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Oz Mega Event 2


JABs

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The twin cities of Albury – Wodonga will be host of Australia's next geocaching mega event. Home to around 90,000 people , Albury /Wodonga is deep in the heart of one of Australia's most exciting touring regions. All around is history, scenic locations,vineyards, gourmet regions ,snow fields, peaceful parks and reserves , top fishing locations and the mighty Murray River.

Located on the NSW/ Victorian border ,its geographical location within Australia is ideal for travellers. Sydney to Albury 560km's = 6 hours/ 9 mins. Melbourne to Albury 326 km's = 3 hours / 51 mins.

 

 

The Albury/Wodonga Tourism website has all your tourism details...

 

http://www.alburywod...ories.asp?ID=43

 

There are over 100 caches available within 13 km's of the centre of Albury with a steady flow of new caches placed continually.The cache map of Albury / Wodonga will give you a idea of caches in the region...

http://www.geocachin...55&lng=146.9179

 

The dates for the event will be from Good Friday 6th April, 2012 to Easter Monday

9th April, 2012. The event and venue will be open from Thursday 5 th April for all early arrivals, so you can make it a 5 day event .Registration check in will feature from 9 AM Thursday/ all Friday and all Saturday.

 

The home base and venue for the event will be at the Albury Wodonga Equestrian Centre. This facility is the ideal set up for all requirements. Set on 97 hectares or 239 acres of flat ground , it is located in Thurgoona next to the Hume Hwy for easy access from all directions..

Your event facilities will include 74 powered sites, flat picturesque camping areas on the circumference of the arena and outside of the 5 polocross fields plus many secluded areas, clubrooms and a large registration building , hot showers and toilets available 24 hours, lights, a PA system ,boom gate security entrance and much more. A designated spot will highlight all the nightly entertainment on stages.The front gate co-ordinates are S 36.03.172 E 146.58.336.

 

 

All forms of tents , campervans, caravans and motorholmes are welcome for the event .We can accommodate between 2,000 tents and campervans comfortably , but triple this number wouldn't be a problem ,so big is the area.All geodogs are welcome, but must be kept on a lead at all times.Plenty of water taps are available around the complex.Meals maybe cooked by gas cookers,but not log style fires.Meals will be available from Thursday night , 3 times a day , right through till Monday lunch at family friendly prices by our specialists brought in for the event. St John Ambulance will be onsite for the 5 days and be available for any geocachers needs 24 hours a day.

 

 

 

Registration per team for OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA will be around $65. Camping fees will be $29 per night at the 74 powered sites. All other camping fees per night will be $19 . This will be per site and include up to 3 tents, campervans , generator powered caravans and motorholmes. Your registration includes a registration pack full of all kinds of information and mystery gifts. An event geocoin, entry to all games during the event , all nightly entertainment on stages, entry to all lucky draws and giveaways and much more. The OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA will be listed on the geocaching .com cache page during May.

All information will be on the website with details on all components of the event. You may place your " Will Attends " from May on the Geocaching.com page.

We invite you to place your intent to attend.Please state probable numbers and state your travelling from .Thank you .

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Are we really the first team to place an Intent? Or are we in the wrong place? Wouldn't miss it for quids, sure, we'll be there - two in the team, adults arguably, and we'll be in our caravan, no power needed. The First Mega was so terrific, undoubtedly everyone will return plus all those who have heard what they missed. Great work, guys.

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Are we really the first team to place an Intent? Or are we in the wrong place?

 

This info is also listed on the GCA (geocaching Australia site). But as not every one visits that site I keep thread updaated here to let the rest of the world know.

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Just a short update.

 

Just an update from the Committee with exactly one year to go to the start of the first ever 5 day event. icon_biggrin.gif

 

The Oz Mega Committee is constantly working behind the scenes on a daily basis getting all components into place and locked in .Much work has been carried our with onsite meetings and sponsors agreements and contracts.We have many assistants in many locations completing logo's, websites, and infrastructure plans for set up to the event.

 

The geocaching.com page has been complete for many weeks and ready for release on the last week of May. We have permission from Groundspeak to list it early and will ask for ' Will Attends " in May.

Albury City Council and Albury Tourism have been a great help in all areas concerned. The front page here on this topic has been updated.

 

The Albury Wodonga Equestrian Centre will host the Australian Crosscountry Championships on the weekend prior to the mega.

This occurred recently and after witnessing the grooming of the event on site this year , geocachers will have a professionally groomed and A1 manicured location to follow on with next year.

The event facility is 1.4 kms long and 1 km wide with ample camping if numbers surge.

We have kept costs down for geocachers by securing more sponsors from all types of businesses and industry.

 

We will try to submit updates till the release date and the Committee thanks you for all the interest and intents to date.

 

Thankfully,

Greg

President.

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Bugger ... We just spent Easter/Anzac Day w/e in Alb/Wod from WA for a friend's wedding. We used to live there 25 years ago so was good to get back for a look. Managed a few caches while there but would really have appreciated the wedding being on NEXT year!! Good luck with the event :)

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The Committee would like to give the latest update to the event.

Everything is on track and all set for the geocaching.com page to be published .

 

We have been implementing all the components needed to be in place over the last 3 months. The ABN and TAX File numbers are set. The Committee is a fully incorporated association.The insurance is all set.All details are set at the Albury Wodonga Equestrian centre which is a credit to both Albury and Australia for its professional olympic style set up.

 

The Albury City Council and Albury tourism have to be fully applauded in their assistance in all areas.

 

The website and cache page are ready and both will feature all the details . The tabs at the top of the website feature 1 /Homepage 2/ Committee plus teams assisting with websites/ logo's /advisors 3/ Sponsors 4/ Meals 5/ Camping 6/ Registration 7/ Games 8/ Itinerary 9 /FAQ

 

We will be asking for " Will Attends " on the published date . This date will be a weekday on the first week of June. Our friendly aussie worker at Groundspeak will publish the event in advance late in the afternoon in Seattle, which will be 9 am in Australia. Will attends will be available immediately and Registration will be open from August.

 

The Oz Mega Committee thanks all for your patience and we look forward to your team " Will Attends " in the near future.

