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44° 55' 53.3" S
169° 16' 08.9" E

The Journal

Penkridge | The Journal

Mahaka Katia… and a bonus treasure hunt

Penkridge Farm shares a boundary with Mahaka Katia, a Department of Conservation reserve. This 27ha block represents the best remaining native saline vegetation on the Upper Clutha terraces. This land was purchased by the Nature Heritage Fund in 2001 as a reserve, and contains ‘one of the highest concentrations of rare plants in New Zealand’ and is home to plant species such as Lepidium solandri, Poa cita, Carmichaelia, and the tiny fern Ophioglossum coriaceum.

For those who love a slightly nerdy scientific treasure hunt, the boundary fence between Penkridge Farm and Mahaka Katia also offers a hunt for a geocache. Apparently the first geocache was hidden in 2000, and are now found in 191 countries on 7 continents. And there are more than 3 million geocaches hidden, including this one right next to us. We giggled at the comments on the geocache website ‘had to walk through a paddock of very curious sheep’ – our sheep live in hope that humans will feed them sheep nuts, a delicacy they have been spoilt with over the years. They will happily follow you to see if you might have some on offer…..

(reference: https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/motivate-me/113608745/we-tried-geocaching and
https://www.cromwell.org.nz/the-lifestyle/)