Mystery @ Ross Creek (Otago) Mystery Cache
KiwiChris: Orienteering Otago have changed some control points and made it very difficult to get this cache to work. For starters there are only 24 control points, some controls that appear on the map are no longer there, and several have two letters rather than one.
So, very reluctantly, I will have to archive it. I hope that finders had as much fun doing it as I had setting up.
Mystery @ Ross Creek (Otago)
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The final cache is near an historic ruin, please be careful. Terrain difficulty is between 2 and 3, depending on recent weather — see later warning. This is not a ‘dash-in, dash-out’ cache. Fix a picnic, load up the family and be prepared to spend a few hours exploring the wonders of a much-loved and well used park.
Please note also that control points 1, 17 and 18 have been 'lost'. The values associated with them are: 01 = A 17 = R 18 = J. The cache is a 1 litre snaplock container painted black, with orange "GEOCACHE" on the lid.
Directions: Probably the easiest way is to park in Cannington Road at the entrance to the reserve. There is also parking near the location given for the start and in Booth Road at the North end of the reserve. The intermediate containers are painted tubes about 20 cm long. All containers are hidden in obvious places, although invisible from 0 metres.
Spoiler: The encrypted hints are very explicit. This puzzle cache uses the control points on the permanent orienteering course set up by the Dunedin Orienteering Club. I suggest that you download a map of the course before you start, it will make life a lot easier (http://www.dunedinorienteering.org/about-orienteering/permanent-courses). There is also a map at the start.
Warning: Some of the steeper, less well used tracks, get very slippery in wet weather. In particular the track to Point 14 crosses a very steep slope and a slip there could be very serious (don't ask!). For this reason, and because the only other way to get there is a long way around the edge of the reserve, I will tell you that Point 14 corresponds to P. To help you find the points, if you don't want to use the map, here are their coordinates. Please note that all these coordinates (and the ones for all the waypoints) are given relative to S45° 50.000 E170° 29.000. Also note that all bearings are relative to True North.
Point South East Point South East
1 0.687 0.762 14 0.878 0.840
2 0.707 0.830 15 0.920 0.898
3 0.886 0.890 16 0.964 0.827
4 0.901 0.973 17 0.950 0.721
5 0.878 0.987 18 0.932 0.545
6 0.886 1.006 19 0.947 0.474
7 0.757 0.973 20 0.960 0.617
8 0.663 0.928 21 1.007 0.684
9 0.678 0.865 22 1.075 0.778
10 0.659 0.705 23 1.063 0.842
11 0.597 0.687 24 1.022 0.914
12 0.557 0.691 25 1.010 0.865
13 0.639 0.800 26 0.962 0.707
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
[General]: Ahzoref ner yrggref, naq ivpr irefn
[General]: (AUNYYY) ercerfragf Cbvag N.
[Waypoint 1]: Gbjneqf gur sbeq, abg bire gur oevqtr
[Waypoint 1]: Tebhaq yriry haqre n fgbar
[Waypoint 2]: Haqre gur fbhgurea raq bs gur oevqtr
[Waypoint 3]: Tb ba, pebff vg
[Final]: Onfr bs Shpufvn gerr.
Treasures
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