We are almost there! We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the amaxing support of Townsville City Council! We can’t thank them enough!! We have noticed that people are on the move already heading towards Townsville and a few events have popped up along routes for travellers to connect. We have been hearing things about some amazing planning happening to grab all the target caches involving hire of specialist equipment. We know of zoom sessions to get the Saint sorted and nut over some ideas as group collective. We also know that the GPS Maze (GC9MQ6K) has arrived!
So, where to from here:
Merchandise: The order time is almost at an end for any printed merchandise, with the final day for purchases being 11:30pm Friday 25th March. Coins and pathtags will continue to be for sale until we have exhausted our stock. Please be aware that our Event polo shirts have been closed off for ordering due some concerns regarding the recent flooding through the warehouse affecting stock.
Reviewer Session: We are calling out for questions for our reviewers to consider during their session, you can submit your questions through our email address admin@cacheqld.com
Milestone Shout-out: If you or someone you know is celebrating a milestone over the weekend, please let us know so we can recognise, share and celebrate with you. Perhaps it’s a birthday, caching anniversary, first Mega, 100th cache, 20,000th cache send us an email at admin@cacheqld.com
Trivia (GC8HMY0): Remember to register for the Trivia event, so you can be allocated a table and we can have enough resources on hand to make this a great night.
CITO (GC9NB63): We are overwhelmed with the all the support that has been shown through the Will Attends for the CITO, we will need to provide council with numbers of expected attendees prior to the event, so make sure you have registered your interest. We would like once more to remind people that enclosed shoes, hat and sunscreen will be essential for the event and encourage carpooling to the event where possible as attendance is looking to exceed parking spots.
Volunteering: We are looking for people to help across the weekend with the Escape Room, Maze, packing up and setting out, cache maintenance or just being on hand for any unexpected little jobs that might crop up. We have a few spots left open after the wonderful Townsville Geocaching community have stepped in to try and cover as many spots as possible so our visitors can enjoy maximum caching time. If you can help with any of the below volunteer roles and times, please send us an email. All positions are one hour long so maybe bring along a friend to work with and help give back to the Mega.
Friday: Front Gate: 4-8pm Escape Room: 5-10pm Saturday: Front Gate: 11-2pm + 4-6pm, GPS Maze: 1pm-3pm Escape Room 4-5pm Sunday: GPS Maze: 9am-12pm Event Pack Down from 2pm
Duties are as follows Gate – Welcome and check COVID passports. GPS Maze – Supporting Geocaching Victoria to supervise the exhibit Gadgets and Main Hall – Help people when requested with the gadgets Escape Room – Reset the room between groups, provide hints where necessary, time escapes and update leader board. Cache Maintenance: We would love to have a couple of volunteers in case of any cache maintenance issues over the course of the weekend, or if you happen to be staying around post Mega for a few days.
If you have been looking around Townsville on the caching map recently you may have noticed our Mega Geo-Art has gone live! It is none other than the Saint from Castle Hill, a prominent landmark and one that is celebrating it’s 60th anniversary in 2022. In the art you will find a variety of puzzles from your simple to the complex and just the hint of a dastardly doozy as well – remember to look at the letterboxes as well. If you haven’t started, maybe gather your brains trust and get to work on the solving. Here is a bookmark to get you started.
Welcome Event
Welcome to Townsville! We have a family friendly get together event planned for Good Friday starting from 6pm. This will be a perfect time to sit around with old and new friends, swap some stories and most importantly make some plans for your time in the North. We will have a couple of food vans on site so you can enjoy something to eat while you socialise. Please note this is an alcohol free event. Make sure you log your will attend at GC9NB5C.
Trivia Night
Speaking of brains trust have you organised your table for the Trivia event (GC8HMY0) on Saturday night? This will be our main social event of the Mega weekend and sure to be fun as we put you through 7 rounds of the hard hitting questions. We do request that you not only put a ‘Will Attend’ on the event, but register your team, whether 6 people or a single / duo looking to join a table, you can do this via the link on the cache page or by clicking here. Food vans will be on site and the bar will be open!
