Crayfish/koura are hard to see as they are so well camouflaged.
Often their waving feelers and black beady eyes are all that can be seen.
They stay hidden during the day, moving around mostly at night.
They live in fresh water such as streams, lakes and ponds, and even in swamps.
There are two species of koura found only in New Zealand. In the east and south of the South Island and on Stewart Island they are larger (about 80mm long) and have very hairy pincers.
But koura in the North Island and in Marlborough, Nelson and the West Coast of the South Island are slightly smaller (about 70mm long) and have less hairy pincers.
It lives in fresh water such as streams, lakes and ponds, and even in swamps. Koura shelter between stones on gravelly bottoms but they can burrow into muddy bottoms, and will burrow well down into swamps that dry out over summer, to wait until the water returns.
GPS may not be too accurate due to bush cover - cache is at the "Y" junction where two small streams become one and is at knee height.
BYO pen and extraction device as while the cache is small the log is tiny. Please reassemble as found.