Maungatua (Otago) Traditional Cache
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A 2.3L cache located on the Maungatua Range, above the bushline. Access from the end of Grainger Road.
One for the true geocachers out there who enjoy a good steep walk and hopefully a track they haven't encountered before.
You may park at the end of Grainger Road, somewhat back from a closed gate. Don't be confused if you are using Google Maps as it seems to show that Grainger Road links up with Curie Road (it doesn't in reality).
After going through the gate (watch out for horses), head towards the closest pylon. You should see a gap in the gorse and this will lead you into the DOC reserve itself. I assume that this is a public accessway.
After a while you should arrive at a stile and a DOC sign. It is then uphill all the way (there is a stream to cross not too far from the sign). Keep a look out for road markers and orange triangles that mark this route. The bottom section is nearly overgrown in places but just keep heading uphill.
When the route finally gets close to the bushline at the top it makes a sharp right turn and runs more or less parallel to the bushline, before finally coming out at a spot marked by a white marker. One tree on the edge of the bush will have an orange marker. You aren't too far from GZ and if you climb a bit further up the ridge you can take in the views.
I had originally intended to put the cache at the summit of Maungatua, but got stuck in a whole bunch of gorse and dense bracken. So I turned back and ended up finding a much easier route I should have taken from the bushline.
You are looking for a 2.3L snaplock container with a black lid. FTF can feel free to take something with no swaps. It took me about an hour to get to GZ.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Va gur urneg bs n synk, nobhg 15z sebz gerr jvgu znexre anvyrq gb vg.
Treasures
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