Controlling the Flow (Bay Of Plenty) Taupo, North Island, New Zealand
By Radionut50 and Butterfly_Lady on 22-May-06. Waypoint GCW2JN

I had looked at this puzzle at home, quite some time ago, in anticipation of a girls catch up weekend in Turangi. Today, on my way home I came around to finish it of. I parked up at the suggested coordinates, and then walked down through the park to the bridge, crossed the road, took a photo of the sign and then crossed back so that I could sit in shade to calculate the final position. At that point I realised that I had managed to obtain the solution earlier, I just hadn't updated the coordinates! So off I went again, into the sunshine and plundered my way along what at first appeared to be geotrail but turned out to be the route "gardeners" use to access their waste bags when maintaining this section of park.Finding the cache was quite easy, although there were some prickly or sharp plants close by. The hardest part has been trying to cross the main road with everybody in a rush to get into Taupo to see the sights.

I solved this yesterday without too much trouble... except I didn't; I got two of the digits round the wrong way. The checksum still worked and it looked good on the map, but it just wasn't there (neither the cache nor the hint).I fixed it last night and returned to find the cache this morning on our way out of town. I pushed my way through the bushes then found as described. All good - TFTC.

Stage 3 of our trip is a few days on the North Island of New Zealand. Thanks to all the COs for placing and maintaining caches for us to find. Day 1 Quick find at the Airport when arrived before we headed down to Pirongia to say with friends. Day 2 I spotted a multi in Hamilton which took us on a tour of street art. So we headed into town for a stroll around. After lunch, a walk was in order so we stopped at Lake Ngaroto and walked and geocached around. Day 3 we drove up to Coromandel stopping along the way to see the sights and of course geocache!Day 4 Up early to head eastwards and a leisurely drive back down the coast. Day 5 we headed down to Taupo for lunch and an afternoon of caching. Lovely place to visit. Thanks for the easy mystery (although it took us a moment to spot the bridge number). My first mystery cache in New Zealand.

I solved this some time ago. On my way to Tauranga to play bridge and getting some caches on the way. A quick find. Thanks for a classic cache

Quick and easy. Tftc

A quick little overnight trip to Hawkes Bay and then up to Taup and back home to find some Adventure Labs and to hopefully qualify for the S39 Challenge.Sneakily snuck over to get the easier path to GZ. Recorded the bonus info in case I ever need it.All good here, and thank you to Radionut50 and Butterfly_Lady for the placement of your Mystery Cache.Find #6697 at 27 April 2024 9:22am

Stopped at this cache while visiting **New Zealand**! [^]**My #151st visited Geocaching country!**---This cache was easily found and the logbook was signed.One more smiley face for me in the GEO map.Everything was in good condittion.Thank you for hiding this cache and showing me this place! ---Greetings from ***Riga, Latvia***! [^]**Happy caching!**----------***For a little entertainment, here are 10 Fun Facts about Latvia!*** 1) Latvia is among the worlds greenest countries.2) Its home of the first Christmas tree.3) The Latvian flag is considered by many to be the oldest national flag in the world.4) Country has the widest waterfall in Europe.5) Latvia boasts the finest Art Nouveau architecture in the world.6) Jacob W. Davis, a Latvian tailor, was an inventor of rivets on famous Jean pants.7) The Latvian Song & Dance Festival is recognised by UNESCO as the largest amateur song and dance festival in the world!8) Alexander Laime, a famous Latvian-born explorer. He is most noted for being the first recorded human to reach Angel Falls (highest waterfall on earth), located in Venezuela, by foot.9) Latvians love basketball and Ice Hockey.10) Latvia is famous for being the home country of the inventor of the flavor of Pringles.----------..\*""*.,,.*"",..,*"",.\...\ ------- **MATISONS!** ------- \....\*""*.,,.*"",..,*"",..\.....\......\ /// \Paldies/ Aith / Ai / Thanks / Merci / Gracias / Danke / Bedankt / / / / Tak / Kiitos / / / / Ksznet / Grazie / / / Whakawhetai / / Dziki / Obrigado / Mulumiri / C / Hvala / Dky / Teekkrler / Ngiyabon / / / Tak / Kiitos / / / / Ksznet / Grazie / / / Whakawhetai / / Dziki / Obrigado / Mulumiri / C / Hvala / Dky / Teekkrler / Ngiyabon

