Valentine in the Queen's Gardens Toowoomba East, Queensland, Australia
By lochb, Team Beaufort and Bolt es on 15-Feb-09. Waypoint GC1K8EW

One more coin to log - if you have it, could you please log it out? I'm archiving this event now. Thanks all for coming! Check out the now regular events organised by Toowoomba cachers!

Thanks for arranging and holding the event. We enjoyed ourselves meeting some fellow cachers and learned quite a bit too. Well Done!

We found 2 caches on the day on a quick trip to Toowoomba

We attended and had a great time, nice to catch up with other cachers

Thank you to everyone who attended this event - it was great to see so many old and young (looking at cache finds) cachers, from near and far. I will follow up with a few local cachers to see if we can organise a regular get-together in Toowoomba.

Thanks to Wingaap who could not come but was able to send a messenger and a collection of new cache containers he has built. Thanks, Tony! Thanks also to everyone else who stood up and spoke about good and bad hides, containers, what kids like etc. I hope the next event organisers will put some time aside for sessions like this.

I didn't participate actively in the discussion over the cannon, and rather let the engineer solve the problem (we mathematicians are good at delegating practical problems) . Collected the coordinates from him at the end but unfortunately left retrieval of the cache too late and now it is disabled... if the coordinates change, I may have to resort to doing the maths myself...[B)]

And a big thank you to the two co-organisers Team Beaufort and Bolt Es! We did it!!!

There are still a few geocoins listed on the cache page - could you please log them out as I will have to archive this cache shortly. If you haven't logged your attendance yet - this is your last chance!

Looks like this is my 1500th find log - woohoo!

Great day had by all and another successful event. Thank you LochB and Team Beaufort for your efforts as well. If it was not for your initial contact this event would not have happened.

My first event. It was great to meet other caches as i didn't even know any of the locals. Unfortunately only the 1 cache for the w/e (already had most around the area). Thanks for organising a great event

What an excellent event. We had a great evening the night before sharing a meal with some of the teams which was followed by a terrific day meeting new people. We found 19 caches over the weekend and had an absolutely great time. Thanks everyone who were involved in organising the event. Dropped our 1000 Finds Geo-Achievement Geocoin in to be discovered.

Many thanks to the team that put this event together, I know the effort involved. It was great to have a chance to meet some Queensland cachers. This visit could start something new in caching for me - chasing events around Australia, and the world??? Of course there is the added advantage of visiting virgin areas and scoring a lot of finds along the way. Thanks to the Toowoomba cachers - I managed 28 finds over four days, and loved it.

[This entry was edited by sushilord on Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 1:34:43 AM.]

Our first event which I enjoyed but little K not so much. He wanted to go straight to the cache and skip the hard stuff. Got a little sunburnt and some valuable tips from the veteran cachers. Thanks all.

Dropped a coin.

First event for us, very well organised and very friendly a great introduction to geocaching. Did a few caches while in Toowoomba. Thanks.

Found Ok Logged 41
Thanks to every one involved

All 4 of THENANKS had a wonderful time in Toowoomba today attending the well organised event. Our thanks go to the hard working organisers and to the weather Gods who produced a beautiful day for us. [^] The journey around town was educational and interesting and with the junior NANKS on a bike and a scooter it was not even painful!

A huge roll up of geocachers, a massive display of trackables and an informative discussion all made for a successful event. We even managed to pick up a couple of caches on the way home.

Cheers,

THENANKS

What a wonderful day - wonderful weekend really. We headed up Saturday morning in the pouring rain thinking...hmmmmmm.....we'll wait and see. No need to worry, the day dawned with clear blue skies A huge THANK YOU to Birgit, Paul and Kelly for all your organising (and sleepless nights, I believe). Great to see some 'old faces' as well as the new ones. 10 points to the couple who have only just signed up to Geocaching. I hope you enjoyed yourselves and learnt a few tips along the way.

Total finds for us for the weekend = 23

WOW, what a great weekend [^], well organised event. It was good to meet up with some of the Cachers at a pre event dinner. Great weather so was able to find some caches as well as meet up with other caches, some of which we had meet before and plenty of new faces. Enjoyed the tour of town with the box of goodies at the end . Little Fuddleys enjoyed meeting and playing with other little Cachers, while we got to extend and share our knowledge with others that were present. Thanks to everyone who helped with organising this great day, look forward to the next one .
Managed finish the weekend with 25 smiley faces and 0 DNF
TFTCs

Had a great time on our 1st event and it was fantastic to see so many other addicts in one place.Finally able to put a name to a face.We did 8 on Sunday after the meeting and enjoyed the walk around Toowoomba immensly. We have often passed through but never really "looked" at the old buildings.Thanks Lochb, Team Beaufort and Bolt es for a well organized and interesting event. I hope there will be more to come.Cheers Silky Seekers.

