Welcome to Omamari / Naumai Haere mai ki Omamari Traditional Cache
Welcome to Omamari / Naumai Haere mai ki Omamari
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Welcome to Omamari - the place of the Mamari waka, one of the earliest migration waka (Maori boat/canoe) to journey to Aotearoa.
Following the instructions of Kupe, the crew of the Mamari waka sailed the waka to Hokianga Harbour to the North. After staying at Hokianga, the Captain (Ruanui) and his crew decided to sail the Mamari further down the west coast. They were caught in a storm and the waka was wrecked and washed up onto the beach, which was named after the waka - O-mamari (the place of the Mamari waka).*
Today at Omamari you will find a small community of around 40 houses, some occupied year-round with permanent residents and many baches (holiday houses). Nearby Kai Iwi Lakes (geologically rare dune lakes, beautiful fresh water lakes) and the fishing are big drawcards to the area. The beach, known as Ripiro Beach, is Aotearoa / New Zealand's longest beach and is a gazetted road. You can drive on it at /around low tide, but its easy to get stuck and lose your vehicle if the tide rises so best only to go on the beach if you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle and a spade.
The stream at Omamari (runs onto the beach at Omamari Gap) is tested weekly during summer and is rarely unsafe for swimming during that time. Signs are posted by the local regional Council to say if swimming is not advised. This is usually after heavy rain.
South of Omamari on the beach you will find a monument to the first battle between Maori tribes that muskets were used in (in 1809), and south of that is Baylys Beach. If you are planning to stay in the area, you can free camp on the reserve area on the beach frontage at Omamari, or for paid camping nearby either Pine Beach or Promenade Point campgrounds at Kai Iwi, or at the Baylys Beach campground. Going North, there is a top 10 campground at Kaihu, and a great campground in Waipoua forest (where the giant Kauri trees are). There is also a camping ground south at Dargaville.
You'll need to get your feet slightly wet to find this cache, as you need to cross the stream (at the shallowest point its only a few centimetres high) to find it. GZ is in the area planted by Pohutukawa trees by ORA (the Omamari residents and ratepayers association) in 2000. Please feel free to visit and water our small but growing trees, as we try to make this a better place for generations of visitors and residents alike.
You'll need your GPS unit for this cache - there is no cellphone coverage at Omamari.
Arohanui.
source:
*Nga Waka O Nehera - the first voyaging canoes by Jeff Evans (Reed, 1997)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
BEN gerr, qbja ybj
Treasures
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