Maungawhau Tea Kiosk (Auckland) Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

nzseries1: Today I went to the kiosk and saw construction going on. I talked to the foreman who said they are building an information centre and cafe in the kiosk. While that's great news for the area and the kiosk, it means that this hide can't survive in its current form in this location.

Once everything is open and construction has finished, I will (or anyone else is welcome to) look at a new style of hide somewhere in this area.

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Hidden : 4/3/2019
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:


An easy-to-find, decent size cache halfway up Mt. Eden - heaps of room for trackables and swaps!
Please replace as you find it, as per the hint (not on the ground).

Background


I moved to the suburb of Mount Eden in 2014, near the mountain, and even though I regularly walked to the top of Maungawhau (the Maori name for the mountain), it took me several years to even notice that the kiosk was there. I was very embarrassed - I had walked right past it many many times and not even noticed it. So just in case any of you are the same, I placed this cache to bring you here! I hope you like it!

The kiosk is now surrounded by tall trees, but as you can see from the photos below, this wasn't always so.


The Mt Eden kiosk in 1926. Photo credit - New Zealand Herald archive


The Kiosk on Mt Eden not long after it was built. Photo Credit - Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 7-A10970

History


The kiosk building was commissioned by the Mount Eden Borough Council, and erected on the northern terrace of Mt Eden in 1926. The kiosk was surrounded by rose gardens planted during the depression of the 1930s, but these gardens have since been removed.

In the past the building has been used as a tea room and a restaurant. I understand the most recent incarnation of an eatery at this location was Langton's restaurant, although I personally never got to see it.

The kiosk now remains largely empty, as the building failed a structural assessment in 2012. From then on it was uncertain what would become of the building. But investment by Auckland Council and the Tūpuna Maunga O Tāmaki Makaurau Authority has meant the building will be able to reopen. In 2016 the lease was purchased by Andrew Bell, who operates the Cornwall Park Cafe and Cornwall Park Bistro, and according to stuff.co.nz he has plans to open a cafe here, however I haven't personally seen any progress on this recently.

More recently, Walter Todd, at the time a twenty year old university student, set up an ice cream stand in November 2017 and for that summer sold real-fruit ice cream out of the side window of the kiosk. I remember being very excited when I first heard that this was happening and I can personally tell you that it was delicious!

Walter and another operator tendered for the lease again for the 2018/2019 summer, but it went to the other operator, who also has a real-fruit ice cream operation in place. The staff tell me that they hope to remain open during winter selling coffee. I hope that this transpires.

The address of the building is 250 Puhi Huia Road. Puhi Huia Road is the road to the summit, but you will not see this road name on any street signs in the area. According to Auckland Council, the Eden/Albert Community Board named the until then unnamed 'private' street in the Mount Eden Domain leading up to Mount Eden Summit 'Puhi Huia Road' in 2003. It is not a legal street but part of the domain. Puhi Huia was the daughter of Te Hua Kaiwaka the great chief of Maungawhau.


The kiosk in 2009, in a dilapidated state. Photo credit - Chen Jie Xue


The Yellow Terror at the kiosk during cache placement, 3 April 2019. The kiosk has thankfully had a paint job since the previous picture.

Inside the Kiosk


You can't normally go inside the Kiosk but it is open for special events. On 6 July 2019, there was an art exhibition celebrating some local Maori art. I managed to snap a few photos while I was inside. I'll be honest, inside was not at all like I expected. I'm not really sure I like the colour scheme they went with but it was much more renovated than I thought. What a shame the building can't be used full time.

        
    

The Cache


It's a 1 litre Sistema, with enough room for trackables and swaps. Stealth may be required during busier times, but often this part of the mountain is deserted. Please replace it out of sight, as found. You do not need to leave the concrete. The cache is not in the greenery. Don't touch the plants!

When placed, the cache contained logbook and pencil, a trackable, and a few touristy souvenirs for swapping.

I would recommend you come to get it at sunset - the view of the sunset from the lower carpark near the kiosk is spectacular (as it also is further up at the summit). There are toilets nearby. You can drive right up to the cache - the kiosk has its own car park. But...

Do not get your car locked in the domain!


Access: Pedestrians can enter the domain at any time, but the gate is only open for cars from 7am-8.30pm in summer and 7am-7pm in winter, aligning with daylight saving. The gate is locked on time, every time. You think that it won't happen to you, but it will! Every time I walk along past the entrance to the domain after dusk, I see a handful of cars stuck on the wrong side of the gate, wondering what to do next to free their car. You have been warned!

Each individual cacher must sign the logbook - any logs here without a corresponding entry in the logbook may be deleted.

FTF: supernannny
2TF: kiwicouple
3TF: merlot58 & Jag50

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Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Haqrearngu orfvqr gur yvtug. Cyrnfr ercynpr nf sbhaq.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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