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Mega Event - South Africa


Team_vdlo

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Quote from Danie Viljoen's post :

 

Most social cachers:

 

A total of 563 different cachers have attended at least one event in Africa.

 

During the past 12 months, 318 cachers have attended at least one event. This is 6% of the total number of cachers who have found anything during the past 12 months. (Maybe this is of interest to the organizers of the Mega event?)

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Hi

A mega event in South Africa would be a great thing. But a comparison with Europe is probably unrealistic. A real comparison is Australia! Probably there are not many visitors from other continents. The distance is too great. In the European summer, we have many mega-events in Europe. Europe in winter (January / February) could be a mega event in Africa are interesting. Many people will not travel that far. Look to Australia! Link: http://coord.info/GC1YJ5R

Gruss Hobel

 

Hallo Zusammen

Ein Mega Event in Südafrika wäre ja eine ganz tolle Sache. Doch einen Vergleich mit Europe ist wohl utopisch. Ein realer Vergleich ist Australien! Wahrscheinlich gibt es nicht viele Besucher aus anderen Kontinenten. Die Entfernung ist einfach zu gross. Im Europäischen Sommer haben wir viele Mega Events in Europa. Im winterlichen Europa (Januar/Februar) könnte ein Mega Event in Afrika interessant sein. Viele Leute werden aber nicht so weit reisen. Schaut nach Australien! Link: http://coord.info/GC1YJ5R

Gruss Hobel

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The minimum number of attendees of people (geocacher or not) is 500. So if the average geocaching team consits of 2 people, you would need at least 250 teams attending. We think it is very doable. A lot of marketing and begging may be required, but it is possible.

 

Warm regards

GEO936

 

A mega event in South Africa would be a great thing...Look to Australia! Link: http://coord.info/GC1YJ5R

Gruss Hobel

 

It is encouraging to see that, although they only hit 319 Attended logs once all was said and done, they were still granted Mega status. So there is hope even if we don't manage to hit that magic number of 500+.

 

See above from GEO936

Edited by Wormgeocash
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The first Cape-based Mega planning event (GC2QX72 SAMP Cape Brainstorm) went well last night! Thanks all for joining - I think we got some good things going there!

 

Thanks g.i.s for organising and to everyone that came to support the effort.

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For some updates:

 

During the initial brainstorm it was decided to host brainstorming events across the country to:

a. Inform as many teams as possible of the idea of a mega event,

b. To get as many ideas as possible,

c. To get as many people as possible to volunteer.

 

So far regional SAMP's took place in Pretoria, Cape Town, East Rand and Durban, with a last one in to take place on the 6th of May in the West Rand. We were in contact with Nelspruit (Fish Eagle) and Bloemfontein (Oom Louwtjie) too, but it seems the number of teams there is insufficient to host their own brainstorming events.

 

Shortly after the 6th of May a summary of all the ideas will be circulated and then the steering committee will meet again.

 

Thank you to one and all for your involvement, ideas and support thus far. A special word of thanks to GEO936 for taking the lead in this, attending all the regional events thus far.

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Hi Everyone

 

The Mega planning is happening. Since the last co-ordinating body meeting held on 31 May 2011, we've had various sub-committee meetings. The sub-committees include:

 

a ) Marketing (includes fundraising, sponsorships and IT)

b ) Financial & Legal

c ) Logistics

d ) Programme

 

We had another co-ordinating body meeting on 02 August 2011, where we agreed on a constitution, as well as had feedback from the sub-committee meetings.

 

We needed to get the constitution (for Geocachers of South Africa - GoSA) sorted, so that we could get resolutions and that would enable us to open a bank account. We need a bank account asap in order to start fundraising.

 

The next major hurdle is finding a suitable Venue. We are busy researching possible Venues with a list of requirements. As soon as the ideal Venue is found, we will need to pay deposits to secure that Venue for the Mega. It may sound like the Mega is a long way away, but Venues get booked up so quickly, therefore we need to act soon.

 

The Marketing Committee co-ordinator will arrange a meeting with all the IT guys who offered their help and services, so that a website can be set up. The website will include a "registration" facility. We need teams to start registering their intention to attend the Mega so that we can start to get an idea of numbers - especially for the Venue but also for Groundspeak.

 

We'll be attending two Mega Events in the next four weeks - one in Finland and the other in Germany. We've already picked up one or two issues that we have said we should not do here, so we'll learn a lot more once we are part of everything. We also have other fellow cachers who have already attended Megas in both Scotland and Canada and have received a lot of advice and feedback from them.

