Geocaching is essentially a worldwide treasure hunt built on GPS coordinates: you’re looking for hidden containers, each holding a log book and sometimes a trackable item to pass along. There are over 3 million geocaches hidden all around the world, and more than 80,000 of which are in Australia. Finding them takes a GPS-enabled device and the coordinates, and combining the hunt with a proper walk changes how you pay attention to a track you might otherwise walk straight past. These are three Australian trails where that combination genuinely works.
Mid North Coast Wander
The Mid North Coast Wander in NSW runs through Middle Brother National Park, then Coorabakh National Park, Hannam Vale and the Lansdowne State Forest. It covers 160km of forest and coastal hinterland country, and the high point, literally, is the Lansdowne Escarpment, where the trail climbs to around 600 metres above sea level. There are more than 200 traditional geocaches along the route, finishing with a “Final Mystery” cache at the end of the trail. Fit and dedicated walkers can finish it in around 15 hours, but I’d plan on 2-3 days rather than trying to rush it. There’s good camping at Coopernook Forest Park, with further options around Harrington, though come prepared for mosquitoes, which are aggressive at dusk. Decent insect repellent or a portable bug trap is worth the pack weight.
Great North Walk
The Great North Walk runs from Sydney to Newcastle. The main track is 250km long and starts at the Obelisk in Macquarie Place, which is also where you’ll find the first geocache, “Great North Walk 1.” It’s a nanocache, meaning it’s tiny and genuinely difficult to find. There are over 500 geocaches along the way, and for some of them you’ll need to solve clues or puzzles on geocaching.com or through the app just to get the coordinates. This isn’t a beginner route. Large sections run through genuine bushwalking country, not parkland. If doing it all in one stint doesn’t appeal, the Great North Walk website has details on breaking the trail down into 30 shorter hikes.
Cape to Cape Track
On the southwest coast of Western Australia, the Cape to Cape Track covers 126 km, starting at the Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park and following the coast through the Margaret River region. The track moves through stark headlands, dense forest and long stretches of sandy beach, and there are numerous geocaches along the way, several with encrypted coordinates you’ll need to work out before you can even start looking. The caches overlooking Conto’s Beach are worth the extra effort.
Three trails is not a complete map of geocaching country in Australia, but each of these covers enough distance and enough variety of terrain that the search genuinely adds something to the walk rather than just padding it out. If you’re already comfortable navigating and want a reason to slow down and look more closely at ground you’d otherwise walk straight past, any of the three is a solid place to start.
Image Jake Ingle Unsplash
