In case you missed the exciting announcement on Saturday, Geocaching Victoria are embarking on an adventure across the Bass Strait, partnering with enthusiastic Tasmanian geocachers to bring you The Tassie Event on 7-8 March 2026. This marks Tasmania’s first major geocaching event and Australia’s southernmost geocaching extravaganza!
You can watch the live announcement here:
The Tassie Event will unfold at the near new South East Stadium in Sorell. The location offers incredible convenience – just over a 10 minute drive from the airport and a mere 25 minutes from Hobart’s vibrant centre. Sorell, with its rich history and charm, welcomes over 370,000 tourists annually, and is a gateway to Tasmania’s stunning east coast and the Port Arthur World Heritage Site.
While the status of our Mega application is in review with HQ (and cannot be published more than 12 months in advance), we are sharing the news early to help you plan your Tasmanian adventure. This is particularly important if you intend to bring your caravan or high/long vehicle across on the Spirit of Tasmania. Spots are limited therefore booking early is essential – bookings usually open 11 months out so you still have plenty of time to plan. There is more information available on our website at Transport & Accommodation.
Tasmania offers breathtaking landscapes and a treasure trove of geocaching opportunities! We encourage you to take the opportunity to explore as much of Tasmania as you can during your visit.
To assist with date planning, there will be a lead up event and cache trail starting close to where the Spirit of Tasmania docks. It will begin on Monday 2 March in Devonport, and work its way south finishing on Thursday 5 March in Ross, just over an hour from Sorell. The trail will provide a good base from which to explore some of the beautiful north and north-west. Initial details are available here.
While we’re buzzing with excitement about The Tassie Event, our immediate focus remains on Victoria’s first ever Block Party – The Sunbury Event, happening on 22-23 March 2025. Stay tuned for more details about our Tasmanian adventure once the Sunbury celebrations conclude! We can’t wait to welcome you to the apple isle.
Geocaching Downunder Podcast
Tune in on Tuesday, 14 January at 7:30pm to hear more about the upcoming Block Party in Sunbury with special guests BFMC and LeeLee from Crack’n’LeeLee.
As we wrap up 2024, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our incredible community! Your participation, support, and enthusiasm have made this year another one to remember. We’re excited to welcome 2025 with more fun, adventure, and camaraderie planned. What are your geocaching goals for the new year?
Here are just some of the highlights from 2024:
February – We kicked off the year with a life-saving first aid information session! The Ballarat GeoTour concluded after three successful years, having welcomed over 1,700 unique geocachers and celebrating 340 completions of all 25 caches.
April – Excitement buzzed as we announced the nominees for the 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards at Cherry Lake in Altona.
May – We unveiled plans for The Sunbury Event, Victoria’s very first Block Party scheduled for March 2025. Mark your calendars for this groundbreaking celebration!
July – Cachemas in July returned to Kensington Town Hall, featuring a special guest appearance by Santa! This was followed by a successful National Tree Day CITO event in Sunbury to help build habitat for Thara, the black shouldered kite – featured on the Sunbury Event Geocoin.
August – The community celebrated International Geocaching Day with a full weekend of events across the state, including the Great Victorian Cache Crawl. Additionally, our SideTracked Day at Diamond Valley Miniature Railway became the second-largest event globally in the series’ 17-year history!
October – Geocaching Victoria turned 10 years old! This milestone was celebrated with much fanfare.
November – The glitz and glamour of our anniversary celebration included awarding the winners of the 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards at a gala in Yarraville.
December – Preparations for the Block Party are heating up! Exciting announcements include the appearance of the GPS Adventure Maze, event merchandise launch, and more details about the weekend festivities.
Victoria – 2024 by the numbers
Here is a snapshot of caching in Victoria this year:
Total 2024 hides: 1,657 (inc 490 event type caches)
Favourites accumulated on 2024 hides: 2,939
Total finds on 2024 caches (non event): 24,818
Event attendances: 5,475
Average D/T: 2.05 / 1.83
Most common/Least common difficulty: 1.5 (481) / 5.0 (7)
Most common/Least common terrain: 1.5 (663) / 4.0 (4)
No. of D/T combos with nil placements in 2024: 18
Most common/Least common size: Small (491) / Large (23)
Most common/Least common type: Traditional (802) / Wherigo (9)
LGAs with most new hides: Golden Plains, Glenelg & Indigo
LGAs with no new hides : Ararat, Brimbank, Gannawarra, Greater Dandenong, Horsham, West Wimmera & Yarriambiack
LGAs with most events: Ballarat, Hepburn, Greater Geelong
No. of unique cachers with 12 or more finds (average 1 per month): 2,386
No. of unique cachers with 366 or more finds (average 1 per day): 152
With lots planned for 2025, we can’t wait to dive into the new year. Let’s continue to grow this amazing community and create new experiences and adventures for us all to share. If you’d like to be first to hear more about what’s in store, or have an idea you’d like to share, why not come and join us at our event GCAVXK6 on Saturday January 11 at Knox Community Gardens.
