As Munzee has grown over the years, the game has evolved in so many more ways than any of the co-founders could have imagined. We’ve certainly had our fair share of growing pains, but in its essence Munzee has tried to stick to its core goal of getting people out into the world. No one knows this better than those players who have been with us since the beginning. This week’s Player of the Week is Tharon Knoetze (AdventureTharon).
Who are you?
I’m Tharon Knoetze, known as AdventureTharon. I wanted a name connected with the other passion/hobby I have, my motorcycle, an 1150 BMW Adventure.
Where in the world do you live?
In Dunedin – New Zealand, the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago region (so I’m more “down under” than Australia)
Also, I’m pleased to say that I had the opportunity to meet the king and queen of Munzee, Marie (Hunnies) and Tim (dt07751), and was able to catch-up with them while they were on a trip here.
How long have you played Munzee?
I started playing the game in August 2011.
How did you find Munzee?
I’ve been an avid cacher since before getting hooked on Munzee and had several caches hidden around the area I live in. Whilst on a finding spree, I discovered a QR code on the inside of a container lid. I took down the webpage that was printed below the QR code and couldn’t wait to get home to see what this is all about. This scavenger hunt sounded like a lot of fun, and I was in any way looking for an excuse to upgrade my cell phone to a smartphone. The more caps I got the more hooked I became..
What do you most enjoy about Munzee?
Well, it has taken me to places that I have never visited before. Since I started playing, I have found munzees on a holiday in Sydney, Melbourne and 6 different States in the USA.
I’ve had my fair share of 20 hour days (ranging from very cold, snow covered days, to very hot 105F days) to get my Winner, First Loser, Lucky 7, and 100k Day badges.
I have also gotten to meet Matt along with Scott at Munzee HQ whilst visiting McKinney on our USA trip in 2016. The photo of me in the featured image with them was taken in the shop whilst stocking up and moaning and groaning about sizes of the t-shirts (LOL).
I am a member of a clan —Creed. We all enjoy the game, but with no pressure
I enjoy deploying munzees as well and as I’m the only active player in my region at the moment I have to travel a 400km round trip to deploy so most of the time these days I concentrate on deploying virtual munzees as it’s easier for me to put it out quicker than wait a month to do the trip to Southland. I do love to support special munzees especially the ones for a very valuable and good cause e.g. Breast Cancer Ribbon etc. ( The alarm setting for 2am in the morning to get at least a special munzee in the shop does not always work out and I miss the time frames ..) And I also appreciate fellow munzee’ers sharing their info on gardens in other parts of the world as I do love supporting those gardens too.
It’s also a fun and easy game to play and suitable for all ages. I really like being in the outdoors, and it’s great to meet players from other parts of the country and the world.
What is on your wish list?
Well I’m way passed my 1000 days, almost at 2000 days and am a member of the Millionaire Club, so next target must be to double those numbers. I enjoy the way Rob and his team keep coming up with new ideas to keep the game fresh, so I’m always looking out for their new challenges and it was fun helping with some translations into my mother tongue which took the game for me personally into a new direction, thank you Rob, appreciate.
I would like to see some of the other States in the USA, especially Florida where I could probably triple my points (LOL). I would also like to recruit more players for the game as it is really a fun game with lots to do and to see especially once it’s grown on you and you are as passionate as I’ve become.
Tell us about yourself!
I was born and raised in South Africa and moved to New Zealand in 2006. I’ve been in the South African Police Force for more than 20 years and the past 10 years in Dept. of Corrections as a Principle Corrections Officer. I love to travel and although only having one weekend a month off, I make the most of it by travelling away from home for as far as the road can take me. I also enjoy participating in an endurance motorcycle event that is held once a year in New Zealand, this year was my 7th year participating. The past 3 years my planned holidays were overseas trips to Countries/Cities with plenty of Munzees to cap. Work secondments sometimes keeps me absent from the game for longer periods than I would like to be.
Other hobbies include:
So besides Munzee, as mentioned before, I’m a keen motorcyclist and I also like tramping (hiking), and when time permits, I’ll try and find some caches or do maintenance on my own caches. These all keep me pretty busy because time is a scarce commodity being full time employed.
Any last words?
A big thank you to my friends who put my name forward to be POTW, and of course to Munzee HQ for trying to keep the game entertaining. Finally, a thank you to all players that put out their munzees for me to find. MHQ, do not forget NZ!!!
AdventureTharon also included some socials, so cap away!
