Kaiapoi Pa (Canterbury) Traditional Geocache
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(regular)
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This cache replaces a multicache which was achived due to vandalism of one of the WPs. The cache container has been retained and is in use for this cache
To the uninformed the only evidence of Kaiapoi pa’s existence today is an elevated observation tower and a wheku-topped, stark white column.
Kaiapohia Monument stands on the site of Kaiapoi Pa the first great site established by the Ngai Tahu Tribe after crossing from the North Island to this district of the South Island.
Built in about 1700 by Moki for his brother Turakautahi, who led that migration, it became the tribe’s largest and most important stronghold, being headquarters of the tribe’s leading chiefs and having a population of more than 1000 by the time of recorded history.
The Pa was first called the nest of Kaikai-a-waro. Later, descendants changed the name to Kaiapoi. It was considered impregnable, fortified by palisades and fosses (ditches) and situated upon a peninsula that jutted into a labyrinth of swampy lagoons through which it might be approached only by secret ways.
The great Kaiapoi Pa came to an end when it was attacked by a North Island Ngati Toa chief Te Rauparaha. Before the attack Te Rauparaha had visited Kaiapoi in the late 1820’s where he professed his desire to trade muskets for greenstone.
No doubt the long pasture grasses that now grow on the gentle undulations, which are all that remain of the pa’s earthworks, conceal remnants (bones and artifacts) of more than a century of settlement.
The Reverend J W Stack published a book in 1893 called ‘Kaiapohia: the Story of a Siege” leading many writers after him to use this name, creating a belief that this is in fact the real name of the Pa. In reality, this name is an insult.
Kaiapoi means ‘to swing the food in’ as the Pa was quite isolated and food had to be swung across the lagoon.
Kaiapohia means ‘the piling up of bodies to eat’ an insult since this is what the Ngati Toa did when they conquered the Pa. Nearby caches at Waikuku continue on this theme.
When rehidden this cache was a camo 2 litre screw-top container packed with log, pencil, pencil sharpener and swops appropriate to the ethnic nature of the site. It would be appreciated if swops could reflect Maori culture, native flora or fauna. Please download a photo when you log your find if you have taken one at any point of interest at this site.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Va n ynetr fueho ba n onax ng gur rqtr bs gur tenffrq nern. Nobhg guvtu uvtu.