Having misinterpreted the cache details, Gunnie69 was a little slow out of the barrier. Fortunately, a few whip cracks and things were back on track... Kind of...

A fantastic event with a huge turnout and another great opportunity to put faces to names. Thoroughly enjoyed the day, hats off to the organisers.

Inkeeping with the current trend to "Flash your Stats", I rolled in and out of town today with a total of 28 finds and 1 DNF.

Cheers

Dropping in Geocoin.

What a great event! Lots of geocachers, great weather, an interesting stroll around the city, an excellent collection of travellers and interesting discussions both formal and informal.
Well done Bolt es, Team Beaufort and LochB.
The dinner on Saturday night was as good as another event. Thanks for organising that too.
We enjoyed catching up with other cachers and meeting cachers we hadn't crossed paths with before.
We look forward to the next Toowoomba event when we will allow more time so that we can tackle many more caches in the area.
We found a measly 6 caches while travelling to and from Toowoomba and in Toowoomba.

Thanks for a great intro to Geocaching!!
Thrombolek/Team Briese

What a beautiful location for an event! Much fun was clearly had by all and it was great to see the families out sharing the activities. Thanks to the speakers (both in person and by proxy) for the great info and also for giving the kids a chance to have a say. Great to meet new people and catch up with those I've meet before. Thanks Birgit, Team Beaufort and Bolt es for your efforts and enthusiasm. Cheers to all - svn07
PS 12 smilies and 1 sad face for the day

Thanks for organising a fantastic event! Loved the walk around the city - brought back highschool memories for my sister and me... Met some lovely cachers for the first time and renewed acquaintance with some familiar faces. A very social and fun time! Over the weekend, I managed to nab 28 caches as a result of coming to this event. Thanks again!

Thanks for a great day and a lovely walk around the Toowoomba CBD.

Many thanks for organising a great day. Thoroughly enjoyed the walk around town and meeting and catching up with so many cachers. Managed to find 30 for the weekend.

A great event thanks to lochb, Bolt es & Team Beaufort for organising.

Looking forwards to a regular catch up.

Only logged the even and the new cache released on the day.

Really enjoyed the forums for the newbies. A great idea.

Thanks Heaps

Congratulations to Bolt Es, Team Beaufort and lochb for a well organised & run event [^][^][^]

Toowoomba turned on some great weather for the day after the windy wet 3 days prior.

We enjoyed the tour of town with excellent company that ended with more surprises. Geo daughter meet the Little Fuddleys[:X] and enjoyed playing and chatting for the rest of the day, while we got to extend our knowledge with the presentations.

what a great event, many thanks to Bolt Es, Team Beaufort and lochb for such a well organised event. Also to totalube and latandlong for their input, I learnt a lot!! great stuff. great to meet so many other cachers and swap stories, also great walk around my old home town.

but by far the most entertaining was the discussion over that cannon..... what a big effort, both for the setter and the solvers!!

found 26 in toowoomba, and 9 on the way.

thanks again.

Thanks lochb, Team Beaufort and Bolt es for a fantastic event. Saturday night was great and the golf club had some delicious food. So much so L&LJ's and I went back there for breakfast. Had fun walking around town with our "little group" doing the multi. It was good to catch up with old caches and make friends with some newbies. Can't wait for the next one.

What a really well attended event. It was obviously the perfect excuse for everyone to make the trek up the hill and discover all the unfound caches in the area. I didn't have too many to find as I come up every now and then to visit family but I still managed 10 for the weekend. Great to meet up with everyone. Thanks Team Beaufort, Bolt es and lochb for your efforts in putting it all together.

Sorry I forgot to say that we did 18 caches while in Toowoomba for this event and that didn't included the event or the event cache. We also did one in Withcott on the way home.

Thanks for a great event! Congratulations to the organisers - well done.

Great to catch up with some old and new faces.

We had 7 finds and 1 DNF for the weekend.

See you all again at the next one.

Great event...The Timmos first. The multi was great fun, as was the TB and GC swap meet. Thankyou Lochb and others for a fabulous time.

logging in and out Trek to Castlebrook TB

Enjoyed the walk and meeting some fellow cachers. I look forward to the next event. Only found 1 other cache this weekend. As a local I thought I'd keep out of the way and not get run over in the rush of visiting cachers.
Thanks to all involved with the organizing.

