The Tuia Mātauranga GeoTour is about having fun discovering the history of Aotearoa New Zealand by finding sites of significance in local communities from early Pacific voyaging and migration, European settlement to present day. The interaction between people, and people and the land have provided a rich history that the GeoTour invites you to explore.
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To be able to complete this Geotour and receive your special geocoin, remember to take a note of the codeword on the log book of the cache. This will need to be recorded in your passport which can be downloaded from here. If the passport is unavailable for any reason just keep a note of the codeword and try again later.
Mana Island, 2 miles off the coast of Titahi Bay, covers an area of about 2,000 acres. Sometimes known as Table Island because of its formation, the island is said to have got its name from Kupe who, to commemorate his safe crossing from Rarotonga to New Zealand, named it “Te Mana-o-Kupe-ki-Aotearoa” (the ability of Kupe to cross the ocean to Aotearoa). In early days the island was also called Warspite Island by the Pakeha, presumably after HMS Warspite, which passed through Cook Strait in 1827. Lieutenant James Cook noted the island in 1767 but gave it no name in his Journal.
In 1836 Joseph Toms built a permanent whaling station at Parramatta (now Paremata) Point near the present railway bridge. Toms also owned 160 acres of what is now Titahi Bay township. On 10 October 1839 Captain William Hays bought the whole of the Porirua basin, excluding Cooper's and Tom's portions, for goods to the value of £1,950. The road to this cache bears Toms' name.
There is plenty of parking on Toms Road. Walk down towards the beach and the Surf-life saving club. Shortly before the beach, turn left and head along a concrete path at the edge of the beach. Extreme stealth may be required at times, the area is popular with people and dog walkers, and you may have problems parking if there is an event on at the Surf club.
The cache was a 1l Sistema box, however after repeated mugglings (sorry, what seemed like a good location turned out not to be so), I have changed it to a bison tube, attached to a wooden post, which should last somewhat better. Unfortunately, there is now no room for trackables, and you will need to bring your own pen.
The logsheet has the codeword needed to complete the GeoTour written on it.