Treasures of Suwarrow - Cook Islands Traditional Geocache
Treasures of Suwarrow - Cook Islands
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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The Real Treasure of Suwarrow is Suwarrow
One must sail across the Pacific Ocean on a private vessel. It takes 4-7 days to sail from Bora Bora to Suwarrow, often with strong winds, moderate seas, and squalls. The terrain to the cache once on the atoll may require some surf wading during high tide and some climbing. Some treasure hunting is required within 20 feet of posted coordinates. But there will be natural treasures all around that are seen by only a handful of people on the planet.
Originally named Suvorov for the ship of the Russian Explorer Lazarov that found this atoll in 1814, this tropical paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is a watery oasis of blue green-aqua seas and coconut palms surrounded by a barrier reef eleven miles long and six miles wide. Later renamed Suwarrow to be more in keeping with Cook Island language, this atoll is now a Cook Island National Park. There is a legend that there is a real buried treasure on the island, but of course it is not appropriate in a National Park to dig for treasure. There is however a geocache treasure on Anchorage Island.
Two Cook Island caretakers live on Suwarrow six months of the year to check cruisers in and out and to introduce them to the natural beauty and wildlife of Suwarrow. The carektakers are devoted to keeping the atoll healthy and beautiful and at the same time enjoy providing guests with warm hospitality, information, and fun activities, including geocaching.
The 2 Sail Rs: RozNRuss on the Sailing Vessel Worrall Wind established this cache in August 2010 with the permission of the park’s caretakers. When you are in Suwarrow, please give them our warmest regards and update them of our whereabouts which can be found at WorrallWind.blogspot.com.
The Real Treasure of Suwarrow is Suwarrow
The lagoon of Suwarrow has an abundance of marine wildlife. Visitors are provided with guided opportunities to hunt and catch coconut crabs, lobsters, spearfish, snorkel, dive, and lazily cast in a line from the back of their boats. Colorful reef fish, giant rainbow=lipped clams, giant oysters, and living coral provide the best snorkeling in the Pacific Ocean. Sperm whales visit the lagoon as do numerous black tip, white tip, and grey sharks. Terns, noddies, frigates, and boobies nest on the island.
To find this cache after you have checked in with the caretakers, proceed to the first coordinate and look for a posted coordinates in Tom Neale’s shelter. In 2012, the final coordinates can also be found in the flag shelter.
They are also caretaking this cache should you need some extra assistance or the cache needs maintenance. Because of the necessity to relocate a cache before or after a hurricane or major storm, actual cache coordinates may change, but the coordinates should be posted in one of the shelters. This is a medium sized cache. Bring a pencil to sign the log just in case the pencil inside the cache disappears. Of course you may exchange one of your treasures for one in the cache.
It has come to our attention, that several cruisers have found the cache by accident. If this is the case, it is probably not in the original location or well concealed. Please help to keep it inconspicuous.
Travel bugs may be marooned here for quite some time. It might be best to drop your bug off and immediately retrieve it to give the bug credit for the mileage.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Uvag sbe obgu gur pbbeqvangrf naq gur pnpur: Ybbx Hc ng gurfr pbbeqvangrf: bar guerr - bar sbhe. rvtug sbhe rvtug fbhgu; bar fvk guerr - mreb fvk. guerr sbhe svir jrfg