 

Thankfully,

Greg

President.<br clear="all">

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After many months of preparations, Australia's next mega event is set for release.

 

This Thursday at 9 AM, the OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA will be published in the NSW section.

 

The Committee will ask for "Will Attends " and registrations will open from August.

We are 5 months ahead of our predicted schedule ,which gives us ample time to streamline as we go.

 

Both Groundspeak and the Albury City Council have been 100% committed and keen in all aspects of this large anticipated event.

 

The Committee will make its final 3 days of adjustments on the website and make a final confirmation Wednesday night that everything is ready for Thursday morning.

 

Thankfully,

Greg

President

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Tomorrow morning , Thursday, 2 nd June at 9AM, the OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA event will appear at the top of the NSW listings on geocaching.com.

 

The page has a link to the website with all the tabs of information posted across the top.

Most of the information you need 10 months out is there.

 

The meals list and prices will be added at a later date but will be similar to Wagga if you attended.

 

The Oz Mega Committee will please ask for "will attends " from teams. We ask you list how many you think are attending / town and state you reside / if camping , powered site or staying in Albury.

Then the total of people at the end.

Dont worry too much if you state 6 and 3 only make it or/ dont worry if you state 2 and 4 end up attending.

This stage just gives us ideas of numbers plus percentage staying on site. :D

We understand many teams will not know holiday availability and work rosters 10 months out, so it will take many weeks, months and probaly to xmas till alot know. :D:D

 

We please ask all teams not to place questions on the page as other teams will tend to answer them and people will be on "watchlists " and all this will filter thru to emails.

The Committee has provided 2 places to email the Committee for questions but we figure the questions wont be as many as a large percentage have been to a MEGA and sort of know what goes on.

 

We understand many will want to know much details about meals , stallholder availablity, games details, pathtags and many other components .We have about 80% percent of details on the website and information will appear as we update it.

As promised, we will start a new thread for Committee updates in a few weeks. :D

 

 

At this stage we wish to thank everybody who has been of assistance just to get to this stage.We are 5 months ahead of predictions. Much thanks must go to Groundspeak, Albury City Council , the Sponsors, with all the rest listed on the website who have been directly involved. :D

 

The Oz Mega Committee now looks forward to your "Will Attends " from 9 am tomorrow morning and its all fingers crossed now for everything to fall into place at 9am.

 

Thankfully,

Greg

President.

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The OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA registration process is now open.

 

The website direct is...http://www.ozmega.com.au/

 

You will need to fill in 4 basic areas.

1/ Your Geocaching.com name and email address, plus state and country.

2/ Camping sites or Powered sites. The system will calculate amounts for you.

3/ Fill in your anticipated meal requirements. Meal prices will be posted later in the year. This is just an indication only.

4/ First names all listed with exact spelling as this will be what goes on your official logo name tag.

 

When you press submit, it generates an e-mail for you to send to the committee, please don't modify the contents of the e-mail.

Payments can be completed by internet banking or personally at the bank.

On confirmation of your payment , your team will be listed on the "registration page". Updates will be done approximately once a week.

Thankfully,

Greg

President.

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Further updates of the mega event:

We will take some more reserves on the powered sites list as they have been moving up into positions. A green tick confirms payment of your numbered position within the "camping section" on the website.

Registrations are flowing in and the next round of teams have been placed on the "registration section". All teams are listed in team names, state and numbers attending.

Groundspeak has created the official "souvenir " for the event. This will be awarded to all teams after the event ,when your "attended" log is posted.If you are not sure what this is, take a look at your profile page, as you might not be aware you even have them already.

The first two face painted geocaching logo's are posted on the stallholders section. Next update will feature Geocaching NSW and Geocaching Australia pictures.

The recent Geocaching in Australia magazine featured a mega update story with pictures including the front cover. Great advertising to the 1,000 subscribers.The front cover is on the stallholders page.

A promotional item from the mega event is being shown at many events. The first was the Wolli Creek valley walk event last Saturday in Sydney, next was Mrs Walenators birthday event in Melbourne yesterday ,and next is JABS meet and greet event near Hobart, Wednesday with more events to follow.

Our next stallholder to attend the OZ MEGA is jillybeans mobile cafe.They will have one coffee van over the 5 days serving in the meals area for breakfast, lunch and dinners.They will have a second coffee van permanently situated in the entertainment area and move staff over to there ,once dinners have finished, for the 4 nights.

 

We welcome our next $2,000 Gold Sponsor in Officeworks of Albury to the event. Promotional items will be placed into all registration packs as well.

Thankfully,

Greg,

President.

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Some more updates as we approach just on 5 months till the event:

There will be a bonfire on each of the 4 nights at a designated area.The fire will be located at the same spot and lit the same time each night.

Our menu will be posted next week on the website.We have kept it simple for the cooks .There is no fried food on the menu.There is no sit down dinner plate meal over $10 on any day.Good Friday fish choices are included.There will be drinks and ice creams available.

The registrations are streaming in with the next group set to go on the website early next week.Please remember, the order is : Will Attend , Registration form and then bank payment.

On Easter Saturday and Sunday ,our 3 ponies for rides has grown to include 3 horses as well. So, now you can watch the kids be led around on the ponies, have an adult horse ride next to the ponies or partake in a family ride of both in a group. Rides are unlimited.

Mr Coffee has put together a Albury Wodonga promotional you tube clip from a geocachers meeting day in Albury in August.

Turn up the sound and enjoy the promotion...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8kRjGkg8FE

 

We are pleased to announce a S1,000 Silver Sponsor In Albury City Council has now been elevated to a $4,000 Gold Sponsor and we thank them for the huge involvement in other areas as well,which will become evident throughout the event.

Updates will now be on a weekly basis.

Thankfully,

Greg

President

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Log Date: 11/10/2011

A weekly update from the Oz Mega Committee:

The latest round of paid registrations have been placed on the "Registration " tab. All in alphabetical order in each state with numbers attending and a grand total. The powered sites have another 7 with paid confirmations.

 

The Home tab now features a youtube Albury Wodonga tourism clip, produced by Mr Coffee to give all visitors who haven't seen Albury, a bit of insight to the city and its sights and the Equestrian Centre.

