my notes say I've been writing the 30th on the logs so far and not the 29th. I think I only wrote the wrong date on a few of them but who knows. This is the last one to log in the series. Like the others in the series we had no problems finding this hide. Thank you so much for all the effort to put out and maintain this geoart

A plan was hatched quite a while ago when the Dunedin Mega was announced to come over to the South Island again.I have only been to New Zealand twice before and I loved the South Island.So a chance to come back for a Mega was a no brainer for me.Everything was booked and I flew in last Saturday week ago after a bit of a delay.So now for a couple of days around Invercargill.So Day 11 of my Mega NZ trip begins and Im on my own again so Im just picking out random caches that I had put on my list.These were all solved before heading over for the Mega.No rain but everything was very wet under foot and I loved walking through long grass (Not)A fav goes out to you for adding a piece of art to my map.Thanks southlandicebergs TFTPC.

Down south from Whangarei for a 10 day trip including the Dunedin Mega. Visiting family here for a couple of days and just had to get out and about finding a few caches as well.A little bit drizzly this avo, but I needed to get out and collect as many of the Big I caches as possible, being as I had solved them all in readiness for this trip. A nice quick find in the hint location. TFTC

Found - Mrs McMike2012 & I live full-time in our caravan travelling around NZ, visiting the places we want to visit & doing the things we want to do and fitting in a bit of Geocaching here & there we are in Invercargill visiting family & friends went for a bit of a drive this morning as I needed to get a couple of Mysteries for a Challenge that were working on we had completed the puzzles a few weeks back we ended up getting the three that I needed for today, which all turned out to be easy finds, log books completed & safely returned to their positions were pleased to add another 'smiley face' to the tally TFTC ... TN:LN:LS this was #6,172 for us!

Last of the quick find here today. Thanks for the placement and the smiley

Found by F. Find number 200! a great cache to mark the occasion. TFTC

Solved these puzzles over 3 years ago. Nice easy find here. Thanks for cache, southlandicebergs#5356

Out and about today staying fairly local finding some solved puzzles and traditional caches.
Thank you for placing this cache.

Unpredictable showers kept us close to the car today so it became a fun day of P&GS and solved puzzles. TFTC

Searched for this together with *Filser1* and then found it.

T4TC

TEMBO! and I visited Invercargil. There are a lot of caches to visit. We Made it to some of the "The Big I" and signed the logbook.

Thanks to southlandicebergs for hiding and maintaining the cache.

T4TC Filser1

This is my fourth geocaching excursion to **beautiful New Zealand**!
Due to Covid [xx(] I had to wait for 3 long years to again return to my beloved Middle-Earth [xx(].
This time it's again a road trip enduring for 26 days, covering both North- and South-Island.
Once arrived in Invercargill, I took the chance to collect some of **The Big I** presolved mysteries today .
All, that I had on my list could be found .
Fair hides [^] - good condition of the containers and logbooks . Cool!
A big thanks to the owners southlandicebergs [:X] for hiding and maintaining this series [^] - and best regards from Germany !

tftc easy find sl and replaced

Today on my way to Catlin I did mostly my solved Puzzle.
Some of them I could not find.
Thanks to all the Owner.

A little bit of swag in this one and love the saying in the shelter. Solved this puzzle earlier on our South Island road trip knowing we were coming this way. Thanks for setting up the series.

Figured out these puzzles some time ago and daughter was down from Dunedin so we headed out for the day, bit chilly, but we had a ball.
TFTC

Got Dad to help me with this one on our family day out doing some bush walks and caches, TFTC

We started looking too near the gorse until I had a brainwave and the cache was quickly found. T4tc

#10,477. My last day in Southland before flying back home to Wellington. Its been raining this morning but the rain has moved on and a lovely sunny day has developed. Mostly targeting Adventure Labs this morning but will grab a few others as I drive around the city. This was one of them. I managed to solve all the puzzles in this series before flying south. But wont have time to get to them all this trip. Just three picked up today before catching the flight back home. Found this one after a short search. Signed the logbook and replaced the cache where found. Thanks southlandicebergs for hiding it here.

