Geocaching Australia

psychokat wrote:South East Queensland has a lot satelite towns around Brisbane that have the infrastructure in the local showgrounds to hold a Mega Event. Buildings, luncheon rooms, toilets and showers for campers.

I think the next one will be in Vic or SA (perhaps near the border), but subject to me discussing this with my fellow SEQ cachers, we might be interested in holding the one after that, say 2014, assuming that one is held every two years.

Would love to see a Mega event in NZ. Maybe as as been said prior one in NZ every few years and one in OZ every three years or so. I think the location should be centra to all states due to the great distances some people travelled for the OZMega in Wagga Wagga. We would travel where ever it was go ng to be held as long as there was at least twleve months notice so that leave can be arranged but then again this otion does not suit everyone due to many diferent situations and circumstances mainly Family and Financial..

shrek4 wrote:Two cities I think could offer a great Mega Event

Ballarat, Victoria

Although I'm a mexican (Vic), I agree with Ballarat being a good choice (But only during the warmer months). Plenty big enough town with lots of accomm options, close enough to Tulla airport to run a shuttle bus if needed, great variety of caches, plenty of touristy things to do, plenty of suitable venues etc.

Another possibility...
Perhaps the north coast of NSW (Coffs).

Waz.

Mildura is a good spot for knocking off caches in 3 states. It caters well for tourists too.

Hi,
With the last Mega at Easter, does this mean everybody expects it to be held at easter next time?
I'm a Ballarat cacher and would be interested in having it hosted here.......

I think Ballarat sounds like a good option
I also think Somewhere in SA sounds good as it is kinda more central for WA and NT aswell. Somewhere up near the border perhaps?
What about Broken Hill?

Who will be the organizers? The previous people, who now have the XP in this in Australia or new people connected to the state it ends up being held in?

MtnLioness wrote:Who will be the organizers? The previous people, who now have the XP in this in Australia or new people connected to the state it ends up being held in?

The deciding factor will be the location of the organisers - not the location itself!

A number of possible locations will be eliminated purely due to the fact that there are an insufficient number of local cachers available to form an organising committee. The Oz Mega Wagga Wagga organisers worked tirelessly for almost 18 months.

Unless a location has enough active cachers prepared to put in for the long haul, it is quite likely there will be a number of half hearted unsuccessful attempts to get another Mega Event off the ground. Likewise, we don't want a number of groups all at the same time trying to get the next Mega Event off the ground.

This appears to have happened on a smaller scale with the annual June Long Weekend event in South Australia proposed for Murray Bridge apparently failing though a lack of organisation. This comment is in no way meant as a criticism, but is made to emphasis the commitment that will be necessary in order to conduct a Mega Event.

If you refer back to the initial thread about if and where to have a Mega Event in Australia, a number of locations were suggested, as well as who would be good at running such an event, before the Riverina cachers put up their hand to actually do it.

To some extent the lack of any formal association whereby the baton could have been just passed onto a new organising committee will make it extremely difficult for an individual (and any helpers) to emulate the success of the Riverina cachers.

As to when to have a Mega Event, it needs to be a long weekend which is consistent in every state. Given the distances cachers may expect to travel, I can't see a Mega Event being conducted at any time other than Easter.

My two cents worth on the topic.

As to when to have a Mega Event, it needs to be a long weekend which is consistent in every state. Given the distances cachers may expect to travel, I can't see a Mega Event being conducted at any time other than Easter.

.

Well said Jardry. All of that is correct.

We spoke 2 years ago and used a deletion method. January and the heat are just too hot for comfort and a caching mega event. Winter and the cold wet conditions are out because of the short days and wet campgrounds.
The September to xmas period is a nightmare. There are just too many distractions including in order a/ Rugby league Grand Final 2/ AFL grand final 3/ Bathurst car race weekend 4/ Phillip Island motorcycle weekend 5/ Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup Carnivals and then you run into xmas related events at the end of November early December.

It really only leaves the one ideal period of Easter .Any other shorter weekend makes it too shorter a period for long distance haulers.

Having a look around SA for some appropriate suggestions for campsites / locations.

Goolwa to Victor Habour would be good, possibly Hindmarsh Island or
Mt Gambier or
Adelaide Hills (Harndorf?)

Now before we could even consider any of these locations we need to consider accommodation options. They all have caravan parks, but I don't think we're going to have anywhere near the same experience whilst staying in a caravan park as we did in Wagga Wagga.

I found a fantastic spot in Roonka (SA) but it is quite isolated and not really ideal.
http://www.roonka.sa.scouts.com.au/

Come on South Aussies, lets get our thinking caps on.

Shrek4, what about a scout jamboree site like Wagga.

GhostGums wrote:Shrek4, what about a scout jamboree site like Wagga.

Sure, exactly what I'm thinking, but where?

The site at Wagga Wagga

* Was close to regional services (large township)
* Many active caches close by
* Campsite had shower / toilet blocks of good quality and sufficient numbers
* Plenty of space for campers + vehicles, stage etc
* Catering facilities (kitchen) onsite

The list goes on........all in all, was a perfect spot really.

http://www.arcon.net.au/campsites/
http://webmail.nsw.scouts.com.au/proper ... sp?alpha=A
http://www.sa.scouts.com.au/activitycentres
http://www.scoutsqld.com.au/index.cfm?MenuID=72

Cataract Scout Camp at Appin just south of Sydney would be ideal. There are probably 10 camping areas each with heaps of huts for those who want beds in big dorms, and lots of room for camping. 10 minutes to Appin (basic shops) for supplies or about 25 to Campbelltown for anything you could imagine you want. And it could have accomodated our group about 10 times over. Book 2-3 adacent areas there and we would have all the space we could want.

not that I'm volunteering here to do the next one, just throwing ideas into the mix

There is also another scout camp south of Geelong towards the start of the Great Ocean Road, but I haven't been into it.

richary wrote:Cataract Scout Camp at Appin just south of Sydney would be ideal... And it could have accomodated our group about 10 times over.

During the World Jamboree in 1988 Cataract housed 16,000 Scouts, with 13,000 more on visitors day! That being said, you are correct in that you can just book sections of the camp.

The last South Australian Jamboree was held at Woodhouse http://www.woodhouse.org.au/index.php.

The last Victorian Jamboree was held at a Field Day site in Elmore.

richary wrote:There is also another scout camp south of Geelong towards the start of the Great Ocean Road, but I haven't been into it.

You probably mean Eumerella Scout Camp http://www.eumeralla.com.au/.

Hoojar wrote:During the World Jamboree in 1988 Cataract housed 16,000 Scouts, with 13,000 more on visitors day! That being said, you are correct in that you can just book sections of the camp.

We do Have a radio club event every year there where we just book one area, string up some aerials and drink too much beer.