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| Looking southeast. |
Boundary Issues
We aren’t sure why there’s a fence here – it doesn’t look maintained anymore and there aren’t any notable property boundaries around here. Maybe when the stockyards dotted through the area were used, these fences served a purpose. This site is smack bang in the middle of a junction involving the Red Rocks Track and a less known track called “Cliff Edge Effects” which reemerges closer to Owhiro Bay. This is a good spot to have lunch in a northerly as you’ll be somewhat more sheltered than other parts of the track – plus as a bonus it’s got good views of the southern parts of the city and Cook Strait – being roughly 320 metres above sea level.
In days gone by, the Wellington Peninsula was once entirely forested, with the exception of the steep and exposed areas that were susceptible to the Cook Strait gales, which was covered with dense shrub. Forest clearance began in the Owhiro Bay area to the east of Te Kopahou prior to European settlement. By 1900, 99% of the peninsula forest cover had been cleared.
Nearby is the Owhiro Bay Quarry – which started operations in 1908 with the small scale removal of shingle and sand for use in construction sites around Wellington. In 1999, the Wellington Council purchased the quarry, and began a $500,000 rehabilitation project which involved shifting 300,000 cubic metres of soil and rock to recontour the site – extensive planting of native species, realignment of the coastal track, and the restoration of the Hape Stream.
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| Looking south. |
Cache Details & Information
The cache is placed off track beside one of the batons on the fence, hopefully far enough away to prevent it getting muggled. When placed the pill bottle contained a logbook, logbag and pencil. Please use stealth to retrieve and replace the cache, as this definitely is a popular area for walkers and bikers alike.
It’s a fairly simple walk from either end of Red Rocks Track, either from the coast below or Hawkins Hill above – and it shouldn’t take too long at all. You can also complete it as part of the…
The Te Kopahou Loop
The Te Kopahou Loop is a demanding and strenuous half-day 17.7 kilometre loop which takes you to some spectacular sights and locations in Wellington – from peaks to the shore, and right around the edge of Te Kopahou Reserve. It reaches a maximum elevation of 495 metres, and drops right down to coast, with over 1080 metres of ascent and descent each. It reaches a maximum gradient of 55.6%, steeper than the final climb/initial drop on the West Wind Opau Loop track. We completed this track in 6 hours 31 minutes, including stops for photos cache placing, cache finding & lunch. If you intend to attempt the loop, allow for at least 6 hours worth of walking/biking. This figure is highly dependent on whether you choose to walk or bike to Hawkins Hill from the turbine or Aston Fitchett Drive. We’ve chosen what we think is a good method below:
It all starts at the Brooklyn Wind Turbine – where you bike for 10 minutes along the 2.6 kilometre sealed Hawkins Hill access road until you reach the beginning of the Red Rocks Track just before the radome and past the mysterious castle house. At this point you can leave and lock the bikes (you’ll see why later), walk up to the radome, grab the Hawkins Hill cache, and progress onwards as the sealed road turns into a 2 kilometre flat dirt road known as the ‘Te Kopahou Track’ towards Te Kopahou trig, 10 metres lower in elevation in relation to Hawkins Hill. Roughly two thirds of your way along, you can the grab “All Three”, before continuing to your first destination where you can nab the self-titled cache at this location.
From Te Kopahou Trig – you start walking on what is called the ‘Bunker Track’ towards three WWII observation bunkers perched 170 metres above sea level on Sinclair Head. The track condition changes dramatically for the worse, and takes a nosedive with an average gradient of 30%, approaching 50% at times – down to an elevation of 220 metres before ascending slightly, and then again plummeting down to 140 metres with a gradient exceeding 55% - the steepest point of the trip. Remember to pick up “Protecting Our Shores” while you’re there!
Getting down off Sinclair Head to the shore is a bit of a mess – using a poorly marked route called ‘Ribs Exit’, and is probably not suited to mountain bikers, as you are walking through a small stream, mud, brushing past shrub at an angle of attack of up to 50%. From here, you can wander across the Red Rocks coastline to the coastal beginning of the Red Rocks Track, which will take you back up to your bikes. Along the way, you can pick up “Gale Force” on the ridgeline closer to the coast followed by this cache, and once you’re back at the bikes, you can snatch “Red Rocks Track”, if you haven’t already done so.
Be sure to bring your camera with you as there are some spectacular views, some warm/windproof clothing, as it can get quite gusty up there, along with some food and drink. There should be cellphone reception along pretty much all the ridges, although you may lose it as you descend into valleys and possibly on the coastline. Enjoy!