Deer Story Manakau, North Island, New Zealand
By TwigNZ on 17-Sep-21. Waypoint GC9GHP9

I am sorry to see this cache go, but as noted by the previous searcher the helicopter has been removed from GZ and the cache with it Thanks to everyone who visited and awarded this cache a FP - much appreciated.

No helicopter here anymore! And the property is for sale.

Have been trying to get this a couple of times with Geeves but she gets distracted, this time not so. Out for the long weekend with Geeves90 and Kimmy+co.Tftc

This is the third trip north I have attempted to get this, each time I forget to tell the driver to stop intine, so today before we were in the car "I want to stop at the helicopter" leaving otaki "helicopter please" and guess what it worked...The Oops we were meant to stop there as we drive past is no more

Tftc easy find out for a weekend of caching with geeves90 and hayzz.

#3010Found by the Tontako Team.Thanks for the cache

#2396 (Tontako Team) Kia Ora from Spain! We found this cache during our New Zealand / Aotearoa holidays.The place was closed so the patty will have to wait.TFTC

Looked at the wrong tail first.... lolol tftc

When I was driving up I spotted this and figured there had to be a cache nearby. Yes there is! Fave from me. Up from Dunedin for the weekend and heading to the cannonball run events near Levin.Thanks for the cache, TwigNZ#5900 ** Make your way to Dunedin for New Zealands next large multi-day event. GCA7ZHD Geo Toroa will be held on NZs Labour Day long weekend 26-27th October 2024 **

Dropped by this one to check up on it this afternoon.As expected, some kind soul has removed the protective baggie so that the logbook had been exposed to water and effectively ruined.New log, in an appropriate baggie, supplied.

Well, Roger let me drive his car. And when he said turn right I did it at once , but it was about 300 meters to soon.... well it was a csche here so hmmmmm. A big bonus was that it was a Pava shell at the ground. Nice extra treasure. Roger drove the rest of the way....Whow, sussah21 and me on a yourney to New Zealand. We have planned this trip for many years, and finaly we are here.We will visit lovely places, hopfully see animals and birds that we dont have back home.Thank you so much for all the caches.Greetings from Sweden and Norway Fin tur. God stemning hele veien.Tusen takk for alle cacher og vedlikehold.Favorittpoeng deles ut litt her og derChallenger blir for det meste logget som notat og sjekkes senere. M nok jobbe iherdig mot stadig nye ml jeg ikke visste jeg hadde.Alt er bra med cachen om ikke det nevnes verst i teksten.

After a great time caching in the bush at the end of North Manakau Road, I decided to stop off here on my way home.After crossing the very busy road I managed to make a quick find of the cache thanks mostly to the hint.This is nicely done and blends in very well. The log was a tiny bit damp but it wasn't an issue.Thanks very much for the cache.

On my way home from Welly on a little geo adventure on the way back to Rotorua. Thanks for this one.

Log book is wet, needs drying or replacing.

Turned up here wondering what the cache would be and searched around. Took a few minutes but found after a bit. TFTC

I was not really planning to stop here, but when I noticed the for sale sign, I thought I'd better give it a go before the place is dismantled. Cool hide, really fits the spot! TFTC!!South Australia is the place be for GCA1DNA - MEGA - February 29th, 2024 in Adelaide! Hope to see you at The Great Leap Forward!

Headed to Wellington for the day to pickup a thing I won online. We couldnt go without finding some caches!This cache was very well hidden but was soon spotted. Co-words are spot on! Thanks for this cool cache! I wrote in the log and placed the cache back as found. TFTCSL, Thanks TwigNZ for this Traditional cache. TwigNZ , !Logged on 14 October 2023 at 12:48PM#737th find

Sneaky!

Ive been here three times previously, and have had no luck. The last time I was here I was put off by the fencing around the area, so it was good to see TwigNZs note that the cache was still doable. As I was going past again today, and noticed that the nearby business is up for sale, I pulled in and attempted another look, rather than risk the cache disappearing on the arrival of new owners.Even knowing the likely area where the cache might be, it still took me a while. What a great hide. Very pleased to avenge my previous DNF. Surely deserves a favourite point for the clever hide

Have driven past this cache many many times, finally found time to drop out of the long lines of traffic to find and log it. Knowing the CO's style, I knew it'd be a bit tricky -sure enough it was a few minutes of staring directly at it before I finally "twigged"! Thanks TwigNZ, this one gets a fave.

