The Basin Reserve is situated in a north-south valley between the ridges of Mt Victoria and Mt Cook. Wellington’s early town plan, prepared by Francis Molesworth in 1841, made allowance for a canal leading from Wellington Harbour to an inland harbour at the Basin Reserve. This was abandoned after the 1855 earthquake lifted up the land.
In 1857, some cricket enthusiasts secured the area as a recreation reserve. It took some time before the ground was ready for cricket, and the first game was played in 1868. A grandstand was also built in that year.
Although it began its life as a peaceful recreational area for the developing city of Wellington, the Basin Reserve is now surrounded by key arterial routes (including SH1). The Basin, and the adjacent Mt Victoria Tunnel, now act as a bottleneck during peak hour traffic. As part of its longterm planning to improve traffic flow between Ngauranga and the Airport, the NZTA has proposed to construct a flyover bridge between Buckle Street and the Mt Victoria Tunnel for westbound SH1 traffic. Eastbound traffic would continue to use the current route at street level.
Naturally, the proposed flyover has been the subject of considerable controversy. The Architecture Centre proposed an alternative labelled Option X, which would have involved a tunnel under Buckle St. The NZTA estimated that option X would have cost at least $200m, and it was ultimately rejected by the council.
Detailed design of the transport improvements around the Basin, including the flyover, are scheduled for mid-2013, with construction planned to begin in 2014/15 and take two or three years to complete. For more information, go to the NZTA's Transport Improvements around the Basin Reserve page.
The cache is a camoed nano containing only a log book, so you will have to bring your own pen. You will need to be stealthy due to the constant flow of traffic. You can access the cache without trampling on any of the newly-planted shrubs.