Revision as of 21:51, 30 July 2024

Mega events are special event caches that attract more than 500 attendees. They are described as the ultimate gatherings for geocachers (although a new Giga Event classification has been announced for rare events that regularly surpass 5000 attendees) and are often multi-day events with a number of organised geocaching-related activities.

Past Mega Events

The first Australasian Mega event was held in Wagga Wagga in 2010. The event held in Wagga Wagga was also the first Mega Event in the Southern Hemisphere.

Australia

2010

• OZ MEGA WAGGA WAGGA ([1]) in Wagga Wagga, NSW from 2nd to 5th April 2010

2012

• OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA ([2]) in Albury, NSW from 5th to 9th April 2012

2014

• Oz Mega 2014 Murray Bridge ([3]) in Murray Bridge, SA from 17th to 21st April 2014

2015

• QLD Mega 2015 Stanthorpe ([4]) in Stanthorpe, QLD from 2nd to 6th April 2015
• The Melbourne Event 2015 ([5]) in Casey Fields, VIC from 14th to 15th November 2015

2016

• The Surf Coast Event 2016 ([6]) in Anglesea, VIC from 12th to 13th November 2016

2017

• The Alexandra Event 2017 ([7]) in Alexandra, VIC from 18th to 19th November 2017

2018

• Oz GeoMuster 2018 ([8]) in Morisset, NSW from 30th March to 2nd April 2018
• The Parkville Event 2018 ([9]) in Parkville, VIC from 17th to 18th November 2018

2019

• Clear Waters ([10]) in Queanbeyan, NSW from 18th to 22nd April 2019
• OZGeomuster 2019 The Gong ([11]) in Wollongong, NSW from 6th to 8th July 2019
• The St Arnaud Event 2019 ([12]) in St Arnaud, VIC from 16th to 17th November 2019

2020

• GeoVenture2020 ([13]) in Millicent, SA from 10th to 13th April 2020 (rescheduled due to coronavirus pandemic)
• OzGeoMuster 2020 Kempsey ([14]) in Kempsey, NSW from 3rd to 5th July 2020 (rescheduled, then cancelled, due to coronavirus pandemic)
• The Whittlesea Event 2020 ([15]) in Whittlesea, VIC from 14th to 15th November 2020 (rescheduled due to coronavirus pandemic)

2021

• CacheQLD - Dayboro ([16]) in Dayboro, QLD from 3rd to 5th April 2021
• GeoVenture2020 ([17]) in Millicent, SA from 1st to 4th October 2021
• The Wangaratta Event 2021 ([18]) in Wangaratta, VIC from 13th to 14th November 2021 (rescheduled due to coronavirus pandemic)

2022

• The Wangaratta Event 2021 ([19]) in Wangaratta, VIC from 15th to 16th January 2022
• CacheQLD - Townsville ([20]) in Townsville, QLD from 15th to 17th April 2022
• The Whittlesea Event 2020 ([21]) in Whittlesea, VIC from 19th to 20th November 2022

2023

• The Rutherglen Event ([22]) in Rutherglen, VIC from 6th to 10th April 2023

2024

• The Great Leap Forward ([23]) in Adelaide, SA on 29th February 2024
• Capital GeoBash ([24]) in Canberra, ACT from 28th March to 1st April 2024

2025

• Sydney GeoQuest ([25]) in Sydney, NSW on 26th January 2025

Wagga Wagga 2010

Summary of OZ MEGA WAGGA WAGGA to be added here.

Albury Wodonga 2012

Summary of OZ MEGA ALBURY WODONGA to be added here.

Murray Bridge 2014

Summary of Oz Mega 2014 Murray Bridge to be added here.

New Zealand

So far there have been two mega events held in New Zealand:

• NZ MEGA 2012 ([26]) in Dunedin, Otago from 19th to 22nd October 2012
• NZ MEGA Auckland 2013 ([27]) in Auckland from 25th to 28th October 2013
• Geo Toroa ([28]) in Dunedin on 27th October 2024
• 25 Years of Geocaching NZ! ([29]) in Rotorua on 3rd May 2025

Dunedin 2012

Summary of NZ MEGA 2012 to be added here.

Auckland 2013

The Auckland 2013 mega event ([30]) was held from the 25th to the 28th of October 2013, during which a total of 544 attendees enjoyed a wide range of activities in and around the venue at the North Harbour Stadium conference centre, on Auckland's North Shore. The venue was set in park like grounds allowing for a variety of indoor and outdoor geo-related activities.

Some of the highlights included a surprise live video link up with Groundspeak HQ for a tour of HQ and an audience with Jeremy Irish and Bryan Roth, guided walks through some of Auckland's beautiful (and rugged) regional parks, an incredible evening of chasing aliens and unraveling alien technology while night caching, and a wide range of fun games that brought geocachers together. There was even a secret appearance by the All Blacks!

The programme included a "Fish and chips" welcome event on the first evening, followed by two days of constant activities and a meticulously planned alien themed night caching adventure in the forest on the wild west coast just North of Auckland. The final day included a flash mob where attendees danced with Pokey, the pukeko mascot of the event, a CITO event, a pathtags event, and finally a sunset BBQ event to round out the weekend's entertainment.

The core organising team was made up of Chris and Vera of funkymunkyzone ([31]), Ross and Marion of rosmar ([32]), Brett and Barb of YuGeo4 ([33]) and Jill of Indiana Jill ([34]). Considerable contributions also came from Andrew of 10centcoin ([35]) in the early days, and Sophie of yorkshirekiwi83 ([36]), Travis of vistra ([37]) and Steve of Cats&Dragons ([38]) in the lead up to and during the event. A number of dedicated volunteers also helped out over the weekend.