Go Alice Go (Coromandel) Traditional Cache

Many thanks to Boges who sent me this interesting piece of history about the area:
Following the battle of Taumatawiwi in 1830, the Tainui people were forced back home and were accompanied by the Ngati-Tamatera who were no longer able to live at Katikati. Tapu then became part of Ngati-Tamatera territory, the important fighting chief, the fierce and cannibalistic Taraia, living not far away. Shortly after the return, newly re-occupied Wai-patu-kahu was raided from overland by the unappreciative Ngati-Hei, while the fighting men were away. Around forty women were captured, and placed back to back in pairs, their hair being plaited together to prevent them getting away. But someone had already got away with the news, and the men came back and caught the raiders celebrating at the pa, and killed all but three. These died when a rata vine snapped as they were climbing Maumaupake or Camel’s back, trying to escape that way. The pa site was made Tapu, because of all the dead, hence the name Tapu.

Alice the camel

The track begins at the top of the Tapu-Coroglen Rd. The sign has been removed, but the start and parking area are still pretty obvious. The other signposted track which begins directly opposite is still in use.

There are still plenty of markers to follow, although these do get a bit skimpy in places just to keep you on your toes. In fact the first time I came up here, I got disoriented wandering around in the clag at the half way point looking for markers and ended up walking back the way I came without even realising!

The next attempt was done with both good visibility and another pair of eyes to help with the marker spotting - thanks Scott! The track starts off OK, but it becomes somewhat overgrown as you get higher. It gets to the point of pretty much walking by braille – following the track with the feel of your feet as the relentless cutty grass gets so thick you can no longer see where you’re going.

We sidled around the left side of the first hump, passing one possible steep chute up before coming to a second one that looked more likely and marginally less steep. Indeed, a track of sorts appeared to head in this direction so we decided to give this route up a go. It started off pretty steep, which involved hauling on flax bushes (I never thought I’d be glad to see that nasty stuff geocaching!) whilst scrambling up an almost dry waterfall run. The angle eventually eased and then we reached the saddle in between peaks. Turning left here soon brought us up to a marker post to reassure that we were actually at the right spot. There was also a very old and slightly damp DOC logbook in a rusty post-box which was first signed in 1973. The last entry was 4 years ago - gosh anyone would think this was a difficult place to get to

Only partial views from the summit (continue westwards a few more metres), although there were some good ones at a few points earlier on the way.

The return down the steep descent was easier than anticipated and we only ended up "exploring alternative destinations" a few times the rest of the way back. It took us just over 2 hours each way, with a total round trip time of 5 hours. It took us this long to walk a total of 6km’s! Check out my video link if you want a sneak preview of what you can look forward to on the way.

This would be a good warm-up for anyone thinking of attempting The Worlds Worst Tramp (GC1MR5F). Although 'Alice' is also bordering on being unpleasant at times, and the last steep scramble up is not for the faint hearted, I’m only giving this a 4.5 star terrain rating. After all, the only specialist equipment that you may like to consider is full body armour against the scratchy stuff, and it does at least have a track you can follow. Maybe.

Cache is a 600ml plastic container. No clues required. If the cache isn’t there, the DOC logbook will do.