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!

AGM and Committee Update

Posted on November 14, 2024 by RoamingHowie

As we gear up to celebrate our 10th anniversary on Saturday, it will come as no surprise that we are also due for our 10th AGM and that milestone meeting was held on Wednesday night.

The past year has been nothing short of spectacular, and that’s partly thanks to the largest Geocaching Victoria committee we’ve ever had! A heartfelt shoutout to each and every one of the committee members for their tireless dedication and hard work over the past 12 months. We’ve had a whirlwind of events and community engagement, and guess what? There’s even more fun on the horizon, all thanks to our fantastic team of volunteers!

Welcoming Our New Treasurer

Bernie has been our treasurer from the very beginning, and after a decade of stellar service, our beloved treasurer is stepping down from the role. Bernie has been the backbone of Geocaching Victoria’s finances since day one, ensuring everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. From mega events to awesome projects like the Maze and GeoTour, Bernie has truly kept the financial wheels turning. A massive thank you for your incredible contributions over the years!

With Bernie indicating his intention to step down as treasurer some time ago, the search began for a replacement. In some exciting news, I am thrilled to share that Julie Richards-Fox aka LetThemEatCache, has stepped up as our new treasurer! With her impressive business acumen and financial experience, Julie is ready to take the reins. Julie has been waiting in the wings for a while now as we wrapped up some projects throughout the year. We couldn’t be more thrilled to officially welcome her into the role, Congratulations Julie!

Farewell to Donutholes

A bittersweek moment, Kim Baker, aka Donutholes, recently stepped back from his role on the committee. Kim joined us in February 2023 and brought a wonderful mix of fresh ideas and laughter to our meetings. With a busy home life (3 young “crumbs”) and new work travel commitments piling up, Kim made the important call to focus on his family. Thank you for all your hard work, and we hope to collaborate with you again in the future. Enjoy that extra family time!

Meet Your New Committee

I’m excited to announce that all remaining committee members are back for another term! After all positions were spilled the following office bearers and general committee were elected.

President: RoamingHowie
Vice President: Bernieh
Treasurer: LetThemEatCache
Secretary: ahomburg
General Committee: Grub62, Mister Doctor, chooknchunk, crack’n’leelee

Let’s give a big round of applause to our committee members! Thank you all for stepping up once again for our community. I can’t wait to work alongside you all this year as we continue to grow and enhance our beloved pastime.

Here’s to another fantastic year ahead filled with lots of geocaching adventures! Happy caching!

2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards and 10th Anniversary Celebrations

Get ready for a night of celebration! This Saturday, we’ll not only be toasting to our 10th anniversary at the Yarraville-Footscray Bowling Club, but we’ll also be unveiling the winners of the 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards. Make sure you’ve logged your attendance at GCAWDFX so you don’t miss out on the fun!

Double Digits! Geocaching Victoria Turns 10

Posted on October 21, 2024 by RoamingHowie

10 years ago today, on the 21 October 2014, an enterprising bunch of Victorian geocachers got together with the lofty idea of hosting the first Victorian Mega. The pioneers, Day1976, LouiseAnn, BernieH, °, ahomburg and sharkiefan got the ball rolling, and as history now tells us, their efforts early on, along with a lot of support from the community, was a great success. In fact the first mega, The Melbourne Event, is still the largest ever mega held in Australia. That initial planning marked the start of Geocaching Victoria (or Geocaching Melbourne as it was known in the early days).

It didn’t stop at just one Mega, with plenty more in the years following. Other events and activities began to be hosted, and involvement in advocacy and support for the geocaching community grew as did the thriving community.

Over the years, there has been a total of 20 individuals who have volunteered and dedicated their time on Geocaching Victoria’s committee. Their energy and guidance have helped to nurture the organisation in continued support of the geocaching community.

In addition there have been numerous sub committees filled with dedicated volunteers who have worked tirelessly to provide major activities and events. These include but are not limited to:

Mega sub committees
GPS Adventure Maze sub committee
Ballarat GeoTour sub committee
Block Party sub committee
and countless volunteers who have supported our megas, BBQs and other events throughout the years

Without all of these volunteers, Geocaching Victoria wouldn’t be what it is today. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to everyone who has volunteered and contributed over the past 10 years.

For those that love their stats, here are the last 10 years by the numbers:

8 Mega events delivered
1 Block Party in development
4 GPS Adventure Maze exhibits
1 GeoTour
250+ events hosted
14,000+ attendances
573 geocaches hidden

As we look forward to the Anniversary and Cache of the Year Celebration event on 16 November (GCAWDFX) and our first ever Block Party in March 2025 (GCAP417) there is no shortage of activity to come. Don’t forget to log your will attends for these events.

As always, none of this is possible without fundraising, and you can commemorate the occasion, and support future Geocaching Victoria activities by purchasing our limited edition 10th anniversary geocoin through our online store.

We look forward to what the next 10 years has in store, and we hope that you will continue to join in all the fun.

A recap of recent events, future adventures, and our shiny new geocoin!

Posted on September 4, 2024 by RoamingHowie

It’s been a whirlwind of activity for us over the past couple of months, and the excitement is far from over! Join us as we recap our recent Cachemas in July, National Tree Day, and SideTracked Day – 17th Anniversary celebrations. If that’s not enough – we’ve got even more events on the horizon, including a fundraising BBQ and a special celebration honouring the 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year winners and the 10th anniversary of Geocaching Victoria.