We are back in New Zealand to have the holiday we should have had 4 years ago, Covid-19 put and abrupt end to that holiday. We have got a few places earmarked to visit, Lake Taupo, Napier and then Palmerston North.We are on our first port of call in Lake Taupo for a few days. We are with family and friends primarily for the V8 Supercar races.I solved this puzzle several months ago back in the UK using Google. As we were in the area today was the day to collect. Arrived at GZ and I was not entirely sure on how to approach this one as the gate was padlocked. So I made my way alongside the fence to reach the cache. It was a quick find at GZ.Greetings from the UK.Log signed and cache replaced as found.Thanks to radionut50 for placing.Find 3 of 5Total finds 3576

I was keen to solve this one, as I'm collecting all the Power to the People caches. Rattll and I stopped here heading north to Hamilton. The hardest part was figuring which sign to use, I'd started off looking at the wrong one. Once solved, a quick trot to GZ, where the container was located without issue. Made sure that I noted the partial coordinates for PttP. All good, signed, and returned as found. Tftc!

We are visiting New Zealand from Australia with Wilbert67, for a short holiday.We have seen some new interesting places and picking up caches along the way.Thank you to all the COs for their hides

A wet start to the day again. Today mainly Roturoa and Taupe to discover. Lots of caches and adventures! TFTC Wilbert67

Found by Mr CNQ on a stroll this morning no problems with the puzzle or the cache but it was rather nippy for north Queenslanders before 7 this morning. Thanks for the cache. We have enjoyed a couple of days in Taupo learning about the lake.

Quickly found the numbers and short walk to GZ for a quick find. The water below the bridge is a lively colour. TFTC

This was a nice quick find once at GZ and nice to see a good sized cache hidden.Very quiet today no other vehicles in the car park. T4tC Radionut50 and Butterfly_Lady,Civvnr&MissTreadlightly....(UK) Geocaching.com finds so far 11288

Visited during Taupo sightseeing. Thank you for the cache.

Enjoyed doing this one on this nice day. Fire trucks nearby putting out a fire.TNLNSL TFTC

Took us a couple of goes to get the right sign. Quick find at GZ.

Enjoyed getting the answers for this cache, although it did take us a couple of attempts to find the correct sign. Once we got the correct co-ords locating the cache at GZ was straight forward thanks to good hint. Tftc

After having no success in 2021, it was good to change the blue sad face into a yellow smiley. We had to navigate around a group of orienteerers and well have a look at the other caches in this series at a later date. TFTC

It was a few metres down from what ground zero was shown as. GPS is always out by a few metres so don't be fooled. Easy find when used the hint. You don't need to go over the fence.

Time to turn that DNF blue face into a nice smiley one. Thanks for checking in on this cache and updating the final. Redid this morning and was rewarded with the find. Stunning views today across the lake with the snow capped mountains. Thanks for the cache.

School holidays so time for some travelling and caches. Hadn’t planned to visit Taupo however as the road north of Gisborne is closed we had no alternative but a long detour via Napier. Last time we tried to solve this the area was cordoned off. No issues today with collecting the information or the cache. Thanks for the recent maintenance.

Headed down to Taupo for a long weekend to attend the Possum Night Trail run on Saturday. Left Auckland early on Friday, getting stuck in the traffic on the way to Fieldays at Mystery Creek. Soon left the State Highway to travel down to Turangi.

On Sunday I was making my way back to Auckland slowly, as I was attending an event in Hamilton at dinner time.

I had actually solved this puzzle at home before I left but wasn't sure if I would be able to manage to find it easily due to the final location and ease of accessibility. But since it was around 8 am when I was approaching the area I had no difficulty parking nearby.

Tried to work out the best approach, as the foliage was quite dense here, but in the end just pushed my way through the wet leaves. Arrived at GZ and quickly found the cache. Happy to turn this one into a smiley.

Called in for a check after noting a series of DNF logs. The cache location has changed significantly since our last visit, with maintenance of the park slowly creeping back from the edge of the river. We suspect the cache box is still there, but, like the other Cachers, the spreading jungle of gorse and blackberry forced us back.

