Mile High Club (Central Otago) Traditional Cache
Mile High Club (Central Otago)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The name of the cache says it all, this one is hidden a mile above sea level. This is one of the few places in New Zealand where you can reach this altitude in the comfort of a vehicle, allbeit, a 4WD vehicle.
The Old Man Range is one of the back bones of the South Island and is only dwarfed by the Southern Alps that lie to the west of it. Once you are at the summit of the range, there is nothing higher to the south than Mt Erebus in Antarctica. When the wind is blowing from the south, it will feel like it.
This is an area that I have spent my fair share of time in and on the day we placed the cache, we were able to make it to the cache site within 30 minutes of Alexandra.
Be warned though, when completing this cache, you are literally a mile up and the weather can change in an instant. I have personally experienced snow in the middle of summer and a wind chill of -20 degrees centigrade here, so bear that in mind when attempting this cache.
A 4WD vehicle is a must, your transmission will take a beating on the way up unless you have a low range gearbox and your brakes will take a beating on the way back down as well.
You can travel from this spot all the way to Bannockburn to the north or to Ettrick to the south from here as there is a multitude of tracks but it is also very easy to get stuck up here due to the mud and bogs and if the cloud rolls in, it is also very easy to get lost as well.
This road is completely inaccessible in winter for obvious reasons, the snow drifts up here can clear 3 metres in height. The road is also a clay track and can become extremely slippery when there is heavy rain falling. The road is also closed from 15th October to 15th November due to lambing.
That being said, following Symes Road to the cache site and back down will ensure a relatively quick retrieval of the cache.
The cache itself is a 1 litre sistema container, well hidden from site and the elements. The co-ordinates are +/- 3m.
The terrain rating is to reflect the effort you have to go to to find this cache, it isn't a park and grab either so a bit of walking is required to successfully find. Bear that in mind when you get to the site, someone is going to have to get out of the vehicle to find and sign!
There are other memorable caches in this area as well, a read of their descriptions and logs will also help you decide if you are up to this challenge.
Enjoy this cache, the trip is well worth it for the scenery value alone.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jurer ryfr jbhyq lbh uvqr n pnpur hc urer?