A correction on the quick summary post, we didn’t find 29 caches that day, we found 30!!! I forgot to log one of our finds, thankfully I found my mistake!
Kai_gotti arrived at our house around 10.20am. We left and decided to start finding caches once we were over the Bombay hills. The first cache we went to was a church, GC1BCB4 Love, Peace & Harmony (Auckland). After a few minute search Kai came up with the goods. Actually, most of the day Kai found most of them!
Not too far away was GC1VFTB XC’s Bombay Quick Stop (Auckland). Not only was this a quick stop, this was a quick find for Kai. It’s a lovely little park with beautiful trees and a monument to the nearby school St Stephens.
Now the next cache GC285EM Pokeno Park I retrieved, but Kai isn’t letting me claim it as he said he knew it was there – I don’t know, it was in my hand first… lol
Last week I was pretty good at finding the caches, today I was feeling I was going to be beaten every time! I quickly jumped out of the car to GC1J62W Mercer: Rio Vista. (Waikato), which also had some travel bugs in it. I read the hint and looked in all the obvious spots, but guess where it was – in Kai’s hand! To top it off, he got to get the beautiful geocoin and I got to take Hi Ho Hi Ho its off to WORK I go. I left the geocoin Canada 2007 Geocoin.
Once again Kai got the next one GC1RBV7 Coal, Steam, Electricity! (Waikato) To be honest, I had hardly got out of the car when he came up with it!
And here is Driver Kev doing what he likes most, drinking coffee!
One of the few caches I found today was GC1RB2Q Meremere’s Missing Monocable (Waikato). It’s not really a tourist spot, so it was quickly in and quickly out!
And back to Kai taking the lead with GC2K3WB Rangiriri Lookout (Waikato). A quick walk up the hill and over the fence, and before I knew it, he had it. Kev was down in the car taking our pic.
My turn to find one with GC1C4E2 Mum’s Day Cache (Waikato). The most difficult part of this cache was crossing SH1 (Huntly main road). We are not particularly fond of cemetery caches and only go for caches that in the description seem respectable, i.e. no random headstones. This was the cachers great granparents, and was so out in the open it didn’t look out of place – which was good as we don’t want to be moving around people’s plants and flowers etc. I retrieved the travel bug Kiwi Friend which I dropped off at the event.
Further down the road and thankfully the right side of the road, was the GC2KCXG Sh1 three tress (Waikato) which was just published the day before, damn no chance for a FTF!. Kai found again, I posed for pictures lol.
We needed to cross the busy road again for GC2JK5B Stop over (Waikato). We searched a little wee while for this away and after no luck decided to expand the search area. I came up with the lucky find! The GPS was out about 13m’s but the clue helped a lot.
Our first DNF was GC2EZEC D.E.K.A. (Waikato). This area was full of rubbish and Kai and I didn’t feel like putting our hands here, there and everywhere. After an extensive search we gave up. Later at the event, we found out that other people had found it after us! We did look in the area it was but apparently not good enough! Will go for this one when we return. Here I am engrossed in the search!
Once again Kai spotted the next cache GC22X00 What a coal veiw (Waikato). I searched the wrong one, but I did retrieved it. It was a quiet Saturday afternoon (well it is Huntly so it might always be quiet?), so getting it was no big deal. Oh and here’s a picture of Kev just to remind you what he looks like (hehe).
Kai and I continued walking down the street to get the next cache GC2EZEQ South End of Main (Waikato). Once again I choose the wrong area to search and Kai came up with the goods. On our way out we met fellow geocachers AotearoaForever.
A quick drive lead us to GC2J9KC Old baby factory (Waikato). I haven’t found any for awhile so I jumped out of the car to retrieve this cache – a nice easy magnetic. Surprise, I choose the wrong end again and Kai found it!
As we approached GC2450Q 10, 9, 8,7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….Blast off(Waikato) we noticed a few people at the suspected location. On the way down to Hamilton there were a few familiar Auckland names logging finds for the day, so we thought we would eventually bump into them. Just as we walked all the way over there it was AotearoaForever who was replacing the cache back into it’s hiding spot, hence it didn’t take us too long to find it!
The next cache GC2452Y Loose Screws, Lost Marbles (Waikato) was in a very public location, a little bit, well no, a lot really, in the open! It was a big cache, but did we find it instantly, no! A good few minutes and Kai got it. I left the travel bug Quinty.
