Second coming - Brisbane

These caching trips have become a semi regular event for the Gangsters. This time we headed back to one of our earlier haunts in an attempt to clear out another section of town. Brisbane was the destination for this 4-day juggernaut.

While Farmer Frentzen planned a family holiday to include a days caching with us, the rest of us drove up to Brisbane with one thing in mind – caching. Leaving Sydney on Wednesday night we soon had our complement of gangsters and were making good time up the Pacific Highway. We stopped along the way to grab a few highway caches but by 6am Thursday we were sitting down to breakfast on the Gold Coast.

With minimal sleep we spent a slow first day hovering around the Gold Coast and its surrounding suburbs picking off caches. As the day progressed we made our way northwards, stopping off at the “World Famous – Yatala Pies”. The gangsters will tell you that these are some of the best pies around, so be sure to stop. By days end we’d amassed 70 finds.

Booking into our accommodation we met up with our 4th gangster. After a few drinks it was off to bed for a well-earned rest, tomorrow was planned as our biggest day of the trip.
4.30am and the team was back together, the 4 gangsters were on the road in search of our first find. We used the dead of night to grab a few inner city caches, which I must say, “I love”. As dawn turned to day we found ourselves weaving a path down through Indooroopilly and onto Jindalee. Along the way we managed to grab a few of those unique caches like a “whereigo, a virtual and an earthcache”. While the finds throughout the day didn’t offer too much we did have a few fun moments as we witnessed a hit n run car accident, an early morning moment with a security guard, some inspiring "backpackers", the usual verbal slanging from all the gangsters, a “slips” catch which nearly proved very costly, a trip down a bus tunnel and way too many encounters with barking dogs.

As darkness fell we took time out for a hearty dinner, which always works a treat to recharge our enthusiasm and we were soon out finding more caches. By the time our caching spree drew to a close we’d cracked 100 finds for the day and were happy to finish on such a milestone.

Day 3 of our trip started slowly. Farmer Frentzen headed off on the next adventure of their holiday, while Steeba, Big Matt and myself went out in search of a few more caches. For a change of scenery we headed towards the coast where we found various pockets of caches and picked off the finds regularly. One of the highlights was the cache contained within Banyan Fig Tree. These trees have an amazing root system, which made for a great hide. The day finished rather early with us sharing a few drinks back at our campsite.
As Sunday dawned we were already on our way home. Our first stop was breakfast with Mum & Dad, who put on a great spread. We grabbed a few local caches before hitting the autopilot for home. Just before Port Macquarie we took a short detour in search of a cache, it was here that we noticed the car bonnet had come loose. Upon inspection we realised the locking eye had sheered right off. With an unsecured bonnet we limped into Port Macquarie and the question of “what to do” became an agonising wait as countless phone calls ensued. Some 6 hours after the breakage we were finally heading south again, all be it in the cab of a tow-truck with Matt’s car on the back.
Around 9pm we got back to Matts place, the tow-truck driver had done a great job, but our trip was far from done. Steeba and I still had 3 hours ahead of us and just after midnight we finally crawling into our own beds. What a hell of a trip home.

Thanks to my caching buddies (Big Matt, Steeba & Farmer Frentzen) for another great caching adventure. 200+ finds in approx’ 4 days.

Gong Shuttle Bus event

I had a crazy idea about using the free Wollongong Shuttle bus to host a unique caching event. The plan was to get fellow geocachers to join us for a lap on the bus as it made its way around Wollongong. The idea had never been tried before and wasn’t likely to see the light of day but with an understanding approver I was pleasantly surprised to see the cache approved.

On Sat 12th Jun at 2pm nearly 20 other caching teams joined us at Wollongong Uni (posted coords) for the “Wheels on the Bus go round n round” event cache. Some caching teams had travelled along way, most using the beautiful winter’s day to have a days caching in the Illawarra.