CITO – Rowes Bay Tree Planting
At 7:00am on Sunday you can give back to our host city, by joining in with the Townsville City Council to re-vegetate the Rowes Bay Esplanade after it was impacted by the 2019 flood. We ask that you wear sun protective clothing, and you must have enclosed footwear, no thongs please. Our tasks will be digging holes in the sand, mixing potting mix and planting the council provided trees. Log your will attend at GC9NB63.
Farewell Event
All good things must come to an end, and this marks the conclusion of the Townsville Mega. Come down to the Mega site at 12pm and bid farewell to one and all as we go our merry caching ways, whether its homeward bound or exploring the region further. Log your will attend GC9NB6G.
Supporters of Townsville Maze
There is just over one week left to pledge your support and become a Supporter of the Townsville Maze & be among some of the first to get this rare cache type!
For a small cost you will be given the following: * VIP only access on Friday * One of the first in Australia to log a super rare cache type * Jump the queue all weekend * VIP thank you pack * Your name displayed prominently on the maze * Knowing that without you the maze wouldn’t be possible!
Supporter packages start from $70. Visit Geocaching Victoria to pledge your support & secure your VIP spot.
Final day to lock in your SOTM spot is strictly midnight 28th of Feb!
Merchandise – Webstore
Don’t forget you can purchase your Townsville Mega souvenirs through our web shop. We have limited quantity of our coins and pathtags left and orders for the printed merchandise close on March 25th.
BBQ Fundraiser
We have been offered another opportunity to host a Bunnings BBQ on Saturday the 26th of February at Domain. As we have a number of regular volunteers missing, if anyone is available to help out for an hour or two, please get in touch! We need help from 8:30am-3pm. There is a catch up event for the day as well GC9NB4Z to chat about all things caching.
Hopefully by now you’ve heard the aMAZEing news that a GPS Adventure Exhibit is in Australia!
The GPS Adventure Maze Exhibit is a rare event icon that originally appeared in the USA in 2007. The Exhibit, initially hosted by Geocaching HQ, travelled around the USA and Canada until 2015 before being retired. The Czech Geocaching Association were allowed to create their own maze in 2013 and it first appeared in Prague of that year. The Czech maze travelled to the UK and Germany in 2015, back to the Czech Republic in 2017, to Austria in 2018 and is due to return to the Czech Republic in 2022. The Texas Geocaching Association began their own maze in 2019 and appeared in Fort Worth in that year. It has travelled to Georgia, Ohio and Kansas in 2021. Finally, GeoNord are bringing the maze to France for the first time ever in 2022.
The Australian maze, created by Geocaching Victoria, is the first maze in the southern hemisphere and has made Australia only the 7th country to host a maze!
CacheQLD are working on the logistics of organising the maze’s move North and personalising it to showcase the best of caching in Queensland. However, none of these plans can come to fruition without your support. We need some dedicated cachers to become Supporters of the Townsville Maze!
For a small cost you will be given the following:
* VIP only access on Friday * One of the first in Australia to log a super rare cache type * Jump the queue all weekend * VIP thank you pack * Your name displayed prominently on the maze * Knowing that without you the maze wouldn’t be possible!
Supporter packages start at just $70. Visit Geocaching Victoria to pledge your support & secure your VIP spot.
FAQs
What is a GPS Adventure Maze? A GPS Adventure Maze is a special type of geocaching event that can only appear alongside specially selected Geocaching MEGA and GIGA Events.
How do I get the GPS Maze icon? The icon will be assigned to you after you have logged your “Attended” on the GPS Maze listing.
How do I become a Supporter of the Townsville Maze? You can register by following this link. Becoming a SOTM allows you special access to the maze on the Friday, as well as other goodies, only available to our Townsville supporters.
What if I don’t arrive in time for the VIP only event Friday night? No problem, you will be able to queue jump all weekend!
Do I need anything to visit the exhibition? No, just a little patience to get in line before you can access the Maze.
Will there be Adventures Labs? Yes, 10 Adventure Labs will be available inside the exhibition in addition to those of the MEGA.
Trivia night is back! All new questions, same great fun. The night will be held onsite at Cluden Park; however, it is a separate event to the MEGA.