Here’s to another year filled with exploration, friendship, and endless adventures. Happy New Year from all of us at Geocaching Victoria.
So, you’re coming to join us in Sunbury, or at least hoping to? That’s Blocktastic! There are plenty of wonderful things you can see, do, and of course find while you are visiting, so we wanted to share a few. Of course if you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to log your will attend to assist us with planning.
Did you know? Rupertswood Mansion is a short stroll from Block Party GZ. The former home of Sir William Clarke is widely considered the birthplace of The Ashes after Sir Williams wife, Lady Janet Clarke, presented a small terracotta urn to England captain Ivo Bligh, believed to contain the ashes of bails from a cricket game played at Rupertswood during England’s 1882-83 tour of Australia.
Caches to visit in Sunbury, the Hume region & surrounds (as at 3/11/2024)
There are plenty of geocaches all over the Hume region, including the famous The Woodlands seriescontaining 100 caches around Woodlands Historic Park, which is immediately opposite Melbourne Airport. Here are some of the others to put on your list.
GCAT82P SSID? (MkII) Honourable mention (<5 months old and 21 FP’s already) It’s also one of only fourteen active caches Victoria-wide that has the Wireless Beacon attribute.
GC7A Victoria’s 1st (Melbourne’s 1st) Honourable mention. Not too far away is the oldest cache in the state of Victoria, placed on 8/10/2000. (1,293 finds and 497 favourites)
Are there new caches coming for the block party?
Rest assured, the Block Party Committee (with the wonderful support of some local CO’s and other volunteers) are working feverishly on adding more caches to the map prior to the big event. Stay tuned for further information.
Places to visit in Sunbury, Hume & surrounds
Below are just some of the things to see & do during your visit. Be sure to check opening hours and admission fees using the links below.
The Gatehouse Cafe is a wonderful bluestone building constructed in the mid 1870’s and is located at the entrance to Rupertswood Mansion. The Gatehouse Cafe is open to the public, however the mansion itself is a private building for Salesian College.
Woodlands Homestead was established in 1843 and is a rare example of a large, pre-constructed timber kit house brought to Australia from England. It is home to an extensive art collection and horse racing memorabilia as part of Living Legends, which provides a life after racing for race horses including including former Melbourne Cup winners Doreimus, Rogan Josh & Saintly, to name a few.
Organ Pipes National Park is situated in the traditional country of the Wurundjeri people and sits on the edge of one of the worlds largest ancient volcanic lava flows. It includes Rosette Rock, the Tessellated Pavement and the basalt columns, formed around 1 million years ago, that the park is now named after. Keep an eye out for echidnas, kangaroos, wallabies and last but not least, you might even spot a platypus! Note: accessing this site includes navigating a short but steep hill.
Animal Land Children’s Farm in Diggers Rest provides the opportunity to take a self guided tour around a working farm. Book in advance for the best prices. A great experience for both the young and the young at heart.
Jacksons Creek Rail Bridge is one of the many significant bridges in the area and is Australia’s oldest girder bridge built in 1861.
Emu Bottom Homestead is a rare example of early Australian Colonial Architecture and is the oldest existing farmhouse constructed by settlers in Victoria.
Faces at lead up events
Our first official lead up event (GCAYT3D) was held in Wangaratta on Saturday 2 November – thanks to those that came along. The next event (GCAYRZZ) is in Ballarat on Sunday 8 December at 10am. Check out the cache page for information on how you can go into the lead up events draw to win a custom pack of event coins from previous Victorian Mega events (prize to be drawn at the Sunbury Event). More lead up events will be coming soon!
Last but not least, GCAWW61 is at Bunnings Mernda on Sunday 1 December from 9am-4pm. Come down to say hi, and if you like, purchase a snag (or two) and a cold drink & help raise funds to support the Block Party.
Block Party Event Details
Don’t forget to keep updated on all our Block Party news by engaging in the following channels:
Over the coming months we will be reaching out to the community for volunteers to assist with various support activities in the lead up to, and during the event. Every little bit helps, and you can support the event experience for all involved with as little as a few hours of your time. In the interim, if you would like to get involved in some of the background activities as we build up to the event, you can email sunbury2025@geocachingvictoria.com.au. No experience necessary!
As we wrap up a night of entertainment at the Yarraville-Footscray Bowling Club, there is an atmosphere of celebration and achievement. The 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards have just concluded, and the sense of community among geocachers is palpable. This annual event, a highlight on the Geocaching Victoria calendar, celebrates the creativity and dedication of our fellow cachers who have made significant contributions to our beloved pastime over the past year.