 

We are pleased to have the menu now listed on the meals page. There is no fried food on the menu and nothing over $10 . Plenty of drinks, Jilly Beans Mobile Cafe coffees,ice creams and much more will all be available from Thursday lunch to Monday breakfast.

 

A new tab has been added on the website titled " General" . This will give information about all other areas not mentioned on other headings.Some info about competitons will filter on soon.

 

Thankfully,

Greg

President.

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As being a new member to this Geocaching could somebody explain what goes on at Oz Mega events or is there

a spot on here that explains

Cheers coyoty05

 

Hello coyoty05,

We see that you are based somewhere around the Albury region which is ideal for you. Not sure how many are in your team or how close to the Equestrian Centre you live but will give you some details.

 

Basically, a Mega Event is an event where a minimum 500 people must register.Its a gathering and get together of geocaching teams from all over Australia and many other countries.

As you can see on the website here...http://www.ozmega.com.au/,

 

Its a mixture of many components.

Firstly, you can camp with the crowds which is recommended to get into the spirit. Many locals are. You can also commute daily.

There will be geocaching games provided on sheets within your "Registration Pack ".You can chose to compete in all or none. You can sit back and relax within the site or get out and about or a combination.

 

Most be competing in the games provided, then coming back late afternoon, enjoying a nightly meal available and then moving to the entertainment area. All four nights will be full of entertainment. Even if you were not a geocacher, these nights are 4 great nights of a variety of entertainment, speeches, prizes, presentations, awards,auctions, lucky draws, competitions, and all shown live on the big 10m wide screen next to the stage.

 

Plenty of stalls will be on offer for your viewing all over the 4 days. Meals constantly available.

 

But, most of all , its all about the new friendships made, teams to meet you have only seen mentioned in logs , great stories to tell and hear, and all the socialising over the entire event.

The choice is yours of how you spend your time.

Its an event not to be missed , especially as you are a local. Over $1,000,000 will be generated to the Albury economy and the media coverage will be in newspapers and on TV.

 

If you are thinking of going, just place a "Will Attend " on the GC page , stating how many in your team, plus if you are camping or not, and day of arrival.

Hope you can make this fast approaching much anticipated event.Looking forward to your "Will Attend ".

 

Thankfully,

Greg

President.

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As being a new member to this Geocaching could somebody explain what goes on at Oz Mega events or is there

a spot on here that explains

Cheers coyoty05

 

Hello coyoty05,

We see that you are based somewhere around the Albury region which is ideal for you. Not sure how many are in your team or how close to the Equestrian Centre you live but will give you some details.

 

Basically, a Mega Event is an event where a minimum 500 people must register.Its a gathering and get together of geocaching teams from all over Australia and many other countries.

As you can see on the website here...http://www.ozmega.com.au/,

 

Its a mixture of many components.

Firstly, you can camp with the crowds which is recommended to get into the spirit. Many locals are. You can also commute daily.

There will be geocaching games provided on sheets within your "Registration Pack ".You can chose to compete in all or none. You can sit back and relax within the site or get out and about or a combination.

 

Most be competing in the games provided, then coming back late afternoon, enjoying a nightly meal available and then moving to the entertainment area. All four nights will be full of entertainment. Even if you were not a geocacher, these nights are 4 great nights of a variety of entertainment, speeches, prizes, presentations, awards,auctions, lucky draws, competitions, and all shown live on the big 10m wide screen next to the stage.

 

Plenty of stalls will be on offer for your viewing all over the 4 days. Meals constantly available.

 

But, most of all , its all about the new friendships made, teams to meet you have only seen mentioned in logs , great stories to tell and hear, and all the socialising over the entire event.

The choice is yours of how you spend your time.

Its an event not to be missed , especially as you are a local. Over $1,000,000 will be generated to the Albury economy and the media coverage will be in newspapers and on TV.

 

If you are thinking of going, just place a "Will Attend " on the GC page , stating how many in your team, plus if you are camping or not, and day of arrival.

Hope you can make this fast approaching much anticipated event.Looking forward to your "Will Attend ".

 

Thankfully,

Greg

President.

Thanks for your info, I will give it some thought as I do live close I would call daily.

Cheers

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An update of information from the Committee:

The latest group of over 50 people have gone onto the registration list and we thank them for the entries,together with more powered site confirmations

A limited release of OZ MEGA merchandise will be available online in a few weeks. All items will have logo's and can be sent to your postal address prior to the event.A link will be available in the near future.

 

The first ever geocache hider in Victoria in "George " will be present at the event and will present a trophy on stage on Easter Saturday night.

 

The 'general " tab has a section about the bonfires each night .This area will be OZ MEGA signposted and known as "Bay 13" and will be very popular after the entertainment each night.

 

The pathtag auction is growing rapidly and has progressed to around 150 after two weeks. An update from all the co-ordinators in mid December will be the next update.

 

Our 10th stallholder is Geocaching NSW.They will be there for the 4 days of the event.

Thankfully,

Greg

 

Visit this log entry at the below address:

http://coord.info/GL71HC44

 

Visit OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA:

http://coord.info/GC2Q4JF

 

Profile for Oz Mega Committee:

http://coord.info/PR520QE

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Oz Mega Committee made an announcement about OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA (Mega-Event Cache) on 12/21/2011

 

Log Date: 12/21/2011

Some Committee updates and information:

For those teams choosing accommodation within Albury during the MEGA , its best to start having a look soon at your choices. There is a hockey carnival and artist convention on at the same time.

 

The Friday night Australiana night featuring Lazy Harry will have merchandise items for sale during and after the show including 8 of his cds. The Saturday night BABBA concert will also see merchandise items available after the show with shirts, caps ,and many items displayed. If you would like a photo with the group, this will take place after the performance.

 

The official MEGA event merchandise will be available online with photo's in a few weeks. There will be 4 items all with a shipping offer to receive the goods prior the the event.

 

Our new eleventh stall holder is St John Ambulance. The two ladies will be at their stall within the mini village from 9am till 7pm daily, with brochures, giveaways and many products. They will be available at the entertainment area if needed from 7pm till 10pm nightly and from 10pm till 9am at their powered site number 43. They will be there the full duration of the event.

