Rock hunting craze hits South Waikato

A pile of rocks is not what you expect to find on a dining room table but in Donna Hart’s Tokoroa home it’s become the norm.

Hart recently started up the Facebook page Toks Rocks to join in on the rock hunting craze that’s sweeping the country.

As part of the craze people are encouraged to paint rocks and then hide them outdoors for others to find. Once found photos are taken and posted online and the rocks are then hidden again.

Various towns throughout the country have their own pages and each rock is labelled to connect them back to the group that made them.

Hart, who recently moved to Tokoroa from Hamilton, said it’s all about encouraging families to spend more time together while also being active.

‘‘It all started when a friend shared a post on Facebook and I was like ‘oh that looks like fun’ so I checked out the Hamilton page and from there I went onto the Palmerston North page. I was sitting there watching all these posts come up for about a week or so and just seeing how much fun the kids were having so I thought we needed something like it here in Tokoroa,’’ she said.

‘‘Basically it is just about getting families out of the house and spending some good quality time together and it’s a bit of fun for the kids. They seem to really love it and apart from the painting it is free.’’

She said word about Tok Rocks is quickly spreading.

‘‘I started the page about a month ago and we already have about 500 members,’’ she said.

‘‘I’m finding I’m really enjoying this, it’s something I can sit down and do with my two-yearold son and he’s been painting his own rocks too.’’

‘‘I sit there for ages trying to get some inspiration for each rock and find Pinterest is really good. I spent hours on there.’’

‘‘Even my mum has started painting her own rocks so it is not just for kids, it’s for all ages,’’ she said.

Hart said she has been buying $5 test pots to paint the rocks and has mainly been hiding them around Lake Moananui but the craze has now spread to various places throughout the town.

She said businesses have also come on board such as Mad Hatter Events and Hire offering free hire of its popcorn machine for whoever finds the Mad Hatter rock, and Ray White’s Richard Garner has donated The Warehouse vouchers.