Neville’s News – Update 5 – Feb 2026

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G’day mates! Neville here 🐾 – your favorite Tasmanian Devil, and this is my final blog before the mega event kicks off. The countdown is almost over, so listen up – I’m giving you all the tips to survive, thrive, and have a devilishly good time!

 Two Weeks to Go – Get Your Tail in Gear!

  • 🗺️ Plan your route & strategy – don’t get lost in the maze!
  • 🧩 Solve puzzles – keep your devilish brain sharp
  • 🎒 Check your gear – comfy shoes, raincoat, water, and powerbank
  • 🏷️ Prep TBs & Pathtags – trading is serious business
  • ✍️ Log “Will Attend” – let everyone know you’re coming

✨ Tassie tip: explore local trails, grab treats, and support local businesses!

🎶 Saturday Night Dinner Event!

Just a reminder — you do not need to purchase a meal to attend this event. The evening is open to everyone, so come along and enjoy the great company, the band Tasmania’s Devil’s Own , and the atmosphere.

If you’d like to have the paella dinner (vegan option available) by Kiltro Streetfood , you’ll need to pre-purchase your meal ticket.

Meal pre-orders close midnight Tuesday 24th so catering numbers can be confirmed.

For full event details and to log your “Will Attend,” please visit  GCAZTAM

🐜🐍 Geocaching in Tassie – Stay Alert!

  • ⚠️ Jack Jumpers – Native ants can deliver painful stings and may trigger severe allergic reactions. Watch your step and avoid disturbing nests.
  • 🐍 Snakes – All Tasmanian snakes are venomous, including species like the Tiger snake and Lowland copperhead. Wear boots, stick to paths where possible, and give snakes plenty of space.
  • 🌿 Bush Safety – Let someone know your plans, carry water and a first aid kit, and check conditions before heading out.

Tread carefully, stay safe, and enjoy the adventure! 🧭

🚗 Driving in Tassie – Slow Down, Mate!

Tasmania is breathtaking — but our roads can be very different from what you’re used to on the mainland.

⚠️ Increased risk of wildlife

Tasmania has the highest rate of roadkill in Australia. Animals like wallabies, wombats and possums are most active at dawn and dusk, but can appear at any time — especially on rural and forested roads. Slow down, stay alert, and avoid driving at night where possible.

🛣 Appreciate Tassie Roads are different

Not all roads are equal here:

  • A Roads – Main highways between major towns. Generally sealed and in good condition, but can still be winding and narrow.
  • B Roads – Secondary roads. Often narrower, hillier, and more winding.
  • C Roads – Local or rural roads. These can be quite narrow, steep, and sometimes unsealed.

Even short distances on the map can take much longer than expected! Especially when towing!

⏳ Allow Extra Travel Time

Tasmania’s roads are scenic — and slow. Twists, hills, single-lane bridges, and changing weather conditions all add to travel time. If you’re towing a caravan or driving a campervan, allow significantly more time between destinations and use designated pull-over bays to let local traffic pass safely.

🔥 Fire Season Awareness

During bushfire season, conditions can change quickly. Check alerts before you travel and stay informed by downloading the TasALERT app for up-to-date fire warnings and road closures.

Neville’s Essentials

Have a look at this checklist below to make sure you don’t miss anything at this mega event.

Got Questions?

If something’s unclear, confusing, or keeping you awake at night—send your questions through. Better to ask now than panic later.

💚 Tip from Neville: This is it – your last guide before the mega event! Tasmania isn’t a place to rush. Take it slow, enjoy the scenery, and go wild… in a safe, devilish way. 🐾

Check the full schedule here so you don’t miss out:
👉 https://geocachingvictoria.com.au/tassie-event-schedule/

See the geocaching bookmark list of all events here
👉 https://www.geocaching.com/plan/lists/BMF8C23

Thats all from me now, mates! Time to get packing, get moving and get ready to go wild at the mega event. Be safe, stay sneaky and may your caches be plentiful.

–– Neville the Devil

tasmaniamega@geocachingvictoria.com.au

Neville’s News – Update 4 – Jan 2026

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Alright folks, listen up. We’re officially five weeks out, and things are heating up nicely for the Tassie event. Neville’s been busy preparing checklists, so here’s your latest update.

Merch Alert 🚨 – Orders Close TONIGHT

Important one, so pay attention 👀

🧢 Clothing merchandise orders CLOSE TONIGHT.
 If you were thinking “I’ll do it later”… this is later.

