GC44GEP Puwhenua's Love (Bay of Plenty) (Traditional Cache) in North Island, New Zealand created by tparty

GC44GEP ▼

A cache by tparty Message this owner

Hidden : 1/20/2013

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Located at the summit of Otanewainuku mountain, with panoramic views of the East Cape to Mount Tarawera and across the Mamaku Plateau

Take a 21 minute non-stop brisk walk uphill to reach the summit - or make it a leisurely 40 minutes and enjoy the forest and bird life on the way.
This is a KIWI ZONE which means strictly NO DOGS allowed.
According to mythology, in the ancient times of the Maori people there lived a nameless hill. He sat alone on the edge of the Hautere Forest and was slave to Otanewainuku, the most prestigious mountain of Tauranga Moana (the local area). Nearby there lived a beautiful, shapely hill whose name was Puwhenua. She was clothed with the beauty of the trees and ferns of Tanemahuta (God of the Forest). The nameless one was desperately in love with Puwhenua, however "Puwhenua's Love" already belonged to Otanewainuku.

You may know the rest of the story which results in the distraught nameless hill calling upon the faeries of the forest to drag him out to sea to drown. They dragged him as far as they could before daylight sent them scampering back to the dark depths of the forest, leaving the nameless one "caught by the dawn" at the entrance to Tauranga Harbour. He was given the name Mauao, and in time this mountain gained even more prestige and mana than his once rival Otanewainuku.

Otanewainuku is still regarded as a chiefly mountain and is the taller of its old rival, standing at 640 meters (Mauao is a mere 232 meters). The forest was never logged and so has retained a wide variety of plant species. The canopy is predominantly tawa, kamahi and rewarewa , but large emergent rimu trees are common (a typical mixed podocarp/broadleaf lowland forest).

The forest is home to brown kiwi, robin (toutouwai), tomtit (miromiro), wood pigeon (kereru), tui, white head (popokatea), bellbird (korimako), silvereye (tauhou), morepork (ruru) and grey warbler (riroriro). It is also home to other native animals. The long tailed bat has been identified, native snails and two species of forest gecko have been found.

The reserve area is about 1200 hectares and since 2002 a volunteer trust has been helping to conserve the precious wildlife of Otanewainuku. Of particular interest is the protection of kiwi, and the re-introduction of kokako. To achieve this, a significant pest control regime must be maintained. You will see ample evidence of this as you walk the tracks. Orange markers are used to mark your trail, and the pink markers are the pest lines which you should not distrub.


Area Map	Follow The Sign	Viewing Platform	Hazy view of a distant Motiti Island

From Tauranga, travel approximately 14 km along Oropi Road and turn left into Mountain Road. You will reach the carpark after about 6 km. Cross the road and walk past the amenities to the start of the track. In a minute or two you will reach a sign (see photo); take the right turn to the summit via ridge. This is a loop track so you can come back round past the Kahikatea on your way back from the summit.

You are looking for a 1 litre rectangular camo sistema container with plenty of room for trackables. Best accessed to the left of the main track just before you reach the summit. An obvious pathway exists. Very near to a steep drop-off, so take care.

While you are in the area, you may also wish to find:
Te Ao Marama
Mount Otanewainuku
Whataroa Falls

If you are into Letterboxing (in its purest form) then you may enjoy finding Happy Humpback while you are here