Karekare Carry on (Auckland) Karekare, North Island, New Zealand
By TimK01 on 01-Jan-03. Waypoint GCBC0D

.

The second sign is quite securely in place at the calculated coordinates. It isn't the type of "sign" one might expect though. The WP#3 sign, though, seemed to be off by at about 60 yards to the west of coordinates I calculated. It is quite conspicuous and contains the information required to reach the last WP before the cache. The container, however, could definitely stand replacement with something more watertight. This multi-waypoinnt walkabout is so beautiful that I recommend the container be restored if possible rather than have the cache archived.
-Gecko Dad, San Diego, California

Second Waypoint sign, seems to have worn out over the years and lacks any birds now.

I didn't get that far but reading the other logs, the cache is leaky and full of water.

not sure this really needs archiving ,but I hope that the owner can do some effective maintenance on this & the other cache he owns at long bay,Im wanting to do this cache sometime ,but Im not if what I read is correct,maybe someone else needs to take it over.I have tried to contact the owner raising the maintenance issues,but nothing has come out of it.From the logs,its obvious the ones that have found it have really enjoyed it( just look at team geckos log)--pity to lose it.

16:18 Well found the bird sign. But it now lacks any birds. So made a guess but must have been wrong. So couldn't locate the second sign. Will return after the owner maintains the cache. And checks out the sign.

8:10 pm.
After a 4-mile loop hike/climb up and around Kitekite Falls followed by wading at Piha Beach and the short climb up Lion Rock, I still had energy and interest in exploring the black sand beaches of Karekare Beach. I was accompanied by fellow American and work associate, Terry, who chauffered us to the trailhead parking area in his rental car. An offshore wind was blowing and storm clouds passed by now and then, occasionally bringing brief showers. The sky show and late afternoon sun provided dramatic lighting conditions for viewing and photography. I found the first two waypoints without difficulty but the third proved a puzzle for quite awhile. After double and triple checking my numbers and even trying some variants, I eventually back tracked from indicated GZ for WP #3 and found the information at a location about 60 meters away. With just enough daylight left to find the next trail, we continued over to find the last information and begin a search for the container. Fortunately, I had a headlamp and after perhaps 20 minutes of climbing around in the dark searching while Terry stood by below. Eventually, I shifted to another candidate site and found the well-hidden container. I was very pleased to be able to record this as a find after such a fine tour of the area. The container was partially filled with water and the logbook was soaked and quite unusuable. I emptied out the container but it should be replaced in the future with something more weatherproof. Fortunately there was another plastic bag inside in which I placed a TG card and four green horned lizards (representing the Team Gecko clan). Thanks for one of the most memorable caching experiences of my two-week visit.
-Gecko Dad, San Diego, California

[Finally found it, after looking for it over a year ago. Container was half-filled with water and logbook was wet, so we couldn't log our visit.] If you see three small nikaus in a row, step one metre back and look under the big nikau.

Some 15 months after my first visit I found this quickly without the GPSr. Funny how that happens isn't it.
The cache was full of water, although the log book was dry in a plastic bag. I've removed all the rusty stuff and emptied out the water. Placed the Geocoin, a Jersey 2p and a surfboard wax comb (appropriate for the area) in another bag.
If next person takes paper towel, then all will be well again. TFTC

16 months to complete, last time a wedding near the GZ put me off searching. Took a bit this time to locate, needed the clue but even that didn,t pinpoint the cache, a widening search pattern did though.
TFTC, -TB, +toy motorbike.

Lots of people around here and on the beach for a wet day,
Here with new member and friends

In TB Old Dutch Coin

Carry on is correct! Did Tunnel Point in the middle of it all. Heaps of people on a winters day, and had to nudge some people out of the way to get the last numbers! Great place for a multi cache, however the last co-ordinates were a bit out at GZ we thought (maybe 7 m). TFTC

[This entry was edited by Tramper Ted on Sunday, July 23, 2006 at 10:11:19 PM.]

Very nice multi-cache this one, but we were unable to find the cache itself. I found the plants mentioned in the clue standing in a row together, but no cache... also the bird pcitures (B) seem to have eroded off, so we (correctly) guessed.

Spectacular location. Found the final cache location without any problem but no luck in finding cache. Reception was variable but in the end pretty consistent, however the clue was really hard to interpret. There are lots of those xxxxxxx and I think I looked at most of them. The best numeric version (ref clue) was 10 metres up the hill and despite considerable personal effort yielded nought.
After an hour and several groups of muggles I gave up.
I had hoped to close off West Auckland with this one since its 25kms away from homebase but no such luck.
Time to compare notes with previous successful cachers.
Thanks


[This entry was edited by St. Ouens on Saturday, August 06, 2005 at 2:59:42 PM.]

[This entry was edited by St. Ouens on Saturday, August 06, 2005 at 3:00:53 PM.]

Had some problems to find the second place After I'd reached an altitude of 200m above sea level I realised that I'm on the wrong way. Found the other spots easily. Finaly finding the cache was a bit of a hassle.

It's not hard to understand why a film crew would want to shoot in some of these places! It truly makes you feel the immensity of the ocean, nature, blah blah blah, all that good stuff.
Anyway, it was good to get some exercise and at the same time discover basically all of Karekare.
We were luckier than sp8sm8 when we got to the final location. Not great satellite reception, but at least the wedding party was long gone. Only petals and balloons left.
- hippo hook
+ koosh guy

Thanks for the cache!

