TB Stumpy (Waikato) French Pass, North Island, New Zealand
By Mitrou on 14-Feb-03. Waypoint GCD4D3

Found the tree but no cache inside. Think it might have been taken

Despite a thorough search well beyond GZ we came up empty handed which is a shame as its the only cache nearby to where we are staying. Pretty sure from photos we know where it should be and a container that size shouldnt be too tricky to find!

We were able to spot the tree in the most recent phot but unable to locate the cache unfortunately.

TFTC

Very cool hiding spot

Was a good hunt but not too difficult. Just takes some searching of the area

Found it. We decided to go for a drive and while here do some geo caching. What a good area. Up high too. TFTC

good cache nice spot

We aimed for where we thought it would be. Looked at a tree roots that I thought were the perfect place but found nothing!! So looked further, then realized we had gone to far. Went back to the tree I thought was promising and on the 6th look found it!!!
But we were tricked, we thought we were looking for a green lid but it was actually BLUE.

TFTC

Violet and Demi found it. Very cool hide. TFTC!

Gorgeous day in rural Waikato. Never even knew this place existed! Stunning spot, stunning views, not too many muggles out today. It was an easy find right where it should have been. TFTC!

I found this reserve via google and thought id come out for a look today. While i was having a look round i thought in typical geocacher fashion i wonder if theres any caches here. I was already on the bushwalk and wouldnt you know it, the cache was only a few hundred meters away. I started to climb up the slope towards the gz but decided as i was on my own a bush bash uphill off track was not a good idea and reluctantly walked away. Imagine my surprise when i was nearing the end of the track and used the map to check my location and discovered yet again i was only a couple of hundred meters away but above it this time. Much easier to access from above and cache was quickly in hand. An amazing reserve with great history and a nice half hour bush walk and the cache was an added bonus. Thankyou for placing it here.

Really glad to be logging my 600th cache in New Zealand TFTC!!!

What a wet miserable day to go caching but it’s our last morning before flying home

Interesting site

Up from Southland with Cantabrian Kiwicampnut to get the final piece of the PWGT puzzle.
Day 10 - and we are homeward bound on a lunchtime flight. Still time for a few extra smilies.
This cache fulfills a missing month, so we made the time to visit. Took my walking pole (which was useful both for stability on the slippery ground and for poking and prodding.
First day of rain on our trip (guess it wouldn't be a caching trip without at least 1 wet day...) and I should have swapped the sandals I've worn for thd last 10 days for thd boots I brought just in case.
Found my way to something that was likely to be the posted coords and followed the fence as directed. Poked and prodded in the roots of a few trees and heard a satisfying clunk. Tats a sizable gap, plenty of room for this container to get lost.
Started raining harder as the log was bring signed...
Thanks for the cache Mitrou and everyone who maintains it... Only 5eft on NZ published/placed this month
# 3678 27 January 2023 10:08 am

Out with ABCDF4 and KGD to tidy a few in the area, TFTC.

Not been in this area before great spot and views
I am still here and nice and dry thanks

Dnf but will definitely go back soon for another look

Dnf but we were so close judging by a couple of handy photos I've seen on here. We will go back asap and hopefully find the cache and not lose the kid this time

Amazing!! Really loved this one!

First time I looked but failed, came back for another hunt and found it! My first in Ten years! Very pleased.

White plastic container , blue lid

Thank you, eventually found it!

Fun off road hunt for this! Tftc

Great spot! Thank you!

Off terrain but super stoked to find it

A fantastic day to walk & explore. The views are amazing.
TFTC

An interesting spot here. TFTC

Next to fence

Went thru the bushes and got lost hahahah

Out on a post dinner walk.. Kyb3r knows how much I love medical history so he bought me here. Much care was needed getting to this geocache as there was heaps of broken glass around the area

Very lovely place and easy to find. Lovely look out

It is no longer in a tuppaware with a green lid - rather a jar with a blue one. Simple to find and fun!
Happy searching

Easy to find

This was our last find on our day exploring Cambridge and a very memorable one.
It is always great to find a hide that has stood the test of time and this is one of the oldest we have found. So good to see it has lasted since 2003.
This is also a very interesting spot with so much history and we spent a bit of time looking around and taking it all in.
Our journey to the cache was very indirect and we started by walking the nature trail only to find a large tree had completely blocked the track causing us to retrace our steps and discover a somewhat forgotten and unmaintained side track which very pleasingly led us straight to GZ.
From there it was a nice quick find of this very well stocked and maintained cache after pacing out the required steps.
Thanks Mitrou for a perfect end to our day.

A great find. Especially in the winter months to see the winter flowers on the way.

I just felt like following the geotrails into the woods when we got a break between all the rain of the past few days. Then I thought this would be a great place for a cache given the only Sanitorium, and so I was pleasantly surprised to see there was one practically where I was standing once I loaded up the map. However, due to the rain and overall wetness, I wasn't ever sure where to start the 18 paces (maybe from the fence stile) nor direction along the fence so I mostly headed out of the woods to rejoin my wife as she was getting wet waiting and unfortunately didn't spot any hiding spot along the way. Next time.

