It’s time to welcome the third and final new member of the Geocaching Victoria committee, Jo from chooknchunk. Getting in contact with Jo’s publicist is near impossible of late, and once you do, the global requests for interviews following the amazing People’s Choice Award win in the 2023 GIFF have meant access is limited. We were thrilled to hear that Jo had insisted her schedule be cleared to make time to chat with us. Now where did I put that list of “no go” questions?

Jo, what is your geocaching name and how did you decide on it?

I am the “chook” of chooknchunk. My partner Chunk calls me this because I’m vertically challenged and as such my backside is close to the ground like a chook. Chunk has always been given that nickname by his family. 

A name now known globally! So when did you start geocaching and how did you find out about it?

Prior to geocaching, we had both been involved in horse endurance competition. An endurance friend had told us how she would go riding in the hills with her friend who would find these little treasures. Months later we had a weekend off together and asked her “what is that treasure hunting thing you do?”. We looked at a GCA map on the laptop and found a nearby cache without a GPS. Then we realised we needed to join up to get info and co-ords, and to log a find.

Over the next year we found about 20 caches, including a couple close to home that showed us places we never knew about. We noted an event in Ballarat, so we rocked up to that and learnt that there was an app on the phone we could use, rather than plugging co-ords into the old Garmin wrist watch. Everything accelerated rapidly into an addiction after that.

Giddy Up! Looks like you’ve been cracking the whip since your first 20 finds. Now what sort of caching style suits you both?

We love a bit of everything, but in particular we like geocaches that bring us to interesting locations, which might be a good view, a bush hike, some local history or a key place for that particular community or area. We also love events and Chook is also into solving puzzles.

Sounds like a great excuse to explore. What do you love most about geocaching?

Definitely the people. We have made many good friends through geocaching. Caching with friends adds so much more fun to the adventures.

It provides access to some cheap acting talent also… or so I hear. Having ticked off producing a GIFF from your bucket list, what is still on the list to achieve?

More interstate trips, particularly to go to the three states that we haven’t visited yet – WA TAS and NT. 

Road Trip!!!! On your caching adventures to date, what has been the most memorable?

Nearly every caching outing turns into an adventure of some sort. From the shenanigans deployed to dodge muggles in the suburbs, to the Little Desert trips with The Tritonz, the bush hikes with my friend WendyB158, the CSI adventures in Wangaratta and boat-caching on Lake Eildon. There’s way too many to list. However our most memorable cache so far is probably Underworld (GC4VM05) in Mt Buffalo. I used to love going back to work the next week and have my bemused colleagues say “you did WHAT for a cache?”.

I think we can all relate to those remarks. In amongst your adventures, what made you consider volunteering your time to support Geocaching Victoria and what are you most looking forward to?

Having recently retired from nursing, I feel I can now give some time back to the activity that has given us so much over the past decade. I am particularly keen to try to facilitate more caching networking and activity in the country regions of Victoria.

We look forward to your contribution to geocaching and to additional networking in regional Victoria. Thanks for taking the time to share your caching journey with us and for joining Geocaching Victoria. I know we inflated your new found fame a little, and that the reality is a much more humble and gracious win, so congratulations from all of us (although that list of demands in your pre interview rider was… interesting!).

Please join me in welcoming Jo to the Geocaching Victoria team.

Earlier this month we shared the news that three new community members had joined the Geocaching Victoria committee. One of those new members is Julie, and I caught up with her to find out a little more about her geocaching journey, and to see just how much cache one should eat.

Julie, tell us about your geocaching name and how it came about?

My geo-name is LetThemEatCache. For the first two minutes of my geocaching journey I was JRichardsFox, but didn’t want to use my real name. Being a Francophile, I thought of Marie Antoinette’s phrase “Let Them Eat Cake” and you can work the rest out yourself!

Great name, although I don’t recommend actually munching on a Sistema container (it was for research purposes only, I swear). So, when did your geocaching journey begin?

I signed up in January 2019, after seeing a desperate plea on Facebook from a parent about what activities were good for their bored kids during school holidays. Thank you, if it was you that suggested geocaching.

Although I think I can guess the answer to this next question, tell us how you like to cache and what is your style?

I generally cache in pairs, or maybe 3-4 people max. I LOVE solving puzzles, but I have more solved pieces on my map than smilies so that’s a fine balance. Numbers aren’t my thing, as I aim for quality over quantity. Currently I’m looking into challenges more, but that takes some self-organisation!

Leading one of the communities puzzle solving groups sort of gave you away on that one. Other than puzzles, what do you love most about geocaching?

So many things; the friendships and camaraderie, the fun facts behind a place or plaque etc, but primarily it’s discovering a hidden gem that otherwise you’d never know existed.

So tell me about one of those hidden gems or unusual places you have found a geocache?

Whilst visiting Singapore, we decided to visit the virtual cache ‘Southernmost Tip of Asia’, not realising you had to cross a suspension bridge that was very unstable and the locals thought it hilarious to bounce the bridge so it was hard to stay upright. Glad I don’t have to do that again!

That sounds like the perfect place for a webcam cache, so we can all watch! Other than crossing unstable suspension bridges, what other geocaching adventures have you had?

Several long road trips, including chasing a Golden Dragon up the east coast of Australia. Most recently the Great Victorian Cache Crawl was a doozy 21hrs of driving hundreds of kilometres. It was worth it though!

I do recall an unnamed designated driver enthusiastically “handing” over the keys to their vehicle towards the end of that crawl, alas we digress. What is currently on your geocaching bucket list?

I’m slowly working on my Fizzy grid, days of the year found, and 6 cache types for each day of the month. Ultimately I’d love to visit Geocaching HQ in Seattle, but who knows when that will be.