*The Committee welcomes our next sponsor to the MEGA event in Spotlight.

*All the next group of paid registrations will be entered on the website in the first week of January.The Committee thanks all the registrations to date as it takes the pressure off us a bit when the majority submit their registrations in the final 3 months.

*The next pathtag update for raffles and an auction will be in early January. Plenty having been filtering through at various locations.

*For those teams trying to make the OZ MEGA a milestone, there will be milestone book to enter on site .All teams will be announced at presentations. Milestones must be in the 1,000 number denominations.

* The new year will see many more items on the website in areas of games, competitions , and novelty events and much more.

* There will be a hotline number available to ring for any travelers coming in by rail or air to Albury, who need a lift to the site. A mobile number will feature on the website mid March and teams can be picked up and dropped off both before and afterwards.This is a free service.

 

At this stage the Oz Mega Committee wishes all the intended OZ MEGA attendees to Albury and geocachers everywhere a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year .

Keep the Will Attends and Registrations rolling along.

Back with the updates in about 10 days.

Thankfully,

Greg

President.

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The Committee has updated every part of the website with new information and updates for all attendees, with 91 days till the start.

All the latest paid registrations have been placed onto the registration page. Any registrations from Tuesday 3rd will appear in the next update.There will be a closing date of Friday 24th February and all registrations will be guaranteed a geocoin prior to this date.

The powered sites have been updated with more reserves onto the list.

 

We welcome our next $2,000 Gold Sponsor in Wodonga Council who will be involved in many ways over the event period.

They have been placed on the sponsors page with hyperlink as per all sponsors.

 

Most of the games for geocachers are set and complete. One of these games is " The Fugitive " , a great interactive game for all attendees to enjoy over the period of the event.

More updates next week.

Thankfully,

Greg.

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Oz Mega Committee made an announcement about OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA (Mega-Event Cache) on 1/17/2012

 

Log Date: 1/17/2012

The latest update from the Committee with 78 days to the opening of the boom gate.

The CITO event for Easter Monday has been published with the code number GC34BEC.

We would like to thank our state / territory (name removed) coordinators around Australia for the collections of (name removed) for raffles. They have all checked in and the total has jumped from 150 prior to xmas to 490. Jellyfish's USA collection is to go onto this as well.

The weekly group of completed and paid registrations have been placed on the website. 60 people have taken the tally just on 300.Another 50 in registrations are there awaiting payments to filter in. Powered site confirmations have been ticked and reserves adjusted with 58 of the 79 sites fully confirmed.A reminder that registrations will close on Friday 24th February to be guaranteed an official geocoin.

There will be a kids meal added to the nightly meal choice on all 4 nights for all the family budgets.

 

The Oz Mega Committee is very proud to announce our next $2,000 Gold Sponsor in (name removed) . They will be involved in a large capacity with all teams able to look through many pop-tops, camper trailers, expanda's and caravans. (name removed) has being added to the Sponsors page with hyperlink and included in the rotating banners below each website page.

 

The next update will be next Wednesday night, 25th with all new registrations added to the website, latest update news and mega site information.

Thankfully,

Greg

President

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Oz Mega Committee made an announcement about OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA (Mega-Event Cache) on 1/25/2012

 

Log Date: 1/25/2012

Some more information and updates from the Committee:

 

We welcome our newest Sponsor in Coca Cola to the Oz Mega .They will be well represented at the event with products and have been placed on the website.

The Pathtag night has increased with Jellyfish's USA batch and the tally is now at 535. We will get another update from our state coordinators at the end of February.

We would like to thank OFFICEWORKS who have now been elevated to double Gold Sponsor status for their stunning donation this week.

 

The movie night will feature two latest release movies that will be showing in cinemas during February and early March. We will not know the movie titles until 7 days prior to the event.

 

The websitehttp://www.ozmega.com.au/ has been updated today with 68 new registered and paid geocachers now in alphabetical and state order taking the total to 366. We still need the final 18 powered site teams to register .If you do not require your site, we have reserves waiting.

A reminder that registrations close on Friday 24th February to be guaranteed an official OZ MEGA geocoin.Both registration and payments need to be in to be placed on the website list.

 

The Oz Mega Committee is very proud to announce our newest large Sponsor in NT TOURISM. They have 2 logo's on the Sponsorship page and two hyperlinks. They will also feature as our 12th stall holder with plenty of brochures, pamphlets and advertising on drive holidays and geocaching in NT. This is all advertising for the new release of the 'World's longest 4wd cache trail in the "Savannah Way " from Cairns to Darwin at this link.http://en.travelnt.com/geocaching.aspx?region=en-AU 3,000 km's long and all caches in place. Why is NT TOURISM sponsoring..

 

quote "The Drive market is our biggest market, so anyhting that helps add to the drive experience is to be encouraged. The GC market is only tiny but it is dedicated. We test run some GCs on the Stuart Highway last year and the response was terrific. Tourists on drive holidays found the GCs within days of planting, and logged how they plan their holidays and weekends away around GC."

Next trail this year set for geocachers will be the "Explorers Way " from Adelaide to Darwin with more trails to follow.

 

Looking forward to all the registrations this week for next weeks update.

thankfully,

Greg,

President

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Log Date: 2/2/2012

Oz Mega Committee Update:

We have updated a lot of information on the website tonight.

This weeks fully paid registration list has jumped from 368 to 420 and all are listed on the website. The registrations and payments need to be both in by Friday 24th February to be guaranteed an official OZ MEGA geocoin.

 

We welcome our next $2,000 Gold Sponsor to the event with D & P Haulage of Albury now on the Sponsors page.

 

Geocaching Australia has been added to the General TAB on the website and we encourage any geocachers who are not members to join in this popular site. Links and information are all there.

 

The first exciting release of the Official Merchandise is now in the General TAB on the website with pictures and links for shirts and caps fully logo'd. Plenty of styles, colours , sizes and all the links available.

