/ Adela B

Announcing the December Featured Geocacher of the Month

We are wrapping up 2012 with yet another outstanding featured Geocacher of the Month. Congratulations to Wayne, a.k.a. Moneydork for being named December’s Featured Geocacher of the Month!

December Featured Geocacher of the Month, Moneydork

Moneydork is recognized for establishing himself as one of Australasian’s most prolific geocachers. His efforts to support the community as a Geocaching.com volunteer reviewer and good Samaritan have not gone unnoticed. He even managed to organize New Zealand’s very first Mega-Event from 3500 km (2175 miles) away. According to fellow geocachers, Moneydork’s hides and events are legendary Down Under and he never hesitates to give his all to the sport.

A geocacher who voted for Moneydork writes, “My first ever event was Moneydork’s third Massive Easter Egg Hunt, which he held every year until he moved to Australia – that were seven events in total. I was the last to find a nearby Multi-Cache at one of the events, and he was walking the opposite direction as I walked towards GZ (ground zero). He promptly turned around to make sure I found it. I didn’t know who he was, but even in just three months of geocaching, I knew of his geocaching handle. When I first started geocaching, my town had a few active geocaches then for a while there was no activity. Moneydork came and placed a cache just out of town to try and get things moving again. He is always unassuming, quiet, and willing to help anyone with geocaching. He won’t tell you where it is but he will make sure you have to work it out yourself and find it. He has always been a bit of a legend down here and insists he’s no different from anyone else. I’m just surprised he hasn’t been nominated before now. Only shame is I can only vote once, but I’ll just have to make sure every other New Zealand geocacher votes for him too.”

Moneydork will receive a collector’s edition featured Geocacher of the Month Geocoin, along with a Geocacher of the Month hat and certificate acknowledging his contributions, signed by two of the founders of Geocaching.com.

Featured Geocacher of the Month Icon

Thank you to the fellow December nominees and all those who supported them. The nominees not chosen as featured Geocacher of the Month will receive a gift of appreciation from Geocaching. See a list of all the featured Geocachers of the Month here.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered for the honor, send an email to geocacherofthemonth@groundspeak.com. Every nomination must meet the following requirements:

  • Your name, the name of your nominee, their username
  • A picture of the nominee
  • Description (200 or more words) explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month

Please inform your nominee that you’ve submitted them for the award.

Nominations for the January Featured Geocacher of the Month must be received by the end of the day on Tuesday, January 8, 2013.

Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose three candidates and post them on the Geocaching blog. You will then get a chance to champion your favorite. Our goal is to involve the entire geocaching community in this process so we might learn from each other.

/ Adela B /

…wo hab Ich den Cache denn nochmal hingelegt??? (GC1DZ17) – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – December 27, 2012

Where to start …

Since 2008, this Geocache of the Week geocache owner has been asking himself “…wo hab Ich den Cache denn nochmal hingelegt???” (GC1DZ17). That is, “where did I place that cache again???” To answer his question, we head to Hamburg, Germany, where the difficulty 2, terrain 2 geocache has been named an absolute favorite among geocachers.

The geocache “wonders” within a small radius of the initial coordinates. Finding it requires a sixth sense, known as the geocaching instinct. You see, Mr.T has asked geocachers to hide the geocache in the same manner they found it, but place it in a slightly different location. In order to understand this request, we should probably explain that the geocache location is comprised of at least seven dozen flower pots.

Logging the find

The flower pots were placed in front of the Hamburg Constitutional Court about 10 years ago as an art project. The geocache moves from one flower pot to another, adding a little challenge to uncovering the hidden treasure. The cache coordinates will bring geocachers to the concrete block in front of the court house, but then it’s up to geocachers to find out which flower pot holds the small “wandering” cache container.

Flower pots on iron pillars

As the cache page suggests, “ist ja garnicht so einfach,” meaning “it’s not that easy,” when you have 90 iron pillars to search from in this fairly high muggle area, but nearly 2,000 geocachers have managed to log a smiley and awarded it 261 Favorite Points. The extensive logs capture a lot of fun and entertaining experiences.

One geocacher logging this find wrote, “What a great idea! I had this cache on my watch list for some time. It took us a little while to find it. At first there were some muggles around us and we didn’t want to look suspicious. It also took us a while to find it. It’s not as easy as it looks with so many flower pots. We checked some of them twice and then finally there it was! Funny how it’s always the one you never expected. We re-hid it in a different location as advised. Good luck to the next cachers. ”

Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@groundspeak.com.

