The St Arnaud Event – 1 week to go!

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Geocaching Victoria

Welcome to The St Arnaud Event update. Can you believe there is only 1 WEEK TO GO? The committee are working behind the scenes to bring you the best MEGA event we can – all for FREE! Remember to REGISTER HERE by logging a “Will Attend” as this year we will be crossing off names at the event to ensure everyone who registered early gets their FREE gift.

It’s also important that you log your “will attend” on any other events you plan to attend. At the Saturday Night event we are providing each attendee with a Roast Beef Roll but if you haven’t logged a “will attend” here you might miss out! Rotary will also be selling sausages so bring a chair and some loose change!

Check out the full Schedule so you can plan your weekend.

Second of the Lab Caches

The second of the Lab Caches will be released in just a few days time on Monday November 11th and this Lab will close on Sunday November 24th. That means you can do them pre or post Mega if you are coming for longer than the weekend. The second tour is a Coffee, Cake and Fast Food Tour of St Arnaud Lab Adventure where you can discover some fantastic little eateries around the town we are calling home for the weekend. There is no need to enter the shop to find the code word but we do encourage you to spend some money and support this lovely little town.

If you’ve never done a Lab Cache before or haven’t done one since last year you will need to make sure you download the “Adventure Lab” app onto a mobile device. Simply download and login with your geocaching account and you will be good to go! Remember Lab Caches are now logged live on the spot through this app so you must be within range of the location to claim the smiley. They cannot be done through the regular geocaching app.

Adventure-lab-caches

Apps

Speaking of Apps you may want to download a few others in preparation for your trip to St Arnaud this year. We recommend:

The Geocaching App (otherwise how will you find all those hundreds of caches that are around?)
The Adventure Lab App (to do all the Lab Caches mentioned above – plus a heads up another two will be released Saturday morning so that’s 4 Adventures totalling 40 Lab Caches)
The Wherigo App (there are some Play Anywhere Wherigos around the town which you can do now from home and also one that will have you doing laps of the Main St)
YouTube App (this might come in handy for some Lab Caches which are released Saturday morning)
Metaverse App (there is an Augmented Reality Cache GC7Z1Z2 in town if you are keen for something different)

Food, Glorious Food

The Rotary Club of St Arnaud will be selling food across the weekend. This includes Breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings (bacon and egg rolls), lunch on Saturday and Sunday (sausages and vegie burgers) and dinner on the Saturday night (sausages in addition to the supplied roast beef roll). Please bring plenty of loose change to support a worthy organisation.

We will also have a water refill station on site so remember to BYO a drink bottle!

rotary

Wristbands

The Saturday Night dinner has been ordered and we will be printing names and ticking people off the list who have registered to come. If you are one of these people you will need to head into the MEGA shed during Saturday to get your wristband so you can get a yummy beef roll.

Online Orders & Merchandise

Online orders of coins, pathtags, FTF raffle and other merchandise will soon be closed so jump online and pre-order for collection from the Geocaching Victoria Shop. Items are selling out so get in quickly to avoid disappointment.

St A 5 set

Fun & Games

Like most other Victorian MEGA Events that have gone before us we are continuing on with the tradition of having a “few games” run throughout the weekend. Some forms will be handout out at registration so to be in with a chance of winning – you need to grab the forms and get hunting! The following games are on offer:

Social Bingo – fill the WHOLE sheet.
Far & Wide Game – fill in a LINE with the specific stamps allocated in the cache. The more lines you fill the more chances you get to win.
Letterbox Game – find all FIVE new Letterbox caches (released this week) and stamp with the special GVI stamps.
Receipts Game – collect any receipts from when you shop in St Arnaud in the week prior and post the Mega and pop your caching name and a mobile number on the back.

bingo

Sponsorship

It’s thanks to amazing supporters that make a MEGA event possible. This includes GeoStuff who will be on site during the Mega. We’ve also had donations from our mates in South Australia who are organising a MEGA event there – GeoVenture2020, Caching Supplies, Sssafe and Sistema so a big thanks to them too. It’s also important to note that this event isn’t possible without the support of the Northern Grampians Shire Council so thank you NGS – your support in invaluable! And we can’t forget the amazing support from PathTags and Geocaching HQ who help to make this dream a reality! Thanks guys!