 

Our next $2,000 Gold Sponsor to sign up is the historic Kinross Woolshed Hotel. This will also be the site of the flashmob event planned for Easter Sunday morning. The Ettamogah Pub is now up for sale and currently has a fence around it and not allowed to be entered. You will still be able to get close enough for a 50m distant photo. The official flashmob event will be at 11.30am on the Sunday morning at the Kinross Woolshed Hotel with 100 prizes onsite.The geocaching.com page will be available to place a "Will Attend " this weekend.

A large area is available for car parking and the local newspaper will be there for a group photo . We have also be given the rare approval from Groundspeak that if this event surpasses 500 in itself, it will be listed as a MEGA event after the fact.

Thank you for all the registrations this week and the Committee is looking forward to many more this week.

 

Thankfully,

Greg

President.

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Oz Mega Committee made an announcement about OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA (Mega-Event Cache) on 2/17/2012

 

Log Date: 2/17/2012

A Committee update with 47 days to go:

There are now 5 geocaching events to place "Will Attends " on, within the 5 days. Of course we have the main OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA GC2Q4JF. Also the OZ ALBURY FLASHMOB event on Easter Sunday GC34BFC. The Easter Monday CITO event GC34BEC. Also the Good Friday Night MEGA PASSOVER SEDER GCA4213 and the MEGA PATHTAG PARTY GCA 4226 over 4 days which will be extremely popular.Please place your 'Will Attend " to assist Committee.

 

A reminder if you a keen geocoin and pathtag enthusist, that designs for your own coins would probably need to be submitted , approved and paid for within the next 7 days to have them here before the OZ MEGA.

 

The fully paid registrations up till Wednesday 15th jumped from 456 to 495. All teams from last week and next week will be listed next Thursday night. Registrations and online bankings are available 24/7. To be guaranteed an official OZ MEGA geocoin in your registration pack on arrival , your form must be completed by next Friday 24th February.

 

70 of the 79 powered sites have now been confirmed with green ticks. If you are in the remaining 9, best to submit your form and payment as we do have reserves waiting.

There will be prizes for the "best camping site " and "best powered site". We urge teams to get into the spirit and have things like flags, stickers, lights, decorations, banners , hand made signs , coloured lights and anything that goes to add to the atmosphere

We would like to welcome our newest stallholder in mygeogear. The owners of geocachers.co.nz are starting a new website in 2 weeks and their main idea at the event will be metal travel tag with your photo on it taken within his stall.Tags will be available after 1 hour.

Looking forward to all the registrations this week,

Another update Monday night.

thankfully,

Greg

President

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Oz Mega Committee made an announcement about OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA (Mega-Event Cache) on 2/22/2012

 

Log Date: 2/22/2012

The latest website upgrade is complete and here are some Committee updates for your information.

Registrations are streaming in and have jumped from 456 to 538 people this week up till Tuesday.All are listed in state and alphabetical order on the Rego page.Entries close Friday but as bankings will not be seen till Monday , you will have till Sunday night to submit everything . A late entry fee will be added after the 5th of March. All completed registrations and payments till next Monday will be guaranteed an "official " coin.Only 6 remaining "powered sites " need to submit rego's and payments to confirm their powered sites.

Good Friday night will be mens theme night , Saturday night ladies night and Sunday night kids night.Most of the big surprises are on these nights for all teams to be involved as some are arriving Friday.You will have a chance to have a picture with three characters at the event. Signal the Frog from the USA, Puddles the Platypus (Albury's theme character) and for the kids reading this, the Easter Bunny will make an appearance .All will be involved in components and available for group pictures.

 

Dont forget to put in a "Will Attend " for the flashmob event , CITO event, Pathtag Party and Passover Dinner.The last two are GA events.

We have added two more stallholders to the stallholders page.Geogear will have a live website in two weeks and we welcome our 15th stall in 101 GEO. Both will be there for the 4 days.

 

The Oz Mega Committee is very proud to announce our next $2,000 GOLD SPONSOR in MAGELLAN. They will have a representative on site for the 4 days from Sydney who is a geocacher. Brochures will be in registration packs. A new GPS receiver by MAGELLAN is being released mid March. The the OZ MEGA is the launchpad for the Australian release. It is a special purpose unit for geocachers. MAGELLAN has been listed on the Sponsors page with hyperlinks and their units pictured around the website. They are also donating 6 of their new units as prizes and these will all go into the games pool for all teams to have a great chance to win.

thankfully,

Greg

President

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Log Date: 3/1/2012

A weekly update with 34 days to the OZ MEGA start:

The Committee wishes to thank all the teams who registered this week with our biggest influx over the last 7 days yet.

The grand tally went from 538 people last Thursday night to 652 with 114 extras. Any paid up registered teams after Tuesday 28th will be on next weeks list. All teams are listed on the "Registration TAB" on the website.

A reminder that after Thursday 8th March, the entry fee will be $75, so best to submit your form and banking this week.

 

We now have entries and will attends from New Zealand, Germany, the USA and Finland.

We are down to, 2 powered sites left to be paid for by next Thursday.

 

A reminder that one essential item you will need is a fold up camp chair of some sort, per person. Many will bring a fold up small table as well and we encourage that each night at the entertainment area.Arrange a few nibblies each night, enjoy the drinks on offer and sit back and enjoy one or all of the 4 nights.

 

After the 21 leap year events around the country and some pathtags drop offs, we will get a pathtag update from our OZ wide coordinators by next Thursday night.From then we will give twice weekly Committee updates with a final 10 days a daily update on all information.

The official hardback milestone book is ready for those in the hunt.A reminder you must be driving into the event site on a 999 denomination.

The Pathtag Party GCA4226 and Flashmob Events GC34BFC are being swamped with "Will Attends" , so if you have not put an intent in yet, we encourage you to get amongst the fun.

 

We now have two representatives attending from MAGELLAN. They will be onsite with demonstrations and any questions answered as often seen on the forums.The New release GPSr model is set for Australia in the last week of March.

MAGELLAN has also now donated some more prizes. 10 MAGELLAN geocoins will be in selected caches over the weekend only ,for all competitors to have an equal chance to find.The coins ,if found ,can then be redeemed onsite for MAGELLAN prizes. Finer details will be listed in upcoming weeks.

