Geocaching - Wagga Endurance weekend

After the success of the Gong gangsters assault on Bathurst back in November talk was of where we could go for our next assault. Based on a very technical formula, which I can’t explain we decided Wagga was the likely spot. We recruited a new member in Big Matt to our team and after months of planning we picked a suitable weekend. Coincidental it just happened to be the same weekend others from around the state had also decided to ascend on Wagga. An official event was organised to mark the special occasion, thus another find.
As the weekend of the 24-25th May drew near our plan was simple. Get as many traditional caches as possible between Friday night and Sunday afternoon. As our adventure unfolded we made good time down the highway bagging everything along the way. Work restraints meant we had to catch up with Steeba and Big Matt just outside Wagga, but once all together we continued zigging and zagging our way into Wagga. Just after midnight we wisely decided to make camp for the night. The thought of pressing on was tempting but the burnout factor also ran high.

A good nights sleep on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River was broken by the sounds of thousands of galahs singing in the trees. Nevertheless there was caching to be done and no time for sleep-ins. Into Wagga for the first time and we quickly picked up from the previous night. 1 then 2 then 3 and so on, reaching double figures was very quick. After car-pooling it wasn’t long before the little memorable moments began to happen. A chat with the station master here, the donning of a mask there, the drive-by caches, a game of AFL also, it all added to the fun as we headed out of town for a big loop which took us to the ‘The Rock' and through ‘Livingstone N.P’

On our return to Wagga we bagged a few very unique caches. Someone in town had put a lot of work and pride into their caching containers. These containers and hide techniques remain the highlight of my trip…. Simply they were awesome. Occasionally we’d bump into a few of the other teams that had come to Wagga, but it wasn’t till dinnertime when we got to meet the locals and others from a field. Dinner was at the local sportsman’s club and apart from the long wait it was great to meet and catch up with other cachers. While sharing a story was fun we all agreed there was a whole heap more caches to be found so it was back on the road. A few more good hides and a practical joke on the Canberra cachers all made for a good night.

Eventually the time had come where part of our team had to bid us farewell and head for home. Farewell to them and more caching for us. The city was alive with drunks and young people having fun, which often made cache hunting difficult. With our hit/miss ratio not very good we chose to abandon our nights caching.

Sunday morning dawned and it felt like I’d been hit with a sledgehammer. A massive migraine was brewing, the head and stomach were working against one another, but it takes more than that to slow me down. By 7.00am we were off in search of more caches, just at a slower pace this time. By mid morning we had pretty much cleared out all of the traditional caches in Wagga and started for home. However a cacher can never just head home, there is always one more to find and so it was that we chose to come home via the Olympic Way. Not the most direct route but very fruitful for Hoojar and myself as we nabbed another 25 caches along this road.

As I bagged my last cache in Goulburn some impressive stats were collated. From Friday night till Sunday afternoon I had amassed 133 finds, travelled some 1450km and was sporting a migraine from hell, but it was all worth it. To my fellow Gong Gangsters, thanks to all of you for another great endurance weekend. Where to next!

Caching in Sydney

I was long overdue for some series caching, its like a drug to me. A cache here and there only wets my appetite for a dose of series caching. So with that said, I had been busy leading up to the 13th March organising fellow cachers for a day of series caching in Sydney.

It was 4.30am when we left the Illawarra, heading towards our first find for the day. The weather had been kind, actually it was probably a little too hot, but for someone who loves the heat I can’t complain. For today I had teamed up with my fellow caching mates Hoojar and Gribbly. Both of which were as keen as I was for a big day in Sydney.

Right on 6.00am we bagged our first find. The sun hadn’t showed itself as yet which was a pity as most of the places we went were thick with spider’s webs. It didn’t take long and our cache finds steadily climbed. We had started in Sydney’s west and had made a circular arc northeast. By lunchtime we had made it to Olympic park where with everyone else we soaked up the beautiful day.

There was no time for lunch, geocachers don’t stop for trivial things such as lunch. As we pressed on we made our way around the northern foreshore of Parramatta River and then up towards the Lane Cover River. Our day eventually finished at Macquarie University, I had personally bagged 34 caches in approx’ 10 hours. Not a bad days work.

2nd Annual Illawarra Caching Get-together

Update:
With fine weather greeting us, the 2nd annual caching get-together was held yesterday at Blackbutt reserve, Shellharbour. After arriving early with the hope of securing the undercover table n chairs it was disappointing to see that I wasn't early enough to achieve this.

That aside we still had a beautiful spot in the parkland. Teams started arriving from about 10.30am onwards, many bringing family and food for a great picnic day. Plenty of people took in the customary time trial which had teams doing a 'word association' around the park. Later in the day we had the 20m measurement game which has teams testing their GPS & skill to accurately measure 20m. Congrats to Big Matt & Shell & USAT31 for winner the 2 games.

