Crows Nest (Wellington) Crofton Downs, North Island, New Zealand
By duncanw on 10-Jan-05. Waypoint GCMFFT

I am regretfully archiving this cache since there's been no response from nor action by the cache owner within the time frame requested in the last reviewer note.

Hi duncanw

This geocache was brought to my attention as being in need of an owner maintenance visit and after my previous reviewer note, there has been no owner response. The cache owner needs to check on this cache ASAP and either replace it or archive it, after picking up any geo-litter. See the [maintenance section of the Geocache Listing Requirements/Guidelines](http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx#listingmaintenance).

I've added this cache to my watchlist, and I will check back in four weeks to be sure that the maintenance has been done. In the meantime, I have temporarily disabled this listing. When the maintenance is completed, the owner can enable the listing by clicking on the link below the cache name to return it to active status.

Whatever your intentions, please **post a note** here on the cache page (not email) to let us know that you are still active and maintaining the cache. If a month passes without seeing a response, then I'll assume that this listing should be archived.

Please note, that if a cache is archived due to lack of owner maintenance, the cache is unable to be unarchived.

Regards
TheCoddiwompler

No luck for us here today either

I agree with the previous log, nothing found here despite extensive searching based on multiple interpretations of the hint.

This geocacher reported that the cache might be missing.

Definitely no longer here.

Found but cache lid has gone and log is in a small bag tied to bush by container...

Signed the temporary logbook, nice location.

Signed the temporary log. Definitely needs some maintenance. Nice spot though. TFTC

found the cache - empty and lidless and no log inside (no sign of the pill container that a previous cacher had placed inside temporarily either), unfortunately I didn't have a replacement container to add here, but I placed a "temporary log" on a sheet of paper inside a plastic bag and attached it to the bush near the empty cache with some paracord so hopefully the next cacher will have something to sign, it was extremely windy up here today and I don't think my temporary log will last long, next cacher please bring a container! Nice walk up here even though it was windy and misty and I couldn't see a thing! TFTC

This geocacher reported that the container is damaged.

everything was missing from the box even the lid

Found the spot with the bigger upside-down container but alas no cache inside. I've messaged the cache owner, needs some maintenance.

Found old cache container upside down as mentioned by earlier posts but nothing underneath - cache seems to be gone

14:46
FITW GreenMenace
We wanted to do a nice wee hike today and I wanted to find an oldie so this cache was 2in1!
We parked up at Silverstream Rd, crossed the stream from the playground and went up-up-up, picking up some caches along the way. Awesome weather for it, the views unfolded, and we were closing in on the peak. There was no one else around in the foresty bit but up on the hills there were quite a few people roaming around. I guess there are more popular tracks that lead to the same place.

TFTC!
#6265

Wasn't sure we had found the cache initially as there was a just a container with no lid full for water and black sludge. After digging deep it seemed this was indeed the cache, obviously in much worse shape than in late 2017. Everything was a sodden pulp. Given the CO hasn't logged in since 2018 we took the liberty of placing a pill container inside a larger pill container and turned the lid-less container upside down to protect it so the cache is now loggable again.

Great views from up here but the southerly wind was pretty brutal today.

Also grabbed the "Quackbeard the Pirate" to get him on his way after almost a year of just sitting around.

Well protected and took a bit to find. All good here. TFTC

Quick find. Was quite visible so tries to nestle a bit more in its hidey place. Tftc. Great day for it!

Tftc - and what better place to drop off a Pirate ...

Tftc

Tftc

In Wellington again catching up with friends and family. A day to myself - so with a new Nigel Navigator to try out - so lets go walking. No one about today, A bit windy but fine today.
Nigel navigator kept putting me over there 5 meters and there are prickle bushes everywhere. Which way to attack it - from the bottom or top. Rechecking access from the top and spy it. Great no prickle bashing required. Great size cache!! Cheers

What a satisfying old logbook replete with history! Great location too. Collected this to fill in a 'month hidden' on eventide walkabout. Cheers duncanw.

Absolutely stunning place. Worth the walk. Tftc

Found it!
Nice quick find. Cache in very good condition
A morning expedition, leapt off from Huntleigh Park way. Not sure if its the easiest route. Out for a moderate days caching, 4th of nine.
TFTC, SLTNLN

First of four in a group above Crofton Downs and Ngaio that I haven't visited before. With sunshine and light winds today had to be the day. The view from up here is truly spectacular. I underestimated the steepness of the tracks down through the bush so that took a while.

TFTC

A bit of climb to here from the previous cache. Unfortunately since its over the ridge you don't get any view of Wellington from here (although you do just before arrival of course). I didn't realize this was quite an old cache - it's either well maintained or done properly from the outset. If it was a classic ammo can instead of plastic box it would be the perfect cache. TFTC.

This one didn't seem too far off the main Skyline track so decided to head over to grab it. GPS led me right to the point. Good to find an older cache, especially with the original log book! TFTC

TFTC

Cheers

Looked carefully around the top of red rocky outcrop then decided to be less literal and searched in safer spot Success! Dried out box Log bag split and needs replacement sorry did not have one Tftc

3 April 2016 9:32 am

Cache # 2,804 - The forecast was for a very fine, if windy, day, so decided to tackle this in the morning before work. Has been on my list for quite a while, but only became realistic in the last few months as a purpose-built exercise regime has seen my fitness level soar. Up and down in just over an hour to here, and even though panting on the way up I didn't realise how steep it was until I came back down. Fell twice, on dry ground (yes, that is how steep it is if coming from Huntleigh Park and not the Skyline trail) and put my hand straight into a patch of gorse. Ouch.

Cache itself was a reasonably quick find at the GZ, and all is well there. Unusual to find a cache this old with its original log book still going. Nice to put my name to it! TNLN.

Whilst clear on the way up, the winds picked up just as I was leaving, blowing the clouds over the tops of the hills and obscuring the view. Still a lovely walk. TFTC!

Quick find. The wind nearly made us turn back the way we came but we decided to persist. This is our last though! The views are magnificent - clear skies mean we can easily see the top of the South Island beyond the turbines. TFTC

Wow! A 10 year old cache! Cache in great condition and pretty much dry. Got muggled by two ladies who appeared over the hill just as I was signing the log! They just smiled and said hello and moved on. TFTC!

What a nice climb up the nest [^] I still think this is what geocaching is all about, get out and discover nice places [^] Thanks for sharing this place

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Found this one on the way down from the skyline walk - TFTC

YAY finally got to the top,sixth in the loop, it's a long way up from the bottom but super views all round, very windy!!! Wishing we hadn't left the water and snacks in the car. Time to head back down. TFTC

Would not have been right coming this far up the hill and not finding this cache. Lots of wind and sheep and a stunning view. Tftc!

Nice hide in a great spot. Tftc

Up in the mountains, way up in the mountains, near the highest point in Wellington, lies an unmarked track that leads you to a semi secluded haven: a hideout, a hovel, a hermitage for heroic hopscotchers. Its vicinity rumoured to contain hidden treasure, this place is only known as "The Crows Nest".

If that doesn't activate your adrenaline-fuelled adventurous appetite, then - quite frankly - nothing much will. Or maybe it does: after all, I don't really know you, dear reader.

Fact is that ever since I became aware of the existence of this place, I wanted to visit it. In reading up on how to get there (somewhere, can't remember where), it was - almost casually - pointed out there was a geocache hidden near the top. Roughly three months and twelve caches later (no, I have no compulsion to find as many caches as possible as quickly as possible - I prefer to treat each search as an individual "adventure", so that each cache becomes special, each find becomes memorable) the Crows Nest was honoured with my presence, And I - in turn - was honoured by holding the cache in hand.

Imagine, if you will, the Shawnshank Redemption. Imagine the scene where you see Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) emerge from the sewage pie into the river: as he emerges he spreads his arms, holding his hands high up into the sky to welcome the rain which washes away so many years of guilty innocence, innocent guilt, and not to mention a long long pipe worth of sewage material. Finding this cache was absolutely nothing like that, but for a moment there I made you remember a nice scene in a nice film. You're welcome.

This cache contained something else quite special as well. At least, I think it was quite special. This cache contained a logbook in which people wrote a bit more than just a date and alias. No, no, not romance novels nor collected works of Crows Nest Conquerors, but one or two sentences about the weather of that day, who they were with, one girl wrote a little something in Japanese. It made this logbook very interesting to read. Which I did, spread out lying in the lush grass under the scintillating sun. This pleasure was promptly punished by loosing track of time, causing royal lateness for picking up someone as well as a bit of sunburn.

So, what is it that the crows have collected in there nest? Well:
- logbook with 2 pens, a pencil and a pencil sharpener.
- a round, yellow, plastic McD Happy Meal toy thing used for something absolutely unbeknownth to me
- Ronald McDonald happy meal toy
- 101 Dalmatians happy meal toy
- a toy soldier ( vimeo.com/93499940 ), broken ( vimeo.com/70689143 )
- a plastic palmtrees figure (broken as well)
- small hairband
- purple sweatband
- two plastic keychains with rusted rings
- plastic toy salamander (cute!)
- Conrad Smith collectible card from Bluebird
- Countdown heroes Macawnivore collectible card
- countdown heroes Burns collectible card
- a metal...weight (? - has "30 grams" inscribed on the side)
- New Zealand 50 cent coin
- New Zealand 2 cent coin
- New Zealand 1 cent coin
- Lincoln University pen (still works!)

