Maungatapu Murders (Nelson/Marlborough) Multi-Cache
Maungatapu Murders (Nelson/Marlborough)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A semi-traditional multi-cache placed near to a significant historical and tragic spot along a track in the Nelson / Marlborough region.
Getting to the cache:
The cache is placed along the Maungatapu Track which runs between the Pelorus River and the Maitai Valley.
The easiest way to get to the cache is to drive from the Pelorus River end of the track. 4WD recommended although I have seen 2WD cars up here.
At the time of placing the cache, the road between the saddle and the Maitai Valley is closed to all vehicles.
You can still walk or bike the track from either end. I walked from the Maitai Valley road and and back in about 5 hours.
Finding the cache location:
The coordinates given above is the location of Murderer's Rock - more about this later - and not the location of the cache. There is a marker post at this location which used to contain information about the site. Sadly it has been badly vandalised and the information board is missing. There used to be a cache at this spot but it was vandalised and archived some time ago. I found the remains and placed them in my new cache.
There are two methods for finding the final location and the cache.
Method 1:
Take the coordinates above and project 197.5 metres and 50.396 degrees (true) to determine the final coordinates.
Method 2:
If doing projections is not your kind of thing then visit the following coordinates and find the information there:
S 41 18.245
E 173 25.146
A - Time to Dew Lakes
B - Time to Dun Mountain
C - Time to Rocks Hut
D - Time to Saddle Hill
(all times in hours)
E - Distance to Dun Mountain
Final location is at:
S 41 18.CE(B+D)
E 173 26.BB(B+D)
And now for a little history:
The Maungatapu murders were the events surrounding the murders of five people on the Maungatapu track in two separate attacks, near Nelson, New Zealand which occurred on June 12 and 13, 1866. Four people were charged with the murders, three were hanged, and one was pardoned after giving information about the murders and information which allowed the other members of the group to be convicted. The group of four have been named the Burgess Gang after the leader Richard Burgess. The gang was composed of Richard Burgess, Joseph Thomas Sullivan, Philip Levy, and Thomas Kelly (birth name Thomas Noon). The victims were James Battle, Jim Dudley, John Kempthorne, James de Pontius, and Felix Mathieu.
I hope you enjoy the cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Va gerr n pbhcyr bs zrgerf bss gur fvqr genpx. (Zvaq lbhe urnq.)
Treasures
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