 

We are certain that with all this information we'll be able to put together an awesome Mega Event where all us crazy people can get together and have one of the most memorable geocaching experience EVER!!

 

Watch this space....

 

Warmest regards

the GEO936 team

Edited by GEO936
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The REGISTRATION is now open and running for your intention to attend. Please go to www.geocachingsa.com and click on "Register for SA Mega" in the bottom left hand side. Please remember to enter a row per individual in your team. So if your team consists of three people, you'll need three rows, one per individual.

 

We are close to the 100 mark, but we need at least 500 entries to motivate a early cache listing!

 

Thanks in advance!

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Something that I came across and may be interesting for the Mega event. An appearance by the O.C.B (Original Can of Beans). This is the last remaining swag item from the first ever geocache, which has now been turned into a trackable.

 

On the page for the trackable, it says that it is available to attend events anywhere in the world, so that it can be discovered. This could be nice to see at the Mega.

 

This is the url of the trackable's page: www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=83154

Edited by TeamSpags
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Something that I came across and may be interesting for the Mega event. An appearance by the O.C.B (Original Can of Beans). This is the last remaining swag item from the first ever geocache, which has now been turned into a trackable.

 

On the page for the trackable, it says that it is available to attend events anywhere in the world, so that it can be discovered. This could be nice to see at the Mega.

 

This is the url of the trackable's page: www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=83154

 

The locally flavoured one, Navision Software Wristwatch will probably pay a visit too.

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Can sumbody tell me how many people have to attend to qualify for a event and is there mini mega event for 250 people?

 

Hi Johan

 

I have gone through the rules and guidelines for Events on GC.com, and I cannot find anything that stipulates the number of people to qualify for an Event. I would guess that the Event host would be enough to log his/her attendance and that would be fine. The thing is that you do not know who will come/attend an Event that is listed, so you list it and see what will happen. If no one pitches up, then it will be just you that has attended. An Event is just a type of cache, so one visit by a geocacher would seem to be sufficient as far as I see it. So to answer your question - one person attending an Event would be fine to qualify it as an Event!

 

There isn't a "recognised" or official mini Mega type of Event. So if you have a large Event, it is just seen as a normal Event with a lot of people who have attended. There is a normal Event, a CITO Event and a Mega Event. There are other special types of Events from time to time, like the 10 Year one, but those are quite rare. Only a Mega Event requires a MINIMUM of 500 people to attend and then it is up to Groundspeak as to whether to give it Mega status or not.

 

I hope this helps?

 

Cheers

Silvia

Edited by Panthera03
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Something that I came across and may be interesting for the Mega event. An appearance by the O.C.B (Original Can of Beans). This is the last remaining swag item from the first ever geocache, which has now been turned into a trackable.

 

On the page for the trackable, it says that it is available to attend events anywhere in the world, so that it can be discovered. This could be nice to see at the Mega.

 

This is the url of the trackable's page: www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=83154

 

Thanks TeamSpags for the idea...we will add this to the To-Do list and book O.C.B to enjoy a visit to Sunny South Africa in October this year!

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Something that I came across and may be interesting for the Mega event. An appearance by the O.C.B (Original Can of Beans). This is the last remaining swag item from the first ever geocache, which has now been turned into a trackable.

 

On the page for the trackable, it says that it is available to attend events anywhere in the world, so that it can be discovered. This could be nice to see at the Mega.

 

This is the url of the trackable's page: www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=83154

 

The locally flavoured one, Navision Software Wristwatch will probably pay a visit too.

 

Yes, please Jors!! That trackable MUST be at the Mega South Africa for discovery!

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Woohoo!!! :D :D :D :D We've done it people - the listing for the MEGA Event has been published, and even the date was fixed (after a phonecall to HQ).

 

We still need 500 names on the list before we will be granted Mega Status, so please, please, please check that your friend is on the list and also ensure to enter your "Will Attend" log.

 

The Newsletter will be sent off soon!

 

Check out the listing at:

GC3B0EJ MEGA South Africa 2012

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We need input and help from SA's Geocaching community!! Are there any cachers out there who reside in Pretoria/Johannesburg and plan to go to the Mega Event from 05 to 07 October 2012?

If YES, are you willing or able to host any cachers in your home? Would you be able to bring them through to the Mega each day?

 

Please let us know!