Took nothing, left a bookmark.

Thank you for the cache. Had I not had a GPS device, I would not have noticed the track leading up. Other than that, quickly located.

Quick find, TFTC

This entry was edited by TMCNZ on Tuesday, 13 January 2015 at 06:55:02 UTC.

#115. A slog up the hill from Huntleigh, onwards to Mt Kau Kau. Tftc!

Not the nicest day for a walk and was short on time so took a more direct route - got stuck in gorse and had to back track.
Cache in great order though and on a clear day would be a great view, found with SJT_NZ

Found with TregearP as year (a 2005 cache) needed for Boxhill's Year-By-Year.

Tftc.

Nice to find an old cache with an original logbook still in good condition. You can tell its old because the usual suspects don't turn up until two years after placement!

Found within a minute or so thanks for the cache Nice to see such an old log book!

Thanks for the cache! Found on a lovely day with wafflekitties! Done a big loop walk from Mt Kau Kau and along the skyline walk and came down the hill to Ngaio! Nice old log book!

This cache was the focus of my caching for today as it has been my oldest unfound one in the Wellington region for some time. There were a couple of muggles near ground zero so I had lunch here in the hope that they would move on. The break gave me some time to admire all the views and correctly figure out where the container must be. The muggles didn't move but didn't seem to be the least bit interested in me so I moved in for a very quick find, sign and replace.

Great views from this track.

A bit breezy today, but completed the job OK. TFTC


Part of a loop we did up to the skyline ridge and down to crittercacheIII

For my muggle companion, this spot was a welcome place to rest! Tftc


This entry was edited by DjaliDjinn on Thursday, 16 October 2014 at 04:24:41 UTC.

Woohoo. 360° views. Swopped some swag. TFTC.

#57 A very large cache full of goodies. The type of cache chidren love to find. Great views as well. Tucked it back under cover as it was left fairly exposed. TFTC

Very misty up here today. Grabbing last few of the Skyline series while on a run.

I was down in Wellington, visiting family for a few days and as the weather was forecast to be good for the day I decided to head out and do the Skyline Walkway - which I had been meaning to do for a while now. I left my car at the Old Coach Road end of the walkway and arranged to be dropped off at the Makara Road end. It was a lovely Spring day for a walk, with no rain and great views along the way! At the end of the walk, my GPSr said I had done about 20km, with a few caching and sightseeing detours along the way, and had found 32 caches! I took a detour out to the Crows Nest and made a quick find of the cache, before taking in the great views! TFTC - a favourite point for the view!

Nice weekend cache!!

Thought I'd be on my hands and knees with the wind that had picked up after my ascent along the Bell's track. Nice sized cage container. All safe and dry and protected from the elements.

last of my 6 finds today. Stunning views. wind was trying to push me off the top. Nice big cache and all good. TFTC.

Who would have thought that after two weeks of terrible weather it could be so stunning today. After a slog up Bell's Track, we really did not want to leave GZ, it was so lovely with no wind and the light on the hills fantastic. We enjoyed this cache. TFTC

The most northern of todays caches. Quickly found then went to the summit. Nice views. TFTC

Found today. Thanks.

Found it After accidentally finding Skyline #12 first.. whoops A great day

Done during time spent on the Skyline series. Like most of the other cachers logging visits here, we too noted the windy conditions. A great view, but a very exposed site.
The cache was found after some looking around, and under, all in order; log signed, cache re-hidden safely.
TFTC found with team cacher Sweet P too
The Turtle strikes again!

Windy and low cloud on the tops today.

Decided I needed some fresh air and exercise, and going up to this cache via a couple of nearby skyline ones certainly delivered that! The sheep on the way up looked at me as if they thought I must be mad (keep your thoughts to yourself on that one please), as the northerly almost blew me over at a couple of points. There are advantages to being solidly built and low to the ground...... I'm pleased to say that the cache was in excellent condition and exactly where the co-ords and description said it should be. TNLNSL. TFTC Decided it needed a FP as it's my birthday and I felt like giving it a present.

