Going Geocaching

Ok ... A slightly more fun ABC Wednesday post than last week :)

... Well - it is something I do for fun (and to de-stress :) ... I GO and Get lost finding things - lol
This week the letter is G

G is for Geocaching ... 

"What is that?" - well - I have heard it described as "using expensive satellite technology to find Tupperware hidden in the bush" ... and yes, it kind of is that, and more ... For those who want to know more, www.geocaching.com is a good place to start - you can read all about what it is and how to do it, and if it sounds fun - sign up and start doing it ... there are also phone apps for it too (the official one is probably the easiest to start with, but there are others that a lot of the more experienced cachers prefer ... although even more of those who have been into Geocaching for a while prefer to do it with an actual GPS unit - which, back when it started about 17 years ago, was the only way to do it :) 

(For those who don't know - GPS stands for Global Positioning System ... and it is what has made it possible for people to do all sorts of things, from finding your way to the nearest coffee shop with a maps app on your phone, or navigating your car to a meeting, locating where you are if you are out bushwalking or 4 wheel driving in the middle of nowhere, and playing online games that involve Geolocation - like Ingress, and Pokemon Go ... And ... Geocaching :)

I actually just use my phone to go Geocaching ... I decided I could afford an expensive GPS, or an expensive camera, or i could just buy a not so cheap phone that does all 3 of those things (and more - lol)

 ... it works ok for me ... 

I am now up to about day 319 in a row, where I have found at least one Geocache each day :)

... I am planning on making it at least 366, possibly more ... but it gets harder as I go because I can only find each one once and I am running out of them close to home ... but there are plenty to find if I go driving - there are about 3000 of them here in the Canberra area!

Who hides them? - anyone who wants to :) 

... preferably someone who has found a few, so they know what they

 are doing.

I have found over 1000 now, and I have hidden a few too :)

Why do people do it? Probably for as many reasons as there are people who do it ... To get fit, get outdoors, because they got bored and decided to try it, for something to do with the kids, for something to do to get away from the kids, for something to do while travelling, for something to do as a reason for travelling, etc.

Me? - because I got curious and read about it, decided to go looking for one, and had fun doing that and was instantly hooked ... I liked the challenge of finding them, and the fun of going to all sorts of odd and interesting places to look for them - some places I had been meaning to go to but had never got around to it, and some places I never even knew existed! I like going walking to find them - either around town, or walking out in the bush ... Has been a good way to keep fit and active, and a good way to de-stress/keep myself sane ... I think I used it as an escape when things were going pear shaped with my marriage, and as therapy after my now EX husband walked out ... and it has been good therapy/relaxation/de-stressing with the other issue I have been dealing with lately (the one mentioned in last week's ABC Wednesday letter F post )

Who goes Geocaching?

Chances are - someone in your family, or who you work with ... all sorts of people do - kids, teenagers, young adults, older adults, even some very old adults ... fit people do it to keep fit, unfit people do it to get fit, I know several people who take their dogs to find all those that are hidden where dogs are allowed. I don't know the exact reasons most Geocachers I know do it - I just know they have fun :)

I have found it to be quite an inclusive pastime - I have met Geocachers who have highly paid government jobs, low paid jobs, no jobs ... can be, and is, done by all ages and abilities ... I have met little kids who do it, and Great Grandmothers ... i have also met quite a few deaf people who Geocache, and at least a couple of autistic people, and a couple of people in wheelchairs - yes there are some Geocaches that are wheelchair accessible ... there are also some that are definitely not - like a couple I have found up in the tops of trees! 

Where are they? 

Sign up, get the phone app (or get a GPS, and upload some from the website) and go look for one - lol - chances are there is at least one nearby - they are everywhere, all over the world (there are over 2 million now) ... there is even one up on the International Space Station ... I really want to go and find that one, but somehow I doubt I have much chance of ever doing that ... sigh ...

Usually, I go find Geocaches by myself, but sometimes I go Geocaching with someone, or a Group of people ... sometimes I take my dog, and the other day I took my Grand daughter ... and one evening I even had a bunch of curious cows come with me!

MOOving right along ...?