You will need a piece of paper (any size above A7) to get the best pictures for this one.
Note open: Dawn to dusk all year round, so not available at night.
There were so many options for placement of the new Virtual. I wanted something around the harbour area which was not too far away from the new Harbour Cycle Trail (Te Aka Ōtākou), which does not already have a virtual and required something a little different.
One of the first places I visited in the Port Chalmers area was The Lady Thorn Rhododendron Dell for a picnic with friends. When I came to scope out this location people were here having picnics, walking the Dell and rock climbing. Perfect!
The Port Chalmers and District Lions Club has been involved since 1998 in developing the old historical Port Chalmers blue stone quarry into a Rhododendron Dell in honour of the Late Lady Thorn, a former Mayoress of the town.
The rock taken from the quarry here was used here in Port Chalmers and in Dunedin City in the 1800's. You can see this rock in the foundation layers of Dunedin Railway, University of Otago clock tower and Otago Boys in Dunedin and at all of the large old buildings below in Port Chalmers including the Presbyterian Church (Iona Church) you passed on the way up to this location.
There is a lovely lookout here and this where you are heading for this Virtual Cache. I always thought it was sad there was no spyglass/telescope to lookout over the boats and across the harbour, so you will need to make your own to earn this cache.
You can make a simple spyglass/telescope by simply rolling a piece of paper or cupping your hand (but the paper gives a better view). Or go all out and make a full scale one.
To claim this virtual you MUST load the TWO Photos:
1) Take a photo of something with your username on it (paper, gps, tag name, t shirt or even your hand etc) with the Iona Church (WP provided) in the background. Must be able to read your name and identify this is at GZ. (If only one group photo is submitted - all team member names must be listed). You do not have to feature in the photo.
2) NO GROUP PHOTOS - Take a photo through your own spyglass/telescope of one of the ships in port or the flagstaff (WP provided).
Below are three sets of photos demonstrating what you need to do;
Whilst the official app only lets you add one photo with your log, you can add both photos to the log by scrolling to the cache page and select open in browser. This option allows more than one photo to be added to the log.
If the TWO photos are not posted with 30 days of the Found it log or I am not able to read usernames you will be contacted and the log may be deleted.
Wish to attend New Zealand’s next MEGA Event? GCA7ZHD Geo Toroa will be held on NZ’s Labour Day long weekend 26-27th October 2024 right here in Dunedin. Details in the link below;
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.