Any other fellow Geocachers out there?

Margery Dawe

Silver Member
I wondered if there was anyone else out there who has discovered Geocaching.

I love doing this and really makes me get out and get some exercise. We done a 6 mile walk this morning Geocaching.

If you have never heard of it before is basically a huge treasure hunt. There are lots of caches hidden all over the world, probably quite a few near you and you use a GPS to find it.

Take a look at the website ...

Geocaching - The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site

Kids love it as some of them have little goodies in it, which you trade with your own goodies. Also, some people have travel bugs that you take and put in a different cache.
 
hi margery dawe i went a few weeks ago with my daughter and her family, i had never heard of it b4 she kept on about it she loves it cause she said sometimes it takes u places u wouldn't normally see. got to wait till she comes down at xmas for my next go can't wait lol
 
she loves it cause she said sometimes it takes u places u wouldn't normally see.

Completely agree with you there. The walk that we done this morning was gorgeous, in lovely countryside in the middle of nowhere. It was only 15 mins down the road from where we live and had never been there before and very much doubt if would ever go there if it were not for the Geocaching!!
 
Hey....we are Geocachers. Have been for about 2 years now! Its fab and very few people seem to know of it. But then again there are 10 million members so clearly I am wrong...LOL

Great hobby and once your setup its a really cheap activity with the kids and the geohound!! I hink everyone should have a go. Our kids love finding treasure!! You can do it in all weathers and it gets you outdoors. I have discovered so many places nearby that I did not know existed. How many have you done?
 
Hi Becky

We only discovered it in August, so have done 20 so far. I was amazed how many are within a mile of where I live!!!!

I have taken and planted a few travel bugs, which I love doing. Sad thing is though, our kids aren't interested in it (they are 17, 16 & 11) and it is obviously not 'cool', but me and hubby love it so go out on our own :)
 
Or bless...my 3 are 11, 8 & 7. They love it. We have placed a some of our own caches and have quite a few TB's. We have all got one each and they are in a race to see which travels the furthest. We spent a fortune on a top spec GPS and maps but its essentially now a free activity. We love it. Come sun, rain, snow or shine you can enjoy it. We even did a night one in a Tehidy Woods in Cornwall, you need a torch and follow reflective markers and get coords from each point. Was a little scary but a great adventure. We like puzzle ones and multi caches. It takes you so many places its just great. We always have our GPS with us and often hop out of the car when were out and about to collect one. We take our Labrador Bella as well. Kids call her the geohound. We have introduced several friends to it and they love it as well x
 
I love it!! We've been doing it a year now and wherever we go, we have to cache! It's great to do them both locally but more so on holiday and in other countries. The first thing I do when we book a holiday or break is search for caches.
My GPS is my most treasured possession (one of them!) it cost a small fortune but is fantastic.
I also get very excited watching my TB's travel and I love finding them too.
My daughter is 12 and she really enjoys it but then she is very outdoorsy :)

The other thing I love is when you meet other geocachers, you see people behaving furtively, sneaking a look at the gps and then you ask them if they are looking "for it"!! Great way to meet :)
 
We use an app on my hubbies Android phone but it is only as good as the 3G signal ..... which is pretty c*** most of the time. It has let us down on several occasions now. So, what GPS have you got, what features does it have and how much did it cost?

The first evening that we started we looked for ones around by us. We live up a farm track surronded by fields and didn't think there would be many .... WRONG!! There was one at the bottom of the track ..... now we know why, on several occasions, there have been people sat in cars there!!! I thought they were up to no good ;)
 
I quite fancy having a go but would really like to go with someone else who already does it to show me ropes. Where can I find more info?

Denise
 
I was looking to get into this. I wanted a GPS unit rather than carrying an external satnav! - I looked at the ETrex or simlar (I'm sure you'll know it) from Garmin - yellow, reasonably priced.

In the meantime, I got a free app for the iphone 4 which measures time, distance, elevation, average speed and sends a link to my home PC with my route and mile-markers etc. I also joined a local ramblers club and use it with them.