 

info@geocachingsa.com

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How is the progress on SAMP?

 

Give us some feedback please.

Numbers so far, any planning help requirements etc. etc.

 

Let's start building the momentum to the event.

 

Hi CH...we have just had a committee meeting over the weekend. We are busy finalising the next Newsletter (it is very late) and that contains some of the feedback.

 

We are busy finalising discussions for the MEGA Event Geocoin - there will be two platings. We are also in the process of getting pricing and options for the MEGA Event Clothing.

 

We have added an On-line Survey on the GoSA website (www.geocachingsa.com), where you will need to login to participate. This is to ensure we get attendees and local geocachers responding to the Survey and not just anyone! We get a lot of visits to our website from all over the world, so we don't want the Survey feedback to be non-indicative of what will be happening.

 

We are now at 469 registered attendees, and more than 120 Will Attend logs on the Cache Listing page. There are some duplicates to fix on the Will Attends, but we'll sort those out soon. We just need 31 more to go to reach the 500 for Groundspeak, and then hopefully we'll keep on getting more registrations from then on.

 

We will need loads of help during the three days of the Event. We have indicated the slots will be 1 to 2 hours long, so if any folk are willing to give up an hour or two during the event, they should email us at: info@geocachingsa.com.

 

We also would appreciate folk who could accommodate cachers from out of town, inbox us that info. as well.

 

Thanks so much for everyone's support thus far!

 

Yours in MEGA Planning

The GoSA Team

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Yes, Yes, Yes!!! We have official MEGA Status!! Thanks guys for your support and enthusiasm. There is still a lot of work to be done, because we need loads more teams and people to register and of course attend the actual Event in October. The MEGA Event Logbook must have the required number of names to keep the MEGA Status on the Event Listing.

 

It is going to be an awesome weekend and a memorable experience in the history of Geocaching in South Africa!

 

Regards

The GoSAm Team

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Hey Everyone!

 

If you do not know as yet, the BOOKINGS for MEGA South Africa 2012 are now OPEN! There is currently an Early Bird special going, but this will expire on 14 September 2012 then the full price will apply. So take advantage now of the special price.

 

You can also purchase the Mega Geocoin, Clothing and book for your preferred Activities by clicking on the link (Book for MEGA SA):

 

http://www.geocachingsa.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=virtuemart&Itemid=61

 

There is also a "Limited Edition" geocoin in Satin Silver plating. Only 100 of these will be minted - EVER - so get yours now. These will be on a "first paid first serve basis".

 

Should you have any questions or concerns, please email us at : info@geocachingsa.com.

 

MEGA regards

The GoSA Team

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Not sure if I miss anything, but since when do we have to pay to attend an event?

 

As far as I know this is standard practice for MEGA events, to cover the costs of organising it.

 

According to Adam Riese this is for the required 500 attendees R 60.000, a bit much I would suggest. In any case if this is the settlement count us out of this called mega event.

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As part of the organising team I would like to clarify the need for a registration fee for the MEGA Event - The organising committee of the MEGA event is undertaking the organisation of the event on a non-profit basis. The cost of the geocoins, clothes and other elements, including the registration fee and prices at which the items are sold are budgeted in such a way that the costs involved in offering the items for sale and hosting the three day event will be covered. All money left after the event (if any) will be handed to the organising committee of the next South African Mega Event.

 

The total cost of the event as planned at the moment amounts to between R40 000 to R50 000. This excludes the costs of coins, clothing and meals. For some of these items we had to commit on orders well in advance in order to ensure timeous availability. By way of sponsorhips we are endeavouring to keep the costs to attendees to a minimum. By way of comparison registration fees for MEGA events in Europe range from 10-20 Euro and in the USA the registration fees are between $15 and $30.

 

The registration fee for MEGA South Africa (GC3B0EJ)is R120.00 per adult and covers the full three days. For children under 16 the amount is R20. If you register before 14 September 2012 the fee is only R60.00 per adult and R10 per child.

 

The First Mega Event in South Africa promises to be an event not to be missed. Registration is now open. For lots more fun information and registration please visit the website at www.geocachingsa.com

 

We are looking forward to hosting you all at this historic event!!

 

Regards from the GOSA Team.

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Firstly...Thanks to all the people currently involved in arranging this MEGA for us:rolleyes:.... I know it does take a lot of time and even a lot of your own money to arrange this event for us.

