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Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 11 November 13 7:14 pm
by Geparderna
Hello,
We are a couple, newly retired, from Sweden (Stockholm) on tour down under. We are coming to Adelaide in mid December. From there we will go by car via Melbourne, Canberra/Sydney to Brisbane. Yes it's a long distance but we have five weeks so we believe/hope it will be OK. We fly from Brisbane to Darwin 23 Jan for a three day stay before we leave Australia.
It would be great to be able to meet some local cachers so if anyone knows of any event on our route please let us know. Tips about interesting caches are also much appreciated. We like puzzles and especially puzzle trails but other fun caches are also of interest.
We have spotted the big promo puzzle trails at Murray Bridge so we will certainly have a go at them.
Also we plan to buy a prepaid Sim-card to be able to have data access while we go. Which operator is best (price/coverage etc) ?
Thanks a lot in advance for any suggestions/tips.

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 11 November 13 7:33 pm
by LouiseAnn
The best network for coverage, but not price, is Telstra, no question.

I'd recommend the woodlands powertrail outside of meblourne for numbers, and the bay trail for cool well done caches. The mystry of the fyansford tresure hord is a most excellent cache in Geelong that I'd put on a 'must do' list.

There are a few 9:10 11/12/13 events being run around Victoria, if those dates suit....

Enjoy your trip!!

Louise.

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 11 November 13 8:46 pm
by Richary
Yes certainly for coverage the Telstra network is the best especially outside the capital cities. But I believe amaysim has a pretty good data deal on their SIM cards, you can purchase these at places like major supermarkets like Coles or Woolworths (Safeway in Victoria). They use Optus which is the 2nd best network (we only have 3 anyway) and will be fine in most larger towns. Best of all is no lock-in contract.

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 11 November 13 10:06 pm
by sushilord
There is a Pub dinner organised for December 16 in Adelaide. Hope to see you there. http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4R ... 9a2d56bca4

Adelaide has a good variety of puzzles. Some of the personal favorites are:
WTF: Muggle deception techniques
Gas, water or electricity?
Stand
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - the second movement
Yip yip yip aha
ET phone home

Cheers

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 12 November 13 12:31 am
by PesceVerde
Hi, While in Brisbane, why not try a drive west towards Mount Nebo, and Mount Glorious. The higher you go, the more rainforest-y it gets. Maybe also meander northwest through Samford, Samford Valley, Dayboro and beyond. There are a few caches along the way. Cheers and bon voyage.

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 12 November 13 9:13 pm
by Geparderna
Hello again and thanks for all advice so far. Unfortunately we are coming to Adelaide on evening the 17th Dec so we will miss out on all events mentioned. Hopefully there will be some more coming.
What is the coverage like for the mobile phone when travelling on country roads far from bigger cities?

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 12 November 13 9:20 pm
by Calypso62
Any idea what dates you will be in Sydney? I'm sure an event can be organised to welcome you and to meet up with local cachers.

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 12 November 13 9:34 pm
by Geparderna
Calypso62, thanks for your really nice offer. We haven't finalised our plans yet. The timings will depend on various things not the least input from people on this forum :D. May we come back to you nearer the time when we have a better idea on when we will be where?

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 12 November 13 9:44 pm
by Calypso62
No problem. I look forward to hearing from you when you have more information.

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 13 November 13 8:20 am
by Tyreless
There are maps for the Optus Network coverage here.

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 13 November 13 11:47 am
by Wingaap
Hi Geparderna.....let us know when you'll be in Brisbane and we'll see what can be organised :)

Any idea where you'll be staying in Brisbane?

Cheers
wingaap

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 13 November 13 3:54 pm
by Philipp
I did a road-trip from Adelaide to Cairns in 5 weeks in 2009 so here are a couple of thoughts for the Adelaide to Sydney leg:
  • Buy a sim from Aldi - cheap and they use the Telstra network
  • Set-up Event caches in the cities you go through yourself
  • Check if your rental car allows a trip to Kangaroo Island - if so do it
  • Do the Great Ocean road and go through the Grampians
  • Check out the Spread the Love Challenge
  • If you like wine, don't miss the Barossa Valley (Adelaide) and the Yarra Valley (Melbourne)
  • Go for a hike in Wilsons Prom
  • DoWolgan Views which is one of the best bush-walks ever:
    Image
  • ... and rent a 4x4 for three days and do Frazer Island - do not do that in a normal rental car

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 13 November 13 4:22 pm
by Bundyrumandcoke
Most definitely, if you are travelling by car from Adelaide to Melbourne, there is only one way to go, and that's The Great Ocean Road. Not necessarily for the caching, of course, there are caches along the GOR, but primarily for the spectacular scenery.

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 17 November 13 2:47 pm
by Geparderna
Hello everyone and thanks for all great input. We will look at your suggestions and plan our trip in more detail. One more question: Are there any other map provider for smartphones than Google and OSM? In Sweden we have a local map provider that we cank link up to from our geocaching app. Those maps are much better quality than both Google and OSM.

Re: Two Swedish cachers in a car from Adelaide to Brisbane

Posted: 18 November 13 10:13 am
by Rapidlywild
Do you have the Geocaching application?

That runs off the google maps images and in Australia, its pretty close in accuracy (depending on service obviously)

Are you using iPhone or Android?
If you are using Android, there is a free application call c:geo which I have heard is pretty popular.

BTW, let me know when you are planning to come to Canberra and we will organise a meet up with a few of the locals here :lol:

Have a great time in Australia.