The St Arnaud Event – 3 weeks to go

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Geocaching Victoria

Welcome to The St Arnaud Event update. Can you believe there is only 3 WEEKS TO GO? The committee are working behind the scenes to bring you the best MEGA event we can – all for FREE! Remember to REGISTER HERE by logging a “Will Attend” as this year we will be crossing off names at the event to ensure everyone who registered early gets their FREE gift.

It’s also important that you log your “will attend” on any other events you plan to attend. At the Saturday Night event we are providing each attendee with a Roast Beef Roll but if you haven’t logged a “will attend” here you will miss out! Rotary will also be selling sausages so bring a chair and some loose change!

Check out the full Schedule so you can plan your weekend.

Official Shirts – LAST CHANCE TO ORDER

Official St Arnaud Event shirts now available to order. Check out the Geocaching Victoria Store to pre-order yours now. Available in Men’s, Women’s and Kids sizes. Orders close October 27th so get in quick!

shirt

Games over the weekend

There will lots of different ways to win prizes over MEGA weekend and taking part in some of the games we have on offer is a great way to be a part of all the fun. When you register you will be given some handouts of activities to complete so be sure to take part because as the old adage states – YOU GOTTA BE IN IT TO WIN IT!

We will also have a box called “Receipt’s Game”. We are asking people to collect any receipts from when they shop in St Arnaud in the week prior and post the Mega and to pop your caching name and a mobile number on the back and add them to our box. We will then draw a winner who will receive a very special prize. We can also use this data to gather an idea on how much impact a geocaching event can have economically within a community.

Stand out! Add an ORANGE ribbon to your car!

Travelling to St Arnaud for the MEGA Event? Tie an ORANGE ribbon or two to your car so we can all see each other.

orange_herringbone_twill_ribbon

Accommodation still Available at Camp Seed

Camp Seed, Stuart Mill (Only 15 mins from St Arnaud with plenty of caches in-between) have some accommodation bookings still available. Booking options are offered on either a per bed or per room rate:
$70 per adult for 2 nights in a shared room (4 single beds each room)
$250 for the 2 nights for a room (4 x single beds)…
You will have access to a large commercial style kitchen to store and prepare food as well as a large dining hall and recreation hall. These facilities allow you to continue nurturing your social connections within the Geocaching community.

Camp Seed is only accepting bookings for people participating in the Geocaching event so you will be residing with a like minded community. They don’t have lockable doors to the bedrooms so you need to bear in mind that your valuables need to be cared for under your own responsibility.

Please call Donna on 0403 810 614 to make a booking.

Geocaching in St Arnaud – Bush Wander Series

The Bush Wander series was created in 2017 by FUF009 & Tyred n Cranky, the 4th annual series from the trio and yet another trail of impressive creations. The BW series is a total of 22 caches comprising a letterbox and a multi to join the trads and the 2 puzzles that require the numbers to be collected along the way.

The BW series begins on Centre Road taking you on yet another enjoyable journey through the St Arnaud bush. A total of 1,592* unique finds have been logged on this series with over 680* favourite points awarded to the series overall.

Begin your adventure at BW01 – St Arnaud Regional Park (GC7A7ME).

*Statistics current as of 23 October 2019

First to Find (FTF) Raffle

We know people love chasing FTFs – how would you like a MEGA Event FTF? This raffle supports the amazing work done by The St Arnaud Agricultural Society (whose premises we are using and who do an amazing job of coordinating the St Arnaud Show). So if you are a FTF hound, or you just want to support a really great charity, then you can go in the draw to earn the right to call yourself the FTFer of The St Arnaud Event, 2019. Tickets are only $2 and you may win FTF and an unobtainium geocoin… You can purchase your tickets in this wonderful raffle by following this link!

St A Ag society

Geocaching Downunder Podcast

Did you tune into the Geocaching Downunder Podcast held earlier in the month? Geocaching Victoria Inc. Treasurer “BernieH” caught up with Seemyshell & AngelG27 to talk about all thing St Arnaud!

Have a listen here and you might find out some information we’ve yet to release about The St Arnaud MEGA Event… If you listen to the end too there is a chance to enter a very simple competition for all those who are attending the MEGA Event.

St Arnaud Geo Coins & Pathtags

The St Arnaud Event 2019 MEGA standard and limited edition geocoins are also selling like hotcakes in the Geocaching Victoria store. Get in quick before they sell out!