 

Looking forward to all this weeks 'Will Attends " and registrations to file in.

thankfully

Greg

President.

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Log Date: 3/19/2012

A Committee update:

The website was updated on Sunday with all the latest Sponsors included. All the powered sites have been allocated and paid for.

 

The latest registered and paid teams have been placed on the "Registration TAB " .It jumped from 667 last week to 705 up till last Friday.To give you an idea of what that looks like in a crowd, there were 680 attendees at Wagga. All new registrations will feature on the website next weekend.

 

A few competitions and prizes to mention. The 5,000 Easter Egg Hunt will have one particular egg with a lucky number on it for a Sunday night prize.

There will be a lucky draw on the Friday night with the winner awarded a helicopter joyflight for 3. The Saturday night lucky draw by the Mayor will also be a helicopter joyflight for 3.

 

The Sunday night pathtag raffle should feature over 700 pathtags. Plus, numerous other raffles during the event.

The Helicopter Megadrop will feature over 100 prizes from sponge balls dropped from high in the sky. The lucky number one winner will receive a $1,000 helicopter ride for 3 over Mt Bogong and the Snowy's.

 

The Sunday flashmob will see 100 unique prizes distributed onsite at the event with one particular prize for the lucky NO1 winner.

Two photo caption competitions with pictures of unique locations of two caches .The best two funny captions will win prizes on the Sunday night.

Dont forget the" Best Campsite" and "Best Powered Site "awards. Use your imaginations, examples can be lighting, posters, banners/balloons, flags, geocaching name theme or whatever. Remember that the whole website and colour theme of items is orange. The registration area will be alive with orange.

There are 3 major games involving at least 26 prizes. All competitions will be in your "registration packs " Prizes will be awarded at the presentation night on Sunday, given out by Sponsors and guests. All the games are set and in place.

There will be a kids caches with 4 prizes divided into girls and boys age groups. Girls and Boys , 0 to 8 , and 9 to 16 years.

The major Sponsor will have a cache competition for all to enjoy.

 

Albury's Bordermail newspaper photographers will be at all the highlights day and night for the Easter Monday edition.

Many more items of great interest and competitions will be discovered at the event.

thankfully,

Greg,

President.

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Log Date: 3/22/2012

A Committee update with 13 days to go:

The next round of paid registered teams will go on the website this Sunday. Name tags will be forwarded to the printers on Monday, so if you have a change in your team please advise the Committee as soon as possible so we can update the lists. All registration teams after this date will receive a coloured name tag with names hand written at the event site.To make this date, both your registration and banking will have to be complete by Friday 23rd at midnight and all will appear in the records Saturday.

 

If you do have a question that cant be answered on the website , we ask you to please submit your question in the next 7 days for a reply. From Sunday 31st, the Committee will be in Albury.

 

The Committee is very proud to announce our Final night entertainment. The Sunday night will be filled with lucky draws, all the competition and game winners , Sponsors, guests and many surprises.The entertainment will be supplied by a female vocalist in Justine Hogan. She hails from Wagga Wagga, is a regular on the club scenes and can sing all the tunes from Taylor Swift, Pink, Beyonce, Bruno Mars, Dolly Parton, Christina Aguilera and even Adele.

 

A few things to remember to pack, mozzies are out, so it would be a good idea to pack the aerogard, also remember your chairs and nibblies for the entertainment nights.

 

The Committee is looking forward to meeting you all at the event.

 

Thankfully,

Greg

President

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Oz Mega Committee made an announcement about OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA (Mega-Event Cache) on 3/25/2012

 

Log Date: 3/25/2012

The latest updates from Committee:

The website has had an update with plenty of information applied.

 

The Registration list jumped from 705 last week to 763 as of Friday. All the names have been submitted to the printers for official name tags. Registrations will be taken online up to the Wednesday 4th April. Any extras in teams coming along, please forward them onto Committee.

 

The Home tab has the latest "Recommended " cache list attached with now 46 top caches to choose from around the region.

We have placed a photo on the itinerary of the lovely Justine Hogan , who has been added to the Sunday night entertainment program.

Thursday 5th April will see the first movie commence at 7pm sharp. The BAY13 bonfire will be lit at 8.30pm. The second movie will commence at 9pm.

The free shuttle service offering lifts from the airport and train station to the event site or hotel now has their hotline number available on the "General" tab.

We are very proud to announce our 15th stallholder with a MUNZEES stall being included for the event. It will be conducted by Hinklenator and HINCO of Wagga, so if your after any information regarding the Munzee application this is the store to visit.

The major game will have waypoints to download available 3 ways from 9am Thursday, either by USB, DISC or via the website where it will be displayed from 9am.

The last reserve moved into a powered site spot, so we will take one more team to go in as 1st reserve, just email the Committee.

Dont forget to check out all the colorful merchandise available on the general tab with shirts, t-shirts, caps and embroided patches all available.

Next update Tuesday night,

thankfully,

Greg

President

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Oz Mega Committee made an announcement about OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA (Mega-Event Cache) on 3/27/2012

 

Log Date: 3/27/2012

The latest updates from Committee with 8 days to go:

All the latest fully paid registrations will be updated on the website Thursday night. You will need to be registered to enter the facility with a check in station on arrival.Registrations will be taken online up till Wednesday 4th April.

 

Dont forget to place a "Will Attend " on the flashmob event on Easter Sunday expected to have a minimum 400 people attend.(GC34BFC)Some great prizes and photographs will be taken by the Bordermail. Also the Pathtag Party ( GCA4226).This will open at the listed times over 4 days and will be a very popular spot to mingle.

 

Teams are welcome to bring along their own CD's to event for playing. The centre has a PA system and we will play a wide variety of music over the event.Please label your CD or place your team name in permanent texta on the back cover.

There will be a very large WORLD MAP in the registration area for all teams to place a pin into the countries they have geocached in. All the rules and pins will be available next to the map.

We now have every state and territory in Australia represented in attendees plus teams from Czech Republic, Germany,Finland, New Zealand and the USA.

Two links to have a peek at if you have not seen them yet:The first will give you an idea of a MEGA if its your first.The second clip showcases Albury and the venue.