AND—because Neville enjoys a good incentive…

We are excited to announce that all Tassie Event merch orders placed by Jan 31 will go into a RANDOM PRIZE DRAW to win an incredible $360 Gift Voucher thanks to our wonderful sponsor Pennicott Wilderness Journeys

Prize: Voucher for two adults on their wilderness cruises valued at $360

Important info:

– One entry per order, and

– Only one entry per person.

– For any Tassie Event merchandise, not just clothing, including prior orders

– Entries close Jan 31, 2026

Grab your merch, support the event, and you could find yourself cruising Tasmania’s stunning waters. And remember if you choose shipping – it doesn’t happen until after the event.

Which leads us onto our Sponsors.….

The updated list of sponsors aka the Legends Who Make This Happen has been updated.

The website includes details on our latest offer from Pennicott Wilderness Journeys for 15% discount on their tours. Head over to the website for more details. 

👉 https://geocachingvictoria.com.au/tassiesponsors/

Volunteers: Neville needs you

Volunteer shifts have now been sent out to everyone who registered.

  • Please reply and confirm your attendance (Neville likes certainty)
  • If life throws you a curveball, let us know as soon as possible
  • We still need a few extra hands, especially on Sunday

Even a short shift helps keep the chaos… organised.

Pets

A friendly reminder since all our main events are indoors, Pets are unfortunately not permitted inside. Trained Assistance dogs are of course welcome.

Geocaching Victoria’s policy on dogs is available on their website in case you are planning to bring your pet to Tassie.

https://geocachingvictoria.com.au/home/tips/new-to-geocaching/caching-with-our-geo-dogs

Got Questions?

If something’s unclear, confusing, or keeping you awake at night—send your questions through. Better to ask now than panic later.

That’s it for now. Five weeks. The countdown is on.
Neville’s ready… are you?

–– Neville the Devil

tasmaniamega@geocachingvictoria.com.au

Wrapping Up Another Great Year of Geocaching in Victoria

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As the year draws to a close, it’s a great time to pause, reflect, and celebrate another memorable year for Geocaching Victoria and our community.

It has been a huge social year, marked by the 25th year of geocaching. Across Victoria, there were 625 events, including 65 Community Celebration Events and clost to 9,500 attendances. Cache hiding also surged, with 41% more hides in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Here are just some of the highlights from 2025:

  • January – We unveiled plans for The Tassie Event, the first-ever Mega to be held in Tasmania in 2026. Working alongside an enthusiastic Tasmanian team, this is shaping up to be a truly huge event.
  • March – Our first-ever Block Party in Sunbury saw over 500 teams join in the fun.
  • April – Excitement buzzed at Darebin Parklands as we announced the nominees for the 2024 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards.
  • July – It was plants aplenty, with geocachers volunteering alongside Manningham Council to plant thousands of trees for National Tree Day.
  • August – International Geocaching Day was celebrated across the state, including events such as The Great Victorian Cache Crawl.
  • October – The winners of the 2024 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards were revealed at another gala evening, complete with a special guest appearance by Elvis.
  • November – Lights, camera, action! The GIFF event at the Clayton Theatre rolled out, followed by a celebration marking the 10th anniversary of Victoria’s first Mega at Casey Fields.
  • December – Preparations for The Tassie Event have stepped up a gear, with exciting announcements including the GPS Adventures Maze, event merchandise, and more details about the weekend festivities. We’d love your help as a volunteer – Register now to get involved.

Many of these events wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible efforts of volunteers, reviewers, committee members, event subcommittees and the wider community – thank you all. And of course, this is just part of the story, with geocaching information sessions, community event weekends, CITOs, cache releases, BBQs, and countless other activities happening right across Victoria.