So just working on a few small things then 😂! Ok, now that we know you a little better, what made you consider joining Geocaching Victoria and what are you most looking forward to?

I always admired the community-focused achievements of Geocaching Victoria, and having gotten so much enjoyment out of geocaching and the events put on by them (how good are Megas??), I thought it was a great opportunity to give back. Plus, I’m kind of hoping I get a crown and a cape.

We are pretty stoked to have you on board the Geocaching Victoria committee, and really appreciate your time. I’m sorry to disappoint you though as the crown and cape have been retired for now. How about a novelty hat? In the meantime, please join me in welcoming Julie to the team.

We were excited to announce three new Geocaching Victoria committee members earlier this month. As a way for us all to get to know them better, I asked each of them some questions to see what makes them tick as well as delving into their geocaching adventures a little more. Leah was the first to join me for a fireside chat, as we dive in to find out the who, what and why below.

Starting at the beginning, what is your geocaching name and how did you decide on it?

Our geocaching name is Crack’n’LeeLee, which is our nicknames, Craig (aka Crackers) and Leah (aka LeeLee). When deciding, we looked at a few other names and saw the name chooknchunk so just went with something similar. If we knew how many logs we would end up writing we may have decided on something different, however we abbreviate to CNLL when needed.

A short caching name is sage advice for new players. So how did you find out about geocaching and when did you start your adventure?

We started this wonderful, addictive world of geocaching in June 2015. Crackers was out for a drive in the Blackwood area and came across a place called Balt Camp. When he got home, he googled it, and it came up with an old archived cache page. He investigated further and realised we had some in an area close to us and a spot we had never visited (Long Forest), so we went for a look. Our first find was placed by Riddell. We were wowed by the fact that we have driven past this amazing spot so many times but never stopped until the treasure hunt. We now have our own caches in the area for that very reason.

Long Forest is certainly home to some amazing caches these days. Can you tell us about your geocaching style – how do you like to cache?

I like adventures. The bush, country roads, a kayak, bike ride or a decent hike. I’m not a city cacher unless it’s an EC, virtual or really quiet. I plan to visit busy places on quiet public holidays for this reason. So that I look less weird, is that even possible? I like to set goals. I have recently been working on achieving different stats and milestones which are good for targeting finds that I may have otherwise ignored. Overall, I much prefer a 10km hike/kayak with 10 caches than a 10km drive with 100.

So with your hiking shoes on, what do you love most about geocaching?

I love that geocaching can take me to places I may never have visited if it wasn’t for a cache. I also like getting involved in activities or community events and CITOs, and have found them to be a great way to connect with local groups and make a difference. Additionally, I value the people, friendships and experiences I’ve had along the way.

What is currently on your geocaching bucket list?

Having ticked off a visit to the Purnululu – Bungle Bungles a couple of years ago, I have reset, and have a few things I’m looking forward to. Just a tad closer to home, I really want to visit “The Dish” at Parkes, which we are planning after the Canberra Mega. No doubt there will be a few lines from the movie during our visit. We haven’t cached in Tasmania, so that is high on the to do list and a great excuse to go back.

Wow the Bungle Bungles look impressive, what an experience. In your adventures to date, what is the craziest thing you have done in the name of caching?

In February 2020 we set out for another great day on the Barwon River paddling with friends 2beez, Kay and Ed. It started with me dry reaching and vomiting from the smell of rotting rabbit carcasses next to where we parked one of the cars. We made it into the water, and halfway through our paddle we found a poor sheep standing in the river against the high cliff bank with nowhere to go. It had fallen down the bank and looked like it had been there at least overnight.

We wanted to help but it was also a challenge as the bank was too high. Craig hopped in the water and we got it onto my kayak to try and help it up. The poor thing was so tired we decided just to paddle it back upstream to a landing we could see. With the help of Kay & Ed we had success!!!! I paddled so quick to the bank and Craig popped back in the water and lifted the sheep back up the bank and it ran off to safety. All worked out well in the end. I stayed dry, and of course managed a few photos. LeeLee is always taking photos. The rest of the paddle went well and we celebrated achieving our #367 streak day over a late lunch.

Rescuing a sheep on a kayak while caching – I can’t say I’ve heard that one before. Where else have you been and what was the most remote or unusual place you have found a geocache?

In 2019 we did a 10,000kms trip with our friends 2beez through outback NSW, QLD and down through Central Australia. We came back across the Nullarbor with the goal of completing the Longest Geocaching Trail which runs from Winton, QLD to Laverton in WA, along the Outback Way. There are 35 caches along the 2,700km Outback Way and it is a mixture of sealed and unsealed roads. We really loved it. The change in scenery, visiting working stations and the unique spots that the caches took us to were so worth it. We are glad we did it before it is fully sealed, however would love to go back when it is and probably do it in reverse. P.S. Tjukayirla Roadhouse (300kms from Laverton) has the BEST burgers!

So the burgers are better at Tjukayirla? We might have to take your word for it for now. We are however, really glad to have you on board, and would love to know what made you join Geocaching Victoria and what are you most looking forward to?

Over the years I have enjoyed attending events along with hosting them too. From meeting new people, through to the feeling of accomplishment at the end of a CITO. Also seeing fellow cachers join in an event/cache trip, when they may not have been otherwise able to go, or have been comfortable enough to go by themselves, really connects with me. COs put a lot of time and effort into creating new and exciting ways of caching. Now that I have experienced a variety of caching, and volunteered across different events, I look forward to bringing my experiences, passion and enthusiasm to Geocaching Victoria, and continue to look at ways to work collectively to support communities and encourage fellow cachers to adventure near and far.

Thank you Leah for your time and for joining the Geocaching Victoria committee. We are very much looking forward to the passion and enthusiasm you bring to the team and can’t wait for the next adventure. Please join me in welcoming Leah on board!