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Wai Taheke - a bird trap near the water!
Ka ki te piro o nga manu o nga tangata ka kata:
A full stomach causes a bird to sing, a man to laugh.
Listed coordinates are for suggested carpark. Gates to the carpark have a closing time, Some of the pedestrian areas are open 24hours,But not where the final cache is,Access to this area is closed from 8pm until 8am.
Travis is the largest wetland in Christchurch with an area of 56.5 hectares, and is unique because it is in an urban area.
Travis Wetlands were one of the mahinga kai (traditional
resource gathering areas) and used by various tribes since
AD900.
Queen Elizabeth II Park now occupies the land (known as
Oruapaeroa) that was the residential area for the families
of Ngai Tahu who harvested these wetlands. For more information
about the Maori heritage of this area, go to
http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/TiKoukaWhenua/Travis/
Travis Wetland holds the second largest concentration of birds in Christchurch, after the Estuary. Approximately half the total Christchurch pukeko population is supported on these wetlands (around 700 living here over winter). 55 species of bird have been recorded at the wetlands, with 31 of those being native. Birds often seen are the grey warbler, fantail, swallow, kingfisher, shelduck, plover, pied stilt, white heron, and visiting cattle egrets.
For you to learn more about the birdlife of this piece of our natural history, you'll need to use the internet (I recommend www.nzbirds.com or Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand by Heather and Robertson,Penguin Books) or wander about the Travis Wetlands park to find out the Maori names for all the birds named in this cache.
Finding out these names will also be necessary to find the coordinates for this simple cache!
I used the signage around the Travis Wetlands as my source, and they cite the Field Guide as their reference.
What are the Maori names for these birds?
Grey duck
Shoveler
Scaup
Grey teal
Paradise shelduck
Pukeko
Pied oystercatcher
White heron
Pied stilt
Red-billed gull
Black-backedgull
Black shag
To complete the coordinates, count the digits in the maori names for these birds found in Travis Wetlands.
S43.AB.CDE
E172.FG.HIJ
Grey teal: Look at the letters in this birds maori name, count up the number of different letters you see(A)
Red-billed gull: what are the total number of letters in this birds maori name(B)
Grey duck (minus) black shag = (C)
Grey duck (plus) black shag – 3 = (D)
Scaup (minus) Pied Oyster Catcher = (E)
Pied stilt (minus) 1 = (F)
Pukeko (minus) black-backed gull + 1 = (G)
Paradise shelduck (divided by) 4 (plus) black shag = (H)
Shoveler (minus) white heron (minus) Total letters for grey teal = (I)
Grey duck (minus) pied stilt = (J)
Ka ki te piro o nga manu o nga tangata ka kata: A full stomach causes a bird to sing, a man to laugh.
Just a wee note:: If the facility is closed. Take a photo of the nearest sign and email the cache owner.
Happy Caching.
Additional Hints
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Ybbx haqre naq oruvaq, vafvqr