This cache brings you in sight of what (in my humble opinion) is the coolest play ground in Geelong! At the end of Unity Drive you will find a kids wonderland. No plastic safety rubbish. Good old fashioned climbing, trampolining, flying foxing, sand pitting and plenty more! All the things kids need to have a ball. It dawned on me that most of my caches so far haven’t been overly child friendly because of the element of risk involved - which is weird given that I’m studying to be a play therapist and spend most of my time working with children!
Play is such an important part of development and is essential to the wellbeing of both children and adults. Play helps children learn important skills and is essential for the healthy development of gross and fine motor skills, problem solving, empathy, social skills, emotion regulation, self-esteem and so so much more. Play is a safe way for children to try out new things, test their limits and make mistakes. In fact, kids who have limited play abilities (particularly pretend play) are at risk of developing a number of cognitive and social deficits in later life.
Play has also been shown to be important for adults. The term “Neoteny” refers to the presence of juvenile qualities of play in adults (so in other words, adults who retain their ability to play - sounds like most of the cachers I know). Play is embedded in our neurological make up. It is through play that we get to experiment with self expression, creativity, and so much more. Sadly, as life pressure builds up, many of us forget what it’s like to let go, play and have fun as we get older. On average, research has shown that adults who regularly “play” - whether that be through sport, hobbies, adventures, (or finding Tupperware containers in the bush ;) ) - report higher levels of life satisfaction than those who rarely engage in these types of activities.
I have hidden this cache away from the playground so that there is no risk of looking creepy while you are searching for it! However, the purpose of this cache is for you to have fun! Bring along some little people in your life and play on the nearby equipment, have a picnic, enjoy the nearby parks. Having some daring little people with you may actually be handy for where this cache is hidden as it will be harder for adults to get to (pro hint - crawling is required). The cache itself is a small lunch box sized container hidden under a rock and some bark up high. There are some swaps in the container for kids.
I hope you enjoy this cache - good luck!