TGO - The Great Outdoors

If there is one thing that the last couple of years has showed me it's that it is great to be outdoors exploring the countryside we have on our doorstep.

This occasional series of 'The Great Outdoors' caches intends to highlight some of the the places I have wandered and enjoyed where I thought a cache placement might be nice. They are unlikely to be park and grabs and may require a long day walk or an overnight stop, so plan accordingly!

My walk along the Paparoa Track - New Zealand's newest Great Walk - is DOC's first purpose built track designed for both trampers and mountain bikers.

It was a long walking day today so the Pararori Hut was a welcome sight. Arriving at around 6.30pm, the hut warden was just about to give their 'hut talk', so I had a quick change of clothes, boiled some water for a coffee and sat down to listen.

There's certainly a lot of history in these parts, from early Maori though to more contemporary times.

Here are some things I found out whilst I was at the hut. As I was tired and hungry my mind started to wander a little, so you might need to fill in some of the gaps yourself. Sorry!

A = Of the total number of countries represented by the DOC track crews, how many are in the southern hemisphere?

B = "...a maze of logs skittled by ex-cyclone _____ "

C = "...it's a very effective way of ensuring a track that can last for _____."

D = "...checking for the presence of _____ before removing any canopy trees... "

E = "Between ____ and December 2017... "

F = "light detection and ranging is a remote mapping technique that produces topographical data at a ____-metre resolution "

Once you are fully refreshed and have filled in the gaps in your knowledge you can spent your time making your own little piece of history at S42 10.ABC E171 25.DEF

Please, when you are rehiding the container, make sure it's held in tight. It's a long walk to replace it!