Elementary ii EARTH
In Māori mythology, Punga is a supernatural being, the ancestor of sharks, lizards, rays, and all deformed, ugly things. All ugly and strange animals are Punga's children. Hence the saying Te aitanga a Punga (the offspring of Punga) used to describe an ugly person!
Family ties
Punga is a son of Tangaroa, the god of the sea, and when Tāwhirimātea (god of storms) made war against his two brothers after they separated Rangi (sky) and Papa (earth), the two sons of Punga, Ikatere and Tū-te-wehiwehi, had to flee for their lives.
Ikatere fled to the seas, and became the ancestor of certain fishes, while Tū-te-wehiwehi took refuge in the forest, and became the ancestor of lizards.
This cache is defended by one of Punga’s children…
The Giant Wētā (Deinacrida heteracantha)
The Giant Wētā is a large, flightless insect, native to New Zealand. The species name Deinacrida, literally means Demon Grasshopper. It is one of New Zealand’s few protected insects, and now mainly survives only on a few offshore islands where it is safe from introduced predators.
Giant Wētā can grow over 50mm in length. A female, egg-laden Wētā in captivity was recorded as weighing 70 grams.
Although fearsome looking, they are actually quite docile and their diet is largely vegetarian.
Wētā live a solitary, nocturnal life, spending the day hidden in vegetation, under stones (or in this case waiting for geo-cachers…)
Cache contains logbook. BYO pen.