The Container
This cache is a metal military medical container about 20cm x 10cm x6cm. It is hidden near the Maori rock paintings, five minutes walk from Tarawera Landing at Lake Tarawera.
The Rock Paintings
During the volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886 the level of Lake Tarawera rose covering these ancient Maori rock paintings. When the lake level subsequently dropped in 1904, part of paintings were once again visible, but the bulk of them had been covered by silt deposited by the lake over the years.
In 1962 the National Historic Places Trust excavated around the rhyolite rock face to expose the remainder of the paintings. A roof and guttering system now protects the paintings from the elements and a wire fence has been erected to prevent damage by people. Steps allow visitors to climb down into the excavated area to view the paintings.
The paintings are in kokowai (red ochre) and waka (canoes) can be seen.
The Story Behind FrayedKiwis
The cache container was given to us, HexTheKiwi, by friends of ours, fraygirls, in North Carolina a couple of years back. We have been searching for an appropriate place to hide it ever since and finally chose to bring it to New Zealand. We placed it here in the hope that we can persuade the fraygirls to come over to visit us and find the cache while they're here.
Unfortunately, the original cache container is no longer - the rubber seal around the lid of the container had failed. Because it had been molded to specifically fit the lip, try as we might we could not get a new gasket to seal properly. So now you will be looking for a Systema/Click Clack container.
A Note About GPS Reception in the Area
When placing the cache we used our Garmin GPSMap 60C to take the initial readings and had few problems with reception. However, when we tried to use our old Garmin eTrex to verify the coordinates, we discovered that as we walked straight from the car park to GZ we lost reception long before ever reaching the area of the cache. We suggest you use the large grassy clearing, not too far from the cache location, to stabilize your GPS signal before starting the final approach to the cache.
Bush-bashing is not necessary. The cache is hidden just a short distance into the trees from the clearing.
First to Find Prize
There are not one, but two first-to-find prizes for the first person to locate this cache. One is a map compass which we picked up as a FTF prize from Dragon's Lair (Rotorua). This prize has apparently been the FTF prize in at least three caches now, and it is requested that if you take this prize, you place it as the FTF prize in a future cache of your own.
So since the compass is not really a keeper, we have also placed one of our 2006 Kiwi Geocoins in the cache for you to keep.
A HexTheKiwi Cache