From Seedlings to Celebrations

Posted on August 28, 2025 by RoamingHowie

As the 7,000 seedlings planted in Mullum Mullum Reserve form new roots after a huge planting day, we look ahead to a number of exciting events coming up on the geocaching calendar and more. Keep ahead of the news in our latest blog.

National Tree Day – 27 July 2025

This year, Geocaching Victoria partnered with Manningham Council to celebrate National Tree Day at Mullum Mullum Reserve. A wonderful group of geocachers and local community members came together to plant 7,000 indigenous plants across the reserve. The event was exceptionally well organized by Manningham Council, and we were proud to collaborate with them alongside the many volunteers who lent a helping hand. Special thanks go to Leah (Crack’n’LeeLee) for her efforts in coordinating this meaningful event.

Mark your calendars!

Spring is upon us, and the geocaching calendar is jam packed! We have three major Community Celebration Events coming up on the calendar filled with celebration, fun, and recognition: Be sure to log your will attends!

Victorian Cache of the Year Awards 2024 (GCB0YDT): Come and celebrate from 5:30pm on October 25, as we congratulate all of the nominees and announce the winners of the 2024 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards. Voting will open on 15 September, allowing you your chance to pick your favourite nominated caches, Adventure Labs, and logs.
GIFF – Thanks For The Community (GCATN5R): Mark your calendar for 11am on November 16, 2025. Enjoy geocaching short films from around the globe and other activities in comfortable theatre seating while connecting with fellow caching enthusiasts.
10th Anniversary of The Melbourne Event (GCATKT5): It’s time for a milestone! Join us for a Free BBQ dinner at Casey Fields from 5pm on November 16, 2025. It’s a chance to celebrate 10 years since the first ever Mega event in Victoria, and the many more that have followed in its footsteps.

Don’t forget you can view a list of every geocaching event being hosted in Victoria on our website by visiting our Upcoming Events page.

Don’t Miss Out: Jackets and Zip Hoodies—Limited Release

After all the love for our new jackets and zip hoodies at recent events, we’re doing a LIMITED 2ND RUN. The gear is back online and ready to order… but only until 7 September. Don’t miss your chance to level up your geocaching gear and add these pieces to your collection.

Order HERE by 7 September to secure yours.

Join the Team

Geocaching Victoria is a volunteer-driven community and welcomes new committee members! Are you keen to help organize events, manage communications, work with the community or share some fresh ideas? Now is the perfect time to get involved. Bring your passion and help shape the future of Victoria’s caching adventures.

If you are interested in joining the team, send an email to president@geocachingvictoria.com.au with your name (real and geocaching!) and a short spiel about why you’d like to join the committee, and what skills you think you can bring.

And The 2024 Nominees Are…

Posted on April 6, 2025 by RoamingHowie

Nominations have been flowing in recently in the search for the best geocaches, adventure labs and logs from 2024. All of the nominees for the Victorian Cache of the Year Awards have been carefully tallied, cross checked and shortlsted, and are now ready to be revealed. They include creative multis, impressive caches from a great selection of first time hiders, and some tall tales of geocaching adventures past just to name a few. Thank you to everyone who nominated and shared their voice.

With daylight savings affording attendees an extra hours sleep overnight, geocachers gathered, bright eyed at Darebin Parklands, ready to hear word of the amazing caches nominated by the community. The aroma of the sizzling BBQ wafted through the park (with thanks to bunadoorian, posums and ) and helped fuel the strong crowd that had gathered to celebrate.

For those eager to dive in, the full list of nominees is available on the 2024 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards page on our website. It is complete with links to each cache, Adventure Lab and log. There are an incredible 42 individual caches (some nominated in multiple categories), 106 caches that form the shortlisted cache series nominees, 6 Adventure Labs and 8 entertaining Found IT/DNF logs to enjoy. Congratulations to everyone that was shortlisted.

Don’t forget the 2 geocaching.com cache lists to help you find all of the nominees:

In addition, the 2025 eligible hide lists have already been created and are periodically updated. Keep your eye out for new hiders, new cache series, or any other new caches published this year. All of them are available at the Great Geocaching Lists section of our website and will be eligible for nominating in next years awards.