A new location was found for the final, a new box is in place and the puzzle has been updated.

Beautiful day in the neighborhood. I had all the required digits soon in hand and went off to the final location. Check sum was correct, so I knew I was in right place, but as the others have said the area is very overgrown with lots of gorse and blackberries. I tried punching through in a few logical places but to no avail. Plenty of small cuts and prick marks from the guardians of the cache. Will try again, now that I have the location, though next time I might just bring some pruners lol.

Nope

Gorse galore. Too painful. Couldn't spy the stump through the gorse either, so abandoned the search. Disappointed as this cache has always been taunting me when I come to Taupō, but maybe another time, when I have more padding available.

We (daughter and BALL half of the garball team) are in Taupo on a short holiday/long weekend (daughter works actual weekends so can't actually have long weekends like we are used to). We had just been kayaking on the river and daughter had an appointment in town so I walked here to see if I couldn't solve the puzzle and find a cache. Took me a while to find the signs I needed (more at the north end then expected - would have thought they'd be on the south side too and then found the checksum worked out so I set out for the final. Co-ords pretty spot on but as mentioned by previous finders, not so easy to get to. Finally pinpointed roughly where to head to and found the path with the least obstacles. Wasn't sure I was in the right spot but then made out the hint item and voila - there was the hide! Thanks for the workout and hide Radionut50 and Butterfly Lady!

I have sorted the numbers the day before, but I was heading in the wrong direction so left finding the final for today. Well hidden in the vegetation, and rather close to the edge! TFTC!!

Coords correct but through the gorse and blackberry. Close to riverbank - be careful!

Agree with Invisible13 I stopped here on my way north a few days ago, just on dusk with solved co-ords. I followed a couple of geo trails but found blackberry and a bank that I couldn't see the edge of so passed at that time. Today in daylight I was glad I did as you need to watch yr step well here. This is my first in this series, but will be in the Waikato area for a few more days, so plan a few more. TFTC.

We parked in a parking area on the opposite side of the road and walked across the bridge to get the required info.
Near gz we picked a small trail and were so happy it led us to the right spot. Feeling very vulnerable with hundreds of small pines growing and gorse...cant tell if standing on solid ground or not. Would not recommend doing at night and take care.
River looking incredible and powerful and a cool autumn bite had us red earred.
We've definitely earned dinner tonight after getting all in this series excluding the final. Thanks co

I got the correct coordinates but my gps must be special. I did not find it today. Will try again another day.

A lot of trees have been cut down around cache site and there are no bushes to hide anything in. May have been moved? But couldn’t see anything in the nearby park.

Easily solved puzzle and a short walk to the final. Coordinates were spot on! But I felt a bit masochistic going for it. and yes, definitely NOT down the bank. Watch where you are stepping.

TFTC radionut50

*** Out on our MEGA Roadtrip with Wilbywarrior. Who says this can only happen when the MEGA is actually held?! Greetings from Dunedin, caching friends
#343 ***

Gathered the required information without any issues. Made our way to GZ to find a few fresh geotrails. One took me right to GZ of 0m and there was the cache. Looks like the fresh geostrails are from today! Probably saved us some time searching.
Malinkaly and I planned a road trip to go to the MEGA but Covid has postponed the event again. We decided to continue on with our planned journey making adjustments as we go with the ever-changing travel restrictions.
Greetings from Dunedin!
Thanks for the cache, radionut50
#2586

We were in taupo overnight and I solved the puzzle last night and picked it up this morning. Still very overgrown but there was a faint geotrail which I followed and there it was ! TFTC and the puzzle

In Taupo for a few days with Grandies in the school holidays. Been needing to come here for ages. Today was the day and walked directly to the cache thanks to COs log. Awesome many thanks.

Checked out the hide today, and it was where it should be. The vegetation has changed dramatically, however. I needed to do a stomp dance through some prickly blackberry to get to the waypoint, and then the small stump was clear to see. As described in the hint, the cache was sitting around 1m to the left of the obvioud stump (which is NOT down the steep bank).

In fact the box was not covered with leaves any more, but it is now pretty unlikely that a muggle will venture near, so all is ok.

