The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for 425 kilometres (264 mi) through the North Island. It rises in the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake. It then drains Taupo at the lake's northeastern edge, creates the Huka Falls, and flows northwest through the Waikato Plains. It empties into the Tasman Sea south of Auckland, at Port Waikato. It gives its name to the Waikato Region that surrounds the Waikato Plains River Course The river starts in the form of many small streams on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu.
The Mangatoetoenui Glacier (once also called the Waikato Glacier) is one of the principal sources. The southernmost tributary is called the Upper Waikato Stream. The Waipakihi River joins the Waikato from the Kaimanawa Mountains to the west. From the point where the river meets the Waihohonu Stream, down to Lake Taupo, it has been formally named the Tongariro River since 1945. The Poutu Stream joins from Lake Rotoaira to the east, as a tributary of the Tongariro, which flows northward, with State Highway 1 in parallel, through the town of Turangi, and into the southern side of Lake Taupo. Extensive engineering of lakes, tunnels and canals are used to generate hydroelectric power in the Tongariro Power Scheme.
The Waikato River flows out of Lake Taupo at the town of Taupo in Tapuaeharuru Bay at the northeast end of the lake. It flows northeast past the town, alongside State Highway 1, to the Huka Falls. State Highway 5 runs more or less parallel to the river as it flows further northeast. About 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the lake, the river flows west and into the southern end of Lake Ohakuri. It exits from the northwest end of that lake and flows west through the small Lake Atiamuri and into the long east–west oriented Lake Whakamaru, with State Highway 30 following its course. It passes northwest through Lake Maraetai and Lake Waipapa, where it is joined by the Waipapa River, then north through Lake Arapuni and into Lake Karapiro. Pokaiwhenua Stream joins the river in Lake Karapiro. Nine hydroelectric power stations at eight dams extract energy from the river between Taupo and Karapiro. All the lakes in this stretch of the river (apart from Lake Taupo) are artificial. The river leaves the Volcanic Plateau at Karapiro, where it emerges from the Maungatautari Gorge, and flows northwest into the Waikato Basin, flowing through the towns of Cambridge, Hamilton, and Ngaruawahia. It is joined by its largest tributary, the Waipa River, at Ngaruawahia. It then flows north through the Taupiri Gorge to enter the lower Waikato region. Further north is Huntly and then Meremere, where the Whangamarino and Maramarua Rivers join it. From Mercer, where the Mangatawhiri River joins it, the Waikato flows west and southwest.
Just before its mouth at Port Waikato, the Araroa River joins from the north. Numerous small islands lie in the long, thin delta of the river as it passes through low-lying swampy land between Meremere and the coast, the largest of which is Motutieke Island. There are also over 40 islands between Ngaruawahia and Tuakau, depending on the level of the river. Maurea Islands, just south of Rangiriri were subject to a restoration trial to test comparative weed treatments, the main weeds being alder and yellow flag iris. In prehistoric times, the Waikato's course has occasionally shifted to flow north through the Hinuera Gap into the Firth of Thames and from there into the Hauraki Gulf. The most recent occasion this is known to have occurred ended some 20,000 years ago, although it is possible that it also flowed north more recently, until about 1800 years ago. A remnant of this former course can be seen as a spur on Lake Karapiro to the south of the settlement of Piarere.
The river's current course is largely the result of the massive Hatepe (Taupo) volcanic eruption of 180 AD. The mean discharge of the Waikato River is 340 cubic metres per second (12,000 cu ft/s), with the highest flows typically occurring in July and August. Specific mean annual floods are low (60-70 L s-1 km-2), and the frequency of events with greater than 3 times the median flow is 0.4 events / year, due to flow regulation and groundwater storage in pumice. Thanks to Wikipaedis for this information.
Logging Requirements.
1. Go to the listed co-ordinates. Take a photo of the Carved pole and include either yourself or Geocaching paraphernalia.
2. Email the answer to the following question. There is a sign nearby. What is the First line of the sign. The line with the large letters. You can remove the 1st 2 words of this sign.Also on that sign is a .txt number. The email address is the first line Title with the txt number @gmail.com (for example theman12345@gmail.com)Add your username to the subject line
3. You should get a reply almost immediately if your answer is correct. Then you can log your find with the photo you took. Please no answers attached to the logs. No photo of the sign thanks. I hope you enjoy your time at this lovely peaceful location. Feel free to explore the nearby sand dunes and please follow the signs
4. Each person in a group needs to send the email generated visiting the site.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.