It's been over 5 years since I originally placed a few caches along this walkway. Where does the time go? Anyway, I recently did a maintenance run on them, and realised that the old cache at this location had been archived. It's a good place for a cache, so here's a new one :)
There aren’t many walkways in New Zealand where you traverse dairy farms, forests, pā sites, a military camp, streams and a river in less than nine kilometres. But that’s exactly what you’ll experience on He Ara Kotahi.
The name means a pathway that brings people together, and that's what it does. A 7.1km track connects Palmerston North city directly to Linton Military Camp. A 1.8km route connects the city to Massey University and FoodHQ. The pathway was created as a commuter link to the almost 18,000 people that live or work near these facilities. But its breathtaking beauty and its location just a few minutes from Palmerston North’s CBD will make it a hotspot for tourists and families.
The He Ara Kotahi network has four main entrances: Ruha Street, Fitzherbert Avenue, Dairy Farm Road and Bells Road.
The Ruha Street entrance is near Victoria Esplanade and links you straight onto He Ara Kotahi Bridge. Once you cross the river you can then choose to take either the Linton path or Massey University path.
The Fitzherbert Avenue entrance is best if you are wanting to walk, run or bike the 3.8km loop between the bridges.
Dairy Farm Road is the access point for Massey University and FoodHQ.
Bells Road is the entrance at the Linton Military Camp.
You can pick and choose to walk or cycle as much or as little as you want. One thing to bear in mind before planning your journey is He Ara Kotahi is two direct paths. To return to your starting point you’ll need to turn around and walk back the way you came.
The distances from key points on the network are:
Fitzherbert Ave to He Ara Kotahi Bridge (1.5km)
Fitzherbert Ave to Linton Military Camp (7.1km)
He Ara Kotahi Bridge to Linton Military Camp (5.6km)
Linton Military Camp to Massey University (7.4km)
He Ara Kotahi to Massey University (1.8km)
Fitzherbert Ave Bridge to He Ara Kotahi Bridge Loop (3.8km)
The walkway can be incredibly busy at times, so please employ as much stealth as you can when at GZ.
Please re-hide exactly as found, and report any damage.