The free green shuttle bus takes its passengers on a loop around the local attractions of Wollongong. People can hop on and off as they please. Most of the time, Uni students use the bus to easily get around town. Today however we unofficially hijacked the bus for a lap of geocaching fun. As the lap unfolded the singing and stories flowed. Many of us hadn’t been on a bus for years, but the combination of a caching event with a free ride around town had everyone enjoying themselves.

The only regret for the day was that it was all over way too quickly.

Oz Mega Event

After 18 months in the pipeline, the first Mega Event held in the southern hemisphere has just concluded at Wagga Wagga. A group of enthusiastic cachers came together to form the Riverina Caching Committee. They spent countless hours methodically planning and re-planning what turned out to a fantastic gathering.

The ICC (Illawarra Caching Community) was well represented at the 4-day event with many local caching families making the trek south. We all camped together, which made for a friendly warm atmosphere.

After arriving on Easter Friday we set-up camp and took in the many activities on offer. If we weren’t out caching, we were swapping pathtags or catching up with old friends. As the first day drew to an end a huge bonfire had the kids mesmerised and soon ready for bed.

Saturday started with more socialising before we took a trip into Wagga and the surrounding district. Once back at camp the kids couldn’t wait to swap more pathtags before heading out to enjoy the live band and fireworks.

Easter Sunday dawned with the Easter bunny delivering his bundle of goodies for the kids. If this wasn’t enough a huge egg hunt saw the kids grab many more chocolate eggs. It was then the parents turn as we participated in a mad scramble for sponges which were dropped from a helicopter.
A lazy afternoon wrapped up the daylight activities. By night it was back for more live music, which included audience participation which our kids loved. Another bonfire and speeches concluded the nights entertainment.

Monday and it was pack up time. Many families chose to make an early start while we didn’t leave till approx’ lunchtime. A CITO event helped ensure the campground was left neat and tidy.

What a great way to celebrate Australia’s 1st Mega Event GC1YJ5R. Thanks to the organisers for exceeding my wildest expectations.

Numbers in Melbourne

As the 1st Australian Mega Event rolls around I thought it’d be nice to coincide a milestone find with the attendance at the Mega Event.

For this to happen I needed to rack up some quick finds. To achieve this I planned a flying visit to Melbourne. As luck would have it I managed to get some cheap $28 flights to Melbourne, some accommodation with the relo’s with the biggest expense being the hiring of a car for a few days.

Arriving in Melbourne late at night I quickly set about finding caches. With a few finds under my belt I grabbed a few hours sleep. The next morning I headed to Geelong, last time I was here I was taken by the picturesque scenery. This time was no different, I headed out towards Queenscliff and Port Lonsdale where I grabbed a few caches and took in the vista. Eventually I ran out of time, but not before I grabbed a few of the “Mad Max” series of caches.

That night I caught up with family who I hadn’t seen in ages.

The next day and there was more caching to be done. I took the opportunity to grab a rare “Webcam” cache as I cached my way around the bay. I managed to find all the healthy suburbs and seen how the other half live. My days caching finished with my tally on 85 finds. The day culminated with dinner and drinks at a nice Italian eatery.

My final day in Melbourne and I headed straight for the city where I grabbed a few unusual finds. A couple of “Earthcahes” and “Virtuals” added to the tally. I also had time to duck over to Brighton where I not only found a cache but I had time to look at the beach huts, which are quiet, amazing.

My 3-day trip ended with 95 finds, a greater appreciation of Melbourne scenery and me sitting comfort to achieve my 4000th find in Wagga.

Dual Event Weekend

You could never argue that we weren't a social bunch of geocachers in NSW. The past weekend has highlighted that. On Saturday we hosted our 4th Annual Illawarra/Sth Coast Get-together. As always, it was a great day. Some 27 caching teams turned up to bask in the sun, catch up with friends and to par-take in the games.

While on Sunday we attended the 2nd Annual Hills Event. This was our first time at this event, which is hosted by Aussiecacher and is held in the food court of the Rouse Hill shopping centre. It was a very hot day but that didnt stop 26 teams turning up for breakfast and a coffee.

Both events were a great way to meet other cachers and to swap a story or 2. I'm looking forward to the Mega Event in April.