Your visit here starts at a significant grave of an early Taranaki pioneer, introduce you to the Biblical Garden and possibly walk the Labyrinth.
You will need to pick up some information along the journey to find the Final resting place of the geocache. The total distance is less than a hundred metres - the distance and hide should be achievable by a wheelchair-bound cacher
The first waypoint is the grave of William King Hulke, an early Taranaki entrepreneur who established the Union mill on Queen Street, next to the Mangaotuki stream which turned the waterwheel, and a steam flour mill in Currie Street, known as the Egmont Mill (we know it now as The Mill). But what Hulke is most famous for is introducing the Jersey cow breed to Taranaki farming. Bred in New Zealand from Channel Island (Jersey) stock, Jenny was purchased in Marton, but with no way to transport her to New Plymouth, Hulke walked her here. Jenny turned out to be a champion milk producer, and from her calves Jersey herds soon outranked all others in Taranaki.
There is a plaque placed on Hulke's grave by the Associated Taranaki Jersey Cattle Clubs (ATJCC), recognising Hulke and Jenny's contribution to the dairy industry. There are three numbers on this plaque, and the information for the next waypoint is to be found from the digits in those numbers...
The first number is the year the breed was established in Taranaki
The second number is the distance of Jenny's journey
The third number is the year the ATJCC placed the plaque on the grave
The second waypoint can be found at S 39° 02.ABC E 174° 08.DEF where
A = 3rd digit of distance
B = 4th digit of ATJCC
C = 3rd digit of breed
D = 2nd digit of breed
E = 2nd digit of distance
F = 4th digit of breed
The second waypoint will introduce you to the Labyrinth and the Biblical Garden. When you walk a Labyrinth you are making a pilgrimage or journey. Such a pilgrimage is found in religious traditions in various forms all over the world. This labyrinth is a copy of the one found in Chartres Cathedral in France. It is not a maze. There are no false turns or dead ends that make you get lost. The winding path you follow becomes a metaphor for your own spiritual journey. It is like the twists and turns of our journey in life.
There are three stages of the walk. Walking in: allowing yourself to be free to receive fresh insights about your life.
The Centre: staying as long as you like; sitting down if you wish. Recognising this to be a place of rest, of meditation and of prayer.
Walking out: gaining energy and focus, a sense of connection with the God you understand and with others who journey and work for a better world.
The Biblical Garden has been planted with trees and plants that can be found in the Bible. The biblical references will lead you to the Final location
where the cache can be found at S 39° 0R.STU E 174° 0W.XYZ and where
R = Apple Chapter
S = Rose Verse
T = Palm Verse - Fig Chapter
U = Flax Verse - Olive Verse
W = Olive Chapter
X = Flax Verse - Grapes Verse
Y = Apple Verse
Z = Palm Chapter - Almond Chapter
The cache is a camouflaged flat construction ("Thank you nufrat"). Please treat it with care and replace carefully, leaving it as you found it.