The GVI Committee would like to advise, that on Monday 9th November 2022, that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held and the following committee member elections were made:
Accepting a role on the committee is not done lightly as the hours volunteered are often done while juggling other family, work and personal commitments, but it’s the love of the game that keep us coming back for more. Congratulations and thanks to all of you, for accepting your positions for the year ahead.
We would also like to take the time to acknowledge and thank Lorraine Sleep Olgivie (the_tritonz), who previously held the Vice President role, for her dedication over the past few years. After many years, she has decided to step down and enjoy new ventures ahead. We wish her all the very best.
It’s hard to believe that we have only ONE more week to go until we start arriving at the Whittlesea Mega. I don’t know about you, but the committee is very very excited as this has been in the planning for a long time. As we head into the final count-down, we wanted to give you some updates on a few key items.
Friday Night Social Event Catering
We wish to thank our local catering partners Ferguson Whittlesea and Whittlesea Rotary for their support of this event. They will be providing the following food options:
FERGUSON WHITTLESEA (PRE-ORDER) A selection of meal deals including pies, pasties and sausage rolls (inc plant based and gluten free options) are available to pre-order from our website.
Pre Orders close Monday 14 November.
Meals will be delivered directly to the event and will be available to collect at 6pm sharp. Book Pre-Order Here
ROTARY BBQ (NO PRE ORDER REQUIRED) Whittlesea Rotary will also be onsite selling sausages and hamburgers (including vegetarian options). These can be purchased on the night direct from Rotary (cash and card options available).
A selection of drinks and donuts will also be available to purchase onsite during the event. We look forward to seeing you all on the night.
Auslan Interpreters
With special thanks to our sponsor Whittlesea Council and our hearing impaired community, we can confirm that we will have an Auslan Interpreter available at certain times over the Mega event.
Welcome to Whittlesea (GC9YKBR), plus an additional hour after to support navigation around Gadget Ally, Puzzle Room and general questions
The Puzzle Room Adventure Lab is similar to an escape room, you have 20 minutes to unravel 5 mystery words within the puzzle room. Bookings are required (at the puzzle room).
So what do you have to do?
You have been asked to assist Professor Cachington in developing an antidote for a new disease known as Geopoxitis – a debilitating disease that causes the human body to create its own magnetic field, interfering with any navigational instrument that comes near them. The professor was only 5 ingredients short of finishing the antidote. However while stopping to get a cache on his way to the lab, Professor Cachington contracted the terrible disease. It is now up to you to finish his work, by identifying the 5 crucial ingredients and completing the antidote. The effects of Geopoxitis become permanent after 20 minutes, so time is of the essence. Hurry, the caching world is counting on you!
FTF and Maccamob Raffles
With so many attendees at a Mega, it’s only fair to cool the competitive FTF hounds. For those of you that are new to Mega’s, what we do is host a FTF raffle, which you can enter by purchasing a ticket or two near registration desk so that you can be in the final draw for the FTF.
Make sure you also bring some gold coins so that you can enter the draw for the inaugural Mega Maccamob raffle – their hampers are always amazing and it is a great way to donate to a local charity. This years chosen charity is to support the fundraising of a defibrillator with Rotary and Lions.
Out of interest we recently presented a cheque to North Eastern Health with a cheque for $1050 from the fundraising efforts from the Wangaratta Mega. Thanks to everyone who support this great cause.
Other Snippets of MEGA Interest…
Yes the rumour is true… we have planned for fireworks at the end of our Awards Night on Saturday!! A night not to be missed! (GC9NVQQ)
Missed the detailed Mega Event Schedule, here is the link
Four Lackeys will be visiting from Geocaching HQ – be sure to be on the look out for them!
We can confirm that Signal will be in attendance and has arrived ahead of the Mega. For those that have not yet logged the locationless cache for signal (GC8FROG), you will be a great opportunity at the Mega.
If you are planning on bring your geo-pup to the Mega, please consider the geo-dog etiquette for everyone’s consideration
PURPLE is our chosen colour, so be sure to purchase your ribbon and attach it to your car
We are just a little excited and would love to share some news… did you know we are fortunate enough to have some Lackeys attending our Whittlesea Mega!! Woo Hoo!