 

1/ OZ MEGA WAGGA WAGGA..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN-ZTns8Rl8&feature=youtube_gdata

 

2/ OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA PREVIEW...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8kRjGkg8FE

 

The OZ MEGA event will now be covered by the magazine Caravan and Motorhome on Tour.A representative from Sydney will be attending for the whole event conducting a feature article for the magazine and website.

http://www.candm.com.au/

 

Next website upgrade and announcement Thursday night.

Some teams have already left on their long journeys, so drive safely guys.

thankfully,

Greg,

President.

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Oz Mega Committee made an announcement about OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA (Mega-Event Cache) on 3/29/2012

 

Log Date: 3/29/2012

The latest updates from Committee with a week to go:

All the teams who have completed registration and bankings since the weekend have been added to the website. We now have 783 attendees. Online registrations will be taken till Wednesday 4th .You must be registered to enter the premises.

All individuals logo'd name tags are complete and will be available upon signing the registration sheets in the registration area.

The official group photo will be during the intermission of the BABBA concert on Saturday night.Photo's will be taken by Committee and the Bordermail.

This weekend is an ideal time to round up a batch of travelbugs .Dont be shy in bringing plenty.

We have placed the new snappy logo by the major Sponsor in geoloans on the website.

 

The prizes for the helicopter MEGADROP have doubled with now 200 sponge balls dropped for 200 prizes.

 

You are welcome to bring a pushbike to the event if you have room .Its an ideal location and flat with 16m wide roadways.

 

We have placed a special purpose "Site Map" on the general TAB of the website.It shows the location of the camping areas, numbered powered site spots, amenities building, registration area, bonfire location and entrance gate plus much more.

Immediately after the FLASHMOB event at the Kinross Hotel, the Sponsor has put on a geocachers buffet for all.Normally $25, the all you can eat buffet for $18 will include chicken wellington,marinated rump steak,beef lasagne,chicken satay skewers,black angus sausages, all the salads and much much more. kids 12 and under , half price $9.No bookings needed.

 

The Committee will be on location at the Albury Equestrian Centre from this Sunday .We will take the 4 full days to set up and give daily updates and information from the Equestrian Centre as all the infrastructure moves in.

The 10 day forecast is looking pretty good and a huge relief for Committee at this stage. Monday..FINE 25 Tuesday.. PARTLY CLOUDY 26 Wednesday..FINE26 Thursday..FINE 28 Good Friday..FINE28 ..Easter Saturday..PARTLY CLOUDY 26.

Dont forget to get all those last minute rego's in and paid up for the next list to be placed on the website Monday night.

Our next update announcement will be Sunday night from the Equestrian Centre and every night from there.

Wont be long now....

thankfully,

Greg,

President.

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Log Date: 4/1/2012

Committee update:

The next round of teams will be updated tomorrow night and we have now topped 800 people attending.

Entries will stay open online till Wednesday.

There will be 3 raffles available onsite :1/ The Pathtag Raffle :prizes will be booklets containing all the donations. 2/ Easter Raffle 3/ Mega Raffle . Plenty of prizes in all and every single one of the 3 thousand tickets is coloured in theme logos. All drawn Sunday night.

There will be geocachers specials on the wines available from Splitters Creek over the 4 days.

Dawn Light Liqueur Muscat $15,Noon Liqueur Semillon $15, Dusk Liqueur Durif $15, Red and White wines $17 plus many more.

Dont forget to grab those travelbugs all wanting to visit a MEGA event.You should come across plenty on your journey to Albury.

The Committee has arrived in Albury and set up base with a convoy of equipment.The complex is looking great and very green .A clean up day from the outgoing Australian Cross Country Championships and a big day on Monday of putting everything in place.

Notification letters will go to the Hospitals and Police tomorrow.

If you have any last minute adjustments to team additions or powered sites or extra days camping please email to Committee with your updates.

The weather forecast is looking very promising and fingers are all crossed now for fine conditions.

Back tomorrow night with the latest.

thankfully,

Greg.

President.

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Log Date: 4/2/2012

Third last update:

A briefing about the Complex. The starting co-ordinates on the MEGA cache page will place you right to the automatic boom gate.Just edge your vehicle within half a metre and the boom gate opens.

On your first arrival, you will be welcomed just inside the gate by volunteers who will give you your first 2 gifts. You will then be directed to either your 1 of 79 powered sites, the camping only areas or a special "Day Parking " spot which are all signposted.

There is only one gate into and out of the complex.Boomgate only.All 16m wide roads go clockwise only.

Please take your time to get familiar with where everything is located . If you went to Wagga , this place is 16 times the size. 1.5 km's long by 1km wide.We will be using an area of 1km for all camping etc and the rest during some games. You will be overwhelmed by the size at first so let the volunteers assist.

 

If you have a powered site between 1 and 32, you will need to top up your water tanks near site 20 before parking your van in.

With the latest registrations in , the tally has grown from 783 last Thursday to about 814. Last tally update Wednesday night.

All the infrastructure has started to arrive including 200 bollards, 50 rubbish bins, the first of two semi trailer stages, banners, and much equipment for the Registration area.

 

The place is looking very green and very neat and tidy awaiting the opening day.

Second last update Tuesday night.

Thankfully,

Greg

President.

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Log Date: 4/3/2012

Second last update with 1 day and 12 hours till opening:

If you have any last minute pathtags to donate to the pathtag raffle, please drop them off to Mrs Coffee at registration time.

The full available wine list on offer with geocachers specials is now on the website at the bottom of the "General " TAB.

Please log any geocoins you are bringing into the event before placing them on the tables available.

 

The "BAY 13 " bonfire area is signposted and now has two 4 tier seating stands around it for geocachers comfort.

Over 20 Australian flags and 30 world flags have been placed around the complex.Over 200 orange bollards around the complex will show you areas of road travel and non camping regions.Please be aware of the fact this is a membership club and people work their horses in some areas. Road travel is at 10kph.

 

The updated new list of attendees as of last night has now reached 822 people and over 322 teams. Most will be placed on the website tomorrow night.

Another big day onsite today with the stallholders village set, registration tables in place, all registration packs and tourism sample bags ready, competitions all set and in bags.