This year when you join us for Trivia you will be able to log it as a Community Celebration Event! You can log your Will Attend at https://coord.info/GC8HMY0. Make sure you register your table on the event page! Tables can be booked for 1 person up to a group of 6. If less than 6 you will be asked during the registration process if you’re happy to be placed on a team with others. All registered players will be notified of their teams, and table number prior to the event! Food & drinks will be available for purchase on the night.
Time to start studying your geo-trivia!
Gadget Labs
We have more gadget labs planned for the Townsville event. They are built and just waiting for calendar to tick over so you come and try to crack them to spill their code word secrets. While you wait in anticipation of these gadgets, enjoy these sneaky pics to whet your appetite and perhaps get the mind ticking over what they potentially could be.
Geo-Art & Prize Draw!
Townsville is already brimming with high quality caches! However, there is just enough space for us to add our own event art for all the geocachers who have completed the local ones and are looking for something new! Cache placement is almost complete, and puzzles are being deviously designed as well! We have included a range of puzzles this year to suit every level of puzzler! Please note we are aiming to have the Geo-Art released mid-February.
Okay, puzzles are great but what about the prize draw, I hear you ask. If you would like a chance to win a set of the 2022 event pathtags you are in luck. Below you will find a sneak peak of one of the Geo-Art puzzles! Solve it, send us the answer via our email admin@cacheqld.com, and you will go in the draw to win a free pathtag set to collect during the event! It’s that easy …or is it? Good luck!
*competition closes Monday 7th February at 11:59pm Winner will be chosen at random using an online generator and announced in our next webpost
The Puzzle
Here is a 6×5 grid. By folding the grid a certain way you will get to a 3×3 grid with the numbers 1-9. What is the order of the numbers?
Hint: Less than 5 Folds
The Shop
Just in case you miss out on winning the set of pathtags you can always pick up some from The Shop. We now have our Geo-Coins in hand and have updated our images at the store, but here is another look at them for you. You can also pick up a great car flag or a variety of T-shirts to compliment your official event polo. Not to mention a wealth of other merchandise.
What’s next
We are currently working to finalise our itinerary and of course working on getting those puzzles to the reviewer. In the meantime make sure you have logged your will attend at GC9BVWD and continue to check back in on the website to keep up to date.
We are pleased to announce that the Mega is moving! The reason behind the move is the Townsville Showgrounds have been scheduled to undergo building works, and we were advised that it was a possibility the premises would not be ready in time for us. The Committee searched for another suitable location that was available over the Easter period and suited the vast amount of activities we have planned, with negotiations finally complete we are pleased and excited to announce our new home at Cluden Park.
S19°19.163 E146°49.338
Cluden Park is a heritage-listed, multipurpose venue uniquely placed as the home of horseracing in North Queensland. The host of signature social events in Townsville, including the iconic Townsville Cup. Cluden Park is located on private, lush acreage of impressive proportions featuring distinctive nineteenth-century architecture with a modern aesthetic. A haven away from the hustle and bustle for family-friendly events, Cluden Park offers a setting like no other.
The Cluden Park landscape is a highly flexible venue with unlimited potential; from weddings to festivals, corporate functions and indoors and outdoors celebrations. It is an ideal venue for our event, affording us the space we need for all the fantastic activities we have planned.
Sitting at the foothills of Mt Stuart, Cluden Park is ideally located at the crossroads of the Bruce and the Flinders Highways, but is only a short, 12-minute drive from the CBD.
We have secured sole access, to the Cluden Facilities for the Easter weekend including a large undercover area (Party King Grandstand), the Trackside Marquee and the Fig Tree Lawns. Have a closer look at https://www.cludenpark.com.au/ In case you were wondering pets (on leads) are also welcome at Cluden.
As this is a premier racing track with training being held each day there will be some access restrictions in place including no access to the site from midnight to 8:30am each day or access to the track itself. Unfortunately, due to these and other significant restrictions that would be placed to onsite campers over the weekend, we have decided that in the best interest of our traveling and camping geocachers that will not be pursuing onsite camping for the Townsville Mega Event. We have made contact with two caravan parks located within a short distance to the site and they have confirmed they have availability over the easter holiday period. Please mention you are part of the Mega event if you would like to be grouped with other geocachers.
