Here is a fab introduction from top blogger splodzblogz (http://splodzblogz.co.uk) about her first Geocaching adventure!
I know quite a number of people who go out geocaching on a regular basis, and have always been intrigued about the whole thing. It’s one of those past times that has been on my list to try for a little while but I’ve not actually got around to it. I guess I liken it a bit to post box (or letter box) hunting in Dartmoor – as a kid I loved hunting out the little boxes containing stamps in and around the various Tors.
Geocaching is an any-day, any-time adventure that can take you to amazing and beautiful places. Or even just a place in your town that you’ve never been before. There are two million geocaches worldwide.
It dawned on me the other day that there are probably geocaches along the trails I love to walk along regularly, or even close enough to my office for a lunch time explore, which would be a great introduction. I downloaded the free version of the app Geocaching (https://www.geocaching.com/) and low and behold, hundreds of dots appeared in and around Lincoln. Excellent! I’ve no idea why I haven’t ticked this one off my bucket list before now! A bit of an oversight for sure.
I headed out from my office for a quick walk with the app open on my phone and within about 100 metres it had buzzed with a message to say I was getting close… I hunted around in amongst lots of people enjoying their lunch break and found a teeny little geocaching box with a log book inside. I dutifully signed in, put the slightly soggy paper back in the box, and moved on. I’ve no idea what the guys having a picnic on the lawn close by thought as I giggled to myself. Who cares!
From there I walked a little further towards what is now a very iconic roundabout in Lincoln. The geocache has apparently been here a little while, but will now be more popular thanks to the development of the area. Now there is supposedly a lot of secrecy involved in geocaching which means I’m not supposed to tell you the exact location of the ‘treasure’ or what it looks like… the photographs are a bit of a spoiler although not quite, you’ve still got to find the box.
After my first two finds the other lunch time I’ve since discovered a handful of caches up in the village where I live, and a couple along my favourite trails. It’s been a great excuse to get me out and about to enjoy my local countryside – another think to get my legs moving and my eyes working.
I don’t know if I’ll be geocaching every weekend, but I am enjoying exploring the little nooks and crannies of my local area – somewhere I thought I knew really well. It’s a great way to explore and the perfect activity to get you off the sofa and out and about on a Sunday morning. I can imagine it’s also a brilliant way to explore somewhere new; it gives purpose to an evening walk and can even create an entire day of exploration if you wish.
For more information about Geocaching (worldwide), and to sign up and get started, head over to Geocaching.com. The full version of the app is £7.99 but there is a free one to get you started (has limited geocache GPS markers).
To read more from Zoe at SplodzBlogz visit: http://splodzblogz.co.uk/2015/06/22/my-introduction-to-geocaching/
To find Geocache locations near you sign up: https://www.geocaching.com/