This poor machine seems to be in worse condition every time I visit it!At an event in Levin earlier today, I had been alerted to the later situation in which access into the helicopter enclosure has been restricted.I needed to check out how/if that would affect the finding of the cache, so paid a visit this afternoon.I can confidently state that at this point there is no issue retrieving the cache. You do not need to enter the enclosure to get to the cache. Please respect the owner's wish to stay outside the enclosure.

On a trip from Hawkes bay to welly for a couple of nights. This cache was on our way so stopped in. We have to admit it took a little while to spot. But that sort of hide once you find it you wonder how you missed it. Clever Camo and a fun place to hide a cache. A fav from us
Thank you TwigNZ for placing this cache.

Log signed as B&P
Find number 4779

Took a bit longer than It should have SL TFTC

Another trip down to Kapiti Coast to find 15 caches for my personal challenge. Stopped on my way home and the last one for today. Good hide and a favorite point from me. TwigNZ for the cache.

Quick find with Vortex. TFTC

bug visit

Greetings from Turangi. Passing through here today on my way back from Turangi and grabbed this cache. Local establishment was getting busy with end of week clients havng a few refreshments. Nice work with this cache hide.

Managed to talk hubby into stopping here on the way to Palmerston North. It was hard to have a good look with him waiting impatiently in the car and me getting caught on the barbed wire a few times didn’t help! DNF for me today. I’ll be back.

I checked up on this cache last weekend, and whilst the cache itself is all fine, the helicopter has had a bit of a pounding from vandals.

The upshot is that there is a sign advising people to keep off the helicopter, but the damaged part does not affect the caching if I throw in an extra Hint, which is '"tail section".

Happy hunting

Belated log. Took 2 visits to find this but got it in the end - phew! Excellent camo. Tftc

Down from Auckland for a few days while I have time off between work and uni. RogerW1nz picked me up at 5:10am off the Intercity and after a few hours of sleep we are off and caching!

This was the second one for today but the first one when I was properly awake. Helped having a PF here who knew it well and could point me in the right direction

Thanks for the cache!!

(#1813)

Thanks for a clever cache in this cool spot TwigNZ.

I have stopped here before and not spotted it. Today all quiet at GZ and soon found the well concealed container.
It was a good spot to switch drivers after PlannerPat had had some practice.

TNLNSL TFTC +FP

**#16,908**
Great spot for a cache, not many can say they have touched a Helicopter!
Mrs GEckoh spotted the hide, blended in well!
TNLN TFTC!!

Out on a Pre Christmas adventure with Hamish.D
Awesome cache to start the day. Very well camouflaged. TFTC

Out today with [JordanD125](https://www.geocaching.com/p/?guid=d447c422-3a9c-47f1-8ab9-9610b3913050) doing a bit of last minute Christmas shopping for geocache finds.
A reasonably familiar location for me as a workmate and I had several "lunches" here while working nearby for a while a couple of years ago.
First stop of the day today and we were a little disappointed upon arriving at GZ to find the Helo looking a little worse for ware and a big fence around it with a sign saying Keep Out.
Fortunately though we managed to find and retrieve this simply but really
well camouflaged container without entering the fence.
TNLNSL TFTC

Making pretty good progress towards Hamilton despite the frequent rain showers.

This cache stuck out as an intriguing hide location.

I pulled up at the GZ as was a little alarmed at the number of muggles congregating nearby. Thankfully they were departing so I was able to search fairly freely. After a few minutes looking around I spotted something that looked a little odd.

Is it? Does it? Yes it is and yes it does.

Brilliantly hidden.

Thanks TwigNZ
#4218

Logged using Cachly.