On our way south (vaguely) with evilC. This cache took a long time to locate, and it ended up being the last one for the day. TFTC!!

Thanks mitrou for the cache. It’s #1431 for us. We found your cache on 22 February 2021. Found after some easy bush bashing. Found old log but it’s very hard to retrieve. Have placed a replacement log inside container.

TFTC great bit of fun an bush hunting

A few scratches but we found it ,tftc

Easy find. Nothing to sign but lots of treasure.

Spent a while wandering around waiting for GPS to settle. Once at GZ a nice quick find, Lots of swag still but unfortunately the TB was missing. Thanks for bringing me here on a nice sunny morning.

This was an unexpected delight. I decided to do a loop from French Pass road via Whitehall this evening. Neat view up here. It took me a while to come in on the right tree. The GPS was bouncing around.
As I was leaving I spotted some Kauri saplings and was amazed how many there were. Then I spotted the sign and realised that all the big trees were Kauri too. Awesome. It’s been many many years since I’ve seen this many giants of the forest in one place. So heartwarming.
The highlight of my weeks Geocaching so far.
Thanks very much for placing the hide here.

Took a bit of a detour to come and find this cache

A few muggles about, but they were off on their own adventures. The area seems to be full of history, and in these times of covid19 more poignant.

So here I am searching for the cache, and whilst I was not sure of the hint in the description (as it really depends on which side of the fence you are on

I wandered about, and after not too long a search I spotted the cache. Happy to be finding and signing.

Thanks for the hide Mitrou, and bringing me to this historic spot, a place filled with history.

Extra history from the internet:

Its original name was Pukemako (Hill of the Bellbird), and it is also known as Gudex Park, to honour the work of Michael Gudex, botanist.

Sanatorium Hill includes Maungakawa Reserve and Gudex Memorial Reserve.

The land formerly known as Maungakawa Scenic Reserve and that known as Gudex Memorial Park Historic Reserve are now called Pukemako Scenic Reserve and Pukemako Historic Reserve

https://www.treatysettlementstories.nz/maungakawa-stories/tag/historic

https://cambridgemuseum.org.nz/te-waikato-sanatorium/

Good cache if you have kids

Nice hide
Thanks for the hide

Nice

Awesome find easy to spot

Thanks most treasure weve ever found.

Found it. No logbook as such but a good haul inside if you're in to that sort of thing.

On a random drive that brought us here. Missed it on way pass. Knew we had gone to far and saw reserve on way back. The views on way here down the road a bit further are pretty impressive. Lucky home owners that enjoy such a view. Cache didn't take to long to find. Left a tb. Tftc

Ttfc. Great excuse to go on a family bush walk

Interesting site. A lot of what an archaeologist would call occupation debris - old water pipes, ceramics and glass, but old thick glass, the bottom of an old wine or champagne bottle. Logbook was disintegrating so I popped in a new, waterproof one. TFTC.

Awesome view awesome place

Fresh out of the hospital took a drive to get some air. Found your cache thank you

Awesome find! TFTC.

15.06.19
Found by TheShireNZ

This was a nice surprise ! A cool hunt.

Great hide, harder to find than anticipated, but 6 year old got it! Now refilled with lots of kids stuff!

Found safe and well TFTC

Great little hiding place. A bit of broken glass about so keep an eye out if your out and about with kids. TFTC

What an awesome area off the main roads. It's such a shame lovely old homes such as the one originally built here no longer exists as I'm sure they would have so much history to tell. Beautiful park. One day I will come back to do the bush walk and enjoy the area in the warmth of summer, the spring bulbs are flowering right now and the park smells glorious.
Fresh air may not have made much difference to the patients here but I'm sure the location would have been lovely and peaceful for them.
A Fav for me

Great cache needs a new container if I remember next time I’ll change it out

Was a fun find for the kids!

Tftf

This cache is another reason I am out this way - and old cache, and one of my hidden months. A beautiful park, gets a favourite from me. Alas, there is no log book, and I did not have spares on me, but I dropped in a path tag.

I am up here for my sister's wedding, which was yesterday, and taking in the NZ icons series while here looks like a fine way to get to Pluto. So after a week of frantic puzzle solving a couple of weeks ago I am prepared. Not needed as it turns out as I got to Pluto by other means, and am now way past Eris (bigger than Pluto, about twice as far out). But I may as well do these anyway, as I have the time reserved for them. Alas I could not start till after lunch, after saying farewell to my family, so was not able to finish the NZ Icons series. I'll be back tomorrow.

Happy Easter!

Very pleased to return here today after a visit some years ago. Very interesting spot and great reserve. A favourite.

A wonderful place to visit. It was a bit cool under the trees today. Cache is all good but will need a new log soon. Thanks for keeping this old cache going.

Nicely hidden in the goblin forest.