The blackberry is unlikely to spread back over winter, and we saw a new planted area downhill closer to the bridge.. We will see in spring if a better hiding spot eventuates in that area, or maybe the strip of wilding blackberry, gorse and grass will be cleaned up by the council, restoring easy access to the current spot.

No luck for us, couldn’t find the small stump

Noting the two recent logs, we will check out the cache final location next time we are in Taupo (should happen in the next few weeks).

We are surprised to see these reports though, as the hide should not be very close to the drop – unless the scene has changed, or someone has returned it in the wrong place.

We have been in correspondence with Squirrelinthe middle, (the first cacher who reported a risky drop) to advise that the object in their photo is not the “stump” mentioned in the clue – the photo is of a tree, the stump mentioned is the base of a tree that has been taken away completely. It is possible they had not done their calculation right, or something in the puzzle has changed – we will check that also.

If you are seeking this cache, look for a low stump, and don’t look down over the bank – it should not be there.

This cache is coming up to its 15th birthday, so has had lots of searchers.

like squirrelinthemiddle I to had solved this and headed to the new coords only to find that in the 27 degrees heat the dry grass was very slippery and when I took off down the bank it was only stumpy that saved me so seeing the cliff i could have gone over I left discretion the better part of valour maybe next time when I have a firmer grip thanks Cos

Had a lovely time answering the questions. Got the checksum right, proceeded to cache easily. Found the fabulous stump but too scared to go close enough. Finding plastic box vs falling into river, no contest. Also came to grief on the gorse and blackberry. Mr Squirrel wasn't keen either so we took a photo of the stump. If c/o is happy then we will claim it.

A nice quick find thanks. Old brain struggled with the calculations for the checksum, but I had the correct numbers.

Ms_KR and I are on our annual pilgrimage to Auckland for our family Christmas. Today we cruised from Napier to Rotorua. Please excuse the generic logs, there have been a few finds and they get muddled up sometimes.

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

Out for a ride along the cycle ways with Ms M this morning. Stopped here to watch the water gushing out from under the bridge. We did the calculations guessing the bridge number as one number is missing. That gave us the correct checksum. Cycled over the bridge and looked at the pristine bridge number on that side. Oops. Now I’m one number out. Thankfully it made little difference as we zeroed in on the final quite quickly. Another nice perspective of the gates.
TFTC

Stayed in Taupo over night while on our campervanning holiday. Before heading south we thought we would get this one solved. No problem. The final is rather close to the edge but got it anyway

Great to complete another cache type. Cache all dry, signed and replaced as found. TFTC

Quickly solved this mystery to grab the final just before dark!

Nice view!

Thank you for the mystery cache!

A bit of a false start here as I had old questions. I think I must have printed the description before a previous Taupo visit but didn't get the opportunity to attempt the cache as hoped. I prefer reading questions on paper but I was able to use the screen okay in this case. It was all quiet (and cold) when I visited the cache site and I was able to make a quick find.

In Taupo for the night with Pazza2. A nice easy one to do, though the first sign has lost its colour it was obvious which one it was. After a short walk it was a quick find of the container

Our first cache outside of the manawatu. We were a bit stumped initially, but got to the root of the issue pretty quick. TFTC

I'm on my way down to Palmerston North for a few days of caching. This was a stop along the way. TFTC.

We have gone down to Alert 3 in our Covid-19 lockdown, and Geocaching is now allowed, so time to re-enable the caches.

DISABLING THIS CACHE TO DISCOURAGE HUNTING DURING THE COVID-19 LOCK-DOWN. NEW LOGS AFTER TODAY MAY BE DELETED. THE CACHE WILL BE BACK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Interesting spot and soon got required info. Calculated final and once at gz soon spotted. TFTC and an enjoyable wee walk.

Walked here after eventually crossing the busy road at 1530 rush! We soon found all the numbers required and headed off to the new coordinates. Harassed by a dog not under control of its owner we battled on to find the coordinates spot on! Took a pic of clue to bonus in case required before we leave the area. I signed the log and then I replaced the cache container as it was discovered.
Thanks for placing this mystery cache and for bringing us to this bridge.