With the announcement of our new location being made we are pleased to also open our shop where you can purchase an event shirt, Geocoins, pathtags and other Event specific merchandise. You can visit the shop at https://cacheqld.onlineweb.shop/ Please be aware that orders will close on March 25th this is to allow time for final preparations and transport to the event and all orders are to be collected at the event.
Things to Note: Purchases other than coins and tags are non-refundable as these are made to order. Once the pathtags and coins sell out there will not be any more ordered. To add your name to the order you need to click additional details, at the top of the page when at the checkout. You need to provide your own tracking code
What to do next….
Log a will attend at GC9BVWD if you haven’t already, check out our shop to purchase your event merchandise and start planning your trip. Don’t forget to keep an eye out here for all future updates. We are excited to welcome you at Easter!
And the results are in! After a solid bunch of nominations, we have selected a winning cache for each category, along with a couple of honourable mentions. It was great to see nominations all across Queensland! And to the results… THE WINNERS ARE:
Traditional Cache GC9860T The Puzzling Trail – Bookcache, by JQTB This is really a win for the entire series, as we had multiple nominations for different caches. But we selected this cache specifically as the best of the best. Honourable Mentions GC9BYA9 SIMON Wants To Play A Game, by drrnrchr GC95XM2 ☠️DGS☠️ Mt Spec Tin Mines, by Dirtbags Downunder GC95PPP Up in the trees…🌳🎣 No.1, by Stephyy
Mystery Cache GC96MM0 Locked Out, by Orange Crew A puzzle based on an old classic, but a great container and hide! Honourable Mentions GC97455 Armchair Explorer, by burgo78 GC9EBBK Paroo 4WD Night Cache, by hatzofff GC9JFFF Gobbledygook, by smallwombat (this is a great puzzle!)
Multi Cache GC8YHNG Oh Gee! PVC On Mt. Mee, by Captain Terror Lots of fun at every stage! Honourable Mentions GC9GR2Y It’s about the Real Estate, Mate, by BenM70 GC94K3E Signs of Civilisation, by oz bean counter
Earth Cache GC91EQ2 Poohsticks, by CacheQLD OK… we did not want to award ourselves here, but the nominations were clear that this was the best! And no rocks involved! Honourable Mentions GC97474 Hobwee Basalt, by Orange Crew GC9DEZ5 Split Rock, by Liz and Bruce
Letterbox GC9FDBC Tree of the Dead, by 1MinnieMoo I have to admit, this cache is within 5km of my home and I have not collected it! But the nominations made it clear the container is special. Honourable Mentions GC9C49K G.E. & O. Cache, by Speedmistress GC96R8B You’ve Got Mail in Dayboro (for the series), by CacheQLD
Wherigo GC96AE3 Rattle Along The Mary Valley, by AtTheLakeHouse Great final location! Honourable Mentions GC95B5Y Its a BUG CACHE, by dahumbug GC9B9HN Sky Blue-Reverse Wherigo, by TeamJLBL
We are pleased to announce the inaugural CacheQLD Geocache Awards for 2021. These awards will highlight the best of geocaching in Queensland – whether the cache takes you to a spectacular location, requires a sense of adventure, or has an element of creativity that sets it above the rest. We hope this will encourage placement of a variety of high quality caches in the future.
Nominate a recently placed cache for the award by sending an email to admin@cacheqld.com. Include your geocaching name and when you found the cache (no self-nominations!) and the reason why this cache deserves the award. Eligible caches will have been placed in the previous 12 month (after 1 Dec 2020). We will take nominations in for the following categories:
Traditional
Mystery
Multi-Cache
EarthCache
Letterbox Hybrid
Wherigo
Adventure Lab
Sorry to the owner of the one Virtual cache placed in the last 12 months! There is a nomination limit of one cache in each category per nominator – please send each nomination in a separate email.
Nominations are open until the 21st of December, with winners announced early 2022. Judging will be performed by a panel from CacheQLD.
If your idea of Geocaching has been inspired by Indiana Jones and the Goonies then you won’t be disappointed in Townsville. For the adventurous there are caches on local peaks and trails, around bays, on cliff faces, up trees, underground and even underwater. 4WD’s, boats, kayaks, climbing gear, tree fishing poles and ladders have all been employed around the region. There’s even one hide that requires both a boat and a ladder (GC7P58W).
