Gone Native - Manuka (Wellington) Traditional Cache
Gone Native - Manuka (Wellington)
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The hills behind Eastbourne have a number of tracks, and some beautiful views of Wellington and the harbour. They support a diverse mix of native plant communities, containing some of New Zealand’s rarest and most endangered plant species. In addition, the forest is an important bird refuge supporting most of the region’s forest bird species including tui, bellbird, grey warbler, fantail, silvereye, rifleman, pied tit, shining cuckoo, New Zealand pigeon, whitehead and morepork.
The Gone Native - Manuka cache is placed in amongst a good stand of manuka about two thirds the way up the McKenzie track. Manuka is common in this area, and throughout New Zealand as well as South East Australia as it is native to both areas. It is a prolific scrub-type tree and is often one of the first species to regenerate on cleared land.
Also known as tea tree, it typically grows to 2–5 metres tall and can be confused with Kanuka which can grow into a moderately sized tree, up to 15 metres in height. The main difference between the two is in the foliage. Manuka has a prickly leaf as opposed to Kanuka which has a soft leaf.
Manuka products have high antibacterial potency for a limited spectrum of bacteria and are widely available in New Zealand and Australia. Similar properties led the Maori to use parts of the plant as natural medicine.
The cache is tucked away out of sight about 5 metres off the Southern side of the track. There is no need to "bush bash" your way to the site - please leave the area and cache as you found them. A small treat awaits the FTF, along with some "dummy hides" made up by the EU crew!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Va n qrnq aba angvir - ybbx bire naq haqre.
Treasures
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