After finding the nearby EC I decided to make use of the opportunity to come and solve this little puzzle while my kid was playing in the park with his mom and grandma. He wasn't all that interested in looking for caches today (often not on any given day, either).

I picked up the information and did the calcs, but my checksum didn't pan out. So I did them again, and still I was out by about three -- same answer as the previous time. I think the problem was with counting the letters, and despite checking and recounting, I couldn't see where I'm going wrong. Anyhow, it didn't make too much of a difference with the final GZ, so I headed on over there to see what I might find.

Well, the calculated GZ took me to a stump alright, but that wasn't the right one. This is a rather dangerous spot. I didn't fancy having a mishap there. I also didn't find anything after a quick search. So I put in my alternate GZ based on an adjustment I thought was necessary, and this new GZ also led to a suitable spot. And there I spotted the cache. Formalities were conducted quickly and efficiently, and soon I was placing the container back as found.

I just love the colour of the water in the lakes around New Zealand. Fabulous blues, especially when aerated going over falls or through sluices.

Not sure whether others have also noted a discrepancy in the counted value. Perhaps my maths is a bit dodgy ... Might just be me. No worries either way, I got there in the end.

So while looking for this Cache we also tried the wrong location first. Very dangerous. Tftc with isistibisi.

We already figured out the coordinates a couple of days ago. We looked at the wrong stump before we found the right one. Tftc with jakesrage

I got the information to solve this on the way to Napier but, when I went to look for it, it was pouring rain and I focussed on a GZ which looked very scary so called it off. Today, after confirming co-ordinates with the CO, had a much more relaxed walk and realised the true GZ was a little further along. Still a scary drop off so you definitely need to keep hold of the kids but much more manageable. TFTC.

Good little easy puzzle with good location for final cache.

T4TC

Together with TEMBO! I had a really interesting geocaching-trip today. We could find some geocaches, met some locals and had a great talk to them.
Concerning this geocache I want to say thanks because we had much fun in searching and finding this geocache! The cache made our trip even more interesting!
TFTC!

Out today finding some caches Radionut50 and Butterfly_Ladyi found your cache Controlling the Flow (Bay Of Plenty) this is find number 1486 for me TFTH

Arriving into NZ with Itskate for a little family getaway making our way from Wellington to Auckland with a rental car. A caching / need to attend a wedding inspired holiday.

DAY 3, exploring lake Taupō and a jet boat ride. Sunshine and blue skies a great day outdoors. TFTH

Checked out the cache today, and as reported the last living pine tree has gone, so the hint has been altered to refer to a stump now.

Watawieh from Norfolk Island South Pacific.
We are on a geo-adventure around the North Island visiting family members & relatives. The Pinetree is gone but the cache is still snug under the pine needles. TFTC

#929. Day 6 of our road trip Wellington-Napier-Taupo. It’s a good crisp morning for a walk around Taupo before it rains. I need more “gem” caches for the Museum Mystery, and having found 2 already this morning, I am on a roll. This is more tricky, being a Mystery, but I soon had gleaned the answers required, and confidently set off for GZ, not too far away.

But alas, some dastardly woodcutters have been busy in the vicinity and cut down some pine trees.

Sadly the “living pine tree” from the Hint has been cut down, so the hint will need to be changed. The cache was still in the right place, covered in pine needles, and as the promise rain started, I signed the log and replaced the cache.

Got the code for the bonus cache, and hurried off to the nearest café for a much needed coffee.

Another “gem” in the bag, just 4 to go now. Tftc you guys.

While Mrs Tuolei was at the shops Mr Tuolei and Master Tuolei (aka Albert the geohound) came down here to solve this cache and hopefully find it. Logs and description helped with the tricky bit about the bridge number and then totted out the calculation for the final. Looked likely but didn't add up the checksum - in the end worked out I didn't know how many degrees south I was and all was perfect. By now, was pushing it, so man and dog jogged to final (the greyhound found it easier than the decidedly un-greyhound like owner) who then the thrill of being afraid of heights at that final. All good but in the terror did not grab the code. All that aside, great puzzle thanks, enjoyed it and good spot. Good lord that fall though. Thanks for the cache!

