As we wrap up a night of entertainment at the Yarraville-Footscray Bowling Club, there is an atmosphere of celebration and achievement. The 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards have just concluded, and the sense of community among geocachers is palpable. This annual event, a highlight on the Geocaching Victoria calendar, celebrates the creativity and dedication of our fellow cachers who have made significant contributions to our beloved pastime over the past year.
The evening began with a battle between barefoot bowls in the Spring heat, and a drink in the cool of the indoors. It was a great chance to mingle and share stories about the latest caching adventures before transitioned indoors for the awards ceremony and 10th anniversary celebration. This year’s awards again featured a range of categories that highlight the diversity and ingenuity within our community. From Best Traditional Cache to Best Adventure Lab, each category showcased the exceptional talent of our nominees. The anticipation built as we awaited the announcement of this year’s winners, and if the glory wasn’t enough, there was $1,000 of prizes of offer for the award winners, thanks to our very generous community sponsors.
And the winners Are…
With great enthusiasm, the awards for each of the eleven categories were presented and the winners for 2023 are:
| Category | GC Code | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Best Traditional Cache | GCAAK8F | TDOC23: solo? by RyderSpider |
| Best Multi Cache | GCAD0WZ | JuzzMagic – Bring a Friend by JuzzMagic |
| Best Mystery Cache | GC9YANW | The Lie of The Land by Jacko83 |
| Best Other Cache (joint winners) | GCADTP6 GCA9G2C GCAAGTV | Danger!!! Drop Bears by SciFiRulz TDOC23: The Grinch by OSHFAM the Grinch TDOC23: A Letterbox/TB Hotel for Cachemas in July by surefoot24 |
| Best First Hide | GCAC2YW | Dog walk sniffs 1 by TanSaf |
| Best Cache Series | The Basin | The Basin by JuzzMagic, Mister Doctor, iTEEM & Crustyvarmint |
| Best Cache Location | GCA33DZ | TDOC23: The Beaumaris Fossil Beach by gmj3191 |
| Best Regional Cache | GCAAGTV | TDOC23: A Letterbox/TB Hotel for Cachemas in July by surefoot24 |
| Best Adventure Lab | The Great Victorian Ice Cream Tour | The Great Victorian Ice Cream Tour – Double Scoop by RoamingHowie |
| Best Cache Log | GL1929B59 | Log on Ducks Ahoy by OSHFAM |
| Best Overall Cache | GCA9G2C | TDOC23: The Grinch by OSHFAM the Grinch |
Congratulations to all of this years winners and to everyone who was nominated by their peers.
Sponsors
We wish to acknowledge all of the amazing sponsors for this years awards who very generously donated prizes:
- BernieH
- Crack’n’LeeLee
- Grub62 & Bunadoorian
- ILookedThere
- OzHockeyChick
- posums
- Generous Cacher
- Kind Cacher
- Mystery Cacher
- Supportive Cachers
- Your friendly neighbourhood cacher
Profile Badge and Cache Page Banner
You can share your nomination/win in the 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards with fellow cachers by doing the following:
- Add a badge to your personal profile, proudly sharing with the community that you were a nominee/winner
- Add a banner to your cache page to highlight to finders that your cache was part of the 2023 awards.
Visit this link to find the badge and banner for you.
Prizes
In addition to our award winners, congratulations go to McLookers who took away the major raffle prize valued at over $250 and LongJohnSilva who won the first of our money can’t buy 10th Anniversary unobtainium coins. Stay tuned for more details on how you might be able to win one.
And a huge thank you to our 10 year service award recipients, BernieH and ahomburg for their outstanding contribution to Geocaching Victoria since inception. Geocaching owes an incredible gratitude to you both for your contributions.
As we conclude this year’s celebration, it is inspiring to see the creativity displayed throughout our community. We hope it inspires you when hiding new caches. You never know, you might be one of our nominees for 2024! Congratulations once again to all of the winners and nominees! Here’s to more adventures ahead!
