Planning for this trip began in June - we knew we would be heading to Adelaide but which way would we go? This depended on our targets. We looked at our list of unclaimed Dragon Zone trophies and picked out several that we could feasibly collect the required number of finds to qualify for the trophy. We then had to identify caches that would meet our targets and from here it was time to plan a route that would take us past the caches we had identified. Any caches too far off our route were discarded and replaced by suitable alternatives.

All was running smoothly until the Christmas in July game was announced. We would be travelling in the latter part of the game. It was difficult to include this in our target caches as we did not know what was required. Once the game began and we understood what we needed to do we could then add other caches to the target list.

We were just getting our heads, yes all four of them, around this when more Dragon Zone trophies were added. Which ones could we meet and which should we ignore? Do we need to add more GA caches and/or do we need to change our route and our targets? We decided on our target list and then our route and timeline. We had just drawn a line under everything and were about to begin printing our caching booklets, route maps and target lists when caught@work published 23 new caches on the Western Ring Path. Earlier we had decided on the caches in the Edgewater Walk series. If we added the new ones on the Western Ring Path and as many of the CCC series as possible, we could probably reach the required number of caches to qualify for the Dragon Zone trophies “Restraining Order Stalker” (Find 100 DZ caches hidden by the same cacher) and “Obsession!=Insanity” (find 50 DZ caches in a day). As the latter would give us our first Blaze Trophy, it was decided to alter everything to include the CCC series.

We usually head out of the Melbourne CBD as soon as we disembark from The Spirit of Tasmania as we do not enjoy city caching. If we were going to tackle the CCC series we would have to start in Docklands, then move to Edgewater walk and the Western Ring Path. Caches in these series also carry nice points for the Christmas in July game. New lists drawn up, alterations made to the route and maps. New line drawn and printing and collating begun. No major changes now (unless something significant gets published just before we leave – we cannot be too inflexible when caching is involved).

It has been some time since we have cached in the Docklands area and our first impression was the large areas of development which have taken place. This development seemed to have impacted on satellite signals as both our GPS units were quite erratic and, in general, took quite some time to settle. The detailed hints were very much appreciated as it enabled us to start searching without waiting for the GPS to settle and so made searching more efficient.

There are many art works around the Docklands precinct and they all add to the visual appeal of the area. Most are shapes and forms with varying textures but this art installation is very different and creates a completely different response from the observer. The required photo, showing Mrs y'stassie at the centre of the discussion, has been added to the Gallery.

Thanks caught@work for this cache and all the caches you have placed around Docklands. And yes we are practising for our dissertation.