Full log to come

With the Event on in Invercargill on Sunday why not make a weekend of it...3 days of caching down South woop woop Plenty of googling earlier in the week had me solve all the Big I puzzles in preparation for my visit to Invers. A gorgeous sunny day and time to explore the outskirts. Nice quick find here and gorse not a problem any more TFTC

SL and replaced. TFTC

Tftc Did not need gloves

The gorse is looking rather dead. No trouble with the cache. Thanks for placing.

All done bar one dnf.
Chasing points for a science challenge, so we and the wagging tails are out on a windy afternoon finding these long solves caches. Tftpc and GeoArt series (favorite for the series)

Spending a few days in Invercargill visiting my son whose started a course here. While he’s out during the day I have been using his bike to get around and collect some caches. Today was a longer ride to collect The Big I series. Managed to get all the ones presently active. 15 in all. I presume from the numbering that there were more at some stage. All the finds were straight forward which I was very pleased about because my phone was down to 5% by the end and I didn’t want to come all the way back if it had died. All the logs were nice and dry except No 27. Thanks for a fun morning out in the country and all the smileys.

Kia ora for the cache.

**#13,167**
It a school day too but lucky its only 6.38am so no kids waiting just yet, quickly located and carry on.
TNLN TFTC

*Another good find.
Nice day going from cache to cache with woolwood9.*
We soon had the container located. SL: **tm/ww NZ**
Thanks southlandicebergs for putting this puzzle out for us to visit!

Great series of puzzles, we enjoyed the drive around!

On a three week trip to the lower South Island with tmann421 hunting caches.
Enjoyed the trip around and the challenge of the finds.
Signed logs tm/ww NZ
TFTC

In Invercargill for a few days, early morning drive out to Oreti Beach for a adventure lab. Now time to do The Big I solved puzzle. Thanks southlandicebergs for this puzzle cache.

A straightforward puzzle and a fairly quick find of a nicely hidden cache. The gorse wasn't a problem, but the staple in the logbook attacked viciously. TFTC

A week of work in Invercargill. But what to do in the evenings? Well I grabbed a few geocaches. Today I made an effort to grab the rest of the Big I that I didn't already have. So parked up near one of the solved caches and did a big walk around the block grabbing caches as I went. This was the eighth. Nice quick find, sign and replace. Thanks for the cache.

23 January 2021 10:24. Another great cache whilst exploring the area. TFTC!

Dodged the gorse completely by spotting a SPOW in the shed. Having a short trip from Invercargill to Christchurch with Infoferret finding lots of caches, in particular the TMGT caches for me.
The cache may be signed with our individual names or ‘IE’.
Many TFTC.

Arrived in Invercargill just before tea time so after setting up the caravan and having some tea we headed out to grab a few caches. Had solved this series some time ago and as it was near it was our first target. Got all but one - that being the one with amended co-ords. tftc

In Invercargill for abt 24 hours & had a small window of time before meeting a friend for coffee - so I set out in the rain to find the caches in this series.
Thanks for these caches, southlandicebergs.
It was about here that I discovered I had the inside container from a previous cache on my person - frantic thinking.... and managed to replace it correctly (there was no outer cover on the log to identify the cache #).

#18984. Nice to get to the finish line (shame we didn't manage to find one of them). Thanks for the series.

Today is our last full day in Invercargill, as we are heading north on Saturday, so need to mop up some more puzzles, including the Big I series, and a couple of adventure labs.
The last in the Big I series for us, just one DNF. Thanks for the geoart and a fave for the series. TFTC.

Another quick find

Another one done, thanks southlandicebergs

#10353

Ticking along with the Big I puzzles and this one needed a quick dissection to solve. Got some numbers and popped over the GZ. Big bright cache found in a noice possie and even some swag to swap. Flicked the rusty sharpeners, me thinks they weren't much help with no pencil so I chucked one in. Luckily the weather meant not too many muggles around. Thanks for the cache SIB.

