The lake has always been a popular spot. In the early days, when
Atiamuri was a staging point for coaches, a lodge was built there
as a resort for tourists. It later became a popular fishery and
today the lake attracts many people for water-skiing, picnicking,
fishing and camping.
A-Tia-Muri literally means turned back and refers to the
explorations of Tia of the Arawa canoe. The intrepid traveller had
to turn back at the Atiamuri Rapids in his early explorations of
the Waikato River.
The Government approved the Atiamuri station at the same time as
the Ohakuri and Waipapa projects and work began on the fifth dam in
the Waikato system in November 1953. Construction was completed six
months ahead of schedule and the station was commissioned early in
November 1958. Although originally designed for three generators, a
fourth was later added and commissioned in 1962.
This cache, once found, will give you a segment of the
co-ordinates of a bonus cache – see the cache POWER TO THE PEOPLE
(GCVXA2) for details.
The published waypoint brings you to an information point. To
resolve the location of the cache, read the information signs at
this location, and extract the require digits below:
Total lake area = 2.A
The dam foundations (strengthened by grouting) are B2
metres below the river bed
The average annual GWH energy generated is C05
Transformers step up the voltage to D0,000Volts for
supply to the Waikato region
The year the station was commissioned was 19EF
The final cache location is at:
S 38 23.ABC
E 176 01.DEF
PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN REPLACING THE CACHE, AND BE GENTLE WITH
ROCKS - PLASTIC BOXES BREAK EASILY!
You are looking for a 1 litre sistema box. Note that at no stage
of this cache hunt will you need to scale any fences, or enter any
secure areas. Please also be aware that the river is not a place to
swim. The water below the powerhouse is aerated, and a person is
unable to float there. Do not attempt to enter the water
anywhere.