Home Point #1 (Northland)(2002) Traditional Cache
Home Point #1 (Northland)(2002)
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Home Point Urquharts bay 45 minutes drive from Whangarei 20 minute walk.
The track starts from the Urquharts Bay car park, head along and to the right for a direct route.
From the Urquharts Bay car park, the loop track takes you around Busby Head to the lovely Smugglers Bay, and back to the car park. You do not have to do the whole track, but there are other Geocaches and quite a nice walk with a few hills.
The track has been upgraded and offers a fairly easy walk encompassing coastal forest, spectacular views, and a WWII era gun emplacement. The short one-way detour to the end of Busby Head is well worth the effort.
Alternatively, there is a direct route over the hill to Smugglers Bay, which takes about 15 minutes.
History and culture
You will come close to the gun emplacement at Home Point. This was built during World War II as a defence against possible invasion. The six-inch naval gun was aimed with the help of a camouflaged radar station on the ridge above Ocean Beach. The gun emplacement is not recommended for access as the concrete is becoming old.
Inside the remote control room is a landscape painting of the Bream Bay area. It offers a unique interpretation of what the area look like before the construction of the Marsden Point Oil Refinery.
The area from Home Point – Smugglers Bay contains dense evidence of Maori occupation, including a defensive pa on Busby Head, many house terraces, food storage pits and an almost continuous midden reflecting the wealth of sea food / kai moana resources in the harbour. There are a number of these sites along the ridge to Bream Head. An archaic midden at Smugglers gives in indication of the length of time Maori have occupied this area.
Do not interfere with pest traps.
Make sure you are carrying plenty of drinking water.
Tracks can be slippery after rain.
Be careful of tree roots protruding onto the track.
The rocky outcrops have steep drop offs. Children should be well supervised.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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