A Bit of History of the Area:
In Paterangi,part of the Waipa District,lies the largest peat lake in the Waikato.
Lake Ngaroto.
Translated into English, Ngaroto simply means "The Lake".
Most of you maybe aware of the lakes past but for those that are not, Maori were drawn to its banks early on, by the smorgasboard of food there Eel,waterfowl ,and freshwater mussels were plentiful as well as plenty of Raupo reeds from which the pollen was used to make bread, they lived on its shores until about 1860 when the Lake was confiscated as punishment for the New Zealand wars by the goverment.
Most of the Maori occupation sites are now in the Margins as the lake level has risen over the years apparently the stakes and posts around the Pa were a hazard for yachts for years until they all got broken etc.
One interesting yarn to ponder, looking out to the southern ridge, the Battle for Hingakaka that was fought on it about 200 years ago,10000 bloodthirsty warriors from the Ngati Toa tribe led by there Chief Pikauterangi from the lower North Island invaded the Waipa with the sole aim of wiping out the Maniapoto tribe and any other Waikato tribes that supported them.
The tribe from Ngaroto decided to make a stand on the Southern ridge all though they only numbered about 1600.
It was carnage, one account was after their battle the Chief Pikauterangi personally clubbed 150 of the captured Maniapoto to death with his Greenstone Mere one after another.
As was the practice in those days most of the tribes treasures were placed in the lake to hide them from the attackers until the threat was over with no one left to claim them they are still being recovered by fossickers and archaeologists now.
One of the New Zealands most significant artifacts was uncovered by a local farmer, R.W Bourne in 1906.
When the farmer unblocked the outlet stream lowering the level and uncovering the swamp,he discovered "Uenuku".
Some say it was the prow of one of the original canoes that brought Maori to New Zealand. Uenuku, is now housed in Te Awamutu Museum.
The Te Awamutu Museum in New Zealand has a large stone said to be inhabited by the spirit of Uenuku.
According to local legend, the spirit of Uenuku was brought to New Zealand by the people on the Tainui canoe, in a stone.
When they landed, they made a carving with a round opening at the top, in which the stone was placed so that the spirit of Uenuku inhabited the stone.
Due to his spiritual significance, photographs of the stone figure of Uenuku are prohibited without the permission of the Maori sovereign.
Start at the posted coordinates of Waypoint 1.
Locate a microcache containing the coordinates for Waypoint 2
Waypoint 2 contains the coordinates for the Final.
All waypoints are out of view of Muggles..which is handy.
The Hotel