For the hikers, Townsville is surrounded by some magnificent national parks and challenging bush walks. Close to the city, the Town Common and Cape Pallarenda Conservation Park offer beautiful, varied vistas of the islands and the lagoons and creative caches to collect (Breaking Bad Series.) Head north to Paluma and step back in time, visiting abandoned mine shafts at Wolfram Mines (GC8FV0Q) and Mt Spec Tin Mines (GC95XM2). Wander through the disused train tunnels of Hervey Range at GC8BM2M (Hervey Range Train Tunnels) and GC8T4VD (Palm Tree Creek Tunnel Vision) and climb the Rock (GC1RR6C) to be rewarded by 360 degree views of the area. The Pinnacles offer a handful caches along a very challenging hike with the final destination, South Pinnacle 700m asl (GC7T1EY) being the most remote. Mt Halifax Peak (GC9104J) is the tallest and steepest climb in the region at 1063m and provides arguable the toughest challenge.
If you have access to a boat, then Magnetic Island is a must. The 5 Beach Bay Series (GC6F8QP), Bay Explorer Wherigo (GC8E6H0) and old 2006, Bay Rock Cache (GCV6DZ) can only be accessed by watercraft. If you time it right, then visiting the mangrove lined S.S. Adelaide (GC7V99M) wreck off the coast is possible on foot. Bring your snorkel or hire some scuba gear to dive down to the Moltke – Pirate Cache (GC6VGM0) to seek a real sunken treasure chest. If you have more time for exploring, then the Palm Island Group offers an unspoilt archipelago to uncover. Search a WW2 Catalina wreck on a deserted island to uncover its ‘black box’ (GC6WM4D).
The mouth of the Ross River and the Bohle River also have plenty of hides on offer. As mentioned previously the Bohle even has one that requires a boat and a ladder (GC7P58W). There you will also find the letterbox – Tidal Choice (GC6GQ5R), which can alternatively be attempted on foot at low tide if you’re brave enough. Just don’t forget your baseball bat in case you encounter any big green lizards. *Please be advised that estuarine crocodiles have been sighted in the Bohle and the saltwater section of the Ross and a kayak is strongly discouraged in these sections.
If the only watercraft you have to hand is a yak, there’s still plenty to do. The freshwater section of the Ross, towards the dam has a good number of hides to fill your day in a very picturesque location.
If you want a real challenge, then GC_Diver’s Ross River Challenge Multi (GC8TTGY) will certainly require some effort (and also a drone) to claim the justified 5/5 rating.
If the Hervey Range tunnels are too tame for you then burgo78 has three more offerings, The claustrophobic Tunnel Vision 1 (GC75XMP) and 2 (GC7C8GZ) in Bushland Beach and the Adventurers Challenge (GC89VKJ) along the Ross. BenM70 also has the fantastic Cowabunga Dude (GC8G52B) deep in the heart of the city.
For the monkeys head to Anderson Gardens for Natures Spiral Staircase (GC7H2GK), Ropes Required (GC8YDNB), 99% Monkey Challenge (GC8RWMG) and the dauting ‘Fear Factor 5’ (GC82QQZ). If you’re interested in something a little different then try clinging to the side of a bridge on (Not) out of (h)arm’s reach (GC80EQ7).
If you have ropes then be sure to seek out T5 on the hill (GC7WBXY) by Karicka and Fortunate Favours the Brave (GC8F1F3), as both will have you hanging off the side of iconic Castle Hill. The Strand Pier (GC5N1Z4) is another popular point from which you can hang from in search of a smiley. At night is the best time to attempt this one.
In Plain Sight (GC702VA), Danger! Danger! Danger! (GC8TWNQ), Climb a Billboard (GC8E0VJ) and Helter Skelter (GC97F2V) all require a ladder, and the nerve to climb while being watched by passing traffic.
Tree fishing is a relatively new to the region with more planned before the event. Geocaching is Free (GC8DKHC), Just Hanging Around (GC8JJAK) and Sanctum Reserve Fishery (GC91X29) are just three of this expanding sub-genre.
