GPS Adventure Maze Down Under - Wangaratta
Are you ready for an A-Maze-ing Adventure?
A GPS Adventure Maze Exhibit is coming down under, and will first appear at The Wangaratta Event MEGA (GC8EW45) on the 15th and 16th of January, 2022.
The GPS Adventure Maze Exhibit is a rare event icon that originally appeared in the USA in 2007. The Exhibit, initially hosted by Geocaching HQ, travelled around the USA and Canada until 2015 before being retired. The Czech Geocaching Association were allowed to create their own maze in 2013 and it first appeared in Prague of that year. The Czech maze travelled to the UK and Germany in 2015, back to the Czech Republic in 2017, to Austria in 2018 and is due to return to the Czech Republic in 2022. The Texas Geocaching Association began their own maze in 2019 and appeared in Fort Worth in that year. It has travelled to Georgia, Ohio and Kansas in 2021. Finally, GeoNord are bringing the maze to France for the first time ever in 2022.
This maze, created by Geocaching Victoria, will be the first maze in the southern hemisphere and will make Australia only the 7th country to host a maze in the world.
This is a really big deal!
But what exactly is it?
A GPS MAZE is a special type of event cache. It is a travelling educational exhibition that appears at MEGA and GIGA events and is designed to teach people of all ages about GPS technology and geocaching. Until now it has taken place at only 35 locations in North America and Europe. Through partnership with Geocaching.com, we offer you the opportunity to visit a GPS Maze exhibition for the first time in Australia!
The very rare GPS Adventures Exhibit icon is earned by completing this Exhibit and signing the logbook.
Further details can be found by following this link.
Foundation Friends of the Maze.
This Adventure MAZE Exhibit is being brought to you by Geocaching Victoria, in association with Geocaching.com and through funding from some very gracious sponsors. But to make this maze absolutely A-Maze-ing, a very special group of geocachers have assembled, called Foundation Friends of the Maze, who have all pledged their support to help bring this incredible experience to Australia. You too can join this wonderful group of people and enjoy all the benefits of this club, by following this link.
Want to Attend?
This Adventure Maze Exhibit will be at the Wangaratta Sports and Aquatic Centre, which is the registration area of The Wangaratta Event MEGA event on the weekend of the 15th and 16th of January, 2022. There is disabled access, plenty of parking and restroom facilities. The Adventure Maze Exhibit is totally free to attend and is open to the general public.
Exhibit Hours:
- Friday 14th – 7pm - 9pm – Special pre-event opening for Foundation Friends of the Maze only.
- Saturday 15th – 10am – 4pm – Open to the public
- Sunday 16th – 10am – 2pm – Open to the public
We anticipate the highest crowds to be on Saturday morning, so if you can wait, please consider coming on Sunday, or beat the crowds by joining the Foundation Friends of the Maze and get your special pre-event ticket for the Friday afternoon.
Please, if you are coming, help us plan ahead and minimize wait times. Log your will attend for this event and PLEASE include which day you plan to attend and how many people there will be in your team in your "Will Attend" log. Also, if you are attending, please make sure you also log your Will Attend for The Wangaratta Event MEGA event too as this helps us better gauge the number of people who will be attending both events.
What should you know?
- Except for the Friday afternoon pre-event for the Foundation Friends of the Maze, entry to the maze is on a first-come-first serve basis.
- Only a limited number of people can be admitted into the maze at a time.
- There will be queues.
- Based on the recent experiences in Texas and Europe, a 2 hour wait time can, at times, be expected.
- We anticipate the longest lines to be on the Saturday morning and the shortest to be on the Sunday afternoon.
How can you help?
The greatest way that you can help is by joining our special group, the Foundation Friends of the Maze.
Content. You can also help by sending us content. We would love to include as many people as possible from our geocaching community in this maze and so your favourite geocaching photos or geocaching stories (max 250 words) would be wonderful. Feel free to email them to us: gemmasiemensma@gmail.com
Volunteers. The volunteers that will help run this Maze will be organised through the Wangaratta Event MEGA event volunteer program, so when the time comes for them to ask for volunteers, please consider signing up to be part of this wonderful experience.
Sponsorship. This is not a cheap endeavour to undertake and we would like to thank the gracious sponsors who have signed up already. Geocaching Victoria, as well as the Foundation Friends of the Maze are also providing much needed funds to run this a-maze-ing venture. However, further sponsorship opportunities do still exist and so if you, or someone you know might be interested in a sponsorship deal with the maze, please get in contact with us.
COVID Safe Plan
The COVID Safe plan that encompasses The Wangaratta Event MEGA event and all satellite events associated with The Wangaratta Event MEGA event can be found by following this link. Please make sure you have read and understand these guidelines and adhere to them at all times while attending our event. Thank you for your cooperation, we are looking forward to a wonderful weekend of geocaching.