Got to say I was pretty knackered by this point. Cleared over 30kms today and this was the last cache on our way home after completing the Tongariro Crossing. Pleased the puzzle was simple and the final wasn't too far away. cache was found quickly and in good condition thanks to accurate coords and a straight forward placement. Cheers radionut50, TFTC

A quick stop on way home from doing the Tongariro crossing with Philip.Perry and our sons.
This was the last cache of our very long day quickly worked out where we needed to go and a quick find at GZ .
Tftc

Great to see the control gates. Straight forward calculationnhad me at GZ for a quick find
SL TFTC

Quickly found the answers and headed off to GZ before realising there was a river in the way. Back tracked and very carefully retrieved the cache from it's hiding spot. That's quite a drop if you slipped.
DAY 9 IN NZ.
TFTC

Working in Taupo for the day hence a couple of lunch time finds. TFTC

Solved and found, though the clue pertaining to the bridge number led us astray initially as the sign with the bridge number on the south end of the bridge is missing one of its numbers. Once we realised this and took the number from the other end, everything worked out.

Find # 207. Having abandoned the Summer Concert Series as we weren't keen on the last act, we naturally went geocaching. Bring daft and not reading the clue properly, I tried to take the bridge number from the south end. Derp. Once that was rectified, we quickly had the coords and found it nearby. Only a few scratches sustained from the pine tree in the hint! Found with Aros71. Cache is in VGC, nice and dry. TFTC.

Walked 1.71km down to get the information for this one this morning, but I ran out of time to get to the final. Finished this one this afternoon, TFTC. Collected the additional information in case i ever got a chance to use it..

In the area with time to spare, do wandered down here and grabbed the required numbers. Saw the final was within walking distance, so off I went. Quickly found as described, all safe and dry. Guess I have to find the rest in this series now.

Found with Mummypenny today after checking the numbers. Not one to do at night.That's quite a drop. Thanks Radionut50 and Butterfly_Lady.

We sure had our exercise with this one and managed to escape a major traffic backlog too.
Yes be careful grabbing and replacing
Easy puzzle thanks Radionut50 and Butterfly_Lady

Easy solve and find, it was a rainy afternoon so we hoped it wouldn't be so busy, but there was a cycling race happening through the city so quite few muggles around. Thank you for the cache

Traveling back to Auckland after attending the WENZ we parked for a break, intresting bridge and a great stroll just enough to stretch out and a break in driving to collect this one Tftc

Last stop is Taupo
Great puzzle
Long way down

Nice puzzle
ABCDF4 got this one

Stopped here on the way to Wairakei Hot Pools. Good clear instructions made this field puzzle cache nice and straight forward. Tftpc

Tftc. Nice view

We could not find the info for one of tge bits but managed to locate anyway. Quick find at gz. Tftc.

Find number 4160. I saw this one some time ago but never had the time to stop and gather the information. Today I did so a brief walk back and forwards over the bridge I had most of the information. Missed on 1 but felt I could achieve a find without it. This proved correct. Grabbed and signed and this time I noted the information for the bonus. I will have to revisit some of the others. Thank you for the cache.

Find number 4160. I saw this one some time ago but never had the time to stop and gather the information. Today I did so a brief walk back and forwards over the bridge I had most of the information. Missed on 1 but felt I could achieve a find without it. This proved correct. Grabbed and signed and this time I noted the information for the bonus. I will have to revisit some of the others. Thank you for the cache.

Enjoyed the puzzle and soon on my way to GZ. Quickly located the cache and signed the new log book

This time we found it!! Nice hunt

No pine tree at the coordinates so checked the nearest pine tree. 6 of us looking and we think we did a thorough job but didn’t find it might try again another day

Good news, this cache will be up and running tomorrow. New box in place, now we need to get home with a computer to update the waypoint puzzle and go live.

New cache, in a slightly moved location. Enabled.

The puzzle and the hint have been updated to match the new final location, and we are all ready for your hunt.

There is a digger and the trees has been cut. You can’t go to the coordinates....

We had a plan for a quick temporary replacement - but that digger foiled it.

We need to awiat its departure...

large branch has been cut up

This geocacher reported that the cache might be missing.

Taken away 1 TB and added another tftc