Many teams have arrived in the Albury region and been caching for days. Those on the road , please drive carefully and the Committee certainly looks forward to meeting everyone on arrival.

 

Final update tomorrow night,

thankfully,

Greg,

President.

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Hi Greg (and committee)

I wish you a great weekend and smooth sailing. I sure wish we could be there but we are back in Canada now and will be attending the WestCan 2 Mega in July.

I was wondering if there was any way I could buy an Oz mega 2 geocoin as my Oz mega 1 coin is quite lonely.

Cheers!

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Hi Greg (and committee)

I wish you a great weekend and smooth sailing. I sure wish we could be there but we are back in Canada now and will be attending the WestCan 2 Mega in July.

I was wondering if there was any way I could buy an Oz mega 2 geocoin as my Oz mega 1 coin is quite lonely.

Cheers!

 

Hi Guys ,

 

I will pass on the message.

 

JABs.

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Log Date: 4/4/2012

Final update :

A big day today with all the final components in place.

 

The Committee requests you please wear your event nametags at all times even throughout Albury as you visit Sponsors during games.

 

The first movie commences at 7pm sharp tomorrow night under the stars. Two appropriate movies have been selected.

We have more late entries filing in with an expected 830 plus people attending.

If your a power site team , be aware of the amperage , try to use one appliance at a time, otherwise you could trip the circuit breaker.

Remember the 10kph speed limit at all times as members use horses at certain places.

We have saved all the surprises of the event for the Friday to Sunday night 3 entertainment packages to give all arrivals a fair chance to see something special. All we can tell you is not not miss those 3 nights.

 

If you are camping there is plenty of room for teams to spread out. Please try to get your bearings when you arrive in the first hour as this complex is daunting at 1.5 km's long.

All is set with Prime TV covering many highlights , the Bordermail doing some stories and happy snaps and a motorhome magazine covering the event.

 

Only Committee, workers , stallholders and volunteers will be allowed in between 6am and 9am.

First official entry at 9am.

Dont forget your camera , sense of adventure, camp chair and opportunity to make dozens of new friendships ahead.

The Oz Mega Committee now welcomes all entries from Australia and many overseas countries to 4 days of some great times ahead.

We have also been blessed a a great weather forecast.

Thankfully,

Greg

President.

 

thankfully,

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Oz Mega Committee made an announcement about OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA (Mega-Event Cache) on 4/9/2012

 

Log Date: 4/9/2012

The Oz Mega Committee has finally finished up today with the last pieces of infrastructure picked up and we moved out.

Some final statistics include ; 328 teams registered who picked up the registration pack.

 

New Southern Hemisphere record for a Mega with 830 individual people on the registration papers.

 

730 trackables logged into the event for display under the tent.

 

New Southern Hemisphere geocaching flashmob record of 720 who signed the clipboard sheets at the Kinross Woolshed Hotel.

 

On leaving the site this afternoon, we would like to congratulate all concerned for their tidiness and clean camping and powered site positions. The horse riders are back for their piece and quiet.

 

Dont forget to place a heap of photo's with your logs .

 

Back with plenty of updates over the following days.

thankfully,

Greg,

President.

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Oz Mega Committee made an announcement about OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA (Mega-Event Cache) on 4/9/2012

 

Log Date: 4/9/2012

The Oz Mega Committee has finally finished up today with the last pieces of infrastructure picked up and we moved out.

Some final statistics include ; 328 teams registered who picked up the registration pack.

 

New Southern Hemisphere record for a Mega with 830 individual people on the registration papers.

 

730 trackables logged into the event for display under the tent.

 

New Southern Hemisphere geocaching flashmob record of 720 who signed the clipboard sheets at the Kinross Woolshed Hotel.

 

On leaving the site this afternoon, we would like to congratulate all concerned for their tidiness and clean camping and powered site positions. The horse riders are back for their piece and quiet.

 

Dont forget to place a heap of photo's with your logs .

 

Back with plenty of updates over the following days.

thankfully,

Greg,

President.

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Hi Greg (and committee)

I wish you a great weekend and smooth sailing. I sure wish we could be there but we are back in Canada now and will be attending the WestCan 2 Mega in July.

I was wondering if there was any way I could buy an Oz mega 2 geocoin as my Oz mega 1 coin is quite lonely.

 

Cheers!

 

Have just seen the post.

 

Will send a private email.

 

thankfully,

Greg,

President,

Oz Mega Committee

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Thanks to all involved. Very much enjoyed the event. I am busy compiling the special oz mega magazine. Anyone wishing to submit photo's / stories would like to hear from you.

 

We took our time getting there and getting home, with some memorable stops along the way and met many new geocachers.

 

Look forward to the next oz mega (wink wink!)

 

Thanks again to Greg & the committee plus the lovely people of Albury Wodonga that made us welcome.

 

Regards

James

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Oz Mega Committee made an announcement about OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA (Mega-Event Cache) on 4/23/2012

 

Log Date: 4/23/2012

Some Committee updates:

1/ Well done to all the teams who have moved their trackables on after the event. There were close to 800 trackables at the event tables and 1935 logged within the event. We are only down to the final 100 still there.

All teams who took trackables were asked to log one of 3 books on the tables on Easter Sunday. If you could please move these on soon,and then when the numbers decline to under 40, the Committee will send out reminder emails. Thank you.

 

2/ Many teams have asked for the photos on the big outdoor screen over the event. So , with the assistance of bacPAQer and Twighlight Cinema's we have attached links to all the photo's and one "you tube " clip.

 

https://www.yousendit.com/download/M3BuTmZUVEhCTW1KUmNUQw

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d1EC2bjwaE&feature=youtu.be

 

3/ The next edition of Geocaching in Australia magazine will have all the pictures, stories and action shots from the 5 days at Albury.

 

4/ Finally,

the Committee received a very nice letter from the Mayor of Albury and would like to share it with attendees

 

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=19501c5949&view=att&th=136dd19fbc40267d&attid=0.1&disp=safe&realattid=2cc7c492bc5a6c65_0.1&zw.

 

thankfully,

Greg

President

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