Kev

Thankyou for a well organised event. We really enjoyed our first event. Thank you for the Multi that was released today. We will definitely attend the next gathering, if I am not working. Congratulations to the organisers Lochb, Team beaufort and Bolt es. Found 5 caches in total today.

Although I couldn't stay long, it was good to meet up with a few of the local cachers and put names to faces. Looking forward to having more get-togethers with the local cachers. It was good fun chasing around the city for the multi too - even though I got accused of cheating for using my moped!
A big thankyou to lochb, Team Beaufort & Bolt Es for putting this on.

A great excuse to get away from work for 3 days. Had a blast, found 4 Fri, 32 sat & 4 sun. Lots of new faces & plenty of old. It feel funny caching on sun with no rain.

Geoff Mel Leah Tara

Had a great day out getting around beautiful Queens Gardens. It was great to finally meet up with other cachers, and to meet fellow cachers from the Gold Coast, Doofa Fun! Many thanks to lochb, Team Beaufort and Bolt es for hosting this event.

My 1st Event. I enjoyed the whole week-end. It's good to put faces to the names seen on the Logs and caches put out.I picked up 17 caches and 1 DNF. Thanks and congratulations to the organisers Lochb, Team beaufort and Bolt es for a great event.

11:45 another great event good to catch up with everyone both old and new. the wander around the streets was interesting. Thanks to all the organisers involved in getting it organised and organising the dinner on the Saturday night as well.

It was great to attend this and meet up with some cachers I had only know by logs. The part was a great location and I think that we may have had a record number of cachers around an old cannon trying to figure out it's subtle hints. I think the session at the end was helpful.

Thanks for a great event.

A quick drive by to catch up to some faces.... Sadly not a lot of time given the other avtivities on this weekend

Well done to lochb, Team Beaufort and Bolt es for a great, well organised event. It was good to catch up with other cachers and pick up some useful new knowledge.

lochb, Team Beaufort and Bolt es a very specail thank you for organising this event. I think this was by far the largest number of cachers I have seen at an event. Even more significant was the distance that many cachers were prepared to travel to attend.



PS 17 caches for the day

[This entry was edited by ruzzelz on Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 2:20:01 AM.]

Gosh the Mads only managed to make a very small dent in the nuimber of unfound caches in Toowoomba for us. Tried hard but there are only so many hours in a day. Thanks to the organizers for a great event - we enjoyed our historical walk around the town. It was great to catch up with so many cachers and to meet the Fuddleys finally. Thanks for a great day.

A hearty congratulations to Bolt Es, Team Beaufort and lochb for a well organised & run event. [^] [^] [^] [^]

Enjoyed the hike around Toowoomba - interesting & educational, the post cache discussion session and also Saturday evening get together..

It was especially enjoyable for us newbies (Ally Searchig & myself)

We learnt heaps & it was nice to meet & talk with some fellow cachers.

Has given us a whole new dimension to our caching...

We will be looking forward to our next event

Thanks again....

Took HipHop Smurf to this event

For me, the most entertainment came from standing around THAT cannon with at least 10 others discussing things I know of, but not about . When the spirit level, two REAL compasses, tape measure, a laptop, and protractor came out, I began to think of the tower of Bable [^]. There were so many opinions, I felt a brawl was imminent .

It was about then I was called away to speak to the group of caching (how the hell did I get into that) [?]. Thank you Birgit for your faith in me. I hope someone got something from it all.

Good on ya "lochb", "Team Beaufort" and "Bolt es". This event must have taken a good deal of organisation. Name tags for everyone, a dinner the evening prior, a multi cache and excellent weather on the day. You must have some powerful friends .

Thanks Bolt es, Team Beaufort and LochB for organising such a great event, and a great wander through the centre of Toowoomba. Definitely picked a find day for it.

Also good to catch with all the cachers, local and far a field, young and old.

Cheers[^]

Got here late, having dropped in to visit a friend first, so it was 11am by the time we head off. By Waypoint 1 we'd pick up a fellow caching buddy by the name of John (sorry John, can't remember your caching name).

Very pleasant wander around downtown Toowoomba, even if we didn't find the cache at the end (I think somewhere along the way we stuffed something up, but I didn't feel *that* bad about it, as John did too).

We trudged back to find out where we'd gone astray and arrived in the middle of the talks, so hung around for a listen for a while before being dragged off by GeoMrs and the GeoKidlets who were clambering for lunch.

