Virtual Caching Down Under

A very exciting trip last month took the oldest goat to Australia for the first time. Since I was very upset not to go along, I made him promise to find at least one cache on my behalf while there. His hotel was near downtown Melbourne so there were several caches in walking distance, however there was also a festival on at the time (Moomba) and the muggles were abundant so caching was difficult. Two of the closest caches were muggled that week and two others were right in the heart of the action along the boardwalk so Allen did not feel comfortable searching for them. The only one he was able to do in plain sight was GCJ8HR (Yes, but is it art? II) which is a virtual cache. It is based on a public sculpture so the old goat just had to walk to it, take a photo of himself there and answer some questions in an e-mail to the cache owner.

So now we have a cache found in Victoria, Australia which gave us a new badge for our geocaching.com souvenir page. I do hope I eventually get a chance to see Australia myself (and do some geocaching of course!) but it was cool to see Allen's photos and hear about the wombats and koalas and other truly Australian things.

Canada Day Caching

Yes, we finally got out to do some more caching!
Had a fun day in typical Calgary weather. Hot and sunny when we set out, black clouds swept in with a few thunder claps and a big downpour, then hot and sunny again. Took a day to introduce more friends to geocaching and we now have more caching buddies to go out with. The tiniest cacher (at 1 1/2 years) caught on quickly and was checking behind every bench after seeing us pull one nano out from behind a park bench.
We planned our cache adventure to start with a cache that the kids could trade swag in and out of, then a couple of micros for the grown ups and finally a cache at a play park for the kids to have some swing time. Luckily we had good luck and found 4/4 today and the kids enjoyed all of it, even the rainshower.

We did have to place a note on one cache that needed maintenance. The lid of the cache had a hole in it and the cache was filled with water when we discovered it. The pencil was wet and the paper was unusable. This is the sort of thing you need to let cache owners know about so that they can clean it up and repair the damage and get their cache up and running again.
Another thing to mention is that the regular size cache had a theme of 'Round' objects so my daughter took a yoyo and replaced it with a bouncy ball. It is nice to keep to a theme when trading if at all possible.

It was a fun way to spend Canada Day away from the crowds, but still outdoors and with friends. What did you do for Canada Day?

Location, Location, Location

The amazing, relaxing time we had in Cuba was diminished slightly for me because of a poorly placed cache. When we planned our trip to Cayo Coco, Cuba for Spring Break, I was very excited to find out that there was a cache hidden just beyond our resort and would be within walking distance for the three of us. This would be our very first time geocaching outside of Canada! I eagerly printed descriptions and photographs of the area (no GPS allowed in Cuba) and checked to make sure the latest logs confirmed the cache was found recently. I took along a travel bug to leave in the cache and made sure I had a pencil and extra notepaper just in case.

On our second day in Cuba I convinced my daughter and husband to accompany me on my quest for the cache. We had a beautiful walk along the warm beach, put our sandals back on and started searching the area where the cache had been placed. There were plenty of muggles (non-geocachers) and a couple of tourists taking photographs, but no cache. We searched and searched and turned over rocks, and crawled around in the sand, but nothing was found. The area really looked like there had been recent demolition.

In a fit of desperation, I e-mailed the cache owner and asked him to check the cache and let me know if it was still there but he e-mailed back and said he could not get there until the next week. He also said that because of the busyness of the area and the fact that Cubans are keen to pick up anything outsiders leave behind, this cache was often missing and that I should just leave another container and some paper where the cache should have been. I am afraid the owner of that cache has missed the purpose of the game. Or at least the rules. If you cannot find a cache you do not just make another to leave in it's place. There is a chance we were looking in the wrong place or that the cache was really well camouflaged and we just could not see it. But if the cache is in a place where it keeps getting destroyed or taken, then a new hiding place should be found so those looking for the cache are not disappointed and the owner does not need to keep replacing it.

So we returned to Canada with colour in our faces, relaxed and renewed spirits but no out-of-country finds. Maybe this summer we'll go caching in the states.