To give you time to find as many of the nominees as possible, voting won’t commence until later in the year, with the final winners slated to be revealed at an event in October/November (TBA). Don’t leave it until the last minute though, grab your GPS, lace up your caching boots and go out and find as many of these amazing nominated caches and adventure labs as you can. And when you have a quiet moment, read through the great logs also.

If you are one of the worthy nominees, you can also add a nominee banner to your cache page, and add a badge to your profile using the 2024 COTYA resources here.

To everyone who has earned a spot on the coveted nominations list for 2024, congratulations on your nomination and thank you for bringing so much enjoyment to the community – Good Luck and keep up the amazing hides, labs and stories.

Wrapping Up The Sunbury Event: A Celebration of Geocaching

Posted on March 23, 2025 by RoamingHowie

The Sunbury Event, Victoria’s first-ever Block Party, has come to a close, leaving behind a trail of excitement and memories for geocachers from all over Australia and around the world. Celebrating 25 years of geocaching, the weekend was filled with adventure, camaraderie, and loads of geocaching fun.

Highlights of The Sunbury Event

Nature at Night: What a wonderful experience exploring our nocturnal wildlife and learning about the stars thanks to our partners Hume City Council, not to mention some night caching adventures.
Gadget Caches: 25 gadget caches from some of the greatest cache building minds from all over the state perplexed even the smartest minds.
Special Guests: A fantastic visit from Em_adventuring who overseas the global Mega/Block Party program at Geocaching HQ. This was a unique chance to learn from and exchange ideas that will help us as we develop future events.Congratulations to the winners.
GPS Adventures Maze: This rare icon was on offer with refreshed content and a redesigned night cache room.
Holden Flora Reserve CITO: Another chance to parther with Hume City Council to make a big impact on the local environment including mulching, tree guard removal and rubbish collection.
Loads more with information sessions, stalls, prizes and too much to mention.

Acknowledging the Volunteers and Sponsors

The success of The Sunbury Event would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of all of our volunteers. With more than 100 people contributing to the planning, preparation and execution of the Block Party, we just couldn’t have done it without you. THANK YOU!

We also couldn’t do this without the generous support of our major sponsors Hume City Council and Geocaching.com who have been huge supporters of the event. In addition a big thanks must go to Pathtags, geostuff.com.au, Scurvy Dog Designs, Bunnings Warehouse Mernda, Bridgestone Melton, Canopus Print and Nicole Grau. A heartfelt thank you to all those organizations and individuals for their contributions and support.

Thank You to the Organising Committee

The Sunbury Event Committee deserves special recognition for their dedication and hard work. Their efforts ensured that every aspect of the event, from planning to execution, was expertly managed to provide an unforgettable experience for all attendees. You have earned a well deserved rest. Thank you to Connie and the entire team,

Post Block Party Feedback

Gathering feedback on your Sunbury experience is very important as it helps us to shape future events. Follow the link below to share your experiences and let us know what you thought of The Sunbury Event.

Provide your feedback by Wednesday 2 April to be in the running to win a Sunbury Event Unobtanium Geocoin.

Complete the survey here

Prizes

Congratulations to the winners of the raffle, Limited Edition Sunbury Unobtanium geocoins and other prizes! A special thank you to maccamob for once again generously donating the hamper for our community raffle which combined with the FTF raffle raised a record $1,839 for Sunbury Neighbourhood House, who were at the closing ceremony for the cheque presentation. Thank you to everyone who bought tickets. There are still a handful of prizes to give away so ensure you have completed the actions below by Wednesday 26 March to be in the running.

Win a Limited Edition Sunbury Unobtanium geocoin (1 each) by:

Logging your attendance at the Block Party (GCAP417)
Submitting your discovered logs on the Block Party trackable that was on display
Posting your Muggle the Puggle and milestone photos in the comments on the Geocaching Victoria Facebook/Instagram post (Enter Here).

