I had been looking at doing a trip to this unnamed peak on the East Whakanui Track for a while, and what better way to claim it than to place a cache on it. So, henceforth it shall be known (at least to me) as Mount Aidanator.
NOTE: Getting this cache requires a minimum of 12km walking up a steep, rough tramping track. Take adequate food/water, ensure the weather is suitable, and tell someone where you are going.
Getting There
The easiest way of getting there is:
- Park at the end of Sunny Grove
- Make your way up to the ridge line via the Whakanui Track
- At the intersection of Mckerrow and Whakanui Tracks, continue along the Whakanui track for about 100m
- The trail split into the East Whakanui and Whakanui Tracks here. Follow the blue triangles for the East Whakanui track, until you get to the cache. It is about 6km to the cache from Sunny Grove.
Note that the East Whakanui Track is not an official DOC track, but is well used by trappers. I found the track quite easy to follow, and it is well marked with Blue triangles (and the occasional orange triangle).
Once you reach the cache you can head back the way you came, or follow the track down the the Orongorongo River (Getting Whakanui 444 cache along the way). Note the last ~100 metres down to the river is very steep. Once at the river, cross the Whakanui stream, and either
- Head back to the Catchpool Carpark via Big Bend Track and Orongorongo Track. Will need to be picked up or park a car here.
- Head up and get the caches on Mckerrow via Big Bend and Mckerrow Track ~26km loop to Sunny Grove.
- Head back up the Whakanui track ~21km loop, to Sunny Grove. This is the way I went when placing the cache, it took me about 7 hours at a moderate pace, 5 hours moving time, with 1450m of total elevation gain.
The Cache
The cache is a 1L pill bottle, with a pencil, log and a couple other goodies when placed. It is just off the trail, and should be a fairly easy find. Unfortunately, there are no views from the top, but there are on the way up.