Geocaching in the Bush

Yesterday we went out geocache hunting in the Waitakere Ranges. The Waitakere Ranges are the mountain ranges that are on the coast west of Auckland. For those not familiar with geocaching, it is basically using a GPS to find coordinates where people have left a small treasure. There is usually a small waterproof box and a log book at the cache to log who was there. People also usually take something out of the box and leave something in its place. There is a geocache website where people can log caches to find. Caches are usually at some scenic spot and seem like they usually involve walking to the top of a big hill. We looked for 3 caches but only found one. The first one was at the top of a mountain (which involved a very steep walk up). We found the spot but the cache was missing. The 2nd one was at a scenic overlook of the city and Waitakere Ranges. The picture is taken from the 2nd cache site and is looking at one of 5 dams that supply Auckland with water and the Waitakere Range bush. The 3rd cache was actually at the dam in the picture. It is a 1/2 hour downhill walk to get to the dam and a long uphill walk to get back out. We found the spot again but were not able to find the cache.

While looking for the first cache, we ran across some people Orienteering. This is another sport that is popular in NZ. It involves getting a map and a compass and finding different predetermined spots along a route. You have to use your map and compass to navigate from point to point. This is generally done in the mountains or some other tough area and usually involves running from spot to spot as it is timed. Whoever can do the course the fastest and find all the points in the right order is the winner. It is also a popular sport in Europe. I had never heard of it until coming to NZ. Might be something that John and I give a try.

We also had a great time chatting with everyone at the BOWWOWHOT bike club Christmas party this morning. Thanks to Dave for setting this up. We miss you......but not the snow! We are also glad that you enjoyed the pictures and sappy music that Matt picked out.