Fancy some fun in the mud then head to the Bohle salt pans to pick up the Boneyard Series (GC94PJV). Just be careful as to how far you push your vehicle as you may end up stuck in this vehicle graveyard.
If these sound like they are up your alley, then check out this Bookmark List for the links to these caches and more.
Ross River Power Trail
Townsville is blessed with a great river, and some fantastic cycling/walking trails that follow almost it’s entire length. What better way to encourage cachers to get out and explore these trails but to line them with caches, to form Townsville’s first Power Trail.
First started in 2013, the RRPT stretches 28km from the mouth of the Ross River all the way to the Ross Dam, and boasts 99 hides along the riverbanks for walkers/cyclists plus a further 31 which can only be accessed by boat or kayak.
CacheQLD intends to add further hides, in addition to the 30 recently placed, to the power trail in the lead up to the Townsville Mega event at Easter 2022. These are filling in gaps on the northern bank, and populate the southern bank, creating a two 10km loops between Bowen Road and Nathan Street and Nathan Street and the Ring Road. With over 100 hides this should be ideal for cyclists.
Click on this link to visit a list of the RRPT caches Click on this link to visit a list of the RRBPT caches Click on this link to learn more about the Ross River Parkway
Tools of the Trade – Hire Options
Feeling Adventurous? Then check out these local hire companies if your TOTTs won’t fit in your carry on. (Prices correct at time of writing, and you should confirm prior to making a booking)
(Who kindly support our event)
Outer Limits Adventure Fitness 85 Chandler St, Garbutt Kayaks (sit on top) – single $50/day, double $80/day, Ocean Skis – $75-$120/day Stand Up Paddleboards (inflatable) $25/day, Bikes $30 per day 0421 484 211 https://outerlimitsadventure.com.au/equipment-hire/
Townsville Boat Hire Boat Hire or custom private tours 4.1m, 40hp, 4 person capacity, $190/day, 4.55m, 70hp, 4 person capacity, $260/day $50 launch and retrieval fee if you don’t have a towbar 0421 354 233 https://www.townsvilleboathire.com.au/boat-hire/
Magnetic Island Car Ferry Standard car up to 5.5m including passengers return $240 (Easter weekend) $216 (standard) https://magneticislandferries.com.au/ 07 4796 9300
Today we just have a quick post to alert you to some information sessions that are happening over the coming weeks and an update on the merchandise and camping.
Information Sessions
Cairns Info Session – GC9GCPE Saturday 24th October – 10:00 am to 11:00 am
Tasmania Info Session (Hobart) – GC9HD9D Saturday 30th October – 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm
Southside Info Session (Brisbane) – GC9HEBR Sunday 31st October – 11:30am to 12:00am
Gympie Info Session – GC9HH1A Sunday 7th November – 9:30am to 10:00am
Brisbane Info Session – GC9HH1G Sunday 14th November – 9:30am to 10:00am
Toowoomba Info Session – GC9HH1X Sunday 21st November – 9:30am to 10:00am
Northside Info Session (Brisbane) – GC9HH1Y Sunday 28th November – 4:00pm to 4:30pm
Gold Coast Info Session – GC9HH26 Sunday 5th December – 9:30am to 10:00am
We are hoping to get to more locations as the states open up, but this can be a tricky thing to navigate at the moment. If you can and would like to host an information event in your region, please send us an email at admin@cacheqld.com and we can organise something with you.
Townsville Event
Geocaching Townsville are hosting a special event, ‘Come and Try Geocaching’ on Saturday 18th December, at Sheriff Park from 10:00am to 10:30am looking to encourage new players to the game. This event will be featured in the Townsville ‘What’s On’ holiday guide and would be a great place to learn more about geocaching.
Merchandise
We expect the shop to be open for purchasing merchandise only from around mid-November. We will have available a set of four pathtags, two geo-coins (blueprints below), a polo shirt, t-shirts, car flag and a variety of other made to order products.
Camping
There will be camping available at the Mega location, we are finalising some details due to some unforeseen changes to our original plan. As we did with the Dayboro Mega we will have a special post on the website with all the information regarding camping with a predetermined date and time when camping will be available for purchase. This allows people to chat with their buddies and make plans. We anticipate that date will be in December with the shop closed on that day until the nominated time, when everything will become available.