It seems absolutely ages since I was on a real caching trip but I've taken a couple of days to try to complete PWGT2 and the tour itself. First stop here - looks a fascinating place but quite happy for it to be closed while I was here. I was a bit concerned that the cache was out of bounds as I approached so [pleased to find the cache quickly and obey the signs. Great start to my day thanks TwigNZ # 18,622

Last cache of the day, and my total finds ends in zero so that's pleasing. I'd noted this one when heading South and was pleased to pull in on a drizzly Saturday evening for my search. After one circuit I soon had the angle right, and my tale is complete. Cheers TwigNZ.

mrs c has to head to the UK to catch up with family, the planned trip next Thursday has been hastened to be today so a run down to Wellington Airport was todays trip, and not much caching was planned as getting there was the main priority. Once the destination was made, and mrs c was ready for departure I made a selective way back home, with just a couple of quality caches on the list, and not too many finds were made. The weather threatened rain ALL day, and it was always there in the background. Thanks to all COs, esp. the 4 Virtual cache placers.

Took a bit of a hunt, but tracked down eventually! Glorious day to be out and about. All good in container, tftc!

We had though about this cache a few times before - usually just as we were passing and fo too late. ‘Oh! there’s a cache there…’

Heading to Waikawa beach today, so we planned to stop here. Junior was having a bit of a play inside whilst I started the search. Spent about five minutes touching this, pulling that…
Junior jumps out and says ‘any luck?’
‘No’
‘What about this?’
‘Yes’
He’s good.
Thanks!

After searching for this multiple times I went today armed with a clue that led me to the elusive cache . Tftc

I have passed here more than a few times since this cache was published but this morning was the first time that it suited me to stop. I have stolen a phrase from the previous finder in saying that it took me longer than I'm willing to admit. The combination of its positioning and camouflage made it a real challenge and it means this cache has to get a favourite point from me - I am surprised it hasn't earned more.

Took me longer than I'm willing to admit but finally got my hands on the cache

#11,058. I have driven past this helicopter many times but never stopped for a closer inspection. I have actually flown in this type of helicopter a few times in the past. They look so tiny now compared to the much bigger choppers we use these days. Sitting in the back compartment behind the pilot surrounded by packs you had to trust the pilot knew what they doing! Anyway pulled over on the way north today and the shop was not open and there were no other cars. So plenty of freedom to have a good look. However didn't need to spend much time as I spied it within 30 seconds. A very good bit of camo that should resist attention from muggles. Thanks TwigNZ for hiding it here. By the way I think I signed it 8 May as I did not have the GPS turned on at this stage and only realised later it was 7 May.

Mum is helping me log all my caches that I haven't logged yet.Found with Dad (GNARwhal) and one of my sisters (Gabzter13).

Once again very clever cache! Took a little hunting and searching around but I got there...

Found with Gabzter13 and UnicornLex

On our way south and in 2 minds in doing this last peak but decided its a good way to get out for a day. Thanks for the placement. Plus fav

Early morning walk to get coffee as I am staying close to here. Great hide - I was drawn to it almost straight away - and that was pre coffee! TFTC Twig.

On my way from the Hutt to Twigs Events in Ohau. Grabbing the odd cache here and there on the way.

Ooo tricky tricky! A good hunt turned up nothing, but the hint gave me enough of a clue to narrow it down to a colour, and then there's only so much of that colour that I could teach.
Saw it and knew it. TFTC TwigNZ. A fun find.

What a great cache. We arrived heading south and the traffic is very very busy so took a while to cross the road (and back again. Very nicely camoed cache. Thanks for bringing us here TwigNZ

Cool hide on an interesting machine..started thinking these things are mostly alloy but the hide is magnetic found on second sweep well done and thanks Twigs NZ

I normally expect to have to spend a bit of time searching when I encounter caches like this one. So I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted it within seconds Nicely camouflaged! Signed log, TFTC.

A fun place to stop while heading further south today in my motorhome, and a very clever hide which took me a couple of circuits before I spotted it, nicely done, cheers

Nice hide. Took mr 6 to have a look around, spotted it quickly. Tftc

#1781. I saw the notification for this cache when it was published, but I wasn’t at the CO’s Event, so missed on the joint FTF.

But as my orchard is only 5 minutes walk from GZ, it was only a matter of time until I got there to grab it. Tonight was that time. Popped into the bar for a nice venison burger for tea, and after ordering, stepped out to make the find. Nice and easy.

If the Bar is open when you call, pop inside for a look. It’s well worthwhile. Have a feed or a drink too. And a laugh at the name on the tractor at the south end of the property. “Deer John”! FP awarded.

Tftc TwigNZ.