2025 By The Numbers

For those that like stats, here is a snapshot of caching in Victoria this year (prior year in brackets):

  • Total 2025 hides: 2,296 (1,657)
  • Event type caches (incl above): 625 (490)
  • Favourites accumulated on new hides: 3,795 (2,939)
  • Total finds on 2025 caches (non event): 46,915 (24,818)
  • Event attendances: 9,433 (5,575)
  • Average new hide D/T: 2.01 / 1.81 (2.05 / 1.86)
  • Most common/Least common difficulty: 1.5 / 5.0 (1.5 / 5.0)
  • Most common/Least common terrain: 1.5 / 4.5 (1.5 / 4.0)
  • No. of D/T combos with nil placements in 2025: 17 (17)
  • Most common/Least common size: Micro / Large [Small / Large]
  • Most common/Least common type: Traditional / Wherigo (Traditional / Wherigo)
  • LGAs with most new hides: Ballarat, Yarra Ranges & Latrobe (Golden Plains, Glenelg & Indigo)
  • LGAs with no new hides : Gannawarra & Yarriambiack (Ararat, Brimbank, Gannawarra, Greater Dandenong, Horsham, West Wimmera & Yarriambiack)
  • LGAs with most events: Ballarat, Hepburn, Melbourne (Ballarat, Hepburn, Greater Geelong)
  • No. of unique cachers with 12 or more finds (average 1 per month): 2,158 (2,386)
  • No. of unique cachers with 366 or more finds (average 1 per day): 156 (152)
  • No. of unique hiders (inc events): 350 (347)

*Data as at 27 December 2025

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

Looking Ahead

With a new year just around the corner, there’s plenty to look forward to. More events, more adventures, more creative caches, and more opportunities to connect with fellow geocachers.

Whether your goals for the coming year include hiding your first cache, attending more events, tackling a long-standing D/T challenge, or simply getting outside a bit more, we look forward to playing a part in your journey.

From all of us at Geocaching Victoria, thank you for a fantastic year. We can’t wait to see where geocaching takes us next – happy caching, and we’ll see you in the new year.

Neville’s News – Update 3 – Dec 2025

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G’day geocachers,

Neville here — currently looking at the calendar, crossing off days like a kid waiting for Christmas. Yes, I’m fully aware we’re still three months away, but time works differently for geocachers. Three months is barely enough time to find your tent pegs, recharge your GPS, and pretend you’re not going to buy more path tags.

Soon enough, the Spirit of Tasmania will be packed with people nervously checking their phones for reception, and the mainlanders will realise the weather app means nothing in Tasmania. Four seasons, in a day. That’s the local forecast.

The Event Schedule Is Live

Good news for all the planners, list-makers and colour-coded-spreadsheet people out there:
The full Tassie Event schedule is now up here.

There’s trail events, socials, activities, and enough fun to justify telling your boss you “need the experience for professional development.”

Print it. Screenshot it. Stick it to the fridge so every time you reach for snacks, you’re reminded that The Tassie Event is coming.

Saturday Night Event

Let’s talk about the Saturday night gathering — the big social highlight where we eat, chat, swap stories, and find out who discovered geocaching because “someone at work mentioned it once”.
If you would like a meal on the night, these must be booked in advance through the Geocaching Victoria Shop.

The catering team Kiltro Streetfood  is local, legendary, and used to feeding hungry adventurers. The food will be excellent — unless you’re only there for the band.

Speaking of band… we’ve locked in the Tassie Devil’s Own — and they’re not just “some band who plays covers.” They bring a delicious mix of traditional and contemporary Celtic, Australian and American-roots folk music. You will hear some festival favourites, plus some unique Tassie tales.

They feature strong vocal harmonies and enough energy to get even the quietest cacher up on their feet. So come for the dinner — and stay for the music, the stories, and maybe an impromptu jig or two.

We Need Volunteers

We’re gearing up for an amazing event in Tassie, and we’re calling on our incredible community to get involved!

Volunteers are the heart of what we do — whether it’s helping with setup, helping with gadgets, registration or new members, your support makes all the difference.

If you’re willing to give a little time, we’d love to have you on board.

👉 Sign up here:https://forms.gle/9p4jEBNtiV1FfPwg6

Thank you in advance for stepping up and helping us create something unforgettable!

Merch Pick-up and Shipping

Important merch announcement, so focus: Pick-up is at the event.

If you pick shipping instead — it will not be sent until after the event. That’s just logistics.
The system might default to shipping – don’t panic. You will have the option to choose free pick up at checkout before payment. The system is a bit quirky. Like most of us.

Get excited

That’s the latest update!

Three months will fly by faster than a cacher spotting a trail of fresh footprints leading toward an unfound container.

We’ve got:

🎯 a full schedule

🍽️ a big Saturday dinner

🎸 live music

🛍️ shiny merch

🌄 and the best caching landscape in the country

Whether you’re coming across the Strait, road-tripping from Devonport, or just popping in from down the road, I can’t wait to see everyone in Tassie. Bring your friends, bring your GPS, and bring your sense of adventure.

