Bombs Over Kaipara (Kaipara Harbour, Auckland) Traditional Cache
Geocaching HQ Admin: Archiving cache. "...access by unauthorised persons is prohibited at all times." Geocaching HQ Admin 585946
Bombs Over Kaipara (Kaipara Harbour, Auckland)
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Enter Woodhill forest via Trig Road, South Head. Follow Signage to
Waionui Lagoon.
Caution this part of the Forest closes due to weapons practise and testing by NZDF.
Located very close to the Kaipara Air Weapons Range. Nice part of the country, not too far out of Auckland, a good afternoon trip. Cache is situated very close to estuary.
Where there was once an old water tank at the GZ.
Parking at the Coordinates below:
S 36 27.358
E 174 11.980
Due to NZDF Bombing Range nearby, please visit the following Coordinates as it is a long drive out there, only to find that it is closed. (generally Weekends you will be fine)
S 36 41.124
E 174 25.929
At this location you will see by the road side, a large Yellow DANGER Sign. If there is a red flag flying, then Access to this area has been restricted. If no flag, Happy Caching.
Cache is a 600ml Sistema Container. Bush Terrain!
HISTORY OF WOODHILL FOREST!
Originally the coastal land was covered in native vegetation, but the arrival of British and their farm animals led to severe erosion. In the 1870s Sheep and Cattle grazing had already begun to cause problems in many coastal areas. By 1873 James Stewart reported fully grown trees buried by dunes and in the Kaipara dunes of 90 metres tall.[1] Just a few years damage could transform an area from bush to desert. The first NZ Forest Act of 1874[2] was largely in response to concern about the increase in coastal dune invasions.[3] However, little was actually done. In 1880 the area of coastal drifting sands was 46,000 hectares, by 1909 it had grown to 120,000 hectares. In 1903 the Sand Drift Act was introduced [4], but it wasn't until 1913 that the Public Works Dept made its first efforts in sand stabilisation. By 1924 only 65
hectares of marram had been planted at Woodhill. With the problem increasing each year, the great depression came to the rescue of the New Zealand coastline and lands. The Public Works Dept administered the unemployment relief fund, with 80,000 registered unemployed at their disposal they set them to work on sand stabilisation projects around the country. In 1932 planting of
marram grasses began in earnest, with lupins and eventually pine seedlings following. In Woodhill there were 4 camps of 20-30 men per camp working all year around, with supplies being brought in from neighbouring farms and plants supplied from a Nursery also in what was then a barren wasteland of sand dunes. The real pioneer was A.A.Restall, the highly successful Forest Manager at Woodhill, who introduced machinery and processes that lifted the amount of
planting to levels that turned the tide of sand encroachment at Woodhill. Restall's created best practice for other sand reclamation projects around New Zealand, and around the world Woodhill forest has been used as locations for TV Shows and Movies, such as Xena, Warrior Princess, Hercules and currently
Hanna-Barbera's big-budget film version of the cartoon Yogi Bear.
WOODHILL FOREST TODAY! There are many activities and groups that use woodhill forest, including:
Equestrian Park
Tailbike park
4WD Park
Mountain Bike Park
Visit this great place and enjoy the caching!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
???? F 36 27.656 - R 174 11.968
Treasures
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