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.

And The Nominees Are…

Posted on April 22, 2024 by RoamingHowie

Over the past month, geocachers from all over the state have been reliving their favourite caching adventures from 2023. Combing through their geocaching lists in search of the cream of the crop to add to the nominees list for the Victorian Cache of the Year Awards. From mind-bending puzzles, to magnificent views and cunning hides, the floodgates opened as nominations poured in. In fact, this year saw a staggering 800 individual cache, Adventure Lab and log nominations – a new record! Thank you to everyone who added their voice to the list of geocaching greatness.

The nominations covered all corners of the state, with half of this years shortlisted nominees coming from regional Victoria. From night caches in the bush, lake paddles, and urban watering hole walks, there was a wide range of nominations. The list included quests to find white rabbits, bollards or ice cream, and field puzzles and mysteries that left many scratching their heads in search of the elusive log. It could have been a great view, a tricky find, or an amazing story that piqued interest. However, they all have one thing in common – the geocaching community thought they were something truly special.

The nominations were carefully tallied, verified and cross checked, and those pesky O’s converted to 0, I to a 1 and some Z to a 2 so that all the GC codes validated. With the nominations counted and shortlisted, the stage was set to share the amazing news with the community on the banks of Cherry Lake in Altona. (GCAK9V2)

As the autumn sun gently broke through the clouds, and the aroma of the sizzling BBQ wafted through the park (with thanks to the Sausage King, aka JohnnyGoldCoast), over 60 passionate geocachers gathered to celebrate as the shortlisted nominees were unveiled. A shout out to the HoodedHooligans and Bunadoorian also for their support on the day.

For those eager to dive in, the full list is available on our website’s 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards page, complete with links to each cache, Adventure Lab and log. There are an incredible 54 individual caches, 190 caches from the top 10 nominated cache series, 7 Adventure Labs and 6 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 them all.

It was evident that the volume of nominations for categories like “Best First Hide”, benefited from the new 2023 cache lists, which were made available this year via our website and geocaching.com. Kudos to BernieH along with support from our Victorian reviewer Bunjil for their efforts in delivering these invaluable tools. The 2024 lists are already online and are periodically updated throughout the year. The committee has also spent a great deal of time reviewing the program in detail, and updating the guidelines, to improve the awards and incorporate community feedback. Thank you for your tireless efforts.

Hold your breath however, as the journey is far from over! Voting won’t commence until later in the year, with the final winners slated to be revealed at a gala event in October/November (TBA). So grab your GPS device, lace up your caching boots and start the hunt for as many nominated caches as you can.

To all those whose geocache, Adventure Lab or log has earned you a spot on the coveted nominations list for 2023, congratulations on your nomination and thank you for bringing so much enjoyment to the community – Good Luck!

So what hides do you have planned for 2024?

March Spotlight: Award Nominations Begin As the Ballarat GeoTour Wraps Up

Posted on March 21, 2024 by RoamingHowie

As the curtains close on the film and television awards season, the caching awards season is only just starting. Dive into the details below to discover how you can participate, relish in the highlights of the Ballarat GeoTour, and mark your calendar for our upcoming April fundraising BBQ.

2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards – Nominations Open

We are excited to launch the Victorian Cache of the Year Awards for 2023. Each year we continue to be amazed by the creative, inspirational and adventurous caches that are created within our community and the awards are a great way to celebrate them.

This year, the committee has invested time to enhance the nomination resources, guidance, and program transparency. This includes incorporating community feedback into the program. For comprehensive details on the program, including eligibility and nomination criteria, please visit our awards webpage: Cache of the Year Awards

The 2023 award categories are:

Best Traditional Cache
Best Multi Cache
Best Mystery Cache
Best Other Cache (incl Wherigo, Letterbox, Virtual and Earthcache)
Best First Hide
Best Cache Series
Best Cache Location
Best Regional Cache (non metro LGA)
Best Adventure Lab
Best Cache Log (includes Found It and DNF)
Best Overall Cache

Nominations are now open and will remain open for 4 weeks, closing on Wednesday 17 April. If you haven’t already, take the opportunity to reflect on some of the remarkable 2023 caches you have discovered to ensure your favourites are recognised. You might even like to embark on some new adventures to uncover even more 2023 hides. These geocaching lists can help you to pinpoint the caches eligible in this years awards:

The shortlisted candidates will be announced at our awards nomination event at Cherry Lake on Sunday 21 April (GCAK9V2). Everyone is welcome to attend and there will be a free sausage sizzle so be sure to log your will attend for catering purposes.

