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 Waituna Lagoon and its catchment has seen a lot of restoration work over the number of years. This multi location cache will take you around some of the areas the local groups have been working to protect and restore the Waituna Lagoon and it's contributing waterways. Please be aware, to complete this multi you will be travelling along narrow gravel roads and crossing bridges with low tare ratings. You can park caravan/trailers at the first waypoint parking co-ordinates.
The Waituna The Gravel Pit Restoration (Waypoint One)
Prior to 2009 this gravel pit was waste land with rubbish been dumped and 4WD ripping the area up... but in 2010 the Waituna Landcare Group started work restoring this 1.5 heactare area to its prior glory.
Today you will see a completely different vista the area has been fenced off, with gorse and weeds been removed, plantings of tussocks, flax and other native plants, tracks formed, bird nests and a lookout built, and the pond enlarged. Park up and take a walk to have a look at the work that has been done and see what flora and fauna you can spot. On your way back to the carpark you will notice an information board with the needed information for waypoint one. For more of the story refer to this link
A = what is the second number in Gay's phone number?
F = what is the third number in Gay's phone number?
Carran's Creek Catchment (Waypoint 2)
Carran Creek is one of the three major catchments for the Waituna Lagoon and is a type 1 water way of national importance as it feeds into the internationally significant Waituna Lagoon and provide habitat for threatened fish. One of the creeks that feeds into the Carran Creek is Craws Creek. In 2008 DOC brought the 2E0ha farmland with the aim to restore native flora and fauna to the area. This will provide a link between the Waituna Wetland Scientific Reserve and Toetoes Conservation Area. Over the 12 years DOC, Fonterra and Volunteers have slowly transforming the farmland to its natural wetland environment. What is the shape of the picture on the left hand side of the sign (C).
Waituna Lagoon (Waypoint 3)
The Waituna Lagoon is on the southern coastline of the South Island of New Zealand. It forms part of the Awarua-Waituna Wetland, one of the largest remaining wetland complexes in New Zealand and is important for its biological diversity and cultural values. This site includes four major wetland types: coastal lagoons (notably Waituna Lagoon), freshwater swamps, extensive peatlands, and estuaries. It is visited frequently by many different trans-equatorial migrating and wading bird species, as well as threatened plants and insects including sub-alpine species.
Waituna Lagoon and the surrounding 20,000 ha wetlands area was one of the first in New Zealand to be officially recognised as a wetland of international importance, becoming a Ramsar site in 1976.
Awarua Bay, in most years, holds the second highest number of waders and a greater number of species than other sites in Southland. It attracts rare visitors to New Zealand such as Siberian tattler, greenshank and sanderling.
Look around the signs to find the necessary information. The Waituna Track is D.5km long and the lookout is 2G0m away and there is an asset number behind the Deed of Recognition sign, it has 2 numbers the same (B). For more information about the Waituna Lagoon area refer to this link.
Enjoy exploring the wetlands and restoration projects in the area.
You are looking for a camo'ed container at S46 3A.BCD E168 38.EFG.