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Geocaching
This is a fast-growing outdoor sport which combines aspects of treasure hunting, high-tech navigation and exploration.
When the GPS signal degradation called Selective Availabilty (SA) was removed by the Clinton Administration May 1st, 2000), it opened up the possibility of games like this one.
Geocaching in New Zealand
Go to geocaching (www.geocaching.com) and select New Zealand in the country box. This will take you to information about geocaches in New Zealand.
What is Geocaching?
Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a gps unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache.
How did Geocaching start?
On May 3rd, 2000, Dave Ulmer placed a five gallon bucket near a wooded road about one mile from his home in Portland, Oregon - in celebration of the removal of Selective Availability. Inside the bucket was a logbook and some trinkets for trading. He dubbed the game The Great American GPS Stash Hunt. By May 6th the cache was visited twice, and logged in the logbook once. Mike Teague was the first to find the container, and built his personal web page to document these containers and their locations that were posted to the sci.geo.satellite-nav newsgroup.
In July, 2000, Jeremy Irish found Mike Teague's web site and found his first cache outside of Seattle, Washington. Recognizing the potential of the game (but never expecting the growth), Jeremy approached Mike Teague with a new site design, used the name Geocaching, and developed a new web site adding virtual logs, maps, and a way to make it easier to maintain caches as the sport grew. The site was alive for a while, but the official torch was passed to Jeremy on September 6.
Since the launch of the web site, the Geocaching sport has grown to caches in over 100 countries. There are now many variations of the game, including virtual caches, offset caches, puzzle caches, and multi-stage caches. New ideas and new great games crop up every day.
Tips
Once you get to within 5 metres of the cache, it's best to really turn up your sleuthing skills. You need to remember that the waypoint can be either the location of the cache or a vantage point from which to spot the cache. Look for places that could hide a bucket, an ammo box or a length of plastic tubing, such as hollow stumps, clumps of scrub or under a pile of pine needles.
If you are seeking out micro caches in cities, think to yourself, "Where would I hide a small tin?". Your search may have you peeking under park benches, loitering around alleys or searching in hedges.
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