The cache container
/ Eric Schudiske /

Geocaching HQ Presents: The Geocacher of the Month

Click on the image to learn more about each Geocacher of the Month

NOMINATE A GEOCACHER OF THE MONTH

 

They don’t speak the same language and they don’t all live on the same continent, but all of these geocachers above have something in common: they’re all united through their love of geocaching and the community it creates. They’re all Geocachers of the Month.

If you know an outstanding geocacher who should be considered fill out this webform now.

Every nomination must include the following items and abide by the following guidelines:

  • Your name, the name of your nominee, their username
  • A picture of the nominee
  • Description explaining why he or she deserves to be the Geocacher of the Month

Wonder who else has earned the Geocacher of the Month award? Check out this video below and click CC for subtitles.

[vsw id=”8cGOns2eBMQ” source=”youtube” width=”425″ height=”344″ autoplay=”no”]

Subscribe to the Official Geocaching HQ YouTube channel for the latest tips and tricks in geocaching.

/ Adela B /

Occi – GCWGPH – GEOCACHE OF THE WEEK – December 20, 2012

Occi the village and Occi the Geocache

There are exactly three trails leading to the Geocache of the Week. One is from a camp site, the second is from a nearby chapel and the third is from a hotel. Whichever path you take, you will end up at a beautiful place called Occi (GCWGPH). Occi is not only a difficulty 1.5, terrain 2.5 traditional geocache, it is also an abandoned village with lots of history and beauty.

Occi, France is known for its beautiful ruins that overlook the deep, blue sea. In June 2006, it also became a fascinating an unique location for a highly “Favorited” geocache.  Tourists from all parts of the world visit this place to learn its history and embrace its beauty, but kardamom has given geocachers yet another reason to add this place to their “must see” list.

The village remains in ruins to this day. The nearby chapel was only recently restored for a number of local events and weddings. While no one owns the land, a local company is safeguarding the charming village but has no immediate plans to restore any of the buildings. Locals believe that reconstructing it may take away its charm and uniqueness, and prefers that the village remains untouched.

One of three paths leading to Occi
Even Smurfette visited Occi

Geocachers who made the trip to Occi have been enamored by the location and the existence of a geocache at this historically captivating place. Nearly 500 geocachers have claimed their smiley and awarded this great, secluded hide 67 Favorite Points. The 128 images that geocachers shared on the log say a thousand words, but the elaborate logs capture the overwhelming feelings they experienced when they visited the village and found the treasure.

A geocacher who recently embarked on an adventure to Occi writes, “We took the path least traveled (from the hotel) and all we can say is ‘magnifique!’ Not only the way to the village, but the breathtaking beauty when we arrived in the abandoned village. The ruins are old and beautiful… To think that there’s a cache here adds a whole new level of excitement for us. We honestly wouldn’t have known about this place if it weren’t for the cache… TFTC for an unforgettable visit!”

Continue to explore some of the most engaging geocaches around the globe. Check out all the Geocaches of the Week on the Latitude 47 blog or view the Bookmark List on Geocaching.com.

If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, send an email with your name, comments, the name of the geocache, and the GC code to pr@groundspeak.com.

Geocachers may even meet some locals
/ Eric Schudiske /

Police Officer uses Geocaching to Save a Lost Hiker

Officer Tom Wenzl came out of the woods recently with a story he never expected. He used geocaching to find more than a cache.

Officer Wenzl used his Geocaching iPhone app to locate a lost hiker. The police officer in Washington State, USA is an active geocacher along with his wife. They use the geocaching username VonDeets.

Officer Wenzl reportedly used his Geocaching App to plot a Waymark based on coordinates recorded by the lost hiker’s 911 call. Police could not have used traditional maps. The area where the hiker was lost had not been mapped. After a short search, the hiker and her dog were found safe.

Check out the article to the right in the Mount Vernon Police Department newsletter for more details.

The story of Officer Wenzl’s creativity and determination has also been picked up by local media, including this local newspaper. His geocaching partner and wife, tells Geocaching a local TV news station is also planning to interview Officer Wenzl.

Thanks Officer Wenzel for being an excellent officer and geocacher!