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Summer is a time when you want to be outdoors and having fun, and this summer I convinced three of my Geography students (who also happen to be on my Science Olympiad team) to join me in trying out something I have been curious about for years – Geocaching!
What is Geocaching?
Geocaching is, in essence, an outdoor treasure hunt using a GPS. Originally you had to buy a GPS unit to do it, but now your smartphone will be your guide!
There are over 3 million geocaches hidden all over the world. In my hometown, there are over 2000!
How do you go Geocaching?
You can buy a GPS system and navigate like that, but I am guessing you will do it the easy way as we did – with your smartphone.
So – the first step is to download a GPS app. We chose the official one. It is free, though you can upgrade to get access to more cache locations. (You can also use the official website www.geocaching.com to find caches)
Then decide which location you want to search. Make your way there. There are no directions so you have to navigate there. I let one of the teens do the directing. Some U-turns were necessary :).
Once you get to the general location, use the app to direct you closer. We had no idea if what we were doing was correct, so when we stopped for lunch we found this video which was very helpful.
Once you get within about 20 ft of the cache, you can start looking. The GPS on a phone is not accurate enough for you to bother about getting closer.
Check the app to see if there is anything to help you if you are struggling to find the cache. Some have hints, some have photos, some have comments from people who have visited – all can help you on your hunt. Also look at the “size” on the details page (click the name of the cache). That helps to know what you are looking for.
The “details” page is the place where you can also get a hint (if there is one), get a short description, see if it has been found recently or not and get the attributes (eg is there parking).
If you find the cache, take out the log and sign it. Then go to the app and click on “Log Geocache”. Now the icon on the map will turn from green into a yellow face!
Time to head on to your next geocache!
Things to know BEFORE you go Geocaching
aka things we wish we had known ….
1. Wear old clothing
You will be climbing INTO bushes. You also need practical clothing – no skirts ladies!
2. If you have long hair – tie it up!
One of the girls found her loose hair very irritating and it got caught on twigs etc.
3. Bring a pencil or pen
You need this to sign the log
4. Make sure you have someone with you who doesn’t mind spiders
None of the female members of our party wanted to walk past spiders or put their hands into small spaces which might hold a geocache – or a spider. Don’t judge us!
5. Take plenty of water
You get thirsty. Especially if it is a hot summer day. Make sure your water bottle is the type that keeps liquids cold.
6. Wear bug spray
There are bugs in bushes. ‘Nuff said. We all finished the day with lots of bites.
7. Take a first aid kit with you
You are going to get scratched up by twigs and branches, but you may have worse injuries. One of the girls cut her finger on a broken piece of glass from the bottle that was storing the treasure. We had to go back to my house (fortunately we were only 10 minutes away) to fix it up. So take antibiotic cream and band-aids with you even if you don’t take a full first-aid kit.
8. Bring an external battery for your phone.
Using the GPS constantly runs your battery down FAST. I was very glad to have an external battery with me or we would have had to abandon our hunting early
9. Bring swag if you want to take swag
Some of the geocaches include swag. The idea is that if you take something you replace it with something else of similar value or nicer. We had nothing to leave behind so could only look at the “treasure” but not take it. Of course, there wasn’t treasure in the very small geocaches. Swag can be pins, buttons – well pretty much anything small.
10. The geocache may be pretty small
I may be a large box but it could be as small as a film canister. In fact, most of the ones we found were that size. Can you spot the geocache in the photo below?
Our experience Geocaching
I must say, it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting but it was a lot of FUN! Initially, it was me and two teen girls. We spent ages at the first two locations – and were completely unsuccessful. We did wonder if we were using the app correctly.
But then over lunch, we did research and found the video and realized, the real problem was we just hadn’t managed to find either of the first two.
At this stage, we were joined by our final team member. We went to a location where he had previously been geocaching with his family and they had found it. But it was 5 years ago. It took us a while – and we had to use the photos to help us narrow down the area. Eventually, we found it – the hint said it was behind a stone. Well, it was a flat piece of stone about 8 X 6 inches and the stone had been “cemented” in place by a big piece of fungus that had grown over it. Once our one team member removed the fungus, we could all see the stone – and behind it … the treasure!
We were so happy to have found one at last. After this, we went on to find 5 more (one was hanging in a tree!) Most of them involved us climbing into bushes. I have no idea what passersby thought. We were far too focused on our mission to care!
We all decided this is something we want to do again and that it would be a great way to explore anywhere – not just our hometown.
For more reasons why you should try out geocaching, read this article.
–> If this post inspires you to try out geocaching, please come back and let us know in the comments how it went!
Meryl van der Merwe
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