2025-03-07 -37 145

Location

On Burwood Road, in Hawthorn.

Participants

Expedition 1:

Lachie

Expedition 2:

Stevage

Expeditin 3:

Johnwrw

Expedition 4:

LauraG

Expedition 5:

Patrick

Expedition 1 (Lachie)

Lachie only had time for a rush job. No dilly dallying. What a look though.

Expedition 2 (Stevage)

It's a day where nothing is urgent, nothing is important, and it's warm. Early autumn, pretty warm, but no longer hot. The geohash is calling but I can't quite get moving. KT and I are meeting up at some point, but she's trapped in chore land.

I ponder various routes, overcomplicating things with considerations of the new bike ramp still being constructed at Gipps St, and eventually settle on the normal route I'd take to the southeastern suburbs: through Yarra Bend Park and up and over a kind of mountain bike trail in a straight line then down Walmer St.

Eventually, as is usually the way, with no clear reason for this being the moment that I launch, I launch.

It's good to get some exercise and I ride hard at first, before the warm air makes itself felt and I have to slow down. It becomes a slow pootle along the Merri Creek and through Yarra Bend. I'm going so slowly at one point that a woman walking some dogs assumes I have stopped to let them pass and apologises.

Burwood Road brings back a few memories. I used to commute along this short stretch, when I lived in Camberwell and worked in the city. Most of my route was back streets, but this short bit was a bit hard to avoid. Not that it ever felt particularly safe.

Today, traffic is light and I roll to the point with ease. I'm surprised not to get a green circle as I zoom past, and briefly contemplate going back to attempt a Speed Racer Achievement - it's only 40kph at this time of day.

But the warmth has got me feeling lethargic and lazy, so instead I just park the bike and scurry into the empty road to get a couple of photos.

In the park opposite, there is lush grass in the deep shade of a Morton Bay Fig. It's so inviting I can't help but plonk down for a few mintues. A large number of fresh leaves scattered about on the grass seems out of place, and I gaze upwards to discover its source: a flock of sulphur-crested cockatoos gleefully chomping away, cutting the stems and letting them fall.

Why? Who knows. But they seem to be enjoying themselves. Bit like geohashing, really.

Deja vu note: I have definitely visited this spot before, both on bike and in a car. Doesn't seem to be easy to search for such proof in Strava. Ah well.

Photos

Expedition 3 (Johnwrw)

John had no time for beveraging, but had time for geohashing. A man with his priorities straight.

Expedition 4 (Laura G)

Most people go to a geohash and then celebrate with beers nearby. Laura G went to a brewery then celebrated with a geohash nearby.

Expedition 5 (Patrick)

A perfect hash. A unicorn. This hash sits literally on my ride in to work each day.

Initial assessment from aerial photography suggested that the hashpoint might be on the tram lines. However, the registration of those images is not always perfect, and reports from earlier expeditions indicated that indeed the hash was in the traffic lanes rather than the tram lines, guaranteeing that it was on my ride in.

Sadly, today was a work-from-home day. Curses. Foiled again — at least an excellent opportunity for a déjà vu achievement. I made an attempt in the morning at rallying my co-workers and suggesting that we could all go in but (even after I pointed out the geohashing opportunities), I obtained little interest.

Rescuing victory from the jaws of defeat, I needed to be on that side of town anyway, so I planned to ride through the area. The reason I needed to be in that part of town was in preparation for a music festival, so that involved loading 15 kilograms on to my back (2 kg of useful camping equipment, 13 kg of “maybe just in case”). This was uncomfortable but not too encumbering. I was soon on my bike, going down familiar streets (it being, as mentioned, my usual route to work).

I got to the hash, made sure to ride through it, and then turned off to the side to do the dubious phone-app-location-checking-stepping-back-on-to-the-road. Eventually my phone confirmed I was in location, so I took a photo, got on my bike, and headed onwards.