< What is Geocaching?>

Ok - I've had a few people U2U / Email me asking just what Geocaching is.

If you want the long version go here:

http://www.geocaching.com/about/

My version is the short answer:

What a good excuse to get out and about. Spend more time driving with out knowing when you'll be back and where you will end up. Then Geocaching (Pronounced "Cashing") is for you.

Basically all you need is a GPSr (Global Positioning System Reciever), transpor and a sence of adventure.

People, like me, hide boxes - called caches in the bush. This is public land as private land holders tend to get upset. A cache will contain generally a logbook, pen and some swaps from a two dollar shop for kiddies.

Step (1) You go to www.geocaching.com and type in your post code. This will give you a list of how many caches and in which direction / distance from you postcode. For example I have 90 within 100 miles (160km) from 2830 - Dubbo. Sydney has 501 caches and Melbourne has 516 and Brisbane 218. Have a go with your post code.

Step (2) Anyhow, once you choose a cache that seems easy, they have star ratings and logs below like the forum then you simply type the cache coordinates into the GPSr and it will point to where the cache is and haw far away it is while you drive, walk, ride or tram towards it.

Step (3) Not so easy because rivers, buildings, roads and no right turns make getting there hard but once you arrive the cache could be hidden anywhere within a 15 metre radius, sometimes even 30 meters as they are not an exact tool but close enough.

Step (4) So you find the cache, Take somthing and replace it with somthing you brough along that will fit in. Kids lover this part. You VW has a rest while you fill in the log book and read previous entries. Replace the cache just the way you found it and enjoy your new found spot.

Step (5) Finally when you get home you can leave a log on the cache page and your user name will have added 1 find to your tally.

Why, Why WHY!:
Well it may be a little geeky but the bonus is finding the most amazing places that nobody would bother to tell you about. People don't do it for the $2 treasure. Thats for the kids who don't appreciate the country road, hidden harbour, secluded forest trail or secret waterfall. These caches are just a reason to get out of the house. You don't need a $1000 GPS. They are available for $150 bucks from a swap shop or Ebay new for a little more.

How big is geocaching?
Cut and pasted from Geocaching itself.
As of today, there are 122986 active caches in 210 countries. In the last 7 days, there have been 68845 new logs written by 14234 account holders.
Over the last three years i have found 63 cache and hidden 37. My wife resisted caching for two years and now we spend each Sunday trying to get lost. It cost us $20 in fuel for 4 hours driving and about $10 in $2 shop stuff. We have found caves, sunset cliffs, the most amazing forests, swimming holes that time forgot and ghost towns locals don't even know about.

If you have any questions feel free to post them here and I'll be happy to answer them.

Anyhow - you shouldn't need an excuse to pile into your favourite ride but its a another way to say I'm going fishing.

http://geocaching.com.au/
This is the "Geocaching Australia" Page and Forum but all the caches are held on an international site refered to as GC.com.

The Bronze.
Image: This little sucker "Across the water" took me about 30 minutes to find. It was hidden in a park in that disused water pump behind me. The Yellow thing is a GPSr known as a Garmin eTrex. About 160 dollars worth and two double A's last about 14 hours. This park and contraption I would still not know was there if not for Geocaching.

Bronze.

okay then..sounds pretty cool...

now i just need a gpsr....

zac

p.s for some reason it tends to remind me of rogaining..with far less specific instructions...

Rogaining is fairly restrictive and has time limits / penalities.

Geocaching is a family / singles persuit where you do it in your own time at your own speed. Plus you are prohibited from using a gps in a rogain event. It's all compass and map which is good but not my cup of tea.

The good thing about rogaining compared to geocaching is that you meet a lot of other likeminded people and still see beautiful location, although the last rogain I was in was in a pine forest - yippee :duh.

Geocaching does have event caches where people get together at a set coordinate for a BBQ or set caches done in a group.

Bronze.

yeh, it still reminds me of rogaining..maybe because i was 13 and wandering around the bush with a couple of mates not carind where we ended up(or what time/how 😉)

still sounds like a lot of fun though!

zac

should get ya outta the shed/house hey. like the idea.

hmmmm, I like that idea - wheres my GPS.....

R