As the day progressed there were countless caching stories shared and hints told. Nearly 100 travel bugs and geocoins were exchanged with everyone managed to grab 2 or 3. A real picnic atmosphere was enjoyed by all, the kids played happily in the playground while we soaked up the sun.
Eventually the day come to an end, cachers logs from the event can be found here. Until next years event, happy caching all.

The Rats are hosting the 2nd Annual Illawarra Get-together once again. With the success of last years event we have decided to make this an annual event. Its at the same place and same coords. More details on the event can be found at the cache listing. I look forward to seeing everyone there.

This post will be regularly updated

Geocaching - Bathurst Endurance weekend

I think the name says it all, the Bathurst Cachers recently hosted a caching event with the theme being endurance. This seemed to attract alot of interest from other cachers all over the state (including the ACT).

Along with myself, a few other Wollongong cachers formed the 'Gong Gangsters' in attempt to find as many caches as possible within the 24hr period. As the weekend drew near our excitment was heightened with the idea of a big weekend.

Friday afternoon we headed off to Bathurst via Goulburn, Taralga & Oberon. Obviously not the most direct route for us but this way gave us more caching opportunities. We quickly had 1, then 2 & 3 & 4 caches. By the time we got to Oberon we already had 10 finds. A quick loop around Oberon and we departed with another 10 or so finds. The weather leading up to the weekend hadn't been too good and as we gained altitude we were reminded how cold it can be on the central tablelands as rain and wind belted us at times. As the night went on, up went our count. We passed through some pretty small towns picking up caches here and there. At about 2am we decided to camp for the night next to the Fish River, just outside of Bathurst.

The few hours sleep went someway to recharging the batteries, but not fully as it was only 6.30am and we already had our first find for the day. As the morning went on we kept our tally ticking over and on que we arrived at the event cache where we mingled with fellow cachers, caught up on some caching tales and took in the atmosphere.

We'd decided not to play the event game, instead we chose to do local caches and as everyone set off so did we. Our plan was a clockwise arc around the southern and western region of Bathurst coupled with a trip out to Orange. This went extremely well and our route was pushed out further to include Blayney and Carcoar. Here we stopped in to check-out the impressive wind farm.

As night fell we headed back into Bathurst for a well deserved meal and more urban type caches. While the locals enjoyed a night on the town we quickly blended in and snapped up the inner town caches. A short loop around the outskirts bagged us a few more finds before our lack of sleep finally caught up with us and we returned to the event hideout for a well earned sleep.

Sunday dawned with more blue skies and the prospect of more finds. After sharing the hospitality of the Bathurst crew we were back at it again. This time with larger loops of the town planned. By now the caching had turned into a blur, but the scenery always seemed to change. If we weren't down on the river we were up in the hills or visiting an historic home or church or even getting a lap or 2 in around the race track.

Eventually with the weekend coming to an end and still the long drive ahead of us we chose to complete our chapter on Bathurst caches and head for home. Not that this was the end of our caching as we still had some highway caches to get as headed over the mountains. Another half dozen finds along the highway completed our trip. We'd been gone for 48hrs, had amassed some 1300kms and found personally 132 caches. Hoojar found 141 and Steeba 143.

Thanks to my caching buddies for a great weekend. I can't wait to do it again at the next big town.

Caching in Canberra

With the APEC summit giving some of us a day off last week I took the opportunity to do a bit of geocaching. After chatting with another local cacher (Hoojar) a plan was made to head down to Canberra and grab some of their local caches.

We left Thursday (6th Sept) afternoon for what was built as a 24hr caching stint around the northern suburbs of Canberra. Hoojar had previously done some caches around Canberra so our cache selection was made to ensure optimuin count for both of us. We knabbed our first cache at 3.30pm on the outskirts of Goulburn. Quickly our count grew, 1 then 2, 3 and and so on. Before we knew it we were up in double figures and it wasn't even sunset.

Night caching has always appealed to me, it throws a whole new dimmension into this crazy sport and caching around Canberra of a night was no different. Theres always the obvious differences, like harder to find and the unwanted and sometimes hostile muggles but overall the experience is very rewarding. With most of Canberra's caches on hills, the night views were very rewarding.

Just after midnight we opted for a few hours sleep, the 30 caches we'd already found was catching up with us and we needed to recharge our batteries.... A cool start to Friday but we were quickly back into finding caches, our first find being 6.30am. As people headed to work, we headed to our next cache and so on and our cache count quickly rose. Throughout the day the weather had taken a turn for the worse, showers had become more constant rain but this didn't stop us.

We found one of Canberra's earth caches on our travels. This involved identifying some very interesting fossils. I also got to release my latest geocoin in Canberra. Late on Friday afternoon I got to do my very first letterbox cache, this an interesting twist on geocaching and after 6 years of caching I pleased to have found my first one.

As the day come to an end we headed for home very pleased with our caching efforts. Hoojar had found 65 caches while I'd managed to bag 74 caches. All this in 24 hours.