The Tuia Mātauranga - Pōkai Whenua GeoTour: Rua 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 you 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."
"Whaia e koe ki te iti kahurangi; ki te tuohu koe, me maunga teitei."
Translation:
"Seek the treasure you value most dearly; if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain."
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a 19.4km tramp located in the Tongariro National Park - New Zealand's oldest National Park and a dual World Heritage Site.
It was designated as a national park on the 23 September 1887, signalling the importance of the area for its outstanding natural features and the cultural importance that the peaks and rivers represent to local Māori.
Ngāti Tuwharetoa paramount chief, Te Heuheu Tukino IV gifted 2630 hectares of the central volcanic area to the New Zealand Government.
The gift included the summits of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu. This gift ultimately means the area is now secure, meaning everyone can enjoy the mountains forever.
Te Heuheu said:
"Behold, beyond are the fires of these mountains and the lands we have held in trust for you. Take them in your care and cherish them, they are your heritage and the heritage of your children."
In 1990 the park was recognised as a World Heritage Site for its outstanding natural values. In 1993, Tongariro National Park became the first place in the world to be listed as a dual World Heritage Site, recognising the spiritual and cultural values the landscape possesses.
Tongariro National Park is rich in both cultural identity and dramatic, awe-inspiring natural scenery. Unique landforms, including the volcanic peaks of Ngauruhoe, Tongariro and Ruapehu ensure the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is considered a world-renowned trek. The track is equipped to handle around 600 walkers daily but on busy days it's getting as many as 3000. Visitor numbers have been increasing 15 percent year-on-year. In 2019/20 122,200 people undertook the Tongariro Alpine Crossing with around 25% of these domestic visitors.
The volcanoes are noted for the frequency of eruptions, all three volcanoes have erupted in recent times. Ngauruhoe erupted 45 times in the 20th century, most recently in 1977, Ruapehu in 1953 (the resulting Lahar caused the Tangiwai Disaster), 1969, 1975, 1995-96 (the ash from these eruptions closed the skifields, Auckland and Wellington Airports and damaged the intake turbines at the Rangipo power station causing over $100m in damages and lost revenue) and in 2007.
:
At the time of writing, the volcanic alert has just been raised to alert level 2, and a 2Km exclusion zone around the crater lake is in place. However, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing remains open.
Treat the mountains with respect!
Respect the sacred maunga – Don't climb to summits or touch alpine lakes/streams as they are highly sacred to local iwi.
- Always be prepared – Weather changes fast in Tongariro. Check the forecast and always carry warm and waterproof clothing.
- Take your litter with you – There are no bins in the national park so always 'pack in and pack out'.
- Use toilet facilities – Check where toilets are before your trip and use a loo when you can.
- Leave your drone at home – Drones aren't permitted in the national park. This helps to prevent accidents with helicopters, respect cultural values and other visitors.
Check the weather before you set out, and dress appropriately.
https://www.metservice.com/mountains-and-parks/national-parks/tongariro
The cache:
The good news is that you do not have to walk the full crossing to find this cache – it is located about 700m from the Ketatahi carpark at the end of the walk.
There is 4 hours free parking here - that’s plenty of time to walk to the cache and back, along a well-formed path. At peak times, you may have to park at the overflow car park, which will add about 1km each way to the walk, if you cannot get a ride on a shuttle..
As you head up the track, you come to a sign to a viewpoint. The cache (an ammo can) is within 15m of this. The cache is not visible from the path, but you will be, please take care whilst searching, and let groups of walkers pass by.
A few metres further along the track, you can see this waterfall…
This cache has been rated as T3 – because there is another cache closer to the end of the track which has that Terrain rating. It takes less than an hour to walk there and back from the carpark, along a ‘front country’ path / track, and although there is a bit of a slope, it’s not steep, or uneven. Someone with a baby buggy could get within 10m of the cache with ease. It doesn’t get especially high (still within the trees), so will often remain accessible when the crossing is unavailable (assuming people are sensible and dress for the conditions). Personally, I would have rated it a T2.
Further information can be found at:
https://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/
https://www.doc.govt.nz/tongariroalpinecrossing
https://www.tongariro.org.nz/