The Tuia Mātauranga Pōkai Whenua GeoTour follows the footsteps of early explorers of Aotearoa New Zealand taking you to places where leaders of the past searched for food, resources and ways to adapt and survive in this new land.
Use the Pōkai Whenua GeoTour as your classroom to explore the stories of the past, in the present, to preserve what is unique in Aotearoa New Zealand for the future.
Collect the codewords to get the Geocoin puzzle pieces.
To be able to complete this GeoTour and receive your special Geocoin collectable, remember to take a note of the codeword placed in the cache. This will need to be recorded in your passport which can be downloaded here.
63 of the 150 Pōkai Whenua GeoTour caches will contain a randomly placed special FTF token (a replica of the Tuia Mātauranga GeoTour commemorative coin). This is yours to keep! If you find more than one, you might consider leaving it for the next person who finds the cache.
The Clutha River / Mata-Au is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast 338 kilometres (210 mi) through Central and South Otago from Lake Wanaka in the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, 75kms (47mi) south-west of Dunedin. The river is known by Māori as Mata-Au, meaning current or eddy in an expanse of water. The waters of the Upper Clutha are clear turquoise, the result of glacial and snow-melt filtering when the water flows through Lake Wanaka. This is a rare characteristic for a high volume river.
Explore the Upper Clutha Track which follows the mighty Clutha River from just below Luggate (the Luggate Creek Track) and further north to connect with Albert Town.Along the way you will encounter waterfalls, ravines, historical sites and the exceptional view of the Devil’s Nook from a viewpoint on the Luggate Track.
Devil’s Nook. The most dramatic feature on the Upper Clutha River is the remarkable Devil's Nook. Here, the entire force of the river flows directly against a rock bluff, forming powerful whirlpools, as the river changes direction. This is thought to be the most extreme high volume switchback in the world. Devil's Nook was named by rafters who piloted platforms of timber down the river to Cromwell during the Dunstan gold rush days in the 1860s.
Reko's Point Conservation Area. Here you will pass century old gold mining tailings and discover the native ecology which is well preserved, with mature stands of kanuka, many unique corridor cushion fields and abundant birdlife especially fantail (piwakawaka) who use the area as a breeding sanctuary in this harsh environment. A descendant of Ngāi Tahu Māori chief Reko who in 1853 guided a farmer to what is believed to be the first European sighting of Wanaka was the guest of honour at the opening of this section in 2010."Reko's Point" is named after the guide.
In 2011 a connection to the Luggate township to the existing track was opened. It is now possible to walk or cycle between Luggate, Wanaka, Albert Town and Lake Hawea completely off road.
The Upper Clutha Track from Luggate to Albert Town is approximately 16kms long, and approximately 5kms from the alternate Carpark, south to the Luggate Boulder Carpark. Your choice to do a part or the whole of the 2 tracks
The UCTT Upper Clutha Tracks Trust are the major project managers along with other support and overseeing from numerous bodies Including DOC.
A helpful information board shows a variety of times/distance to a list of carparks along the track.