Geocaching is a hobby that I discovered back in 2013, and something that I have enjoyed over the years since. I do not always get the time or the motivation to pursue the hobby but it is something I want to get back to a little more. I would also like to share it a little with the readers here because it is a great hobby for those who travel.
What is Geocaching?
In total there are over 3.1 million geocaches hidden around the world as of August 2019. The basic principle is that you can use a GPS enabled device to navigate to a specific set of coordinates where a container is hidden.
Some people will describe geocaching like a cross between orienteering and a treasure hunt. In many ways that is also how I see it as well. The navigating is a little less involved than traditional orienteering, with the exception of multi-caches. With the use of a GPS device, you are generally directed to the exact location that you need to be. Once you arrive at that location is when you start the treasure hunt portion, where you need to locate the hidden container.
Once you have found the container, there may be a few things included inside. The primary thing that should be included is a logbook and is the only thing that must be included. Depending on the size of the container there may be optionally included a pen, items to swap and trackables.
If this sounds interesting you can check it out for yourself at the Geocaching website. Otherwise, you can also find an app for both iOs and Android.
My Experience
As I mentioned Geocaching is a hobby that I picked up in 2013. Since that date, I have found 5,369 Geocaches in four different countries. Over the first couple of years geocaching, I was quite active and found many of the caches in this time. However, in the last three years have only found around 200 geocaches.
There are a number of reasons why the number of geocaches that I have found have dropped a little. The main reason is just a little bit of a lack of motivation around Geocaching for me. That is not to say that I do not enjoy going out and finding geocaches. But even with so many hidden around the world I still need to go a little distance from home to find more than a couple. In the past couple of years, quite a number of finds have been while taking short getaways.
I have written about Geocaching on this blog once before when I was travelling. It can be a very useful way to find some of the interesting spots around just about any city. The post is called Geocaching as your Tour Guide When Travelling and shares about my experience finding my way around Christchurch using Geocaching as my guide.
Give Geocaching A Try
Whether you are travelling or just around at home and looking for something to do in the great outdoors, Geocaching might just be the thing you are looking for. As long as you have a smartphone you will likely be able to give it a try.
While there is an option to pay and be a premium member and see many more geocaches. However, there are also plenty of geocaches that you can find which are available to both free and paid members.
More To Come
Geocaching is something that I want to share a little more about here. I do want to start taking a few more adventures with Geocaching and sharing those adventures in pictures or even video. But at the same time would like to hear what you might like to see going forward. If you have any thoughts or comments please feel free to drop a comment below.
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