The Tuia Mātauranga - Pōkai Whenua GeoTour: Whā 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 Pokai 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.
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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.
Ross was the centre of one of New Zealand’s richest alluvial goldfields in the late 19th century, with extensive underground mining and sluicing claims. The town sprang up after discoveries in 1864–65, and was named after the Canterbury provincial treasurer, George Ross. Surface gravels were rapidly worked out, but gold was found beneath Ross flat. Companies were formed to develop underground mines. Although profitable, underground mining had ceased by 1915, defeated by drainage problems. A large opencast pit was opened in the 1990s to recover gold from previously inaccessible areas, and is now filled by a lake at the southern end of the township.
New Zealand’s largest gold nugget, weighing 99 ounces and 12 pennyweight (2.807 kilograms) was discovered at Ross by two prospectors in 1909. Nicknamed the Honourable Roddy after the Minister of Mines (Roderick McKenzie), it was purchased by the government and presented to King George V as a coronation present in 1911. Sadly it no longer exists – it was melted down for a royal tea service.
Very busy road, be careful.
Bring own writing stick.