The awards have a tradition of being generously sponsored by fellow cachers within our community. If you’re interested in learning more about sponsoring one of the 2023 awards, please visit the donations section of our shop or reach out via email at president@geocachingvictoria.com.au. Sponsors have the option to remain anonymous if they wish.

While you are nominating, give some thought to what amazing caches you are planning for 2024.

Ballarat GeoTour Farewell

After three very successful years, the Ballarat GeoTour officially concluded on Monday, 4 March. The final weeks were bustling with activity as teams from all across Australia (and some international guests), pushed to complete the tour before its closure.

Being the only GeoTour in the country it was no surprise the tour attracted an incredible turnout, drawing over 1,700 unique geocachers to explore Ballarat. The 25 caches and Adventure Lab garnered nearly 13,000 logs and close to 1,600 location completions respectively. Remarkably, 340 geocachers successfully completed the entire tour, earning themselves the coveted GeoTour souvenir. GeoTour participants journeyed from every corner of Australia, along with visitors from 19 other countries. Geocaching teams collectively spent 3,853 days searching for GeoTour caches!

Behind every one of our successful adventures lies the invaluable support of dedicated volunteers, and the Ballarat GeoTour is no exception. GemmaSistema spearheaded this remarkable project with incredible commitment and vision from the beginning. A huge thank you is owed to her for her leadership, drive, and determination. With the support of her Geocaching Victoria committee colleagues, Gemma was able to turn this ambitious idea into a reality. The financial backing provided by Vic Health played a pivotal role in bringing this dream to fruition. However, it was the collective effort of the Ballarat and surrounding caching community that truly brought the GeoTour to life.

We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to everyone who contributed their time and expertise to help design the tour, place and maintain caches, and ensure the seamless operation of the GeoTour over the past three years.

– ChooknChunk
– GemmaSistema
– Feathertop
– Fergzter
– Glanville Girls
– Kenare

– LouiseAnn
– Mazzy May
– McAdies
– McLookers
– PerpetuallyLost
– Saint Anthony

– Sally Mally
– Sean.75
– Sunset62
– The_Tritonz
– Wozzle68

In addition a massive thank you to our reviewers Bunjil and GeoAwareANZ2 for their ongoing support throughout. To each and every participant of the tour, as well as those who bought GeoTour coins and those who contributed to the nine GeoTour events, thank you for being a part of it.

The winners of our final 3 GeoTour unobtanium coins have now been drawn and they are:

jaamc_3335 (Completed the whole tour)
BlackOpal2005 (Completed the whole tour)
SciFiRulz (Supporting merchadise purchase)

Congratulations to all of the winners and we will be in contact with you soon to arrange your prize. If you haven’t ordered your GeoTour coins yet to celebrate, there are still a small number of each coin left available on our website.

Bunnings Fundraising BBQ

Join us for our upcoming fundraising event at the infamous Hammerbarn, scheduled for Sunday April 14 at Bunnings Mernda. Led by our fundraising champion, Grub62 (Belinda), our team of volunteers will be cooking up a storm, enticing the public to support us with their generosity.

We’re still in need of a few extra hands on the day, so if you can spare a couple of hours, we’d greatly appreciate your assistance. Feel free to reach out to Belinda at grub62@geocachingvictoria.com.au. Alternatively if you can’t stay for long, why not drop by anytime between 9 am and 4 pm to meet fellow geocachers and enjoy a snag. Don’t forget to log your ‘Will Attend’ at GCAK9VM.

