Length: 45 minutes
Hidden: 4 January 2005
Ink: required
Status: last found 25 March 2005
When we first visited Team Psychokiwi's The Happy Humpback at the summit of Mt Otanewainuku it was a miserable day and we didn't get to see the view from the top of this mountain, so we vowed to come back another day when the weather gods were smiling on us.
Although we picked another bad weather day (not as bad as the first) we don't mind that we will still have to come back yet again to see the view, as we now have placed our own box nearby that we will need to check up on.
Otanewainuku is a 20 minute drive up Oropi Road and onto Mountain Road where there is a small carpark, a public shelter, toilet and picnic area. Mt Otanewainuku is covered in virgin forest and bird life is prolific.
If you're planning on finding both letterboxes on the same day, we suggest making use of the picnic area to catch your breath in between, as they are on different tracks, and a snack might be needed to fortify yourselves before setting out again.
Maori legend says Tutanekai, lover of Hinemoa, leapt from Otanewainuku summit to escape his Rotorua enemies. Geologically, Otanewainuku is a rhyolitic dome, rising above the ignimbrite plateau of the Mamaku.
The rimu loop walk starts from the opposite side of the road near the carpark. It is a gently graded walk that features some impressively large rimu trees, and finishes back at the road. It is well marked with orange trail blazers.
It does not matter which way you enter the track. When you reach a fork with a signpost in the middle, stand as if reading the sign and take 32 paces down the path to your right. You will see the site of a huge fallen tree (there are lots of them on this track). The trunk has landed squarely between the trunks of two smaller living trees, and the one to the right has quite a hollow under it... which is where you will find this replica of New Zealand's native flightless bird, which is actively being conserved in this forest. Please be discreet as even though this is not a busy track, the box is hidden very close to the path. As always, please rehide the box well.
We thought if someone did happen to go past, a good excuse would be to say you were a diabetic, and needed to have some insulin... explains the boxes and plastic bags and the logbooks...
Please email us if the box needs attention.
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