Nicely camouflaged

Great spot to hide one thank you

Traveling from Wellington back to the Waikato at the end of a wonderful two week holiday with heaps of geocaching and hiking. This cache looked interesting, so we stopped here to pick it up. Was quicker than I expected - the camo is great though. TFTC

Fantastic camouflage and the hint made sense... on the end

Finally managed to make a stop here at an appropriate time while travelling in the appropriate direction. Took a couple of laps of looking and touching to locate the well camouflaged hide. TFTC

*Very nice find with woolwood9 on the way to the GIFF event.*
Fits it hiding spot very well. SL **tm/ww NZ**
TFTC

On a road short trip with tmann421 to this years GIFF event in PN
Very well hidden cache, had to look in the same place twice before spotting this one.
TFTC

A quick stop on our way to Levin. Nice camouflaged hide. Thanks for placing the cache

A clever hide, and gets a fav. Crystal Fairy found & sighed the log.

Due to the postponement of the Auckland Mega, Buttels and the Crystal half decided to use the dates planned for the event to do some caching between Wellington and Palmy. When we got here and saw the hint, we nearly gave up. We searched and searched and eventually spotted something out of the normal and bingo had the cache in hand. Great hide and location. Thanks for the cache

Ive driven past here plenty of times, but never stopped. Today I pulled over to check things out. I had the place to myself which made looking easy. I spotted what I was looking for on the second pass. Nice job on the camo. TFTC

Excellant clue. Good cache.

I set off early to go for a hunt around Horowhenua and Manawatū and found myself here at 6am in the dark and in the rain. I had a good look all around the chopper and getting fooled by a couple of items. Eventually I spotted the well-hidden cache and took it to the relative shelter of my car to sign the log. Returned to it's hidey spot and carried on north. All good here, and TFTC

What a great spot out caching with xsaveya and emiliyah and they were excited to explore the area further once cache was signed by all a group of fellow geocachers turned up and was more chit chat to be had, then it was time to head for home. thank you for a joint (FTF) and putting out these interesting caches.

Joint {FTF} with others after attending TwigNZ's event just up the road. Quite a crowd gathered for this find and the owner of the facility must have thought he was in for a rush in trade but sadly I don't think anyone of us obliged... TFTC TwigNZ great cammo FP awarded

I came to town as a passenger initially for the event but had my arm twisted, stop that's enough, up my back to join in the hunt for a few others, some new and some old.

This was one of the new ones.

Cheers for the cache.

On deer

SkyCraneKid (formally known as EtherMaster) and I are heading on a boy's roadtrip to TwigNZ's "On your marks, get set, GO! 3" Meet&Greet event at Ohau.

This was one of the caches released for/at the event.

I've passed this location numerous times in my lifetime, but never had a reason (or time) to stop to investigate the host. Thank you for providing that reason.

SCK had no intention of helping with the search - unless it was hidden in the cockpit. He had a ball fiddling with the switches and dials and gauges and the radio!

Ethness made the find for our group, and I burst out l laughing when she showed it to us. That looks familiar! In fact it looks almost identical to the one that was sitting on my workbench 2 weeks ago? Except mine wasn't painted, so it must be a different one

This is a well executed hide, and I feel that it would have taken me quite some time to find it if I had of been searching by myself.

Thanks for the Joint {FTF} shared with the other event attendees
+FP

Published

#12,554. Joint {FTF} and first day find. After attending the enjoyable On your marks, get set, GO! 3 event in Ohau, a group of us recruited the help of Rubbishparty to accompany us to a number of tree-climbing caches and the set of three new geocaches that were published in conjunction with the event.

Arrived on State Highway 1 in Manakau. Fortunately, GZ was all quiet at the time of our visit. It took a number of us searching a bit before geodatum made the find. Great camouflage. The cache was in excellent condition, all nice and dry inside. Took nothing, left nothing, signed log.

Favorite point added.

Thanks for the placement, and for bringing us to this site, and …

.T h a n k s. .f o r. .t h e. .c a c h e.
.M a u r u u r u. .k o e. .n u i. .a t u. .h o k i. .t e. .k e t e r o k i.