Briefly diverted off the Skyline Walkway to find the cache. I loved the stand of browbeaten trees at the track turnoff. Quick find at GZ, although I was almost muggled by some enthusiastic mountain bikers! TFTC

A quick early morning find TFTC duncanw

Walked up from Crofton Downs (Silverstream road). Nice track. Good large cache, put in an old NZ coin.

Nice walk today along the skyline. TFTC. Retrieved TB.

Quite windy but warm climbing up to this cache. 11 of us went up the Hill called TheCrows Nest over looking Wellington, Nw Zealand 250m in height. Wrote in the cache log took out a large paper lip and put in a British Orienteering Biro and a Travel Bug. Wishing the Bug a Bon Voyage on to it's next cache.

Been a while, so checked out the cache with Dianne. Very windy, but cache in good condition. A bit of green moss growing on the outside, but dry on the inside. Dianne logged the visit in the notebook. Pen added and fish removed.

Great cache, great view. Cheers.

Find #1297, knocking off the last half of the Skyline trail caches in the area. After locating the cache we climbed all the way up to the top and admired the views over Wellington on a semi-overcast day before the southerly got the better of us. We sat down near GZ, ate some lunch, and performed a bit of arithmetic to solve the locations of the puzzle skyline caches. What a great spot - thanks for the additional lure of the cache to get us up to this location. Signed the log & returned the cache as found, SL TFTC!

#3905. Last fine of 14 for the day. Great views from GZ. After finding the cache we headed back to the Skyline Trail, and found a nice sunny spot for the last of our lunch. Back on the Skyline Trail we bumped into Tim (of Tim and Jed fame) and had a yarn with him until the cold northerly got too much for us, then it was off to Ngaio for a well earned coffee. TFTC.

Good clear instructions on how to get to the cache - always appreciate that, thanks.
Yet more cows were guarding the way, but we were getting used to them by now.
TFTC.

Nice to be able to grab this old cache while doing the skyline walk today. Great views. TFTC

Great to locate an older cache up onthe skyline. TFTC

Great night out for views and geocaching. Really windy but a great walk with mates. Tftc.

Great old cache and a good size too. Excellent views in all directions. TFTC

Found with Tramper Ted while walking the Skyline trail. Good to visit such a long-established cache. Marvellous views from here!

TFTC - Great view !

Was a perfect afternoon to get out of work and head for the hills!
Decided to see how much of the Skyline Trail I could cover between Crofton Downs and Mt Kaukau.
Had missed the track turn off to this, so had to do a little cross-country at first.
Not sure why, but I didn't actually go right to the top to check the view.
TFTC

Very much enjoyed this cache

A great spot. It took a little while to come up with the cache having looped around to the wrong side after not finding it immediately in the first place I looked.

Nice to find an older cache.

Quick find. All these caches are a great excuse to explore the neat places just off the track. TFTC

A beautiful afternoon so was out for an an mtb ride along the skyline track to pick up a few of the caches in the area. A short detour from the main track and the cache was in hand however stock in the area meant that there were quite a few landmines tto dodge. Cache a little damp but otherwise in good order. TFTC

Superb day today so took the opportunity to do a few caches in the area that we've had our eye on for a while. TFTC

Found this one on my sunday afternoon walk to this great place. Really fabolous views, but blowed me nearly off the hill today. TFTC. Sherlock Hood.

Great day here today- just fantastic. It was nice easy find- coords right on target. 360 views today with the south island looking so close. This was the start of a big walk today.

Picked a great day to do some of the caches up on the Skyline Walkway. All the wind turbines were not doing much at all today - normally could power all houses in Wellington, today powering 3 lightbulbs!! Soon found the cache at a nice site. SL -TB TFTC

Great spot! Got blown all the way up the hill, then found this spot perfectly still and sunny. Lovely.
Dropped off One Dead Duck - he's been stuck in NZ for AGES now...

A very cool view from up there! The cache was placed a little too far under cover for easy access so adjusted that when putting back in place. Cache in good repair. TFTC

An almost perfect evening to come up for this one, fantastic views. TFTC.

Nice quick find, once at the GZ, and sheltered from the robust southerly. SL TFTC

A nice quick find just as the sun was hitting the horizon, and the last of 3 on the Skyline in this area on my evening stroll. Took the slightly longer approach as suggested in the description, which was a pleasant walk, then went back down via the direct route. Only took 12 mins to descend to Awarua St. Hardly any breeze tonight, and fantastic views over the harbour and the Makara wind farm. Magic.
TFTC.

Great spot. Bit windy and misty today. TFTC

Very windy!
[B)]

Great to visit this viewpoint. Awesome day with some low cloud.

Second find on this beautiful evening. Another awesome spot on a day like this. TFTC Cheers!