Caching Near and Far: An Interview with Neil Torrens
Neil Torrens (AMAZO) found his first cache in June 2010 on the southern coast of Scotland. He stumbled across the Geocaching® mobile app while browsing on his new smartphone and downloaded it on a whim. The next day he and his friend and now wife searched tirelessly up and down dunes, with the sea crashing into the rocks below them. Just when they were about to give up, their geo-senses led them to a suspicious boulder. What they found behind it would turn their lives into an unending adventure, and inspire Neil to travel halfway around the world.
A humble and dedicated geocacher, Neil resides in Glasgow, Scotland. To enrich his community, he created a “Geocaching in Scotland” group to host regular events, introduce new players to the game, and organize CITO Events to give back to the environment. Many of Neil’s friends attribute their involvement in the game to his contagious enthusiasm. Although he is passionate about his local geocaching community, Neil is anything but a homebody.
From the United States to Japan, Neil loves to travel when he can. In between trips, he organizes an annual geocaching flashmob. His events are creative and whimsical, ranging from creating a smiley face out of 100 cachers to blowing one billion bubbles at a park in 2019 (GC86WJC). Neil continues to go above and beyond for his community, but he’s a regular person just like all of us. His love for geocaching and his attitude towards new opportunities are the reasons why he’s a great role model for other players.
We were able to catch Neil in between Events and travelling to ask him some questions about how geocaching and saying “yes” to new opportunities led him to discover new wonders—both near and far.
HQ. Geocaching invokes a sense of curiosity in players. What is one of your favorite geocaching moments?
NT. I have found geocaches in 25 countries but I am very lucky to live in Scotland as I am surrounded by hills, glens, waterfalls, parks, mountains, castles, and beaches. One of my all time favourites is a cave that was only five miles from where I grew up but I never knew the exact location until I discovered geocaching.
HQ. What advice do you have for everyday people who want to travel?
NT. The best experiences are shared ones. Revisit the places where you played when you were young. When planning a trip, look at the geocaching map! Caches with high favourite points or a lot of history usually catch my eye.
I’m extremely grateful for all the places I’ve got to explore…but I’m also convinced you don’t need to go far to have your breath taken away. Some of my all-time favourite geocaches were hidden gems less than 10 miles from home and I didn’t even know it! Distance definitely doesn’t define the greatness of an adventure!
HQ. What unique experiences have you encountered while geocaching?
NT. I have never met a more diverse and interesting group of people than the geocaching community. My wife and I visited our friend in New Zealand. It was an amazing trip that led to me finding my favourite cache ever and also my furthest cache from home: GC17BGJ Pull Your Boots On (Fiordland). It is 11,648.92 miles away from my home.
This statistic got me thinking. The circumference of the Earth at the equator is about 24,902 miles, so half of the equator is 12,451 miles. How far is the furthest cache…before you start getting closer? I would love to know the closest a geocacher has ever been to being half the world away from home.
Thank you, Neil, for sharing your story. Travelling halfway across the world to the farthest you can get away from home is certainly an adventure! Although he has travelled extensively, Neil told us that his home country, Scotland, is one of his favorite places he’s been. Neil’s positivity reminds us that keeping an open mind to new experiences can be the secret to living a fulfilling life. Distant lands can be daunting destinations to some people, but opportunity hides behind every corner—near and far.
Whether you are caching locally or preparing for an expedition, as long as you say “yes” to your inner explorer, the world is at your fingertips.