And seriously — book that Saturday dinner meal. Future-You will thank you.

Enjoy the end of year celebrations and see you next year.

–– Neville the Devil

tasmaniamega@geocachingvictoria.com.au

Geocaching Victoria Welcomes Ross (Suscoe)

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We’re thrilled to welcome Ross to the Geocaching Victoria committee. So that you get to know our committee members, we like to share a glimpse into what drives them. I had the chance to ask Ross a few questions, and here’s what we discovered about him and Team Suscoe!

Lets start with your geocaching name and how you came about it?

Our caching team name is Suscoe and I cache with my wife, Sue. When we were starting we were trying to work out a Geocaching Team name that was made up from parts of both our names. So “Sus” is from Sue’s full first name and I was called Roscoe at times so that is where the “coe“ came from. That was how the team name “Suscoe” was born.

I always wondered how the “Ross” part played into it. It makes for a handy short name for those log books! When did you and Sue start geocaching and how did you find out about it?

We started our Geocaching membership on the 5th of September 2009 after we read about it in a newspaper article. We thought that it sounded interesting, so we got started around Geelong and we thought it was pretty good. That was where we met our great friend Bushfire. He helped us so much in our early days of caching and we spent many trips with him wandering the countryside finding caches. Little did we know that we would still be involved some 16 years later and have found just over 34,000 caches in Australia and overseas.

That’s an impressive haul, in fact it puts you in Victoria’s top 10 ten cache finders – that’s no small feat. With so many finds, what is your preferred way to geocache?

We simply enjoy having a day out geocaching either by ourselves or with friends. We don’t have a particular style of caching, but we like to be prepared and we often plan a list of caches to look for. We enjoy trying to solve puzzles, tracking down a good multi cache, particularly those in cemeteries, and finding traditional, EarthCaches and Adventure Labs. We also like to attend events, when we have the opportunity, to catch up with people that we know, and to meet new cachers. We have also tackled a few power trails and Geoarts. But what we really do like about Geocaching is just getting out to enjoy the countryside or urban areas, following where the cache placements take us and enjoying the locations, the history, solving the hides, accidentally meeting other geocachers at a hide and catching up with members of the wider geocaching community.

It sounds like a good mix of everything, which is a great way to do it. In amongst it all, what do you currently have on your geocaching bucket list?

Now that is an interesting question. It would be fabulous to finally find a cache in every
Australian State and Territory, we still have a couple to visit. We also hope to get to New
Zealand one day to find some caches.

Queensland and Northern Territory… watch this space! So what is the craziest adventure you have had in the name of caching?

We joined a couple of other cachers one morning in search of a letterbox located in a drain under the CBD of Ballarat. There is something special about standing below a grate, hearing the voices of people going about their daily business while we were 4 metres below, signing a cache log.

Ahhh the famous Subterranean – If you know, you know! Other than exploring the drains below cities, what is the most remote or unusual place you have found a geocache?

Well there are a couple of locations that come to mind.

Finding some caches at Ankor Wat near Siem Reap in Cambodia would have to be a highlight because of the amazing history in the age and size of the temple complexes and the remoteness of the location. We also enjoyed finding caches in and around the historical sites of Paris, like the Eiffel Tower or Monet’s Garden Lilly Ponds. There is something so very special about standing near significant buildings and artworks, finding a sneakily placed cache in a location that we had only ever read about.

One of the most amazing caches that we have found is RV 5.08: Brugge GC4XMCM. It is located in the City Square in Brugge. The associated field puzzle had us looking at the buildings around the square in order to solve the cache access process. It had thousands of favourite points back in 2016 and at the current time it has 7792 favourite points. Simply stunning.

Wow, they are some impressive locations. So with all that adventure under your belts, what made you join Geocaching Victoria and what are you most looking forward to?

I decided to join Geocaching Victoria to be able to give back to the geocaching community through this organisation. Geocaching has brought us so much pleasure over the years in exploring the outdoors and meeting terrific people. I am looking forward to being part of this team that provides opportunities for others to become involved in geocaching and to support the diverse community that enjoys geocaching in Victoria and further afield.

Thank you Ross for taking some time to tell us about yourself, and most importantly, for joining the Geocaching Victoria committee. We are very much looking forward to your energy and insights as we head into 2026. Please join me in welcoming Ross to the team!