The world’s greatest treasure hunt

Some years ago, we had a young family (yes, they are now all grown up and in their twenties!) who hated walking very far, that’s when we discovered geocaching, the greatest global never ending treasure hunt https://www.geocaching.com/play . The caches or treasure boxes are hidden everywhere around the planet and range in size from a micro, approximately the size of a size C battery, to a traditional cache, which range in size from a small sandwich box to an ammo case. Each cache is waterproof and usually contains a logbook and, if it’s large enough, a pen or pencil. It may also hold toys or keepsakes that can be traded. I remember doing some geocaching with a troop of scouts on the south coast and discovered souvenirs that had been added by the local tourist board.

It’s suitable for all ages and free, as you can sign up without a subscription, but more caches are shown if you subscribe. Geocches are created by other geocachers and they are hidden everywhere, in towns, by the seaside, in parks and the countryside. You use a mapping app which is for either Apple or Android. The app uses GPS to show your location and nearby geocaches on a map. This gets you to within approximately 2 metres, it’ll tell you the size of the cache and you can look at a hint or clue to help locate it.

The idea for the game was born on May 3rd 2000, the day after the US Government removed “Selective Availability” for Global Positioning Systems with a statement from the White House that anyone could “precisely pinpoint their location or the location of items (such as a game) left behind for later recovery.”

A GPS enthusiast in Oregan called Dave Ulmer wanted to test the accuracy by hiding a navigational target in the woods near his home in Beavercreek. He called the idea the “Great American GPS Stash Hunt” and posted it in an internet GPS users’ group. The idea was simple: Hide a container out in the woods and note the coordinates with a GPS unit. The finder would then have to locate the container with only the use of his or her GPS receiver. The rules for the finder were simple: “Take some stuff, leave some stuff.”

But be warned, the secrecy of keeping the cache hidden is paramount. Muggles (non-geocaching people) must not be allowed to see what you are doing; witness what you have found or see you replace the cache for fear that they may tamper with it and spoil the game.

We’ve found some very sneaky geocaches, they were camouflaged as a stick, a slug and a twig! The slug was magnetic and stuck to the underside of a metal park bench.

By the way, if you do give this a go, be prepared to be surprised by the number of geocaches hidden near to you. There are 67 hidden within a mile of the Town Hall in Manchester, 84 hidden within a mile of Edinburgh Castle.
My sister lives in New Zealand and was shocked to discover that there were over 2,000 geocaches within a 5km radius of her home. And be warned – there are even some caches classed as nano, literally the size of a small coin and probably magnetic. 

Good luck and have fun – but watch out for those muggles!