Map of the region showing the location of Mt Hawtrey between Eastbourne and Days Bay
Although the top of Mt. Hawtrey is in beech forest and you won't get much of a view from it, there are points on the way up from which the views are absolutely spectacular, with outlooks towards Wellington, the harbour entrance, Gollan's Valley, and the Eastern Bays
View looking over Days Bay towards Wellington on the way up the Kereru Track from Days Bay
View towards Seatoun and the harbour entrance from below the summit on the south side. The hills of the South Island can be seen in the distance
How to get there:
If you have the time, you can make a very pleasant round trip out of this walk by starting at Days Bay, ascending to the cache site, then continuing on to Eastbourne and walking back around the waterfront. Park at Williams Park in Days Bay and walk up the Kereru Track which starts at the south end of the park at S41 16.871 E174 54.457. The track follows a stream for a while and then climbs steeply up a spur towards the ridgeline above the bay. When you reach the ridgeline at location S41 17.153 E174 55.170 there is a signposted junction where the track to Mt Hawtrey and on to Eastbourne branches off to the right. This track is of poorer quality than the others in the area, but it is well marked with circular orange discs on trees at head height at about 10m intervals. The cache will be reached at a distance of about 2.5km from the start, and unless you are fairly fit you should allow at least an hour for this part of the walk.
After leaving the cache site, continue on south and the track will descend fairly steeply. After a bit over a kilometre it will meet with the Eastbourne McKenzie Track at another well-signposted junction at location S41 17.710 E174 54.206. From here there is a wide and well-graded track down to McKenzie St in Eastbourne. Distance from the cache to here is 2.2km. Another 1.5km walk along the road around the waterfront will bring you back to the starting-point.
If you stop and listen at intervals during the walk you're likely to be rewarded with some rather attractive birdsong. I heard both the tui and bellbird and saw a number of kereru (wood pigeons). While I was placing the cache I had an inquisitive fantail come right down to almost within arm's length of me. You may also see or hear riroriro (grey warbler) and perhaps the occasional little tomtit.
About the cache:
The cache is a camouflage-painted 1-litre snap-lock plastic container with logbook, writing implement and a few small swappable items.
Update December 2019 - I have renamed this cache from "Mt Hawtrey Views" to just "Mt Hawtrey" as vegetation growth has now made any extensive views from near here a bit unlikely...