What is a Lackey I hear you ask? Great question!! A Lackey is someone who works and represents Geocaching HQ at events with pride. Some of you might remember that we had Rock Chalk attend St Arnaud Mega in 2019, but this Mega we have more than one Lackey attending… we have FOUR!! Each Lackey plays a different role at HQ and bring different professional expertise to the game we all love behind the scenes. Can you imagine working for Geocaching HQ – how awesome would it be! Our special visitors are…
Maria – (AKprincesswarrior) Learning & Development Manager Kelli – (ktaylor211) Adventure Lab Support Manager and Scrum Master Erin – (oceanazul) Product Manager – Adventure Lab Emily – (MychaelAnne) Revenue Accountant
Given that we have the opportunity to connect with these awesome humans, we thought that it would be great to host a “Meet and Greet” session with the Lackeys and the Reviewers (Sunday 9am) and provide an opportunity to our community to connect and ask questions. To help us prepare for this session, if you could let us know what questions or topics you have that you would like to hear about. Click on the form and register your questions.
We wanted to give you an update on some of the preparations and contingencies we have in place for the upcoming Mega. The weather in the last month or two has been challenging for all of us, however we are not letting it dampen our spirits… Instead we are riding the waves (fortunately not literally!).
Campgrounds
You may have seen Day’s ‘marvellous’ pitch report earlier today regarding the campgrounds at the Mega. Most are in good shape with a few more warm weather days ahead. Here are some of the insights from our visit today:
Sheep Pasture – Campsite is high and dry – sites have a good solid base
Pig Pen – Freshly mowed and reasonably dry in the camping area. No mud or slosh visible.
Chicken Run – Solid base with gravel roads on all sides of the campsites
Cow Paddock – As expected this campground (football oval) has some muddy areas, mainly towards the middle. We removed these sites from sale a few weeks ago, and currently there is little impact to the existing bookings. We are holding a number of sites in reserve as a contingency should any of the allocated spaces become unsuitable. For the most part, the area around the outer of the grounds is quite solid.
Sheep PastureChicken RunCow PaddockPig Pen
Parking
Some of our overflow car parking plans have had to change, however we have identified other areas with solid ground (mainly gravel) that we will utilise. Obviously it does help where teams are car pooling. Also, if you are camping, we ask that you leave your vehicle at your campsite whilst at the showgrounds so that spaces are available for day visitors.
Other Contingencies
We have moved some of our activities indoors as a precaution, and have contingencies in place for events should we have unfavourable weather on the day. We can’t control the forecast, but we’ll do our best to deal with it as things come up.
Other questions – Was The Whittlesea Show postponed?
Indeed it was. As an agricultural show, it has significant animals moving around the grounds (in low lying areas we are not utilising), has amusements and other structures all over the grounds, and has 1000’s of attendees who require parking. Many of the photos of flooding that were seen came from the carparks on the opposite side of the road to the showgrounds – an area we were never using. So whilst we sympathise with their difficult decision, our considerations are different.
Volunteers – a few spots to fill
We have a few last volunteer spots to fill. If you think you can help, especially with any of the spots below, please complete the form here. Don’t forget volunteers go into the daily prize draw (gift vouchers and other prizes), as well as exclusive pre-access to the puzzle room (and Maze) on Friday night.
Friday AM – Maze setup
Friday PM – Puzzle room/Camping Check in
Saturday AM – Registration/Camping Check in/Parking
Thank you to those that have already volunteered. We will start sending emails on Monday with further details.
There is no doubt the recent rains have been an unwelcome thorn in our side, however rest assured we are evolving our plans daily to ensure that we still deliver a great event. We look forward to seeing you all in Whittlesea in just a couple of short weeks.
It would be fair to say, that there are a few of us in the geocaching community that have a competitive streak in us. But the beauty of geocaching is that often – the competition is with ourselves!
I never forget when I first discovered what a challenge cache was – it was like a whole new world of geocaching opened up to me and I was in awe of how rich, yet diverse the game really was. I had many late nights after that moment, delving into the possibilities, the statistics, the challenges and tried to see if in my newbie status of geocaching, I actually qualified for any…. sadly I didn’t – BUT I had a whole new appreciation for what I COULD achieve.
With the Whittlesea Mega only a few weeks away and with the recent publication of a new challenge series (Whittlesea Challenge Wander Series) available, I thought it was an opportune time to connect with one of our challenge greats – Adriaan Homburg aka ahomburg on his experience on what makes challenges so exciting.
