In the nineteenth century the main route north from Wellington to New Plymouth was via the coast prior to the completion of the inland road and railway.
Thomas Scott and his wife Annie settled at the mouth of the Rangitikei river, setting up 'Scott's Ferry' between Tangimoana and Parewanui in 1849. The location became a landmark on the arduous journey, because of the hospitable inn run by Mrs Scott, which also included a trading post and post office.
Scott himself ran the horse-drawn rope-ferry from this time until his death in 1891, his second wife continuing the service until Council took it over in 1908.
The restored original barge today rests beside the road into Scotts Ferry.
With nearby Bulls capitalising on its bizarre name, Scotts Ferry's handful of residents have created their own “inn-joke” based in part on Thomas and Annie’s historical Inn. They have renamed various properties as varieties of Inn, the verbal humour displayed as clever puns on yellow signs.
Although there is no longer an accommodation Inn in Scotts Ferry, there is a camp-inn ground and it’s a great place for Fish-inn, Shoot-inn, Relax-inn, or even Geocach-inn.
This is the Bonus cache for the Ferry Accommod-Inn Adventure Lab using the derived numbers to
locate the geocache at South 40° 16.ABC East 175° 14.DEB
Mobile coverage is a bit sketchy at Scotts Ferry, so a checksum: A+B+C+D+E = 22