Oh and the best part? We’ve just unveiled a one-of-a-kind, premium 10th anniversary geocoin that you won’t want to miss! Take advantage of our early bird offer and save $5 off the regular price. Don’t let this opportunity slip away – read on to discover how you can secure your piece of geocaching history today!

Events galore

Cachemas In July Lunch – 27 July (GCAPPGD)

The Kensington Town Hall was transformed into a Cachemas wonderland as geocachers from near and far gathered for a day of delicious food, exciting games, camaraderie and plenty of Cachemas cheer! It was the perfect way to cap off the 12 Days of Cachemas, which saw the placement of 30 new geocaches across Victoria as part of the celebration.

A huge thank you goes out to all of the TDOC24 COs and community reviewers who made this possible. We’d also like to extend our thanks to everyone who helped put together the Cachemas event and volunteered their time on the day, including our Bingo team Snips and Co and Kristysadventures, and our special guest Santa.

National Tree Day – 28 July(GCAQ560)

Across the state, geocachers came together to celebrate National Tree Day on 28 July through a series of CITOs hosted in Hume, Knox and Wangaratta LGAs. In anticipation of the upcoming Sunbury Event – Block Party (GCAP417) in 2025, Geocaching Victoria collaborated with the Hume City Council to help plant an impressive 1,800 native grasses in a local conservation reserve, which is home to the black-shouldered kite, Thara.

As the sun broke through the clouds, attendees enjoyed an enlightening talk followed by a fast-paced planting session, all made possible by the enthusiastic support of goecachers, locals and various community groups. The activities concluded with a live animal exhibit that captivated both young and old, along with pizza for lunch. Thank you to everyone who pitched in.

SideTracked Day – 10 August (GCAPPGF)

All aboard the excitement train! Geocaching Victoria’s SideTracked Day 2024 celebration was an absolute smash hit, with over 130 enthusiastic geocachers and train enthusiasts gathering to mark the 17th anniversary. With exclusive access to the Diamond Valley Miniature Railway and the sun beaming down, it was the perfect location for this fun filled day and there were smiles for miles!

The festivities included a delicious free BBQ and an array of tasty treats. Attendees were also treated to a Thomas themed geotrail, a colouring competition, a “guess how many lollies in the jar” contest (over 300!) and more. However, the true highlight of the day was the opportunity to catch up with fellow cachers, and enjoy riding the incredible minature railway, all thanks to the brilliant idea proposed by Long John Silver, and the dedicated volunteers of Diamond Valley Railway Inc.

In SideTracked terms, this event was no ordinary celebration – it made history! SideTracked Day in Victoria was the largest attended SideTracked event globally in 2024, and the second largest EVER in the 17-year history of these events worldwide. It was only surpassed by a gathering scheduled at the end of a Mega Event! What an achievement and a testament to the vibrant geocaching community in Victoria!

Thank you to everyone who attended and helped out on the day to make this a resounding success. Your enthusiasm and support are what makes events like this so special.

Upcoming Activities

Fundraising BBQs at Bunnings – 6 October & 1 December (GCAWW4Z)

The first ever Block Party in Victoria is scheduled for 22-23 March next year, don’t forget to mark your calendars! It is set to be a huge event, and to help fund this free weekend we’ll be hosting two Bunnings fundraising BBQ’s later this year. The first one is set to take place on Sunday, 6 October, in the Mernda Bunnings carpark. If you can spare just 2 hours to volunteer on the day, we’d love to have you join the team. Simply reach out to grub62@geocachingvictoria.com.au to sign up.

Even if you can’t volunteer, we encourage you to stop by, show your support, and sign the logbook. And while you’re there, why not treat yourself to a delicious sausage? You can also contribute by purchasing a packet of sausages and a loaf of bread for us to sell on the day via our Geocaching Victoria Shop.

2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards & Geocaching Victoria 10 Year Anniversary – 16 November (GCAWDFX)

Join us for a fantastic night as we celebrate all of the nominees and announce the winners of the 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards. Voting will open in early October, so make sure to explore as many of the 2023 nominees as possible before you vote.

This event is also a chance to celebrate a decade of Geocaching Victoria. We’ll take a nostalgic journey through the past ten years, reminiscing and celebrating the adventures and memories we’ve created together.

The celebration will be held at the Yarraville-Footscray Bowling Club, where we’ll kick off with some casual barefoot bowls and drinks. Following that, optional meals will be available, as we toast the winners and celebrate the journey of the past decade.

Don’t forget to log your will attend to reserve your seat at GCAWDFX.

Geocaching Victoria 10th Anniversary Geocoin (Pre-sale)

Don’t miss your chance to own this one-of-a-kind geocoin commemorating a decade of Geocaching Victoria adventures! Whether you’ve been with us since the very first Mega Event in Casey Fields in 2015, attended recent events like our SideTracked Day celebration above, or have been following along online, this special coin lets you be a part of our history.

This premium 10th Anniversary geocoin was meticulously designed by Chris Mackey of AURA Design Group. At 3 inches wide and 4mm thick, it’s a substantial piece of memorabilia that will stand out in your collection. Each coin comes with its own unique tracking code.

You can purchase your coin for pick up at our Celebration event (or delivery afterwards) by visiting the 10th Anniversary Geocoin on our website.

Early Bird Offer – Expires September 22!

As a thank you to our loyal early adopters who dive in headfirst and support us, we’re offering a limited time $5 early bird discount until 22 September. Check out the coin link for more details on how to secure your discount and take home this premium coin.

Geocaching Victoria

To hide is the beginning, to find is the result, to seek is the adventure

Author Archives: RoamingHowie