Ahoy there shipmates, any Port will do in a storm!
The known Ports in Australia are:
PORT ADELAIDE, SA, PORT ALBANY, WA, PORT ALBERT, VIC, PORT ALMA, QLD, PORT ARTHUR, SA, PORT ARTHUR, TAS, PORT AUGUSTA, SA, PORT AUGUSTA NORTH, SA, PORT AUGUSTA WEST, SA, PORT BONYTHON, SA, PORT BOTANY, NSW, PORT BROUGHTON, SA, PORT CAMPBELL, VIC, PORT CLINTON, SA, PORT CURTIS, QLD, PORT DAVIS, SA, PORT DENISON, WA, PORT DOUGLAS, QLD, PORT ELLIOT, SA, PORT FAIRY, VIC, PORT FLINDERS, SA, PORT FRANKLIN, VIC, PORT GAWLER, SA, PORT GERMEIN, SA, PORT GIBBON, SA, PORT GILES, SA, PORT HACKING, NSW, PORT HEDLAND, WA, PORT HUGHES, SA, PORT HUON, TAS, PORT JULIA, SA, PORT JACKSON, NSW, PORT KEMBLA, NSW, PORT KENNEDY, WA, PORT KENNY, SA, PORT LATTA, TAS, PORT LINCOLN, SA, PORT MACDONNELL, SA, PORT MACQUARIE, NSW, PORT MANNUM, SA, PORT MELBOURNE, VIC, PORT MOOROWIE, SA, PORT NEILL, SA, PORT NOARLUNGA, SA, PORT NOARLUNGA SOUTH, SA, PORT OF BRISBANE, QLD, PORT PATERSON, SA, PORT PIRIE, SA, PORT PIRIE SOUTH, SA, PORT PIRIE WEST, SA, PORT RICKABY, SA, PORT SORELL, TAS, PORT STANVAC, SA, PORT VICTORIA, SA, PORT VINCENT, SA, PORT WAKEFIELD, SA, PORT WELSHPOOL, VIC, PORT WILLUNGA, SA, PORT WINE, QLD.
This Cache is not about Caching at all of them but it is about Caching at two of them and could possibly involve the longest distance of travel for a single cache in Australia for people who set out from the East Coast to complete the challenge.
In 2011 Nana Nel, a couple of friends and I drove from Port Hacking, NSW to Port Headland, WA via the Gary Junction Road and returned via the Great Central Road. This was our first visit to Port Headland and my caching experience here gave me an idea for a cache. I had considered it a ridiculous concept because our trip required us to travel some 12,178Km’s. I thought that there would be no one around who had also completed the basic requirement or would be prepared to have a go until we shared our lunch with “Liz and Bruce” & “Shifter Brains” at the 2012 Geocaching NSW Christmas Get together. I learnt at this time that both teams had Cached at Port Headland, WA and based on the stories they told, I can assume there are possibly people from Port Headland, WA in Sydney, NSW from time to time and others travelling around the world who have been to Port Headland, WA already who could be interested in sharing their experiences.
These links will give you some insight into the locations you will visit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Hedland,_Western_Australia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Hacking & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolans_Bay,_New_South_Wales
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Hacking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilli_Pilli,_New_South_Wales
It’s time to set the challenge requirements, they are easy, all you have to do is log a find for two (2) caches. One will be at Port Headland, WA and the other on the shore of Port Hacking, NSW. I am looking forward to reading about people’s stories as they learn about travelling across our country by either air, road, rail or sea and for some the fun of racing for the FTF & STF.
The Cache challenge is not going to require you to drive across Australia but if you do, try to visit my Waymark at Hass Bluff west of Alice Springs and learn how the early explorers discovered and opened up the interior of Australia to Europeans by pushbike using rope as tyres to reduce punctures.
Once you have a find for both of these locations, you can complete this cache. Your trip will take you to what are amongst the most distant locations who’s name starts with “Port” in Australia. The challenge is going to require you to visit both. You can choose your own way of getting between Port Headland, WA and Port Hacking, NSW, but before visiting the Cache at Lilli Pilli, NSW on Port Hacking, NSW you need to have logged a find for both Port Headland, WA and Port Hacking, NSW.
- You are required to copy and paste your link from your Geocaching Logs “Found it” file into your log for this cache. My finds are shown here to provide an example.
This provides the “Port to Port ? Challenge” CO with a check and gives others a chance to understand what they will experience when they are at Port Headland, WA.
- You are requested to describe your adventure and the means of transport you used to make the eastward journey to complete the cache.
The First TF Prize is a 2012 Geocaching NSW Geocoin. This was collected by pprass, congratulations.
A Second TF Prize is also included.
If you choose to just visit the final location to take in the view, locate the Min Min, swap trackables and share some time in the area, then that is OK to, but remember a visit doesn’t count as a find and you are not eligible to be a part of the FTF or STF gifting.
The Cache starts with the following contents:
Trackables
7 angles #4/7 TB.
Pieces of Eight Pirate Geocoin.
Geocacher On Board Geocoin.
Aussie Kangaroo Thong TB.
Swaps
JYGE Chain,
2 x Key Rings (Sir James) & (Corona Bottle Opener).
Rose Broach.
Crystal Pendent.
Scooby-Doo Fridge Magnet.
Good luck to all those who take up the challenge. It doesn’t matter which way you undertake this challenge, Remember it is not easy and you need to be prepared for the worst when travelling around Australia. It may even be slippery close to the Cache location and well, if you are not careful you may go swimming in Port Hacking, NSW if you haven’t already been swimming at Port Headland WA.
The use of spoilers:
The introduction of Social media to showcase caching activities is now starting to expand and I can see that over a period of time, more people will get involved and showcase their activities through this medium.
I believe that it takes away the experience that Geocaching offers. Tat for every person undertaking a cache hunt, it should be like they are the first to discover it. It is as much about the journey of finding the cache (working out the puzzle, thinking about where a cache might be hidden etc) as it is about finding the cache and racking up the numbers. Geocaching can take you to some beautiful and completely unexpected places. If someone has seen it on a Social media site, then the experience will no longer be a new experience.
It has been the reason why many people who have hidden caches check their logs regularly and remove spoiler images or logs. Geocaching is a controlled environment where the ownership and presentation is in the hands of the cache owner. The use of social media takes the ownership away from the cache owner and places it in the control of those working to discover the cache and present a story on an external medium. Once it has been presented on Social media, there is nothing a cache owner can do to remove it.
Geocaching is a game that everyone plays in their own way. The way Geocaching is set up means that every time a person finds a cache it is a new experience for them because they find it themselves and comment on their experience as a new finder, hopefully without a spoiler. After viewing a few spoiler reports on Social media and having to take action to remove spoiler activity presented in logs through Geocaching lately, I am requesting that this cache is not used for a Social media presentation. Please respect my request.