Funky Kohekohe (Wellington) Traditional Cache
Funky Kohekohe (Wellington)
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Situated in Raroa Reserve, Pukerua Bay, this area contains a grove of Kohekohe. At certain times of the year (particularly June/July) you will see this tree flowering. So whats so special about Kohekohe?
First, unlike many other trees, Kohekohe flowers sprout from the trunk and branches. This feature is known as cauliflory and it’s believed to be an adaptation to pollination and seed dispersal by animals that can’t fly or insects living at the ground level.
Second, Kohekohe trees do not flower every year. Blooming generally occurs during early winter and after pollination of the flowers has occurred fruits will take up to 15 months to ripen. Thus, you will not see flowers on trees that are currently fruiting or vice versa.
Third, Kohekohe is the only representative in New Zealand of the tree genus Dysoxylum which is otherwise only found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world.
Fourth, Kohekohe was one of the first trees collected in the country by the scientists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander during the first trip of Captain James Cook to New Zealand in 1768. The very first sample of Kohekohe can be found in a collection at Te Papa. This specimen is over 240 years old!
Kohekohe trees were once common in coastal and lowland forests of New Zealand. Nowadays, their number has been reduced due to habitat destruction and damage by possum
Look out for Kohekohe on your way to the cache.
The Tramper Ted team have been meaning to place a cache in this reserve for some time, so here it is. No small container either, a decent sized cache with the usual trade items and room for trackables. Co-ordinates were giving about 6 m accuracy under the tree cover, but the cache site should be fairly obvious.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Snyyra gerr, ebbgf.