 

For those that are concerned about the money...remember a separate legal entity (NPO) with it's own bank account has been created to facilitate this event. Any Geocacher is welcome to view the book of GoSA or to assist with the Mega.....

 

Keep up the good work GoSA...

 

Regards,

 

Team_vdlo

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As part of the organising team I would like to clarify the need for a registration fee for the MEGA Event - The organising committee of the MEGA event is undertaking the organisation of the event on a non-profit basis. The cost of the geocoins, clothes and other elements, including the registration fee and prices at which the items are sold are budgeted in such a way that the costs involved in offering the items for sale and hosting the three day event will be covered. All money left after the event (if any) will be handed to the organising committee of the next South African Mega Event.

 

The total cost of the event as planned at the moment amounts to between R40 000 to R50 000. This excludes the costs of coins, clothing and meals. For some of these items we had to commit on orders well in advance in order to ensure timeous availability. By way of sponsorhips we are endeavouring to keep the costs to attendees to a minimum. By way of comparison registration fees for MEGA events in Europe range from 10-20 Euro and in the USA the registration fees are between $15 and $30.

 

The registration fee for MEGA South Africa (GC3B0EJ)is R120.00 per adult and covers the full three days. For children under 16 the amount is R20. If you register before 14 September 2012 the fee is only R60.00 per adult and R10 per child.

 

The First Mega Event in South Africa promises to be an event not to be missed. Registration is now open. For lots more fun information and registration please visit the website at www.geocachingsa.com

 

We are looking forward to hosting you all at this historic event!!

 

Regards from the GOSA Team.

 

Thanks JP for your reply and confirmations. We attended 4 preparation events for this Mega and it was never mentioned that a fee would be charged for this event, or even for what etc. So we where very surprised when this was now announced via the forum, also I am not on Facebook for some obvious reasons, maybe this is the forum the organising team uses?

This is not about the money at all as some suggest but rather a principle, this should have been included at the preparation stage from the beginning, not just a few weeks before the event.

Also I can not commit at this stage to be available for this weekend, wife works 2 out of 4 weekends, its the daughters last school holiday etc. If we attend it will only be a max of 2 hours on Saturday afternoon.

Anyway your explanation makes a lot of sense and put it into transparency, this should have done from the start.

Might see your there or not, depending on other arrangements this weekend, but thanks again to explain we appreciate.

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Thank you for everyone's feedback and support!

 

The indication of a cost was given at the time of Registration to get to more than 500 people. This registration was done on the local geocaching website "www.geocachingsa.com". The description of the Event was as follows:

 

Please register to indicate your attendance.

 

We need a minimum of 500 people on the "Will Attend" list, before Groundspeak will consider to give the event Mega status. More details to follow as the planning progresses. Please note that this is just a "Will Attend" and not the final pricing/packages yet.

 

Perhaps it was not too clear, but it was there none the less.

 

We have also indicated to teams at various Events that there will be a cost involved in order to cover the expenses (absolutely no profit what so ever will be made). We apologise if you missed these opportunities.

 

On the cache listing, we also included an announcement and details about getting tickets, coins, clothing, etc. for the Mega Event. The cost for the Mega was also in the latest Newsletter. This was all done in addition to the announcement on the Facebook Group.

 

Best regards

The GoSA Team

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A few committee members and volunteers met last night to discuss the "Stuff" that will take place at the MEGA. There are a few fun and interesting things planned which will be communicated soon. Keep an eye out for emails from "GoSA Newsletter", the website and the Cache Listing for updates and notifications.

 

As part of a Mega Event, there will always be one or two things which won't be communicated so as to keep a bit of an element of "surprise"! It is this sort of thing that makes a Mega special and memorable [:D].

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To all of the MEGA South Africa 2012 Attendees that plan to camp at the nearby Fountains Resort .... Here are the details for the special arrangements that Tshwane Parks made for us. Please make your bookings as soon as possible:

 

Camping Details for MEGA South Africa 2012

 

Tshwane Municipality have generously offered the following special rate for MEGA Attendees who wish to camp at the nearby Fountains Valley Resort.

PLEASE NOTE: These arrangements are ONLY for MEGA Attendees and NOT for the general public.

 

1. All Geocaching Attendees wishing to camp, can make booking arrangements with

Dirk at 012 440 2121 or 012 440 7131 or 082 519 0369.

Please mention that you are a Geocaching member as a 30% discount tariff

is approved according to the "Caravan & Camping rally clubs " for the MEGA event.

