This cache used to be part of the Tuia Mātauranga GeoTour. That geotour is now over but this cache is worthy of keeping.
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Māori oral tradition tells of the explorer, Kupe. Accounts vary as to why he and his family left his homeland Hawaiki (possibly Hawaii), but he discovered New Zealand when chasing a giant octopus, finally killing it in Cook Strait. After exploring the country Kupe returned home to Hawaiki and on telling his friends and family of the uninhabited islands to the south a number of people set off in seven ships, possibly a planned migration. Maori tribal affiliations relate back to which ship brought them to New Zealand.
The date of Kupe's arrival is unclear - some date this at about the year 950, others tie it to about 1300. However at a number of sites evidence of early Māori in New Zealand has been determined, and here at the Wairau Bar (in fact, just across the inlet) is one of the very oldest, a habitation area with cemetery, large earth oven and middens, radiocarbon dated to 1288 - 1300 AD.
The site is thought to be a adze factory, the large number of stone flakes found suggest about 12,000 adze heads were produced, or about 400-500 per year. Argillite for adze heads was taken from Nelson and Durville Island. Pumice for floats and fire bowls came from the volcanic plateau, chert for drilling holes from Kaikoura and greenstone from the West Coast were also found, all suggesting active trading.
Archaeological investigations by Otago University and others found cultural similarities with the Marquesas Islands (1000km northeast of Tahiti). One adze head found was of a design used in the Cook Islands. Examinations of the skeletons found that while some had the varied diet found in New Zealand, others had a soft starch diet, commonly found in East Polynesia, suggesting a very recent migration. The bodies were buried with their heads to the east, another indicator of East Polynesia. Tooth decay was rare, although the teeth were well worn. Bone breaks had healed well, suggesting a well balanced diet.
Although Abel Tasman was the first pākehā (non-māori) to visit New Zealand in 1642 he did not stay long, and it was Cook's rediscovery in 1769 that led to main influx of pākehā to this country. The first pākehā communities in the area were the whaling stations in Queen Charlotte Sound and Port Underwood in 1830. The New Zealand Company opened the land to settlers and by 1850 Nelson and Picton had been established, Blenheim followed 10 years later.
Come and explore the Wairau Bar Reserve.
The cache background and the birds in the banner are kauka, bar-tailed godwits, chosen by Tuia Mātauranga as they perform the longest non-stop migration of any non-seabird, a single flight from Alaska to New Zealand and Australia.
References:
Wairau Bar, Wikipedia.
Associate Professor Richard Walter and Dr Hallie Buckley; History Unearthed, Otago University.