GDU was originally created by Craig Michel (Seemyshell/SMS) in 2016 with the vision to tell the Australian geocaching stories to life. Seemyshell was the President for NSW Geocaching, and was part of the organising team for the Morisset Mega event in 2018.
In 2019 when Craig decided to relocate to the USA to further his career ambitions, the decision to continue the GDU podcast was seized by Teri-Ann Kelly (PurpleCacheEater/PCE) and Gary Tattersall (Tatt2Squared). The duo fell into a rhythm quickly producing the monthly live show as successfully as SMS had started.
2020 saw PCE going solo as Tatts’ career clashed with the managing the show. By this stage PCE had a handle on how things ran and was growing the fan base monthly. The next two years of lockdowns and restrictions from COVID may have restricted travel but it did not dampen the enthusiasm for the monthly live show with guest speakers lining up to appear on the show.
As restrictions started to ease with travel becoming possible as people were finally allowed to leave their homes, PCE had the vision to tell the stories of the various events occurring in Australia, which proved popular amongst the Australian geocaching community.
In October 2020, PCE started a monthly photo competition within the GDU Facebook group which rapidly gained interest and budding photographers sharing their visual captures of their geocaching adventures. After the initial few weeks, PCE realised the opportunity to turn these splendid photos into something real, and that saw the beginning of the annual GDU calendar. The first calendar published was for 2022, featured the 12 monthly winners of the 2021 photo competition with a monthly bonus from longterm sponsor, GeoStuff.com.au. The 2024 GDU calendar is now available from GeoStuff.
2022 saw GDU attract international attention with SMS has continuing to promote GDU with regular appearances and interviews from USA podcasters, vloggers and industry people; and Patrik Noren (FoundIt! Podcast) in Sweden connecting with GDU in many different ways including interviews and travel bug races. PCE has been interviewed on several USA podcasts also, which is extending the reach for GDU and showcasing the amazing geocaching adventures to be found in Australia.
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