 

a. One camping site to a maximum of 4 persons is R 122 per night.

Geocaching members will only pay R 85.40 per night.

 

b. Extra persons (if more than 4 persons on the same camping site) is R 28.50.

Geocaching members will only pay R 19.95 per night.

 

c. Extra vehicles (if more than one vehicle on the same camping site) is R 28.50.

Geocaching members will only pay R 19.95 per night.

 

Please Note: Tshwane Parks only allows a maximum of 6 persons per camping site,

but only 4 are included with the camping site tariff.

 

2. As the date of the Mega event is on one of the resort's busy weekends,

we made alternative entrance arrangements to the caravan park.

Please do not enter at the Fountains Valley main entrance as you will run into

traffic congestion and long queues which will result in frustration.

We will open the emergency gate at the caravan park on Christina de Wit Drive

and arrange that an Official meets the Geocachers and campers at that gate.

Registration and payments will be handled in the caravan park.

The coordinates at this gate are: S25 47.163 E028 11.676.

 

Any questions? Email us at: info@geocachingsa.com

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Did you know - the entrance fee of R60 for the TOTAL duration of the Mega Event covers the costs of entry to the Voortrekker Monument itself (the main entrance at the road). There is usually a fee to pay if you were just coming into the area for a visit, but this fee has been taken care of! What a bargain!

 

So hurry up and make your ticket purchases before the early bird discount expires!

 

Mega regards

The Mega Planning Committee

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HELP NEEDED FOR MEGA!

 

If you are planning to attend the first ever MEGA event in South Africa. Then whoooo whoooo - I am sure you are as excited as we are.

 

We need some volunteers to help us during the MEGA.We need help with the following things for 2 hour time shifts:

 

* Setting up the MEGA - Geocaching event (official smiley) Thursday afternoon 4 October 2012

* Reception at entry gate of Voortrekker Monument Venue (Friday - Sunday)

* Parking marshalls (Friday - Sunday)

* Registration at arrival (Friday - Sunday)

* Manning the Information desk (Friday - Sunday)

* Public Announcer (Friday - Sunday)

* Manning the Logbook (Friday - Sunday)

* Marshalls for the 9Icon Walk (Saturday Afternoon)

* Signal the Frog (costume) (Friday - Sunday)

 

Please contact info@geocachingsa.com and indicate with what and which days and or times you are willing to help.

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:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

With the MEGA South Africa 2012 almost upon us, the anticipation is building for a MEGA jam-packed, MEGA fun-filled and MEGA exciting weekend of MEGA Geocaching festivities.

Do we hear a HOO HAA? NOT YET??? Then point your GPS in this direction, fix your bearing and prepare yourself for the following amazing experiences with us:

 

Caching Activities:

- Buddy Caching

- 4x4 Events

- 9 Icon walk

- Talks and workshops

- CITO Events

- TB Race Launch

- Horseback Caching

- Mountain Bike Trails

- Hiking Trails

- Night Caching

- Caching Gurus

- Geocoins Showcase

- Nature Guide

- Stargazing

- Trackable Discovery Table and Exchange

- Reviewer Q&A

 

Fun Stuff:

- Garmin Sound Rig and entertainment

- Geo Bingo

- Geo Passport

- Pop Balloon

- Photo Pin Board

- Kiddies Activities

- Plus loads of other surprises!

 

Ceremonies:

- Opening Logbook

- Closing Logbook

 

Plus:

- Bolton GPS

- GeoCaching Stores

- Wifi Hotspot

- Restaurant

- Snack Stalls

- Drinks Stall

 

Check out more details on http://www.geocachingsa.com or on Geocaching.com listing GC3B0EJ .

You can also join us on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/groups/geocachingsa/

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Edited by NotBlonde
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Kevin Bolton from GPS Warehouse will be onsite at the MEGA (4-7 Oct) with Garmin.

- He will be selling GPS devices - the full Garmin range.

- He will have a Credit Card machine there for the purchases.

- He will have demo models that people can test out.

- He will be available at his stall for Q&A sessions on anything related to GPS's and Garmin.

- Garmin will also have a Garmin technician there to assist with any technical things.

- He will be giving 3 talks on the different days - 30 minutes each.

- Friday - A session on how to upgrade your map

- Saturday - GPS Selection Session

- Sunday - Things you did not know about GPS and Satellites

 

http://www.boltonsgps.co.za/

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