Was a great day spent at Twignz's event held locally in ohau today. Our large group split up in to 3 or 4 smaller groups and went searching for some of the newly released caches, this was the 3rd one we found and was very cleverly done we enjoyed this greatly thankyou Twignz

Every time i have driven past this helicopter i have thought of putting a cache here but it would not be nearly as well 'constructed' as this one was so i was very pleased to see this new one here . After the great event at Ohau we had three new caches released and off we set to locate these plus locate some other puzzles caches already solved that were in the area .
i took the opportunity ti visit the shop and i purchased some venison as a treat for next week .
thank you for this cache and worthy of a fav point for its well 'construction' . Another {FTF} .

It was great to travel down to Ohau today in the very good company of haydn.seek and edvern for the annual celebration of daylight saving event, "On your marks, get set, GO! 3".
Three new caches were generously provided by the CO, TwigNZ.
This was the first of the new three we visited.
Initially a number of us wandered about looking and touching, with no results. Then I thought of something mentioned on the cache page. Keeping that in mind, I very soon located the cache. What a very neat, cleverly camouflaged cache it was too. TFTC TwigNZ and also the joint {FTF}. Gets a fav.

After the CO’s terrific event today in Ohau, a small group of us wandered off in a convoy to get the newly published caches and to knock off a few of the CO’s local tree-climbing geocaches.
Like others I would normally not stop here due to the traffic volume and not having children nor particularly liking venison. But I have often wandered if there’s a geocache here. Now I know there is, and I’m pleased to gain a {FTF} for finding it.
Very well matched ‘orange’. With eight pairs of eyes searching, it didn’t take very long to find the cleverly hidden geocache.
Thanks for placing this cache and the opportunity for another {FTF}

Having left after most of the other people at the event, we had thought there wouldn't be too many cachers at GZ, but boy were we wrong. Quite a crowd had gathered here, but fortunately there weren't too many muggles around and we didn't appear to be attracting any attention.
Thanks for putting this here for us to find - it blends in well with it's surroundings. And thanks for the joint {FTF}

After attending the Ready Set Go /Day light saving / Start of the Summer geocaching season event in Ohau We all split up to do some local geocaching. First off was a tree climbing cache (Barking up the Wrong Tree) as some in our party are tree challenged (not me, I have already found that cache), then to this one. The camo did its job as the cache was missed on the first two looks, so well done to the CO. And an empty log book! Woohoo! [FTF] Not empty any more - rather full of names now!

Another well crafted hide released at todays event - called in here on the way back to Wellington, where we spent a few minutes chatting to the other cachers who were there. TFTC! #10112

After attending TwigNZ’s lively event On your marks Get set Go 3 some of us teamed up to collect the three new caches. Have driven past here many times but not stopped. One of our party stocked up with some venison while the others searched for the well camouflaged cache. Took half a dozen geocachers several minutes to find it. A favourite from us. Thanks for the joint {FTF} At least the deer was following COVID protocol!

Enjoyed this one we played in the area with Xsaveya while watcache took photos a great joint (FTF) Thank you

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This was alot of fun doing this cache thank you for bringing us here out caching with xsaveya and watcache thanks for the joint (FTF)

Thanks for bringing us to this quirky spot! Great hide too, thanks TwigNZ!

{FTF} joint with a whole group of attendees from Twig's event earlier this afternoon. In actual fact it was geodatum who had the cache in hand while the rest of us were still searching in every nook and cranny. Thanks for a great hide Twig - good fun.

(# 6859) Joint {FTF}. Up the coast today to attend TwigNZ's event in Ohau. He generously created 3 new caches and off we went after lunch. Have driven past the site quite a number of times so recognised where the cache was by the description. A quick find by one of the group in a clever place. Thanks for bringing me here.

Many years ago on Mt Hutt Station I was shown how a helicopter is used to catch dear in the high country - the skill of the pilots in those situations was amazing. Today I found the cache by using my GPS and caching eyes, only to read reading the hint afterwards!!! Oh well. All’s well that ends well. Great to see SkyCraneKid having the time of his life in the helicopter. TFTC TwigNZ.

Unfortunately we were unable to make Twigs daylight saving event today, due to a prior family commitment on at the same time. But we managed to hop in the red machine head south to check out the new caches Twig had placed today. (FTF) We enjoyed finding this cache, and was great there was safe and adequate parking nearby. Thanks Twig for this new cache. Favourite given.