Also win the March 10th Anniversary Geocaching Victoria Unobtanium geocoin or 1yr geocaching.com premium memberships by:

Logging your attendance at the Block Party (GCAP417)

Looking Ahead to The Tassie Event

As we wrap up The Sunbury Event, our sights are set on the next exciting adventure: The Tassie Event. Scheduled for March 7-8, 2026, this event promises to be Tasmania’s first major geocaching extravaganza, offering a unique opportunity to explore the island’s stunning landscapes and geocaching treasures. The event has now been published (GCAZTAZ) so you can go ahead and log your will attend. Our Mega application is in the final stages of approval with HQ, and will be completed as part of The Sunbury Event review in the coming weeks – stay tuned!

Farewell For Now

The Sunbury Event Block Party has been a resounding success, celebrating geocaching and the community alike. We have loved hosting you and look forward to seeing you all at The Tassie Event next year where we get to do it all again! But now for some sleep.

Farewell 2024, Welcome 2025!

Posted on December 31, 2024 by RoamingHowie

As we wrap up 2024, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our incredible community! Your participation, support, and enthusiasm have made this year another one to remember. We’re excited to welcome 2025 with more fun, adventure, and camaraderie planned. What are your geocaching goals for the new year?

Here are just some of the highlights from 2024:

February – We kicked off the year with a life-saving first aid information session! The Ballarat GeoTour concluded after three successful years, having welcomed over 1,700 unique geocachers and celebrating 340 completions of all 25 caches.
April – Excitement buzzed as we announced the nominees for the 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards at Cherry Lake in Altona.
May – We unveiled plans for The Sunbury Event, Victoria’s very first Block Party scheduled for March 2025. Mark your calendars for this groundbreaking celebration!
July – Cachemas in July returned to Kensington Town Hall, featuring a special guest appearance by Santa! This was followed by a successful National Tree Day CITO event in Sunbury to help build habitat for Thara, the black shouldered kite – featured on the Sunbury Event Geocoin.
August – The community celebrated International Geocaching Day with a full weekend of events across the state, including the Great Victorian Cache Crawl. Additionally, our SideTracked Day at Diamond Valley Miniature Railway became the second-largest event globally in the series’ 17-year history!
October – Geocaching Victoria turned 10 years old! This milestone was celebrated with much fanfare.
November – The glitz and glamour of our anniversary celebration included awarding the winners of the 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards at a gala in Yarraville.
December – Preparations for the Block Party are heating up! Exciting announcements include the appearance of the GPS Adventure Maze, event merchandise launch, and more details about the weekend festivities.

Victoria – 2024 by the numbers

Here is a snapshot of caching in Victoria this year:

Total 2024 hides: 1,657 (inc 490 event type caches)
Favourites accumulated on 2024 hides: 2,939
Total finds on 2024 caches (non event): 24,818
Event attendances: 5,475
Average D/T: 2.05 / 1.83
Most common/Least common difficulty: 1.5 (481) / 5.0 (7)
Most common/Least common terrain: 1.5 (663) / 4.0 (4)
No. of D/T combos with nil placements in 2024: 18
Most common/Least common size: Small (491) / Large (23)
Most common/Least common type: Traditional (802) / Wherigo (9)
LGAs with most new hides: Golden Plains, Glenelg & Indigo
LGAs with no new hides : Ararat, Brimbank, Gannawarra, Greater Dandenong, Horsham, West Wimmera & Yarriambiack
LGAs with most events: Ballarat, Hepburn, Greater Geelong
No. of unique cachers with 12 or more finds (average 1 per month): 2,386
No. of unique cachers with 366 or more finds (average 1 per day): 152
No. of unique hiders: 343

You can find more statistics on all active caches in Victoria on our website at https://geocachingvictoria.com.au/victorian-geocache-statistics/ with more to be added next year.

Looking Ahead: 2025 and Beyond

With lots planned for 2025, we can’t wait to dive into the new year. Let’s continue to grow this amazing community and create new experiences and adventures for us all to share. If you’d like to be first to hear more about what’s in store, or have an idea you’d like to share, why not come and join us at our event GCAVXK6 on Saturday January 11 at Knox Community Gardens.

Here’s to another year filled with exploration, friendship, and endless adventures. Happy New Year from all of us at Geocaching Victoria.

Hot Off The Press at Awards Night

Posted on November 16, 2024 by RoamingHowie

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.

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!