Pleasant wander around finding the waypoints till the last and someone is sitting on it. Eventually moves and i get the numbers, retreat for a couple of calculations and to enter the coords. Oh no there are at least 30 people between me and that spot, looked bad enough hanging round to read the plaque. Off on some more geocaching business to return 2 hours later, you wouldn't believe it but a wedding is now taking place on the spot. guess it will have to wait for another day.

great cache, beauiful place, it was a nice walk after a hard day on the beach. Nothing left nothing taken (as my partner couldn't climb the up bank)

Lovily sunny day for a great cache in nice area found easy enough
Out dollar coin
In torch and batteries

This was my first EVER Geocache!! What a blast and a very cool game to play with friends. I am hooked! Found it with 'Radishworks' and as mentioned we took a few wrong turns, typed in a couple of wrong numbers and may have been fooled by minor 'cache movement' due to rainfall. I love topographical maps because they show you the lie of the land. One of these might have saved us a little bit of wandering but who knows...!

Activating TB.

My 2nd cache in NZ. Took a few wrong turns along the way, but managed to find it. The last few meters was a bit tricky as I think the rainy season may have washed the cache down the hill a bit. Great sites along the way, and I think I totally hooked a new local cacher who when along for the fun. Left a TB that wants to make it back to the USA, TN. Thanks for the cache! Careful the pictures may contain spoilers.

Awesome area. Carpark quite busy for a wet winter morning,
but no-one at the final location. I had some GPS variance
of the last two waypoints, but certainly close enough to
identify the objects. Took about an hour. Cheers!

Found it!! , rather easy find, only took about an hour to find all the stages and the final cache. Beautiful area and a lovely day. I great idea for a cache, cheers.

nil - in/out

What a great cache! Surely one of the best... only we didn't find it. We got to the last coordinates and went into mad search mode as we raced the setting sun. Alas, the sun won and we called off the search for another day. No objections about having to go back this wonderful place will be heard from us.

Fantastic cache, but it was so late in the afternoon that we ran out of light. Surely we had stumbled right on top of the cache but just couldn't see it. Oh well, this one is so awesome I can't wait to go back during the daylight to find it.

Third time lucky. Came here from Long John Stumpy.

A tribe of Maoris were being filmed at the site, so I had to play dumb for a while, and admire the waterfall.

I knew the final location, but still had trouble getting a lock near the location.

Using the clue (read properly and memorised this time), I managed to find it anyway.

In/Out: Nill

Willbuild

Great day for a walk around the beach, lots of people around.
tide out. took longer to wait to find cache than to do the rest of the cache , sat with Mary for about 1/2 hour before people would go away. good place to sit and wait. quick find after this,
must have been a good day for the GPS as I had 6m accuracy on the Garmin 12 . 30m on the etrax.
No swops

Yeah! cache 100!
We finally got to properly search for, and find, this cache today. I have been in the area twice with a walking group over the last 2 months and found the earlier stages but the other walkers (my transport home) were too tired or impatient to wait while I sorted the final co-ordinates.

I rained on the way over but fined up beautifully as we reached the car park. Found the plaque after one little side track. Then we had no problem with the final cache. I had expected to move further away and did not have the bag of trinkets along so left $1.00 coin, but my wife insisted we return with the camera to record the great scenery and so we added a trinket as well.

In..... $1.00 coin
Plus a "hook"

Out.... The Xmas mobile

Thanks Tim

I started at the final cache,since I'd already worked to that one out last time.

Couldn't get a lock within 50 meters of the cache. Looked at the satelite display, and saw why. Hunted around randomly, with no success.

Got all the waypoints, and the GPS location for the last point. Got in the general area of the cache, and my GPS decided it was not going to lock properly. Waited a long time, and finally got a lock - with an error margin of 42 meters.

Decoded the clue, but I didn't know what the described thing looks like. Have since looked it up online (thanks, Google!)

Going back some time soon (possibly Tuesday afternoon), to finish this one. In the meantime, I'm going to calculate the distance and bearing between the last waypoint and the target - in case I don't get a lock again.

Been here several times with homestay students as they all want to see the beach where The Piano was filmed. It's a great beach. It's a pity a member of the team gets a little travel sick though.
Had a good hunt around but couldn't find the cache. There were a few footprints around so I wonder if it has been removed. That is of course I was at the right spot.


[last edit: 3/31/2003 2:55:56 AM PST]

A great day, great place, and an enjoyable multi-cache to sort out. I too found a co-ordinate not quite right (only by about 0.02'E or 60m) but still quite doable. Took the fly squirter for some Christmas chimes. Thanks.

Nice location, found hours after M@. Not too much difficulty finding other than eTrex losing lock at the final area due to cliffsides nearby.

In: 2 x AAA NiMH batteries
Out: Blank CDR

Another glorious day! Great location!

The clues were not hard to follow, though some of the coordinates under tree cover seemed a bit out to me. No problem - the waypoints are easily spotted.

The final point also seemed a bit out, but the comment about a scramble made it all work out.

All up it took me about an hour to do the circuit. I'd suggest allowing a longer period, it's a great location.

I didn't go up the Watchman (I've been up there before). Looked at a topo map to double check the number of islands. By the way - one prominent island is well over a kilometre away, but I counted it - and it got me to the next waypoint.