Thanks for chatting with me ahomburg, firstly can you share with us when you started Geocaching? I registered in 2006 but never tried to find a cache until 2010 when I was heading out for a BBQ with my family on Australia day. There was a Muzza cache called Dandenong Ranges Track #3 (GCC4F2) which was close by. The rest is history!
You have a great reputation for creating and achieving lots of different types of challenge caches – for those that are new to the game, can you explain what is a challenge cache? A challenge cache uses the same icon as a geocaching puzzle or mystery cache and it is usually at the listed coordinates and will have the word “challenge” in its title. But there is no puzzle to solve – rather it has a challenge for you to meet!
So finding the container is not enough to claim a smiley. Within the description of the cache, it will outline what you have to achieve or what criteria you have to meet in order to qualify and complete the challenge.
This could be as simple as finding a total of 50 caches, or it could be that you have to find 5 large caches, or attend ten events. There are a wide range of challenges available some suitable for beginners, where as others may be for more seasoned cachers and could take years to achieve.
How do you find challenge caches? Is there a list? There are a few ways to locate challenge caches. The easiest way is to go to project-gc.com where you can bring up a map or view a list of nearby challenges.
You can sign a challenge cache log book at any time. It is important to note that if you find the actual cache before you qualify, you can add a ‘write note’ to the cache confirming that you have signed the physical log and that you intend to work towards the challenge. Once you meet the requirements of the cache, you can then follow up with a ‘found it’ log and claim the smiley.
Sometimes you qualify for a challenge cache before you find the actual cache. If this is the case you can add a write note with your evidence (from project gc checker as an example) of how you meet the criteria and show your intention to sign the log at a future date. This can then be followed up with a ‘found it’ log when you sign the actual log.
You mentioned project GC checkers to see if you have qualified, what is a checker and how do I use it? All challenges since 2016 must include a project-gc.com challenge checker. Challenge checkers are used to see if a you qualify for a challenge and an easy way for the cache owner to know if you have filled the challenge criteria. These are all on project-gc.com, there is usually a link on the challenge cache page to see if you have qualified. It’s just a matter of opening the link and clicking on “Run Checker” and crossing your fingers. 🤣
What are some great challenges that beginners should start on? The best type for beginners is to find a certain number of caches, these are great as you don’t have to think too much about it. You can then move to the more complex ones like finding a certain number in a particular month.
BettyBoo3747 has some great challenge caches around the Beechworth Area like ‘Who Hid That There’ (GC4GZXH) where you have to collect 26 caches alphabetically from A-Z by Hider name. Perhaps even some of Sharkiefan’s challenge caches like (GC5AKTV) The 50 Souvenir Challenge Cache.
Geocaching Victoria also has quite a few listed on their website to help get you going. So be sure to check out that challenge web page.
What have been some of the favourite challenge caches that you have completed? Most challenges are fun. My absolute favourite are ones I don’t qualify for and have to work towards.
The original Unloved challenge, (GC3KWWQ) Spread the Love Challenge – where you had to find caches that had not been found in at least 183 days (6 months) it was great fun and always great to find these with a focus on caches that had not been found in the longest amount of time.
The other one I really like is the map based ones like (GCY98X) Victoria Country Road Atlas Challenge, where you have to find one cache on every page of the Victorian Country road map book and of course the (GC5DFFR) Victorian LGA Polygon Challenge where you need a cache in all the local government areas in Victoria.
You have such a high number of finds, and an experienced cacher, is there still challenges you are working towards that have not yet qualified for? Sadly in recent years the guidelines around publishing challenge caches have changed whereby all challenges need 10 local qualifiers to be published. Often I find that I already qualify for new challenges, but there has been a few recently like the 12 in every Victorian LGA and the 20 in 80 LGAs which have given me something to work on.
But in recent months I have enjoyed creating new challenge caches for others, like the recently published Whittlesea Challenge Wander Series.
Thanks so much ahomburg – I certainly look forward to working towards your more recent challenges, but to be honest I have many of your older ones still on the go too!
I must say I am a fan of the project GC challenge tools, because once you have added a write note to a challenge cache and run the checker, it tracks what challenges you are working on via the profile statistics… and lets just say my list is long!