If have any questions and are not able to attend an event please send us an email at admin@cacheqld.com.
This month we welcome OzGeoker to the blog as they share with us their insights and local knowledge to geocaching in Mackay. We share some photos from two small events to promote the Mega, pay our thanks to the Townsville Geocaching Community for their hard work at the recent Bunnings BBQ Fundraiser. Provide a sneak peak of the Mega Pathtag set that will be available to purchase at a later date.
Caching in Mackay by OzGeoker
Mackay is situated roughly halfway between Rockhampton and Townsville. There are over 450 caches within 50km of the city, with this figure growing monthly.
A fun adventure which may help visitors to get their bearings is ‘Mackay’s “Reverse Cache” Wherigo’ (GC6Q54Q). 60% of visitors have dropped a favourite point to attest to this.
Mackay city doesn’t have a lot in the way of high D/T hides but those that are can be a real challenge. Three puzzles that should be attempted are ‘The Imitation Game’ (GC6KGQA) ‘Do you really have the time?’ (GC6T60J) and ‘X – marks the spot’ (GC5X1YT).
Heading out of the city is where the real adventures begin. You can see Platypus at Broken River, near Eungella (1hr 20mins), and a drive to Cape Hillsborough to see the wallabies and kangaroos on the beach at dawn are well worth a stopover.
Some caches of note on the way to Eungella are ‘Ye Old Pinnacle Town’ (GC4KRZ4) (53FP’s), ‘Finch Hatton Gorge’ (GC59N4X) (Earthcache) and ‘FREDDO’S GLASS and A HALF’ (GC3MRFW).
On the way to Cape Hillsborough, there are two caches that are worth a mention. ‘The Leap’ (GC6GFD3) which involves a climb to the top of a rocky outcrop and ends with stunning views and the Earthcache ‘Mount Jukes and the Neilson Leucogabbro’ (GC59QZP) which takes you in to the belly of a volcano.
The Cape Hillsborough area has a couple of caches worth the effort for those that enjoy a walk. ‘Finlayson’s Littoral Challenge’ (GCWWXE) and ‘Can you see the Turtles???’ (GC15YG0).
For those that like to get the numbers up quickly there are four power trails south and west of the city.
The first is on the old Bruce Highway (Marlborough-Sarina Rd) honouring all of Australia’s Victoria Cross winners (102 caches) (GC8W2ZW). The remaining three are for the RAN (45) (GC91AQ6), RAAF (107) (GC9EA7D) and Australian Army (201) (GC9G2GY) (still under construction).
No matter what your preference, there is sure to be something for everyone around Mackay.
Bunnings Fundraiser & Planning Event
As mentioned in September’s update CacheQLD was able to secure a fundraising spot for a Bunnings Sausage Sizzle. Our huge thanks to the Townsville Geocaching community helping to put on a great BBQ and raise funds to bring you an excellent Mega event.
Information Events – Mackay & Darwin
During the school holidays the CacheQLD Team were able to host two small Information Events as part of their holiday travels. Both events were attended by the local geocachers were plenty of information was shared, plans were discussed and made. We look forward to welcoming our new Darwin and Mackay friends to Townsville in April! Hopefully as we move forward to borders reopening, we can visit more locations and share information.
Burgo78 visited Mackay and met up with alphag_25, Rainforest Cookie, caitlyn1105, TMAC61, dandent, OzGeoker & BlackPearl26
JACS Team visited Darwin and met up with corunnaroad, Doodle Bug Oz, CAD 1, Monchichi1 and low1.
Merchandise
The team have also been quietly working away on merchandise and today we received our order for the event pathtags! Check out this little four set beauty! Can you get any cuter?
If you were observant, you may have noticed the new official event shirts for Townsville as modelled in our two event photos – we’ve gone Orange!
Upcoming Info Event – Cairns
Friend of CacheQLD and local Townsville geocacher, greencordial, will be hosting an information event in Cairns on Saturday 24th October from 10:00 to 11:00am at the Esplanade. If you are in the area and want to learn about the Mega event in April or get more information on caching in the Townsville region drop your will attend on GC9GCPE.
Cache QLD - Townsville GC9BVWD 