Found on a Christmas Day exploring the area around our vacation home. TFTC

Many thanks for bringing me up here. The cache was quite soon in Ham, signed the log and replaced as found.
TYFTC

Had to go bush but there it was. Lovely loop walk near by.

What an awesome reserve. I love history filled places like this and looking around we were trying to guess what was constructed around here. I did not guess a Sanatorium but it makes me wonder what the pre-antibiotic era would have been like especially considering I work within the health sector. The cache was a quick find but the grounds were soo soggy that even cutting though the totaras didn't keep my feet dry. Cheers mitrou, TFTC Its always nice finding caches of this age.

My driver "took the wrong turn" - nothing to do with the navigator! We were so close to this cache we decided to detour here. I am so very glad we did. Amazing and interesting place that I would not have known about otherwise. We had to drive to the end of the road to check it all out as well. The phone gps had a hissy fit here, so got out the trusty GPS. With the hint as well, cache was discovered. All dry and safe here. Amazed at the quantity of glass and rubbish strewn down the bank. I guess it was the typical rubbish dump for the house and the Sanitorium. Thanks for the placement Mitrou.

It's many moons since I have been here ...in fact probably before geo- caching was ever thought of. Used to service the radio repeater huts equipment ..it's all changed now, what a very rememberable trip for me ....thanks for the great placement and cache which I found quite quickly and replaced as found really nice park area

Driving back and thought I'd detour here to pick this up, no problems with the find, nice to pick up an older cache!

TFTC mitrou, the cache was found in good order Signed, sealed and returned to GZ. 1 finds of 2 today, making this find #1541

A lovely drive out in the countryside to this cache. Never ventured up this way before and was surprised to find out the history of the area. We had a good look around at the last remaining building of the Sanitorium before heading over to where this cache was located. Once at GZ, the cache was quickly found and in good condition considering its age. Thanks for bringing us to this area and TFTC!

Well another glorious day to go geocaching with Nahkins. Had 5 lined up and 1 maybe if we had time. #6. I found this one. We approached this from a more difficult angle than we needed to. We came out the easy approach. Didn't take long to find. We drove to the end of the road. I couldn't believe all the towers that are up there. The biggest one I can see from my place. TFTC. Loving the smiles.

Out geocaching with NZPatoto. I was driving and we had five on the list and one if we had time. #6 – NZPatoto found this after we went in the hard way. Found the easy way out. Drove to the end of the road. Again if you want a view the end of the road is the place to go. TFTC

Took a scenic drive to Cambridge to meet a friend...stopped for a few caches along the way. Good directions...though my paces are a little smaller...led me straight to the cache. TFTC

I had to head down South Today for work this morning. That completed I just kept heading southward, finding some caches and otherwise enjoying a pleasant drive around the Waikato. I haven't been through Cambridge for a long time. It is just as lovely as I remember it to be. Anyway, made my way out of Cambridge and climbed the hill to the memorial park. Parked up near GZ and made the short walk into the bush. Took a few minutes to get the correct GZ for this one, but once I did it was soon spotted. Nice to complete this "stumpy" series of hides. I think this fills a hole for the jasmer challenge. Cheers for the cache placement!

1484 Always wanted to come up and have a look around here and geocaching made the opportunity. After signing cache which was easily found (good) I took around the grounds. What a history it holds.

In further than expected but good hide tftc

Has not been found for a while, but was still there. And we found it!

While since I've been here, but never this deep. Tftc.

That's awesome . Will have to come back with the kids and what a hidden treasure . A fav from me

Found while out on a day trip to Cambridge with my muggle sister. A good description led me straight to it. Thanks for bringing us up here, it's been years since my last visit.

Found it with the kids and ended up knee deep in a rabbit hole while I was at it. Have replaced log and placed in a tic tac container as the existing one was mush. Bring your own pen

Good hiding spot.

Too easy for seasoned bush-bashers! All in all, a short, entertaining hunt!

With Mr hobbit thsnks baby hobbit for doing the dirty work

This one took a while due to GPS jumping around, but got there in the end. TFTC

Tufty, Vistra and I were on a day trip picking up the Icon series, but once we had collected them all we were not finished for the day, these caches were close by.

Took us a little while to find as we hadnt read the description, as soon as we did we quickly had the cache in hand.

Thanks for the cache.

Yorkshirekiwi83 and Vistra decided to accompany me down to the Waikato for a day of caching to pick up the ICON series of puzzles and any other caches in the vicinity of which this happens to be one of them.

I needed this one to fill a hole in my Jasmer Challenge grid.

Cheers for the cache.

Out for a caching day in the Waikato, together with Yorkshirekiwi83 and Tufty, with our primary focus being the NZ icons series. Hunted around for a few minutes, before following the description and made a quick find after that! TFTC!

took a bit to find weather wasn't to nice but did find in th end old log book not in good shape

It's several years since I have been up here and a lot of work has been done since then. Thanks for bringing me back.