If you can’t make it but would still like to support our fundraising efforts, why not donate the equivalent of a packet of sausages and some loaves of bread towards the day. Simply use the ‘Give ingredients for a fundraising BBQ‘ option on our website or explore one of the other donation alternatives.

We extend our gratitude to Bunnings Mernda for their ongoing support of Geocaching Victoria. Special thanks to the activities team, Michelle, and Chloe, for providing us with this invaluable opportunity.

February Update

Posted on February 15, 2024 by RoamingHowie

February this year is a whole 24 hours longer than usual and there is no shortage of action occurring on Leap Day to maximise this rare opportunity. Whether you are heading to the Great Leap Forward Mega in South Australia, attending one of the six events being hosted here in Victoria, or heading out to add to your combination of finds for this unusual day, don’t forget to plan ahead so you don’t miss out. It is a long wait for the next one. Here are some other updates while we’ve got your attention.

10 Years of Volunteering

Late last year as the final caches for 2023 were making their way through the review queue, our local reviewers, Bunjil, aka Peter and Helen, reached their 10 year milestone as volunteer reviewers. That’s a mega amount of volunteer time dedicated to this great activity of ours.

Just how many review hours you might wonder? Well enough to have published over 20,000 geocaches, and write over 43,000 reviewer notes – HUGE!

Ten years is an incredible milestone, so on behalf of the community, THANK YOU for all of your hard work and tireless contribution. A lot of your work is often hidden behind the scenes and goes unnoticed, however geocaching is not possible without the incredible support of volunteers like yourselves and we really appreciate it.

Events, Events and more Events!

The event calendar is pretty busy these days with lots of social activities to choose from. Following some great community feedback, we have updated our event page to include the Local Government Area (LGA), which will hopefully make it easier to find what you are looking for. We are also working with some of our interstate colleagues on some future updates to further enhance the page and ensure you can keep up your social fix.

Check out the new format and all the events happening around town on our website here.

Rutherglen Cache Series – Retirement

The Rutherglen Mega Committee and their very talented cache crew led by Robmc, have been tirelessly maintaining the 300 Mega related caches in Rutherglen for almost 2 years now (since Easter 2022). This is a commendable effort and takes substantial volunteer time to keep on top of the huge number of caches, which also involves significant travel.

Out of respect to our amazing volunteers, this is advance notice that these caches will soon be retired. They will remain active until after Easter, however they will be archived post 8 April 2024. If you are travelling up to the Canberra Geobash, this could be good opportunity to drop in and claim any hides you have not yet found.

Thank you to Robmc, day1976, BettyBoo3747 and the rest of the team who have worked tirelessly to create and maintain these caches over the last 2 years.

Save The Date / Cache Of The Year Awards – Nominations

Don’t forget to add these upcoming dates to your calendar:

18 February GCAFQ8B – Farewell Ballarat GeoTour (THIS WEEKEND!)
14 April GCAK9VM – Mernda BBQ
21 April GCAK9V2 (coming soon) – Victorian COTY Awards – Nominations Announcement

We will have all the news on the awards for the 2023 year and how you can nominate your favourite caches in an upcoming announcement. In the meantime, get out and find as many 2023 caches as you can in preparation. Check out the following lists to help you focus your caching maps:

2023 Traditional Hides – https://coord.info/BMCEG0W
2023 Non Traditional Hides – https://coord.info/BMCEG0V
2023 First Time Hides https://coord.info/BMCEG0Z
2023 Cache Series https://coord.info/BMD15XQ

You can find plenty of other lists on our Great Caching Lists webpage.

And the winner is…

Posted on November 27, 2023 by RoamingHowie

It was a star-studded affair on Saturday night as geocachers from all over the state gathered to celebrate the 2022 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards and Trivia Night. Out went the usual caching attire and in came bow ties, pom poms, and even an orchestral ensemble (of sorts)!