The Standard coin has been specifically designed for the event and features Fern the leadbeater possum as well as some stunning Australian flora including Victoria’s floral emblem – the Pink Heath. What sets this coin apart is that it is a 3D textured coin. They have arrived so we can now show you the final image. Coins are $16 each. Order here.

coin

The Limited Edition coins come in three different colours and aims to depict the farming communities that are located within the St Arnaud district. Get in quick as these are limited in number! This coin is 3 inches in size so nice to add to the collection. Limited edition coins are $34 each. Order here.

LE tractor coins

And whilst in the store don’t forget to purchase your St Arnaud Pathtags too!

Milestones

Who doesn’t love celebrating a milestone at a MEGA event? We know lots of people do so as in previous years we will be handing out some special certificates. If you plan to celebrate a Milestone in St Arnaud make sure you fill in this form.

milestone

Sponsorship

The St Arnaud Event – September Update

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Geocaching Victoria

Welcome to The St Arnaud Event update. The committee are working behind the scenes to bring you the best MEGA event we can – all for FREE! Remember to REGISTER HERE by logging a “Will Attend” as this year we will be crossing off names at the event to ensure everyone who registered early gets their FREE gift.

The Lead Up events have continued and in September we saw an event in Castlemaine. In October you can find our final Lead Up event in Bacchus Marsh.

Bunnings BBQ

Thanks to everyone who headed in/up/down to Ballarat on Sunday the 15th of September for GC88V1F, A gathering in Ballarat. A group of volunteers manned the BBQs for the day and cooked and sold over 700 sausages. The funds raised will be put to good use for the Mega Event.

bunnings

Geocaching in St Arnaud – Australian Inventions Mini-series

This novelty series is a new set of 9 traditional caches placed by powerhouse caching team, The Morris. This series will take you on a physical trip north east of St Arnaud along a well maintained dirt track.

Figuratively you will be taken on a trip through history klearning all about some Aussie claims to fame with inventions such as the Victa Lawnmower (1952) and the polymer bank note (first circulated in 1988). Published just over 3 months ago, the fun and informative series has over 150* ‘found it’ logs and over 80* favourite points combined.

Did you know that 21 out of 22 world records at the 1972 Munich Olympics were broken by swimmers wearing Speedos? You’ll learn this and many other fascinating facts while completing this series. Be sure to pop it on your must-do list. You can get started at AI1 Speedos (GC8BNYD).

*Statistics current as of 22 September 2019

St Arnaud Geo Coins & Pathtags

The St Arnaud Event 2019 MEGA standard and limited edition geocoins are now for sale in the Geocaching Victoria store. In fact we have placed our order and there is limited stock so get in quick before they sell out!

The Standard coin has been specifically designed for the event and features Fern the leadbeater possum as well as some stunning Australian flora including Victoria’s floral emblem – the Pink Heath. What sets this coin apart is that it is a 3D textured coin. If you’ve seen one before you know how magnificent they look – if not you will definitely want one for your collection! Coins are $16 each. Order here.

ST A standard coin

LE tractor coins

And whilst in the store don’t forget to purchase your St Arnaud Pathtags too!

St A 5 set

If you are thinking of ordering your own personalised pathtags and want them in time for St Arnaud, you have until the end of September. Why not consider a set of tags with the Geocaching Victoria Logo on the back? Go to pathtags.com for more details.

Weekend Schedule

The official schedule for the St Arnaud MEGA weekend has now been released. In order to plan and cater properly we need you to log “will attends” on all official events you plan to attend. If you don’t you may miss out on what we have to offer (plus it makes it SO much easier for everyone who is organising the event and volunteering their time too).

View the schedule here and get logging!

Milestones

milestone

First to Find (FTF) Raffle

St A Ag society

Sponsorship

The St Arnaud Event – August Update

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Geocaching Victoria

The Lead Up events have continued and in August we saw an event in the Melbourne CBD – thanks sharkiefan for hosting. In September you can find a Lead Up event in Castlemaine and one in Bacchus Marsh in October.

Schedule

The schedule for The St Arnaud Event is almost finalised so make sure you lock the following into your calendar:

THURSDAY

6:00pm – 7:30pm

GC8C60W Thursday Night Picnic Tea in the Park #5. See here for more information.

