In May, SuperSaiyanWil traveled from Seattle to New Zealand to join geocachers at the 25 Years of Geocaching NZ! Block Party (GCAKR25).

After a rainy week in the northern part of New Zealand, geocachers from around the world gathered in the city of Rotorua—renowned for its geothermal landscape and Māori culture—to enjoy a 25th Anniversary Block Party under beautifully sunny skies.

On Saturday, the day of the main event, host funkymunkyzone (Chris) gave an opening speech, and Signal and I were ready to greet the excited attendees—many of whom I had already met earlier in the week while handing out Lackey tags and cards.

A highlight of the event was the logbook: a giant globe where attendees could mark their home locations.

The GPS Maze exhibit was my first such experience and was uniquely designed to lead participants through a walkable maze, teaching them about geocaching in New Zealand.

I also took part in the Reviewers Panel alongside TheCoddiwompler, TheCur8or, and LadyPolgara. We answered questions and heard feedback from the community, offering an HQ perspective to the best of my ability.

Several particularly inventive members of the community developed gadget caches that were transformed into Adventures. Solving these new and creative caches was an engaging challenge!

Saturday’s quiz event drew a huge turnout—the space was filled to capacity. Laughter echoed throughout the seven rounds of competitive pop culture, geocaching, and New Zealand trivia. A few jokes about Middle-earth made the rounds, and I even volunteered to answer a tricky question about the location of Geocaching HQ.

To close the evening, attendees participated in a nighttime Adventure Lab at a nearby park. Using flashlights and UV lights, cachers solved puzzles at each location. The entire experience was thrilling and memorable.

Sunday morning began with a CITO (Cache In, Trash Out®) event where volunteers planted 600 native plants—so many people helped that we finished an hour ahead of schedule! The remainder of the day was devoted to scheduled programming, including a gadget cache panel and time spent with geocachers exploring the area. During these adventures, I learned just how much patience is needed for “tree fishing”!

Thank you to funkymunkyzone and Jägersmum for organizing the event, the volunteers for ensuring everyone had a great time, and the many geocachers who attended. Together, you made “25 Years of Geocaching NZ” an unforgettable experience.

This was my first major geocaching event, my first international trip—and a journey I’ll always remember.