Whitcombe: History Rocks (West Coast) Traditional Cache
Annie & PB: Time to open up the area.
Whitcombe: History Rocks (West Coast)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Brief: Drive to location, find cache! Small round green camoed container.
Watch out for curious locals, and on a clear winter's day remember to turn around and enjoy the view to the south.
The Historic Places Trust seems to have a great liking for marking historic locations with a large rock and a small plaque. This is one of many on the Coast.
Many a young explorer, adventurer and miner met their death in the rivers of the West Coast in the pioneering years of the 1800’s.
And such was the end of John Henry Whitcombe. Whitcombe was an engineer with the provincial survey office in Canterbury, and was commissioned along with his Swiss companion Jakob Lauper to investigate a route from Canterbury to Westland. The potential for this route had initially been described by Samuel Butler, an early pioneer and farmer in Canterbury, in 1861. The possible pass went from the Rakaia Valley on the east side of the country to a branch of the Hokitika River on the west.
Two years later in April 1863, Whitcombe and Lauper set out from the Canterbury side, expecting a relatively easy trip. They had no Maori guides with them and were not well prepared for the 14 days of bad weather, rough conditions and sandflies that they encountered. They became the first Pakeha to cross by this route to the West Coast when they eventually made it to the coast. The two proceeded to find their way to a Maori settlement at Taramakau, where they tried to cross the flooded Taramakau River.
Whitcombe was swept to his death while Lauper managed to cross safely. Lauper, who recorded their exploits, was later able to recover Whitcombe’s body. He was just 34 when he was laid to rest in a simple grave in the Greymouth Cemetery. The pass that he and Lauper crossed is now named after him.
Note that the locals are very curious, but will be appeased by a scratch between the horns - especially the larger brown one. Please make sure that the cache is tightly in its hiding spot, so that they don't chew it, thanks.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
onpx yrsg
Treasures
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