All in all, a very pleasant day out (minus the bad back I started, and finished with).

Dropping off some bugs and coins.

As a prelued to this event we had a great dinner at the golf club with about 40 people turning up. see photos
Weather report
sunny and about 18 at the moment

Dropping off trackables

Dropping off TBs

I'm sending along one of my new caches. Those attending will get an advanced preview of the multi, which will be released into the wilds in the not to distant future. I can but hope that it'll give some enjoyment.

Many thanks to Totalube for transporting said caches.

ps: Monty Python fans will need no explanation

Wishing everyone a happy Valentine's day and dropping in some TBs

Just dropping in some TB's and coins.

See you all tomorrow!

[This entry was edited by NastySteve on Saturday, February 14, 2009 at 10:47:18 PM.]

Yes, showers today (Saturday) in Toowoomba... and it is foggy. Perfect weather to go caching, guaranteed muggle free...

The forecast for tomorrow is morning drizzle, but then fine. Unless the Bureau of Meteorology had a very bad day when they made this forecast, the event is going ahead as planned.

Dinner tonight for those who are here already - we have booked a table for 30 people at the City Golf Club Bistro. Just join the largest group, the one with gadgets spread all over the table, and with name tags. See you there!

A TB I forgot to log in.

Dropping in 1 coin two bugs

Steve and Audrey will attend. Look forward to our first geo event.

DOH, DOH, DOH.... Can't get off work to attend this one.

I have however dropped in some goodies that I will send along with Gunnie69... [^]

Happy gathering...

Dropping in some bugs and coins for tomorrows big day.

Dropping in TBs.

Geocoins in

Just dropping off some travel bugs.

Even more travel bugs getting dropped off.

Annnnddd just a few more travel bugs - we have accumulated way way tooo many.

Good lord I wish the travel bugs I wanted to drop off were all in order in the list so I could drop them all off at once.

Just one more.

Dropping in 3 GC's and a new TB to start its travels.

Dropping in some trackables to send off in another direction....

I'll be ruzzelzing up a few caches via Ma Ma Creek on the way in and attacking the Queen of the mountains from the southern flank.

Looks like my weekend plans have fallen nicely into place... Gunnie69 is now free to attend this event. [^]

There are enough topics to discuss so won;t offer up any more. Looking forward to meeting a few more fellow cachers.

Cheers

Have confirmed I will be able to attend, but only for the first part of the morning - unfortunately have other commitments in the afternoon.
Looking forward to meet some other cachers.

Sadly a change in circumstances means I'll have to miss this one I was really looking for to celebrating my birthday with my geocaching friends.

Things I would have liked to discuss:

1. Cachers that dont not hide the cache as found...or better ie if you find a cache exposed....hide it!
2. Cachers that dont bother to reseal plastic bag containing the log book.
3. Cachers that dont ensure the lid is sealed correctly.
4. Insipid logs.....a ' TFTC' does little to encourage a hider to make the effort to hide more. If the hiders didnt hide you'd have nothing to find. The least you could do is to say 'thanks' and make some comment regarding the location...the method of hide...something! Of this ilk is the "find x of xx for the day". It maybe important to you...but how does that help the cacher determine whether you enjoyed the cache or not?
5. Cachers that dont carry some 'kit' whilst out caching. How hard is it to sharpen a pencil, replace a torn bag or for that matter replace a log book if necessary. The number of 'needs maintenance' that are placed citing "no pen", "broken pencil" & "log book full" is amazing. Go on put together a simple maintenance kit and help out a fellow cacher.
6. There is nothing wrong with using an Eclipse tin. However, it must be noted that they are not waterproof. Used in a protected environment they are a great container. If using an Eclipse tin....please use a small plastic bag for the log book...dont use a standard sandwich bag and stuff it in. Think about making a log book (cut down a standard spirax type) to suit the container. Give up the rolled sheets of paper. Also, take the time and paint the tin.
7. Caches containers in plastic bags. If the cache container is not capable of keeping out the elements.....get a new container. The plastic bag eventually fills with water and the cache becomes a foul smelling slimy item. Either that or it becomes a breeding ground for slugs, snails & spiders.
8. Cachers that continally complain about the standard of caches. Stop complaining and put out a good cache. Most newbies place caches based on what they have found. If newbies find good caches then they will place good caches (hopefully).
9. Micros in the bush. Save your micros for an area where it is impossible to place a reasonably sized cache. I enjoy a clever micro....but a micro in a stump in the middle of the bush is not my favourite cache by any means.
10. Nano logs.....I understand that a rolled 'log book' is required. However it doesnt have to fill the entire container. Give a thought to the cacher having to replace said log.
11. Cachers that do not practice 'fair swapping'. Example "swapped matchbox car for a nice feather I picked up on the way". Would you consider this a fair swap if this happened at your cache? No wonder caches get depleted of decent swaps and filled with rubbish.
12. TBs and and Geocoins are not a swap items.

