Category Archives: Event2023

Farewell 2023, Welcome 2024!

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It’s been a big 2023 and as the year comes to a close, we’d like to give a big shout out to all of the geocachers in our wonderful community. Whether you have published a new cache for others to find, hosted or attended an event, helped someone solve a puzzle or find a tricky hide, or shared a great log for the CO to read, you have all contributed to making 2023 a great caching year.

We’d especially like to thank everyone who has volunteered their time throughout the year or supported us through the purchase of merchandise, donations, or recycling your cans and bottles. Every little bit helps.

Here are just some of the things that happened in 2023:

  • February – The Ballarat GeoTour celebrated its 2nd year (how quickly time flies).
  • April – Our first Easter Mega was held in Rutherglen with a long weekend extravaganza.
  • May – We celebrated all our volunteers and announced the amazing list of nominees for the 2022 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards.
  • June – Makers Magic was happening all over the state including a huge celebration in Mitcham showcasing gadgets, games, presentations and cache painting to name just a few of the activities.
  • June – Victoria celebrated 21 years of geocaching events, returning to the site of the very first event in the Lerderderg State Park to celebrate.
  • July – The Cachemas in July festival took off, bringing together 100 smileys from 75 different CO’s as well as a big family Cachemas lunch at Kensington Town Hall.
  • August – The community celebrated International Geocaching Day with another Great Victorian Cache Crawl starting in Ararat and finishing in Upper Ferntree Gully – 10 stops (including a midnight event).
  • October – Geocaching Victoria turned 9. Double digits next year!
  • November – Popcorn, choc tops, and a huge theatre set the scene for our Geocaching International Film Festival event with special guests, Peoples Choice Award winners, chooknchunk.
  • November – Glitz and Glamour was in order as we crowned the winners of our 2022 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards while enjoying dinner and trivia.

All of that in amongst a number of community “Introduction to geocaching” sessions, hosting some geocaching activities for schools, and working with other community organisations.

There is plenty in the works for 2024. We’ll be starting with a First Aid initiative in February (stay tuned) as well as saying farewell to the Ballarat GeoTour. There is lots more to come.

As we wrap up the year, here are some of our state’s geocaching statistics for you. They may even prompt you to start filling some of the less common gaps:

  • Total 2023 hides: 1,615 (inc 320 event type caches)
  • Favourites accumulated on 2023 hides: 4,451
  • Total finds on 2023 caches (non event): 34,627
  • Event attendances: 6,974
  • Average D/T: 1.98 / 1.89
  • Most common/Least common difficulty: 1.5 (538) / 4.5 (6)
  • Most common/Least common terrain: 1.5 (639) / 4.5 (9)
  • No. of D/T combos with nil placements in 2023: 17
  • Most common/Least common size: Small (586) / Large (32)
  • Most common/Least common type: Traditional (865) / Wherigo (8)
  • LGAs with most new hides: Northern Grampians, Greater Geelong & Wangaratta
  • LGAs with no new hides : Warrnambool, Buloke & Loddon
  • No. of unique cachers with 12 or more finds (average 1 per month): 2,380
  • No. of unique cachers with 365 or more finds (average 1 per day): 166
  • No. of unique hiders: 326

Note: These stats are based on “Placed Date” and were generated on 30/12/2023 therefore will exclude some late logs and event attendances for the final days of 2023. Some statistics are limited due to the availability of data and time constraints.

Will you be the next cacher to hide a large cache? Perhaps you’d like to fill in your D/T grid? Looking to find a few more caches than you did this year? Or maybe you’d like to be the first hider to place a D4.0/T4.5 cache in over 12 months.

Whatever your geocaching goals for 2024, we hope you have a wonderful new year, and get off to a great start this January.

From all the team at Geocaching Victoria, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And the winner is…

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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:

CategoryGC Codewinner
Best Traditional CacheGCA0TAGMmm…Donuts by RyderSpider
Best Multi CacheGC9WBJFWhittlesea ANGRY MOB… by Mister Doctor & Posums
Best Mystery CacheGC9QE1MThe Hunt for Red October by OSHFAM
Best First HideGCA09YWCujo Challenge by horror.fan.jm
Best Cache SeriesGC9ZWZVWhittlesea Event Gadget Trail by plowfive
Best Cache LocationGC9P66NState Library – La Trobe Reading Room by Mister Doctor
Best Adventure LabN/AWhittlesea Puzzle Room by Geocaching Victoria
Best Other CacheGC9P51GRutherglen Wine Bottle by feathertop
Best Regional CacheGC9P51GRutherglen Wine Bottle by feathertop
Best Overall CacheGC9QE1M
GC9ZX09		The Hunt for Red October by OSHFAM
WEGT #7 – Vending Machine Cache… by plowfive
Best DNF LogGL18TARGNhorror.fan.jm on wherigo wander #8
Best Found It LogGL17Z5YGWLetThemEatCache 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.

Lights, Camera, Action, GIFF!

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The smell of popcorn wafted through the theatre as 100 geocachers descended on the Knox Community Arts Centre on Saturday. The candy bar was alive with conversation as the cachers stocked up on choc tops, popcorn, lollies and slushies in preparation for the movie madness that was about to begin.

Film enthusiasts pondered what cinematic wonders were ahead in the 2023 Geocaching International Film Festival (GIFF), while others grappled with the critical decisions of boysenberry or mint.

The excitement was building (spilling over in the image below) as everyone took their seats in the plush theatre. The lights slowly dimmed, and the reel began.

18 amazing short films made the finals. Some serious, some hilarious, some unusual, but all based on the activity we all love – Geocaching. A significant amount of work having gone into each and every one of them. Congratulations to all of the finalists.

