Come and find this cache and get high on Tongariro. In fact, you won't find anywhere you can get higher on Tongariro because this cache is placed just a few metres short of the true summit of the mountain at about 1975m from sea level.
To get here, the easiest way (if any way can be truly described as easy) is to ascend the mountain on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing track and turn off at Red Crater to the west towards the summit. From Red Crater, the summit is a 1.5km undulating hike along the rim of South Crater, looping back around to the south.
The detour off the crossing to the summit takes you past some incredible lava rock formations and great views in all directions, particularly over South Crater towards the Desert Rd and Ngauruhoe, and over Central Crater and Blue Lake to the north east.
On a good day, there can be a stream of muggle traffic heading up to the summit and past the cache location, but the cache is tucked away a little off and above the track so you should be able to disguise your activity. Certainly stealth is an absolute must here, so please do use the spoiler images and the hint.
The cache itself is a 200ml Sistema container with a double bagged logbook and a pencil, but bringing your own pen is advisable. Please be careful to not tear or hole the bags or let them blow away. The cache is secure in its hiding hole - please carefully make sure the cache is very securely packed into its hiding spot with rocks so that it cannot be seen and will not wash away.
Of course, after finding the cache, or before, make sure you have your photo taken sitting, standing or leaning on the very top rock on the mountain - it would be great if you could upload that photo with your log!
Happy Caching!!!
 |
WernerMurrayFam |