Not exactly geocaching, but using GPS/satellites and plenty of miles walking.

I'm sure I'll get one as I'm attracted to gadgets!

Steve
 
I was looking to get into this. I wanted a GPS unit rather than carrying an external satnav! - I looked at the ETrex or simlar (I'm sure you'll know it) from Garmin - yellow, reasonably priced.

This isn't a bad little entry level gps but if you really get into it you will want to upgrade as you can't do paperless caching with this and will soon get fed up of writing down hints and the description etc.
I'd say, if you really want to do it then spend a bit more but if it's just for a bit of fun occasionally then the etrex h is just fine.
 
Hi,

Sorry not been online for a while. We bought a Garmin Oregan 550T from amazon.co.uk. Its completely paperless so no note taking etc. It did set us back £350.00. We then bought maps also. However this is optional. We are outdoor people walking, bikes, camping so it gets well used. Here is a link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002HWIY0W/ref=oss_product

I would highly recommend Garmin, however I know lots of geocachers with the yellow one!

Becky x
 
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Is it true that the mapping for these units is expensive and not included? Are there any units which include maps?

Also, the things I am missing on the app are an accurate altitude meter, temperature guage/recorder and barometer. Are these available in GPS units and if so which models should we be looking at?

This is all new to me, can you tell;)

Steve
 
Hi Steve,

Most GPS come with a base map (think along the lines of a tom tom map) OS (Ordinance Survey) 1:50,000 maps for our GPS is £200 for the entire UK, however you can buy separately South England, North England and Scotland for £125 each!! Thinks price is about the same for all GPS's. So cheaper to buy them all. We have never across a GPS with OS Maps included! You can install custom maps using downloads from Multimap however this is incredibly time consuming but can be done (if you search the geocaching forum it will advise you) Some model of GPS come with topographic maps included so they have a little more detail but nothing beat OS maps. Best thing to do if visit the official Geocaching Forums on Geocaching.com. A lot of manufactures also have a comparison feature on their site so you can look at all the different models. Ours has a barometer, its the perfect match for geocaching in our opinion!

Check out the full spec below:

Garmin Oregon 550T Handheld GPS System: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

or

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=26876

You will see amazon price is £350.00 vs Garmin price of £489.99 so shop around, amazon is cheapest we found :)
 
Many thanks.

Good old Amazon lol. Oh and yet another forum to checkout - I love forums - especially in this weather when stuck indoors.

Most helpful.
 
Your very welcome. I agree forums are a little addictive. Amazon is fab! We always find it's cheapest place Everytime. If it isn't on amazon we tend not to buy it. We hate spending hours in the shopping centre. A few clicks and it appears on your doorstep! Minimins is great and everyone is ever so friendly and helpful. X
 
Me too Becky - I also collect nectar points via Amazon and have the Amazon credit card used exclusively for all Amazon purchases.

Recently got a free £10 voucher to spend on my favorite site lol.
 
I'm going to take a look at the sights recommended as me & OH are thinking of buying a GPS, & the geocaching was an added bonus.

I'm so excited we are off to Go-Outdoors tonight to check out their GPS's, but won't buy tonight I just want to look at what they have.

I'd love the adventurer 3500, but at c£350 outside my price range, so I've now got in mind the Garmin Dakota 10 or 20.
 
I still never bought one of these - £350 and then £200 for the UK OS maps seems a lot of money - even for a gadget, but OS maps will be the way to go - especially for rambling.

I have been with my local ramblers group since well before Christmas and really enjoying it. So much so, I have been asked to lead some walks! - In order to do this a solid GPS unit would be essential, but so too would "real map" and compass (just in case!).

The search is on for a pre-loaded map on a unit, or a used example (reduced price) or a cheap source of OS mapping.

Feel free to advise as unusually for me, I do not knw many people who use them except those with the very basic Etrex:(

Steve
 
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