FRIDAY

10:30am – 12:00pm	GC88WW9 Friday CITO – St Arnaud Wax Gardens. See here* for more information.*
6:00pm – 8:00pm	GC88X2V St Arnaud Event: Friday Night Dinner. See here* for more information.*

SATURDAY

8:00am – 8:45am	GC8CCA4 Vision 2020 – St Arnaud Event. See here* for more information.*
9:00am	Registrations open – at the MEGA site.
10:00am – 10:30am	Opening Ceremony – at the MEGA site.
10:30am	LAB Caches go LIVE!
11:00am	Pathtag Trading – at the MEGA site.
2:30pm – 3:30pm	Photography Skills Seminar- presented by Mr Coffee of Coffee Table Images Meet on the Netball Courts behind MEGA shed
3:30pm – 4:30pm	Earthcache Seminar – presented by Reviewer GeoAwareANZ2 Netball Clubrooms behind MEGA shed
4:30pm – 5:30pm	GC88X1N Saturday CITO – St Arnaud Creek. See here* for more information.*
6:30pm – 8:00pm	GC8BWHJ The St Arnaud Saturday Night Event. See here* for more information.*

SUNDAY

9:00am	Pathtag Trading – at the MEGA site.
10:00am – 11:00am	Meet the Reviewers/Lackey – a Q&A session featuring Bunjil, GeoAwareANZ2, Tchingal & Rock Chalk
2:30pm – 4:00pm	GC8BWH0 GIFF & Farewell to The St Arnaud Event. See here* for more information.*

Bunnings BBQ

Hopefully a few of you have seen our event which will be held on Sunday the 15th of September, GC88V1F, A gathering in Ballarat. Our newest sponsor, Bunnings, is letting us run a traditional Bunnings BBQ at the Bunnings store in Ballarat to help raise funds for the St Arnaud MEGA event (as events like a MEGA cost lots of money to run). It’s a day long event from 9am through until 4pm where we will be cooking and selling sausages. We would love everybody to come down to the Bunnings store in Ballarat and have a sausage to help support this MEGA event. If you can donate some time on the day by volunteering to help with the cooking and selling of some sausages please email info@geocachingvictoria.com.au

bunnings

A Lucky Lackey

We are excited to announce that Chris Ronan aka Rock Chalk will be the lucky Lackey visiting us from Geocaching HQ in Seattle. Chris will be around for the whole event and part of a panel session on the Sunday morning so make sure you introduce yourself to him and ask lots of questions! With over 28,000 finds he has lots of knowledge on all things geocaching!

Geocaching in St Arnaud – Loop Track (LT)

The Loop Track series was created in 2016 by FUF006 & Tyred n Cranky, following on from their earlier Firebreak series (2014) and Bush Meander series (2015).

The LT series is a total of 18 cleverly constructed caches comprising of 16 trads and 2 puzzles that require numbers to be collected along the way. The Loop Track begins on the outskirts of St Arnaud, taking you on an enjoyable journey through the bush.

A total of 1,953* unique finds have been logged on this series with over 650* favourite points awarded to the series overall. The midway mystery Big Wheels – ? LT (GC6Q79K) holds the honour of ‘most favourited’ cache of the series with 69% fave points*.

This is a must do series when you’re in the area and a fantastic adventure for all ages. Begin your quest at Alpha – 01 LT (GC6Q76E)

*Statistics current as of 26 August 2019

Official Shirts now Available

Official St Arnaud Event shirts now available to order. Check out the Geocaching Victoria Store to pre-order yours now. Available in Men’s, Women’s and Kids sizes. Don’t forget until the end of August, kids receive a Free Tracking Code when they order a shirt with Embroidery

shirt

St Arnaud Geo Coins & Pathtags

The St Arnaud Event 2019 MEGA standard and limited edition geocoins are now for sale in the Geocaching Victoria store. In fact we have placed our order and three is limited stock so get in quick before they sell out!

The Standard coin has been specifically designed for the event and features Fern the leadbeater possum as well as some stunning Australian flora including Victoria’s floral emblem – the Pink Heath. What sets this coin apart is that it is a 3D textured coin. If you’ve seen one before you know how magnificent they look – if not you will definitely want one for your collection! Coins are $16 each. Order here.

