The Cache Location:
Melbourne Airport at Tullamarine
was opened on 1 July 1970. It replaced Essendon Airport as the
main gateway for visitors to Melbourne when it became obvious
that Essendon was unable to cope with future traffic needs,
and unable to be extended to accept larger aircraft.
"Tullamarine", as it is popularly called, is a major passenger
and freight gateway into Australia. Over 19 million passengers
passed through here in 2004. The airport is a city within a city
(as Kath and Kel found out when they spent a couple of days there
as a holiday when their mystery flight fell through
)—it is home to 150 businesses employing more than 11,000
people.
Renowned for its world class facilities, Melbourne Airport's
international and domestic terminals are conveniently located under
one roof. The airport is consistently graded highly in passenger
surveys, and has also been ranked in the world's top five airports.
In recognition of its contribution to the Victorian tourism
industry, Melbourne Airport has also won two Australian Tourism
Awards for General Tourism services—the only Australian airport to
have won such an award.
Airport management is sensitive to the environmental concerns of
the community, and the airport has a variety of procedures in place
to ensure that its operations have a minimal impact on the
environment. Their Environmental Management System (EMS) was
recently accredited to ISO 14001 standard—making it the first
airport in Australia to receive this accreditation.
Here are some statistics about the airport:
| Airport Code: |
|
IATA: MEL
ICAO: YMML |
| Location: |
|
S 37° 40' 24.1", E 144° 50' 36.2" |
| Elevation: |
|
132m above sea level |
| Total Area: |
|
2369 hectares |
| Runways: |
|
North–South runway 16/34, 3657m in length × 45m width
East–West runway 09/27, 2286m in length × 45m width |
Aircraft Stands:
(boarding gates) |
|
International: 14
Domestic: 46 |
| Navaids: |
|
Route Surveillance Radar: 250 nautical miles range
Terminal Approach Radar: 50 nautical miles range |
| Aircraft Movements: |
|
3154 average weekly landings |
Getting There:
This description assumes that you are a business traveller, that
you are staying at a hotel in or near Melbourne's CBD, and you are
starting from Flinders Street Station at the corner of Flinders and
Swanston Streets. On the other hand, if you are flying into
Melbourne, you can pick this one up on the way in or out—it's an
easy walk from the terminal building.
Option 1: Enter Flinders Street Station and take a train
to Spencer Street Station (5 mins). Turn left when you exit the
station and go to the coach terminal area. Take the Skybus to
Melbourne Airport (20 mins). Get off at the Qantas Domestic
Terminal stop. The Skybus leaves on every quarter hour during peak
times; you can see the full timetable here.
Option 2: Enter Flinders Street Station and take a
Broadmeadows Line train. Get off at Essendon Station (20 mins).
Catch a No. 477/478/479 bus to Melbourne Airport (15–20 mins). You
can find a timetable for this option here.
The cache is a 470m walk from the terminal.
The difficulty rating for local cachers or non-air-travellers
will be much greater than posted 1 above if you decide to use your
own transport to get to the airport. Parking costs are horrendous,
and you are not allowed to park at the nearby hotels unless you are
a guest there. The best option is to park at the BP service
station, which is just across the road from the cache, and cross at
the lights. Don't drive to the terminal: turn right at the first
set of lights and follow the BP signs, turning right from the
left-hand lane.
Melway street directory reference for the cache is: 5 C5
UBD street directory reference for the cache is: 160 Q11
What you need to do:
From the bus stop follow your GPSr to the cache site, and start
looking. The cache is near the near the Holiday Inn. You don't need
to walk on or search on the roadway. Cross at the lights!
The Cache:
The cache container is a 200mL Sistema clip-top box.
The initial contents are:
Emu
25 foreign coins
Folding Floridian Traveler TB
Clue for the Business Traveller's Cache
Log book, stash note, and pen
As always, please replace the cache exactly where you found it
to discourage accidental discovery.
Activities at or Near this
Location:
After you've found the cache, here are some other things you can
do in the area (remember, this is an airport, not a tourist
attraction):
- Avail yourself of the shopping facilities on offer at the
terminal, such as they are.
- If you are a member of the Qantas Club, you can possibly take
advantage of the hospitality therein.
- Fly somewhere.
- Watch the planes take off and land.
- Go back to the city and find something worthwhile to
do.
Nearby Caches:
You might also consider the following nearby cache that is in
walking distance from this cache: