Calling The Kettle Black (Dunedin, Otago) Traditional Cache
Hidden : 4/20/2011
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
4 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

You've looked at Mt Kettle on Dunedin's skyline - now here's your excuse to see the view from the top! You're looking for a 1.5 litre snaplock in an easy hide at a viewpoint on the top ridge, close to the track.

Placed with permission from City Forests. Access is permitted on weekends, public holidays and weekday evenings after 6pm; i.e. not during working hours.

Charles Kettle was the surveyor who laid out Dunedin's street plan, so we have him to thank for caches such as Main Street- George and A Baldwin Attraction. And of course he was the person who hired surveyor Edward Abbott of Abbot's Amusement. It seems that there was no separate Maori name for this peak; "Mihiwaka" was listed and mapped as part of the northern boundary of the Otago Purchase in 1844.

As we all know from our Earthcache education, Mt Kettle is volcanic. It's a phonolitic dome formed in the Third Main Eruptive Phase of the Dunedin Volcano, about 10 million years ago. Phonolite is a medium-dark volcanic rock with a greenish hue. It is a feature of "hot-spot" volcanoes such as the Dunedin Volcano. Drs Price and Coombs tell us all about the viscous lava flows in J Royal Society of NZ 1975:5(2),133-152; see the diagram on page 148.

You'll be able to get to the top of Mt Kettle in an easy one and a half hours, including a detour to See Da Cedar on the way. The round trip could be done in two and a half hours.



Park at the start of Cedar Farm Rd and walk up the forestry road. At the junction, take the right-hand road and follow it to a skid site with empty beehives on your left [4]. Follow the route through the pines marked with fabric ties, across the stream [3] and up the other side until you reach the bush edge [2]. Once in the bush the track follows the ridgeline, at times going around or over some larger boulders. The track is unclear at times so you will need to be confident with route-finding. Sit down on the rock at the top, enjoy the views and the cache!

The southern route is a good track through lovely broadleaf bush, giving you the option of a loop track back past the Cedar Farm Reservoir.

Please take loppers and gloves and prune back the occasional bit of gorse, so the track will continue to be a nice place to go.

Be aware that the weather can change very rapidly. It's safer to walk with a friend. Always tell someone where you are going and when you are due back. Carry warm and waterproof clothing, snacks and drink, a map, cellphone and extra batteries for your GPS.




Cedar Creek track map from Antony Hamel's "Dunedin Tracks and Trails. You should buy a copy to carry with you!

Additional Hints (No hints available.)



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