Geocaching Premium members are the rockstars of geocaching. Without you, we wouldn’t be here. So right now, you can help fuel the future of geocaching. One of the upcoming features is something that has been asked for by the geocaching community: a new and improved Advanced Search. It’s been completely retooled, revamped and streamlined based on geocaching community feedback. Now you’ll be able to find the exact adventure you want, easier.
Make sure you’re subscribed to the Geocaching Tips and Tricks emails to receive your invite to test this new tool. If you’re not sure, visit your Email Preferences and make sure the box next to “Tips and Tricks” is checked. The Geocaching Premium member sneak peek invite email is scheduled to be sent to you on or before this Thursday, January 29.
Searching through bushes, reaching under benches, looking through tree branches—to the untrained eye, a geocacher can look a little suspicious. Muggles (aka non-geocachers) who get curious have been known to unknowingly take or damage geocaches, which is why it’s important to maintain a level of stealth while geocaching. This new video will give you five tips for stealthiness.
The 14th year of geocaching is coming to close. Our passion for adventure this past year bubbled over with Personality, First to Finds, Wet Surprises, a Message in a Bottle and another epic First to Find.
Those are your Top 5 Posts of 2014. Click on any post to see what the fuss is about.
5) Epic First to Find
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4) Message in a Bottle
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3) Wet Surprises – The Video
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2) First to Find – After 4,355 Days
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1) Take the Geocaching Personality Quiz
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Now, brag a little bit, share your top geocaching moment of 2014 in comments below. Who knows, we might just contact you to post the story here on The Geocaching Blog.
Editor’s note: DNF’s or Did Not Finds are an important part of the geocaching experience, and maybe one of the most frustrating parts. The questions start to boil over, is it even here, why is the hint so vague, can’t anyone post a picture which offers a clue? WHY!?! But, as we learn through exploring, it’s not often the destination but the journey. Geocachers, Peanuts or Pretzels, show us that sometimes a DNF is the gift of a story, a voyage, a view and a sunset.
Recently, we took to the roads of New Zealand in an RV and wanted to do some Geocaching. So during our drive toward the west coast of the south island of New Zealand, I pulled out my GPS and found just the cache for us. Located along the coast, it had a lot of favorite points and according to our watches, we had just enough time to get there before dusk. So off we went!
Upon arrival, we parked our RV near GZ and started walking along the rocky coast. Eventually we came to a grassy opening, with the ocean on our right and a steep hill on our left. The cache was located up on top of the hill, but there was no visible trail. We decided that our best option was to climb up a small wash-out ravine.
After a tricky climb, we arrived at the top, which was a flat plateau. The Geocache was only 183 feet away. But we quickly realized that we had a problem. The entire area leading to the cache were full of giant briar bushes. These bushes were thigh high, with thorns 2-5 inches long…seriously! We’ve done our share of “bushwacking” before, but we had never seen anything like this before.
We tried many ways to get to the geocache, even trying to use giant sticks to make bridges or push down the bushes. But nothing worked. We were getting stabbed by the thorns and tearing our clothes. Ultimately, we realized that there was no way for us to get to the geocache. Disappointed with the thought of admitting defeat, we turned back toward the ocean just as the sun was beginning to set.
“Wow, look at the sunset from up here!” Liz said. And you know, she was right. It was a gorgeous sunset, and we had the best view perched up on this hill. No one was around, and we had this entire sunset to ourselves. So in the end, we decided thatwe would accept this DNF proudly. Because even though we didn’t find the cache, we had a fun adventure, and we were taken to this place that we had no idea existed. I looked over at Liz and said “this might have to be the best Geocache we never found.”
Thanks to Geocaching for taking us to another great place on our world travels. Sometimes, you don’t have to find the cache to have a great memory. #DNFPride
We recently released 6 shiny new Geocaching Souvenirs for Greece, Mexico, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, and Italy.
In case any of these countries are still on your bucket list (or if you’re planning a return trip) check out this pocket dictionary of common phrases used in Geocaching. They’re perfect for starting or ending a fantastic log entry.
6 Souvenirs that could be added to your profile, if you’ve found geocaches in any of these countries.
Brazil (Portuguese)
This statue of Frederico Engel can be found at GC3FMPF
Take a virtual vacation and tour of some of Brazil’s best geocaches.
Obrigado pela Cache (Thanks for the cache)
Encontrada
(Found)
Boa aventura
(Good adventure)
A minha primeira cache
(My first cache)
Belgium (Dutch, French, German)
Here you’ll find GC1EG4C, also known as “Atomium”.