Cache 187 grabbed on the way to work in the early hours, so I can get home a bit earlier tonight, the dead gorse spiked me a bit but that wasn’t going to stop me from signing the prize, rock bug added to cache T4TP

On a roll
TFTC

Solved before coming down this way. Enjoyed the caches

Winter Solstice 2020 - a great day to get out and go for the current souvenir before the sunset event. Couldn't find first one, 2nd had been moved an I need to redo the puzzle, overshot #3, this is #4 on my list and a smilie easily earned here.
Thanks for the smilie southlandicebergs.
2654 21 June 2020 13:58

There must be some lanky legs around here for the need of such a high seat but its perfect for signing the cache. TFTC # 15,506

After finding the TMGT cache out at Colac Bay to complete the tour, I made my way back to Invercargill. The Big "I" caches were a pleasant way to fill in the rest of the afternoon. No rush, dodge the showers, enjoy your self.

Cheers and TFTC

Tftc nice easy find thanks to hint.

Thought I'd give the big I puzzles a go, lovely sunny summers day, thanks for the series

**Found on our February - March tour around the South Island. Logging back home in Auckland in Lockdown isolation**

We started the day by tackling the Big I series on a lovely sunny Invercargill morning. Most of these puzzles were solved easily, and a few without needing to resort to Google, but the odd one was a bit trickier. Easy find here with the hint, thanks.

Found while out on a drive with Mum and Dad, TFTC

Decided to tackle the Big I caches while out on a morning adventure with the family, TFTC

I started my great and unique round trip over the South Island in Christchurch.
My first major stopover was at Lake Tapeko - here I hiked up to Observation Mountain.
I then planned two days in Mount Cook NP with some unforgettable hikes. My big goal was the Mueller Hut - on a super strenuous hike I reached it.
I continued my journey over the lonely Danseys Pass to Dunedin.
Afterwards I drove along the Southern Scienic Route via Invercargill to Manapouri for some days. On this route I visited many sights and enjoyed the beautiful nature again and again.
I already booked a tour to the Doubtful Sound in advance - another highlight on my tour.
Afterwards I drove on to Queensown and Wanaka. From there I continued over the Haast Pass to the lonely Jackson Bay with storm and heavy rain. Afterwards I drove along the west coast always in pouring rain.
The rain stopped the whole west coast, but I had good rainwear with me. Only high up in Nelson the sun shone again.
Soon I reached the east coast again in Picton and Blenheim and the sun was shining again.
After a few days I travelled back to Christchurch via the beautiful town of Kaikoura.
At the end of my round trip I spent a few more days in Christchurch and its surroundings.
I visited many geological sites and found many caches on my round trip. In Rangiora I visited an event.
I travelled 3418 km and take home a lot of positive experiences.
Thanks to many beautiful caches I was also shown unique locations, historical sites and geological features.
I am overwhelmed by the fantastic and ever changing nature on the South Island of New Zealand - I will definitely come back.

Many thanks to all owners
Team sissifalke

Day One Of Our Journey
Mr & Mrs FapAndGap and Squirrel Nutcase have travelled to the South Island to collect all the TMGT caches.
Arrived in Invercargill and mission was on.
City very busy with bikers everywhere for the Burton Munroe Reunion.
Bit of a late night but we found everything we attempted.
Caches all in good condition and thanks to the cache owners for these placements.
SLTFTC

With Fap and Gap... Late last year, we started to plan for a trip to the South Island - The goal was to complete the TMGT trail.

Waitangi Day - Invercargill: Gap solved the 'Big I' series at home (I was determined to also solve this series before logging). I recognised many of the languages and was able to piece together some of the translations without needing to depend on online sources... We decided to visit the trail tonight. Our time here is short, and logic said that by getting this geoart out of the way, we'd have a bit more freedom tomorrow... I admit that a night time approach wasn't the best idea. Darkness added an extra layer of difficulty, as did the recent flooding in the area. The gorse didn't stop us... Thanks southlandicebergs. TFTP and TFTC.

In town for a few days, and solved the series in preparation. Some of them I could just read off, and this was not one of those! TFTC!!

Had looked at the various Big-I puzzles before heading south and then spent some time today driving around to collect the smilies. Thanks.

Had a great day out and about caching in Southland area today, many thanks to all the cache placer's.Thanks Bitsprayer

Found on a caching two day journey into Central Otago and Southland with Bitsprayer. Really enjoyed the challenge of the puzzle caches and the many hours spent to unravel the coordinates. Also great to travel along the many roads in the area. Many thanks to the various cache owners for placing and maintaining their caches. TFTC

Thanks. Stashed some kid friendly items too

Another quick find in this clever series. TFTC

Found. Full log to come. TFTC.