Now we went to a nice little park with the river at it’s side for GC20HFX Rotund – As… in Ngaruawahia (Waikato). It was also a welcomed toilet break! I won’t bother telling you who found it, but I was there to sign the log! Here is Kev again, standing behind the beautiful Heritage Trail sign.
I will tell you who found GC2KCAF Bridge over Waipa River (Waikato) because it was me! Nice quick find with no major dramas.
Time was running out before the event started and we had now approached Hamilton, which must be cache capital of NZ! Our first one was GCZYTD Welcome to Hamiltron (Waikato), a quick find for Kai. I left the travel bug FC Arsenal.
The next cache GC27RTM A cracked nut (Waikato) was our second DNF. We all searched, including Kev, all over but just no luck. The one further down the road, GC2AEQ3 A bright Spark (Waikato) was no problem for Kai who found it before I managed to get out of the car (I was too tired to move!)
As we were approaching the event location, our GPS kept showing us all the caches which were so close, but due to the time, we went for two quickies within the shopping area. GC2150H Gone But Not Forgotten was such a big cache for a very public area, well hidden! Kai zoomed off and here I am signalling Kev to take my pic lol.
The next cache GC2AEPZ The Base (Waikato) was another cleverly hidden cache. It looks like Hamilton is going to be a great destination for geocachers!
We finally arrived to GC2HWZN Twelve Days of Christmas (Hamilton South, Waikato). We had such a great time – thanks to Butterfly lady for hosting this event at her home, providing the food and a majority of the presents. Here is Kev with the present we choose on our way out.
While at the event a few of us did two nearby mystery caches – and thank goodness for that as Kev and I don’t do too well with these types!
The first one was GC13MVW Avoid Wires (Waikato). A walk down the road from this cache gave us the final co-ordinations for the next mystery one, GC1M8WV Harald’s Hide (Waikato) which we picked up after the event and Gyro27 (Bill and Amy) joined us for this and a few more caches.
We were losing day light so we needed to add some pace when we went searching. This cache GC2EDDG Even more fitzroy fun!! (Waikato) was a easy find once we got there – one of those cases when you could have gone to the location much quicker and easier, in this case, we could have driven basically not that far from it!
Since we were in the walking mood, we walked another 200+ metres to look for GC22P9R Fitzroy Fun (Waikato). The three of us (Kai, Bill and I) had a very extensive look, but there seems to be work recently done in the area and a few other people couldn’t find it, so we added our third DNF for the day.
This cache GC235EX Not a native tree? (Waikato), Gyro27 had found earlier in the day. With a guided walk to the cache proximity I found the cute cache container quickly.
Up the road to the next cache GC2J4A7 Resthill Warrior (Waikato). Kai spotted it as we approached, and it was actually something from our geocaching shop! (Kev just commented to me how nice it was to see one of our products.)
We needed to get a move on, so decided to do one more cache before a dinner stop in the city. Gyro27 also previously found GC2EDCW Haere Mai Hamilton (Waikato) and he helped me by telling me I was on the wrong side (been doing it all day!) Once in the right direction it was a quick find – by me I think, but I could be wrong!
On our way to dinner Kai kept saying “there’s one there, and another” lol so we stopped for one more GC15T5C Dracula’s drop (Waikato). It must have been a sign to stop as we had no luck, our fourth DNF for the day.
We drove in the city and everywhere was packed, so we ended up going to Burger King. After dinner we said our goodbye’s to Bill and Amy who were staying the night so they could do some more caching in the morning and on the way home – what a great idea!
On our way home we decided to try out luck at GC2KD1T Kids bus stop. (Waikato) which was one of three published in Huntly when we were at the event – thanks psychrn for bringing it to our attention!. We arrived in the dark and Kai found the cache and a blank log! Yay a FTF! Last week the same thing happened, on the way home from an event we got a FTF.
We were a little excited as there were two new caches just up the road, and we felt pretty lucky! As we parked at GC2KD3F Te Whare Taonga (Waikato) someone was at the building with a torch. I though it was a security guard, but no, it was funkymunkyzone! He just bet us for the FTF. Kai and I went over with our torches to find the cache and had to shout out for a few tips from fmz. We found it and returned to the cars for a chitchat when another car slowly approached asking if we needed help. We nodded along saying we were find when they asked if we found it – phew not a protective local but the cache owner eyespyben.
After another chit chat and confirmation fmz had also found the third new cache, we said our goodbyes and all went home.
We arrived back home about 11.20pm – 13 hours later, 30 caches, and 365 km’s. Another great numbers weekend!
Day Eighteen of Month Challenge – tick!
13 days to go…
Geocaching Journal