This cache is located towards the summit of Hirakimata (Mt Hobson). The Palmers Track trailhead begins on Whangapoua Hill/Aotea Rd, climbing through the Windy Canyon with extensive views either side of Okiwi and Kaitoke. The track then follows the ridge and climbs steeply to the summit through unlogged, mature subalpine forest. You are looking for a regular sized sistema container with a logbook, pen and plenty of swag. There is no need to leave the track to retrieve the cache. At GZ take a glimpse below the track to view the remnants of what once towered high above the canopy. This cache is placed as A Tribute to A Fallen Giant.
Kauri are among the world's mightiest trees, growing to more than 50 metres tall, with trunk girths of up to 16 metres and living for more than 2000 years. Kauri forests once covered 1.2 million hectares from the Far North of Northland to Te Kauri, near Kawhia and were common when the first people arrived around 1000 years ago.
Great Barrier Island was initially exploited for its minerals and kauri trees and saw only limited agriculture. The kauri forests were logged with increasing intensity between the 1880s and early 1930s. Many walking tracks throughout the island follow old kauri logging and milling tramway routes.
Kauri dieback
Kauri dieback is a serious threat to kauri in the upper North Island. Symptoms of the disease include yellowing leaves, dead branches, lesions that bleed resin over the lower two metres of the trunk, and eventually the death of the tree.
The only way we can help is by stopping the spread of the disease from infected trees to healthy trees. The disease can be carried in soil and on your footwear, when walking near kauri trees.
What can we do to save our kauri forests?
• Make sure shoes, tyres and equipment are cleaned to remove all visible soil and plant material before AND after visiting kauri forest.
• Use cleaning stations installed on major tracks. Scrub to remove all soil and spray with disinfectant provided.
• Stay on the track and off kauri roots.
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