The evening began with a battle between barefoot bowls in the Spring heat, and a drink in the cool of the indoors. It was a great chance to mingle and share stories about the latest caching adventures before transitioned indoors for the awards ceremony and 10th anniversary celebration. This year’s awards again featured a range of categories that highlight the diversity and ingenuity within our community. From Best Traditional Cache to Best Adventure Lab, each category showcased the exceptional talent of our nominees. The anticipation built as we awaited the announcement of this year’s winners, and if the glory wasn’t enough, there was $1,000 of prizes of offer for the award winners, thanks to our very generous community sponsors.
And the winners Are…
With great enthusiasm, the awards for each of the eleven categories were presented and the winners for 2023 are:
Congratulations to all of this years winners and to everyone who was nominated by their peers.
Sponsors
We wish to acknowledge all of the amazing sponsors for this years awards who very generously donated prizes:
BernieH
Crack’n’LeeLee
Grub62 & Bunadoorian
ILookedThere
OzHockeyChick
posums
Generous Cacher
Kind Cacher
Mystery Cacher
Supportive Cachers
Your friendly neighbourhood cacher
Profile Badge and Cache Page Banner
You can share your nomination/win in the 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards with fellow cachers by doing the following:
Add a badge to your personal profile, proudly sharing with the community that you were a nominee/winner
Add a banner to your cache page to highlight to finders that your cache was part of the 2023 awards.
Visit this link to find the badge and banner for you.
Prizes
In addition to our award winners, congratulations go to McLookers who took away the major raffle prize valued at over $250 and LongJohnSilva who won the first of our money can’t buy 10th Anniversary unobtainium coins. Stay tuned for more details on how you might be able to win one.
And a huge thank you to our 10 year service award recipients, BernieH and ahomburg for their outstanding contribution to Geocaching Victoria since inception. Geocaching owes an incredible gratitude to you both for your contributions.
As we conclude this year’s celebration, it is inspiring to see the creativity displayed throughout our community. We hope it inspires you when hiding new caches. You never know, you might be one of our nominees for 2024! Congratulations once again to all of the winners and nominees! Here’s to more adventures ahead!
As we gear up to celebrate our 10th anniversary on Saturday, it will come as no surprise that we are also due for our 10th AGM and that milestone meeting was held on Wednesday night.
The past year has been nothing short of spectacular, and that’s partly thanks to the largest Geocaching Victoria committee we’ve ever had! A heartfelt shoutout to each and every one of the committee members for their tireless dedication and hard work over the past 12 months. We’ve had a whirlwind of events and community engagement, and guess what? There’s even more fun on the horizon, all thanks to our fantastic team of volunteers!
Welcoming Our New Treasurer
Bernie has been our treasurer from the very beginning, and after a decade of stellar service, our beloved treasurer is stepping down from the role. Bernie has been the backbone of Geocaching Victoria’s finances since day one, ensuring everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. From mega events to awesome projects like the Maze and GeoTour, Bernie has truly kept the financial wheels turning. A massive thank you for your incredible contributions over the years!
With Bernie indicating his intention to step down as treasurer some time ago, the search began for a replacement. In some exciting news, I am thrilled to share that Julie Richards-Fox aka LetThemEatCache, has stepped up as our new treasurer! With her impressive business acumen and financial experience, Julie is ready to take the reins. Julie has been waiting in the wings for a while now as we wrapped up some projects throughout the year. We couldn’t be more thrilled to officially welcome her into the role, Congratulations Julie!
Farewell to Donutholes
A bittersweek moment, Kim Baker, aka Donutholes, recently stepped back from his role on the committee. Kim joined us in February 2023 and brought a wonderful mix of fresh ideas and laughter to our meetings. With a busy home life (3 young “crumbs”) and new work travel commitments piling up, Kim made the important call to focus on his family. Thank you for all your hard work, and we hope to collaborate with you again in the future. Enjoy that extra family time!
Meet Your New Committee
I’m excited to announce that all remaining committee members are back for another term! After all positions were spilled the following office bearers and general committee were elected.
President: RoamingHowie
Vice President: Bernieh
Treasurer: LetThemEatCache
Secretary: ahomburg
General Committee: Grub62, Mister Doctor, chooknchunk, crack’n’leelee
Let’s give a big round of applause to our committee members! Thank you all for stepping up once again for our community. I can’t wait to work alongside you all this year as we continue to grow and enhance our beloved pastime.
Here’s to another fantastic year ahead filled with lots of geocaching adventures! Happy caching!
2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards and 10th Anniversary Celebrations
Get ready for a night of celebration! This Saturday, we’ll not only be toasting to our 10th anniversary at the Yarraville-Footscray Bowling Club, but we’ll also be unveiling the winners of the 2023 Victorian Cache of the Year Awards. Make sure you’ve logged your attendance at GCAWDFX so you don’t miss out on the fun!