Day 3 of a 3 day caching venture with Nosynel. Today's goal is the Big I. This is the last of those published so far. Goal achieved. Now we can fill in the next few hours before we fly out doing anything we choose! Thanks for thecpyzzle and cache.
#5093

Nice hide and I scored a pen . Thanks for the series. Jude-E and I are on a geocaching trip to the deep south. We are flying back home to Christchurch on the late afternoon. I love Geo art so we are concentrating on the big I, anything else is a bonus. Thanks southlandicebergs for placing this geocache 8022 find for me.

Sadly there was no large event in New Zealand in 2019 but there are a few Mega events planned in Australia. New Zealand will have another large event in 2020 in Auckland. 
======== NZ Mega 2020 ========
Planning for the NZ Mega 2020 event is well underway. It will be held in Auckland over Labour Weekend, 23 to 26 October 2020. Thanks for hiding this geocache.

I have now parked up the snail shell at a country club for a few days so that I can locate quite a few caches especially the solved puzzles. If a few Trads get my way well and good.

Practised tying my shoe laces.

Cheers for the cache.

TFTC - Out for a bike ride and fill in some dot days. Have had these caches solved for awhile but thought I would save them for my November spaces.

Enjoyed solving

Another quick easy find on a crisp Southland morning. TFTP

Solved these a while ago, hoping that the rest of the series would be published before we leave for home. Not to be though. A nice quick find today. Cheers.

Time to have a holiday road trip, and today we cruised around Invercargill and environs, to collect a few TMGT and other caches.

Thanks to all CO's for placing and maintaining their caches. Cheers

Another Big I bites the dust tftc

Having solved this puzzle when it was first published it was about time to grab it. After attending a quiz night at a local bowling club Tuitigger searchwisely wombat and I headed out and grabbed the cache just as the rain started and the wind gathered strength. A quick jump out at gz and log signed them home to a warm fire. Thanks for the puzzle.

After a successful fun quiz night with Granville, TT and SW off for a find of one of the Big 'I's. Didn't realise how cold it had become outside brrr ..so a very quick park and grab. TT's raffle prize was a goodie for a bit of night geocaching it came in very handy! tftc

After a successful Quiz night with Granville, Tuitigger and Wombat earlier in the evening I mentioned today is a dot day. We decided to all make a detour on the way home in the icy rain and bone chilling wind to fulfill our requirements. Nice quick find (thankfully) Log quickly signed and replaced as our teeth chattered in unison. TFTP

Solved pretty soon after publication but thought we would save for a dot day.
After a busy week, and finally some fine weather, it was time to unwind into the weekend with a few beers at the Te Rangi bowling club for a quiz night
We ended up getting 2nd... who knew what a Clouder was a group of?
Anyway, afterwards we realised we hadn't collected today's dot, so off we went into the darkness. Tested one of the raffle prizes out, a 500m LED torch... will come in handy with its brightness

Published

First to log I suppose. Pengi not too upset.

Sitting minding my own business when oooh ooh more notifications. A quick research of the appropriate tools soon had a green tick.
So once the washing machine had done it's stuff hopped in the car and made our way to the gz. To my surprise a clean log book
(FTF)10.44am

A day off to catch up on things around home .
But the weather must not have got the message in the post .
O well working on a inside job when bing bing .
So let's see probably domino's try to offer me a pizza.
No no two new caches so annielin work on one and I the other . Soon I got from across the room yes a green tick .
I said let's go But no we had to wait until the washing machine was done. So we then hung out the washing quickly
And then loaded up the cache mobile and set off to see if it all makes sense.
So lets see where would I hide it ??? here maybe here or aaaa
Here yup
A quick search soon had the goods in hand and yay a clean log.

(FTF) at 10.44 with annielin and Abbykitt.
I like days off when I get to do outdoors type things
Now I think we have done enough for a muffins and hot chocolate.
Thanks for the hide

tftc

A nice day to get the cache. Bing went the phone, ohh there is a new cache published. Figured out the puzzle before leaving home. Off we went to found the cache. Find, signed and put back in place.
Found with annielin and downsouthinv.
After the cache is found went to get a hot chocolates and doughnuts.
10.44 am (FTF)
Tftc