Welcome to The St Arnaud Event update. The committee are working behind the scenes to bring you the best MEGA event we can – all for FREE! Remember to REGISTER HERE by logging a “Will Attend” as this year we will be crossing off names at the event to ensure everyone who registered early gets their FREE gift.

The Lead Up events have continued and in August we saw an event in the Melbourne CBD – thanks sharkiefan for hosting. In September you can find a Lead Up event in Castlemaine and one in Bacchus Marsh in October.

Schedule

The schedule for The St Arnaud Event is almost finalised so make sure you lock the following into your calendar:

THURSDAY

6:00pm – 7:30pm

GC8C60W Thursday Night Picnic Tea in the Park #5. See here for more information.

FRIDAY

10:30am – 12:00pm	GC88WW9 Friday CITO – St Arnaud Wax Gardens. See here for more information.
6:00pm – 8:00pm	GC88X2V St Arnaud Event: Friday Night Dinner. See here for more information.

SATURDAY

8:00am – 8:45am	GC8CCA4 Vision 2020 – St Arnaud Event. See here for more information.
9:00am	Registrations open – at the MEGA site.
10:00am – 10:30am	Opening Ceremony – at the MEGA site.
10:30am	LAB Caches go LIVE!
11:00am	Pathtag Trading – at the MEGA site.
2:30pm – 3:30pm	Photography Skills Seminar- presented by Mr Coffee of Coffee Table Images Meet on the Netball Courts behind MEGA shed
3:30pm – 4:30pm	Earthcache Seminar – presented by Reviewer GeoAwareANZ2  Netball Clubrooms behind MEGA shed
4:30pm – 5:30pm	GC88X1N Saturday CITO – St Arnaud Creek. See here for more information.
6:30pm – 8:00pm	GC8BWHJ The St Arnaud Saturday Night Event. See here for more information.

SUNDAY

9:00am	Pathtag Trading – at the MEGA site.
10:00am – 11:00am	Meet the Reviewers/Lackey – a Q&A session featuring Bunjil, GeoAwareANZ2, Tchingal & Rock Chalk
2:30pm – 4:00pm	GC8BWH0 GIFF & Farewell to The St Arnaud Event. See here for more information.

Bunnings BBQ

Hopefully a few of you have seen our event which will be held on Sunday the 15th of September, GC88V1F, A gathering in Ballarat. Our newest sponsor, Bunnings, is letting us run a traditional Bunnings BBQ at the Bunnings store in Ballarat to help raise funds for the St Arnaud MEGA event (as events like a MEGA cost lots of money to run).  It’s a day long event from 9am through until 4pm where we will be cooking and selling sausages. We would love everybody to come down to the Bunnings store in Ballarat and have a sausage to help support this MEGA event. If you can donate some time on the day by volunteering to help with the cooking and selling of some sausages please email info@geocachingvictoria.com.au

A Lucky Lackey

We are excited to announce that Chris Ronan  aka Rock Chalk will be the lucky Lackey visiting us from Geocaching HQ in Seattle. Chris will be around for the whole event and part of a panel session on the Sunday morning so make sure you introduce yourself to him and ask lots of questions! With over 28,000 finds he has lots of knowledge on all things geocaching!

Geocaching in St Arnaud – Loop Track (LT)

The Loop Track series was created in 2016 by FUF006 & Tyred n Cranky, following on from their earlier Firebreak series (2014) and Bush Meander series (2015).

The LT series is a total of 18 cleverly constructed caches comprising of 16 trads and 2 puzzles that require numbers to be collected along the way. The Loop Track begins on the outskirts of St Arnaud, taking you on an enjoyable journey through the bush.

A total of 1,953* unique finds have been logged on this series with over 650* favourite points awarded to the series overall. The midway mystery Big Wheels – ? LT (GC6Q79K) holds the honour of ‘most favourited’ cache of the series with 69% fave points*.

This is a must do series when you’re in the area and a fantastic adventure for all ages. Begin your quest at Alpha – 01 LT (GC6Q76E)

*Statistics current as of 26 August 2019

Official Shirts now Available

Official St Arnaud Event shirts now available to order. Check out the Geocaching Victoria Store to pre-order yours now. Available in Men’s, Women’s and Kids sizes. Don’t forget until the end of August, kids receive a Free Tracking Code when they order a shirt with Embroidery

St Arnaud Geo Coins & Pathtags

The St Arnaud Event 2019 MEGA standard and limited edition geocoins are now for sale in the Geocaching Victoria store. In fact we have placed our order and three is limited stock so get in quick before they sell out!

The Standard coin has been specifically designed for the event and features Fern the leadbeater possum as well as some stunning Australian flora including Victoria’s floral emblem – the Pink Heath. What sets this coin apart is that it is a 3D textured coin. If you’ve seen one before you know how magnificent they look – if not you will definitely want one for your collection! Coins are $16 each. Order here.

The Limited Edition coins come in three different colours and aims to depict the farming communities that are located within the St Arnaud district. Get in quick as these are limited in number! This coin is 3 inches in size so nice to add to the collection. Limited edition coins are $34 each. Order here.

And whilst in the store don’t forget to purchase your St Arnaud Pathtags too!

If you are thinking of ordering your own personalised pathtags and want them in time for St Arnaud, you have until 22nd September. Why not consider a set of tags with the Geocaching Victoria Logo on the back? Go to pathtags.com for more details.

Milestones

Who doesn’t love celebrating a milestone at a MEGA event? We know lots of people do so as in previous years we will be handing out some special certificates. If you plan to celebrate a Milestone in St Arnaud make sure you fill in this form.

Sponsorship

It’s thanks to amazing supporters that make a MEGA event possible. This includes GeoStuff who will be on site during the Mega. We’ve also had donations from our mates in South Australia who are organising a MEGA event there – GeoVenture2020, Caching Supplies, Sssafe and Sistema so a big thanks to them too. It’s also important to note that this event isn’t possible without the support of the Northern Grampians Shire Council so thank you NGS – your support in invaluable! And we can’t forget the amazing support from PathTags and Geocaching HQ   who help to make this dream a reality! Thanks guys!