The Tongariro River Trail officially begins at the Information Centre in town where you can pick up a brochure showing its route and points of interest. Other good starting points, (and both are actually on the trail), are at Major Jones swingbridge at the end of Koura St or Red Hut Swingbridge, (see GC5185T Red Hut Bridge. This cache can be treated as a simple drive-by. It's only a short walk from a parking area just north of the bridge).
However, to get to this cache using the River Trail, cross the Major Jones bridge and turn left, (north). The track takes you past NIWA Flying Fox (GC54GD1), then up and over the hill for great views up the river, south to Mt Pihanga and north to Lake Taupo then down to and under the road bridge and GZ. After crossing the bridge, you can return via Taupehi Rd or along the riverside track through Taupehi Reserve to the start.
This whole northern loop takes about 1 hour on foot but as a result of the track upgrade in 2013, it can also be ridden by mountain-bike. Heading north along the east side of the river as described above, the track up the hill is rideable whereas in the opposite direction, (uphill and south from GZ and the bridge), the steep zig-zag track up the hill is a much more gut-busting ascent.
The cache is a small snap-lock containing just the log sheet - BYO pen. Please return the cache carefully so that it remains out of sight of passing muggles and fisherpeople. ALSO PLEASE PUT THE SMALL ROCK BACK THAT COVERS IT - it is the right size and shape to cover the cache completely.