This is a Virtual cache, there is no logbook to sign. Answer the questions via Messenger, and I’ll reply within a day or so with permission to log.
Whitireia Park is a headland with commanding views over Mana Island and Porirua Harbour. The park comprises around 180 hectares of predominantly open space grasslands with some native bush.
It was one of the first areas outside Wellington that I explored when we came to New Zealand 19 years ago, and has remained a favourite of mine ever since. The views from here are among the best in Wellington, you can see over the Harbour, across to Mana Island, and on a clear day the South Island feels almost close enough to touch!
Porirua Harbour is rich in history, and Whitireia is a site which has particular significance to Maori.
It is reputed that Kupe landed at Komangarautawhiri, a point just south of Titahi Bay and while his canoe was left unattended, it floated away on the outgoing tide only to return on the incomng tide.some hours later and come ashore at Onehunga Bay on Whitireia Peninsula.
Kupe was so relieved that he left his anchor stone, named Maungaroa, at Onehunga Bay to mark the spot and it lay there for many years before being taken to Ngati Toa Domain and later to the National Museum. The stone was respected by Maori tribes over the centuries, but during the 1840s British troops stationed at Porirua broke chips off it. When some of them later drowned in the harbour it was seen by some Maori as punishment for their act of sacrilege.
A monument commemorating Kupe's anchor stone can be found at the Onehunga Bay car park, and is the second waypoint to be visited as part of this virtual.
Ngati Toa trace their ancestry to the Tainui people who migrated from Kawhia down the West Coast and settled in the Porirua area, after discovering the coastal and harbour waters to be equally as rich in sea food as their original home. The coastal area directly opposite Mana Island has long been known to the Ngati Toa people as a larder of kaimoana (seafood) and from earliest times through to the present day people have fished the waters and gathered kina, paua, and kuku along the coast.
Although seafoods were plentiful, New Zealand in its natural state was sparsely endowed with edible plants and bracken fern become the chief vegetable food of the Maori. However, kumara was a preferred food and great efforts were made to cultivate it, which in turn lead to considerable modification of the soil and landform. Whitireia was a favourable site for kumara cultivation and the northern faces of the park show considerable and valued evidence of this activity. Although there is some disagreement on what species of potato was grown there it is more certain that Whitireia was considered a strategic site by Te Rauparaha for commerce with the early Europeans.
From the mid-1820s the area was dominated by the Ngati Toa tribe of Te Rauparaha who had come south from Kawhia and conquered the area.
Evidence of kumara-growing terraces above the cliffs, can still be seen today.
Just a couple of things to watch out for…
- There is only one road through the area, and much of it is narrow, twisty, and in parts steep. Take it slowly, keep a watch for cars coming the other way, and be prepared to pull over and let them past.
- The gates to the park close automatically at 6pm in winter, 8pm in summer. You don’t want to get locked in! Of course you can walk in if you would prefer.
- There is no overnight camping permitted. There is a Total Fire Ban all year round, and Fireworks are prohibited.
- Dogs are welcome but must be kept under control at all times. Onehunga Bay is a dogs on lead area.
To log this virtual:
1) Visit the posted coordinates. Enjoy the views, take in the history, and post a picture of yourself, with your preferred view. If you don’t want to include yourself, that’s fine, just post a picture showing your geocaching name, and the date visited.
2) Tell me how many toes the carved figure at the top of the Pou whenua has.
3) Head down to Onehunga Bay, find the replica anchor stone at the coordinates provided, and tell me the date on the plaque. Send me this information through the Geocaching Message facility, I will confirm whether your answers are correct, and you may then log this virtual as found.
If you are caching as part of a Group/Team, I am happy for one person to send me the answers on behalf of the Group/Team, IF they list the caching names of ALL those they are submitting the answers for.
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.