There was however one film the crowd were eager to see, “Geocare – Home for the Aged Geocacher”. The movie marvel from Victoria’s very own chooknchunk. With the director and producer in the room, and many of the cast and crew in the audience, expectations were high.

As the title flashed up on the screen a silence fell over the crowd. It lasted for all of a microsecond as the cheers began, followed by 3 minutes of laughter as the antics of the residents of Geocare played out. As the curtain closed there was a resounding round of applause. I think the crowd loved it – so much so there was an encore at the end. Congratulations!

The audience voted on their favourite movie (no prizes for guessing the most popular). The top 5 crowd favourites are listed below. When the Peoples Choice winner is announced by Geocaching HQ, those that voted for the winner during the event will go into a random draw to win a Geocaching Victoria prize pack.

If you haven’t voted in the Peoples Choice Award yet, scan the QR code or click it to follow the link to the voting form.

Thank you to the Geocaching Victoria committee and the band of volunteers who helped pull this event together. A very special thank you to Kristysadventures and muggle Lauren for all of their efforts to ensure the GIFF event was a huge success.

There were lots of snaps taken of the event, with a selection shown below.

Where did October go?

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Halloween is only days away and Christmas decorations are already up in retail stores. The end of the year is hurtling towards us at a rapid pace. Here are three things you can fill your spare time with should you be looking for an escape from all the hustle and bustle.

Voting closes in 3 days

Why not use the great weather this weekend to go out and explore one or more of the nominated caches in the 2022 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards. List of Nominees

With only 3 days left, don’t forget to vote for your favourites by midnight, Monday 30 October. *VOTE HERE*

Winners will be announced at our Cache of the Year Award celebration on Saturday 25 November. GCAE5F9

TDOC23 – They have all been found!

With 69 physical caches and adventure labs in the TDOC23 cache series, there is one nearby no matter where you are in Victoria. To find them all however, requires a lot of exploring.

Congratulations to McLookers who is the first to have found every cache in the the series. Be on the lookout for your prize at the next event.

Well done to the top 5 finders who are well on the way to completing the series:

  1. McLookers – 69
  2. OzHockeyChick – 65
  3. Feathertop – 50
  4. Sol de lune – 46
  5. GJMMelb – 40

The events keep rolling in

It’s great to see so many events on the calendar including some new unique ones. From camping in hammocks, to kayaking around lakes, watching the sunset at 1700m above sea level and celebrating milestones. Throw in a couple of GIFF events, the Victorian Cache of the Year Awards, and with Christmas around the corner, the traditional Geelong and Christmas eve events.

Add to that list plenty of opportunities for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a CITO and you are bound to find something to suit your calendar. Keep up to date at the events listing page on our website HERE and don’t forget to log your “Will Attends” so that the COs can plan.

GIFF, Victorian Cache of the Year Awards and More!

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The sun is shining, daylight savings is around the corner and there is a lot of activity happening, so lets dive right in to our latest update!

Lights, Camera, Action, GIFF!

The Geocaching International Film Festival has returned in 2023 after a brief hiatus, and we are very excited to have a finalist from Victoria in this years festival. “Geocare – Home for the Aged Geocacher” by local director chooknchunk is one of 18 international finalists for 2023.

You’ll be able to watch all the of this years GIFF action on the big screen, in cinema style seating at the Knox Community Arts Centre on 11 November 2023. A social gathering will begin at 12pm, with the screening to commence at 1pm. Popcorn, slushies and more will be available to purchase to enhance your viewing experience. Be sure to log your Will Attend (with number of people) on GCAE5EM. More details will be available closer to the event.

That’s not the only GIFF event! If you plan to be in the Ballarat/Creswick area on Thursday 9 November, be sure to log your will attend for GCAD8CY. Dinner at the American Hotel starts at 5:30pm, with the screening starting at 7:00pm.

2022 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards Event – GCAE5F9

A date has been set and all of the amazing winners will be announced on 25 November 2023 (GCAE5F9). Come and join us to celebrate all of the nominated caches and owners, hear the winners announcements, and join in a little trivia along the way.

The event will be held at the Hampton RSL where meals and drinks will be available to purchase. More details will be available closer to the event.

Voting has also been extended and will close on 30 October 2023. There is still plenty of time to find the nominated caches and VOTE for your favourites.

The full list of nominees and a link to the geocaching list is available HERE.

Sponsor a 2022 Victorian Cache of the Year Award Category

Members of the geocaching community often generously sponsor the prizes for Cache of the Year Award categories (even anonymously if prefered).

If you would like to sponsor one of the categories for the 2022 awards you can:

1/ Donate a prize, OR

2/ Donation the value of a gift voucher via our website. Click the “Sponsor an award” option.

If you would like to be an Award sponsor, and nominate the category for your prize (subject to availability), simply drop Andrew an email at roaminghowie@geocachingvictoria.com

Support Future Events

We love to be able to put on free and low cost events to help enable the geocaching community to come together and connect. Whilst many of these events may be free to attend, they are definitely not without cost. Hiring theatres and halls, purchasing equipment, paying for insurances and more, all costs cold hard cash. And that’s all before the generous volunteer time from community members that help us to run these events.

Geocaching Victoria conducts fundraising initiatives to collect funds to help cover some of these costs, however we always need the support of our community to keep delivering.

If you enjoy these events, and you are financially able to, why not make a contribution to support these and future activities. Visit our website to see how you can make a contribution of as little as $5. Your donations help us to continue to host events like Cachemas, Cache of the Year Awards, GIFFs, BBQ’s and more.

Your help will support keeping the fun and community connection thriving.

That’s all for this update. We look forward to seeing you at one of the many upcoming events around the state.