The stage had been set, with approximately 1,500 non event caches hidden across Victoria in 2022. The community had found, explored and pondered which of those were worthy of being nominated as a treasure master for 2022. The nominations were tallied and cross checked in order to produce a shortlist across twelve cache, adventure lab and log categories (list available here). A list that spread far and wide, including the newest of cachers and experienced royalty. Congratulations to everyone who hid a cache, lab or wrote a log in 2022, and especially those that were identified as extra special by the community.

It was then time to go out and explore and marvel in the calibre of geocaches on offer. Which hide amazed you with a great location? Which log had you in stitches over the antics one goes to in order to gain a smiley? Was it a devilish hide and GPS sorcery that took your fancy, or a cache construction to rival Victoria’s Big Build?

With the votes in, and the crowd gathered, it was time to announce and honour the winners. Drum roll please…

…and the winners for the 2022 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards are:

Category	GC Code	winner
Best Traditional Cache	GCA0TAG	Mmm…Donuts by RyderSpider
Best Multi Cache	GC9WBJF	Whittlesea ANGRY MOB… by Mister Doctor & Posums
Best Mystery Cache	GC9QE 1 M	The Hunt for Red October by OSHFAM
Best First Hide	GCA09YW	Cujo Challenge by horror.fan.jm
Best Cache Series	GC9ZWZV	Whittlesea Event Gadget Trail by plowfive
Best Cache Location	GC9P66N	State Library – La Trobe Reading Room by Mister Doctor
Best Adventure Lab	N/A	Whittlesea Puzzle Room by Geocaching Victoria
Best Other Cache	GC9P51G	Rutherglen Wine Bottle by feathertop
Best Regional Cache	GC9P51G	Rutherglen Wine Bottle by feathertop
Best Overall Cache	GC9QE1M GC9ZX09	The Hunt for Red October by OSHFAM WEGT #7 – Vending Machine Cache… by plowfive
Best DNF Log	GL18TARGN	horror.fan.jm on wherigo wander #8
Best Found It Log	GL17Z5YGW	LetThemEatCache on The Hunt for Red October

Sponsors

We wish to acknowledge all of the amazing sponsors for this years awards who very generously donated prizes:

BernieH
bunadoorian
Grub62
ILookedThere
OzHockeyChick
posums
Anonymous
Generous Cacher
Mystery Cacher
Your friendly neighbourhood cacher

Profile Badge and Cache Page Banner

You can share your nomination/win in the 2022 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards with fellow cachers by doing the following:

Add a badge to your profile, proudly sharing with the community that you were a nominee/winner
Add a banner to your cache page to let finders know your cache was part of the 2022 awards.

Visit this link to find the badge and banner for you.

Trivia

Since both Robbie Williams and Christina Aguilera double booked being the entertainment for our event on Saturday night (rude!), we opted for a spot of trivia! It was time to test who pays attention at some of the finer geocaching details, and who knows their Eggs and Bacon Bay from their $10 notes.

With 13 teams vying for the first prize, generously donated by Grub62, Our friendly neighbourhood cacher, and Bunnings Mernda, we made our way through the minefields of caching avatars, Australian & general knowledge, geocaching facts and finally pop culture trivia.

Congratulations to our runners up “I don’t know” (well you obviously did!) and our winners “SPOFLs” who brought their own cheer squad (themselves).

Thats a Wrap!

Special thanks to CeeJayDenno and Hampton RSL for providing the venue and great food on the night, and to Hooded Hooligans who provided the sound system.

Congratulations to everyone that was nominated for an award. A huge thank you to everyone who nominated, voted and sponsored awards.

If you are looking to get started on the amazing caches for 2023, why not check out our Great Caching Lists page which is constantly evolving. There are lists to help you identify all of the first time hiders in 2023 (go out and give their caches some love), all of the traditional and non traditional hides of the year so far, as well as others like pole caches, SideTracked and many more. Don’t forget to add your favourite caches to your own list, so that you are ready to nominate for next years awards.