ST A standard coin

LE tractor coins

And whilst in the store don’t forget to purchase your St Arnaud Pathtags too!

St A 5 set

If you are thinking of ordering your own personalised pathtags and want them in time for St Arnaud, you have until 22nd September. Why not consider a set of tags with the Geocaching Victoria Logo on the back? Go to pathtags.com for more details.

Milestones

milestone

Sponsorship

The St Arnaud Event – June update

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Geocaching Victoria

Welcome to The St Arnaud Event June update. The committee are working behind the scenes to bring you the best MEGA event we can – all for FREE! Remember to REGISTER HERE as this year we will be crossing off names at the event to ensure everyone who registered early gets their gift.

Exciting news is that we have registrations from every state and territory in Australia as well as some international caching friends who are joining us from the USA, Zimbabwe, Canada, Finland and Switzerland. Don’t you love how geocaching can bring us together globally?

The lead up events have continued and in May and June we’ve seen events in Portland (Vic) and Wangaratta (Vic). Thanks to our hosts for helping to spread the word about The St Arnaud Event 2019. June and July are packed full of events in Adelaide (SA), Appin (at The Gong MEGA – NSW), Hexham (NSW), Geraldton (WA) and Camperdown (Vic).

Portland & Wangaratta

Geocaching in St Arnaud – St Arnaud Ramble Series GEO ART

Those of you keeping an eye on the St Arnaud geocaching map may have noticed some new geo-art pop up earlier this month. 89 caches plus a pre-existing trad make up alpha crusis, beta crusis, gamma cusis, delta crusis, epsilon crusis and the northern star – otherwise known as the southern cross. With D2/T1.5’s the norm, this series is doable for all with each star giving you a new type of puzzle challenge to solve.

As the newest series in the area, the caches have just a handful of finds but we’ve no doubt those numbers will be bumped significantly throughout the year. Put together by geocaching stalwarts FUF009 & sharkiefan, the series will teach you all about our radiant southern cross and take you along some farmer tracks and back roads around the outskirts of St Arnaud. To get started head to StARS 01 – Delta Crusis GC85FK4.

geoart

Official Shirts now Available

Official St Arnaud Event shirts now available to order. Check out the Geocaching Victoria Store to pre-order yours now. Available in Men’s, Women’s and Kids sizes.

shirt

Lab Cache Builder Competition

We are looking for several keen Lab Caches Builders for St Arnaud. Do you have a great idea a little “left of field”? If so we would love to hear from you. Simply email gemmasiemensma@gmail.com.au and tell us your idea along with a simple sentence (or two) on how it would be “interactive and delight cachers”. Entries close on August 10th so get creating!

Pathtag Competition Winner

Congratulations to Victorians “chooknchunk” who designed and won our Pathtag Design Competition. They will receive a full set of the 5 official St Arnaud Event 2019 pathtags. Now we don’t want to give away their special design so you’ll just have to come along to the event to discover it for yourself!

If you are designing your own pathtags for the event (or just in general) please consider using the GVI pathtag back. A small percentage of these sales go back to GVI to help run FREE events like the St Arnaud MEGA!

pathtag back

Sponsorship

It’s thanks to amazing supporters that make a MEGA event possible. This includes Caching Supplies AND GeoStuff who will both have their shop on site during the Mega. We’ve also had donations from our mates in South Australia who are organising a MEGA event there – GeoVenture2020, Sssafe and Sistema so a big thanks to them too. It’s also important to note that this event isn’t possible without the support of the Northern Grampians Shire Council so thank you NGS – your support in invaluable! And we can’t forget the amazing support from PathTags and Geocaching HQ who help to make this dream a reality! Thanks guys!

St Arnaud Geo Coins & Pathtags

The St Arnaud Event 2019 MEGA standard and limited edition geocoins are now for sale in the Geocaching Victoria store.

The Standard coin has been specifically designed for the event and features Fern the ledbeater possum as well as some stunning Australian flora including Victoria’s floral emblem – the Pink Heath. What sets this coin apart is that it is a 3D textured coin. If you’ve seen one before you know how magnificent they look – if not you will definitely want one for your collection! Coins are $16 each. Order here.

ST A standard coin

LE tractor coins

And whilst in the store don’t forget to purchase your St Arnaud Pathtags too!

St A 5 set

First to Find (FTF) Raffle

St A Ag society