I've rambled on far to long.

Well done Birgit Have fun one and all....looks like a great outing is in store.

Happy hunting
Wingy

We would love to have been able to attend, unfortunately everything conspired against us.

Could have sent our personal coins along with some other local Bundy'ites, of whom it seems a few are attending.

Ooh well!

Enjoy the event everyone!

Maybe next time.

Dropping off another geocoin.

I'm very disappointed to have to say that I won't be able to attend. I have to head off to Canberra which puts a few holes in my plans. I hope everyone has a great time and I'll catch up at another event soon.

GeoPilots will attend. We use an Etrex Hcx, but also have a Nokia N95 8Gb with Geocache Navigator installed which works, so may be able to help Timmos.
Might catch up with a few on Saturday night if the dinner at the Golf Club is still on.

Adding another geocoin!

Dropping off TB.

Timmos ( Mum, Dad, WildlifeBen and the Princess (2Ad2Ch) )coming to the Sunday event. Cant make Sat night.
I woud live to touch base with anyone geocaching with Geocache Navigator application on a Nokia N95. I have troubles with mine.

also have trips planned for Roma, miles and Cairns and Inglewood btw now and April...so happy to move a few TBs on their journey.

Be warned I am an Extreme Newby...dumb questions are a definite probability.

The menu for dinner on Saturday can be found here: http://www.citygolf.com.au/index.php?page_id=46

Dropping a couple of TB's

Late notice, but I'll be coming too. Up to 3 geokids may also be in attendance. Looking forward to it.

Be warned! I will be bringing my video camera to shoot some footage of the event to give to Spindoc Bob to put in his GeoTalk Video episode. So want big smiles and lots of waving.

If you have something interesting to say or just want to see yourself on video, feel free to come and see me and we will get you on the small screen! .

Dropping in some GC's and TB's.

The Weekend Calendar Gods have smiled so I will be driving up the hill at sparrow's on Sunday morning. Looks like some great topics already so nil to add. svn07

DOH! DOH! DOH!
Probably a Freudian slip on our part… Or maybe just not adhering to the *7P’s* , however regardless of which one it was, we simply assumed “Valentine in the Queen’s Park†was going to be on Valentine’s day not the day after . Due to work sending one of us to the other end of the East Coast on Sunday, we will now be unable to attend regardless of how much we were looking forward to it. Hope everyone has a great time and we look forward to the next local event cache.

* Prior Preparation & Planning Prevents P155 Poor Performance.

Added some updates to the site...

Looking forward to this as i've never been to an event cache in the past. I'm just in the process of organising my first cache to hide in the toowoomba area so any tips would be much appreciated.

Can now confirm that Team Fuddley will attend Any suggestions for accommodation would be greatly received. Motel or Cabin would be great.

From the GCA thread on hiding caches;
http://forum.geocaching.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=11668

I will bring a few hard copies of the summary/wiki entry I am working on, plus an electronic copy. There have been some good post and would be good to have a real round circle discussion on the suggestions raised.

Well I may be able to get to this one as I'm out at Oakey from the 8th - 20th. I have it locked in at this stage so if all goes well I'll see you all there.

I like what L&L Junkie wants to know. I would also like clarification on what a quality cache is please. I've seen some interesting threads on the subjects but the authors caches haven't been anything different.

Mr and Mrs Lat&Long Junkie will be attending. It's been a while since my last Toowoomba raid and the unfounds have built up nicely. Perhaps a romantic day caching on Saturday is in order before the event [:X].
Topics I'd like to see addressed:
1. Caches placed on creek banks where they'll be washed away
2. Pens/pencils placed in the plastic log bag poke holes in the bag.
3. Many people don't re-seal the plastic log bag.
4. Eclipse boxes are NOT water-proof.
5. How to find caches in summer WITHOUT getting out of an air-conditioned car.

All 4 of THENANKS plan on enjoying this event. The weekends fill up so quickly!

Accommodation book from Friday Looking forward to it been a while since I stayed in Toowoomba.

Sounds interesting. I am planning to be there.

See You There

We are planning on attending. Newbie thing sounds good.