The Geocacher’s Guide to Surviving a Zombie Outbreak
We’ve all seen the movies where the undead (slowly… very slowly) walk the earth. A zombie outbreak could happen at any time. It’s best to be prepared. Those uneven footsteps crunching through the leaves behind you might be your first sign of the next zombie attack. As a geocacher, you’re already on your way to being prepared. We’ve compiled a list of 13 essentials to survive a zombie outbreak.
Use a Trackable Travelers Walking Stick to avoid that cliché trip and fall when you’re fleeing from a hoard of zombies. Keep the sun, rain, and sweat out of your eyes with The Real Deal Hat. You’ll be able to scan the barren streets for teeth-gnashing ghouls with ease. And let’s not neglect your geocaches. The Mighty Mega Cache Container is waterproof, crush-proof and conveniently -zombie proof.
Whether you’re on the run from the multiple moaning zombies, or chasing down a Multi-Cache Shop Geocaching has you covered. For orders outside the United States click here.
Brace yourself! Because to log this Geocache of the Week, we’re going to come face-to-face with an ancient monster of the sea.
Awaken the Leviathan (GC2QK8W) is a difficulty 2.5, terrain 5 Multi-Cache located on the most southern tip of Cape Town, South Africa.
This cache is only accessible given the right sea and tide conditions and is best attempted during a spring low tide. Even under the best conditions, the journey to this cache is fraught with peril and past adventurers advise taking the utmost caution.
By attempting to log this cache, geocachers agree to undertake a mission of extreme importance: to determine once and for all whether or not the myth of the great Leviathan is true. The local lighthouse keeper has allegedly spotted a foul and rank-smelling beast slithering on the rocks far below the cliff top. Is this monster real?
To find out, geocachers must brave the sea, traverse slippery rocks, edge their way along a cliff, and finally enter a cave that is home to the beast itself. Less than 30 geocachers have actually dared to embark on this epic journey since the creation of the cache in March of 2011. One of those brave geocachers is Chris, a.k.a. SawaSawa. Chris was so impressed with this cache that he decided to nominate it.
View from inside the cave
He says, “It is a terrain 5 rating and thus potentially mentally and physically challenging due to the extreme location and the elements of danger involved – in the form of narrow cliff ledges and dangerous incoming tides. In fact, I had a sleepless night before doing the cache as my mind ran through the route we would have to follow to reach GZ. On the route back I had a few heart-stopping moments negotiating the cliff ledge.”
He goes on to explain that paddawan, the cache owner, is “renowned in South Africa by those who have found his caches as one of the most ingenious and prolific hiders of caches, which garner numerous favorite points. He therefore well deserves further recognition for his wonderful efforts of which this cache is one of the finest examples.”
Chris isn’t the only awe-struck geocacher. As one geocacher logging the find put it, “Exhilarating! We feel very proud of the courage caching has given us. The beast was rumbling and grumbling. But on hands and knees by the light of our lantern, we found what we were looking for, completed formalities and escaped before he could turn nasty. Thank you for an awesome experience!”
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.
This month’s featured Geocacher of the Month may be from down under, but his caches are out of this world. Congratulations to John, a.k.a. TeamAstro for being named October’s Featured Geocacher of the Month!
October Featured Geocacher of the Month, TeamAstro
TeamAstro is recognized for creating the Solar System series of caches in South Australia. This series of caches is the world’s largest scale model of the Solar System. He is famous for his creative hides and is the proud owner of the most ‘Favorited’ cache in South Australia. John is also an important part of the South Australian geocaching community, and is known for his friendliness and eagerness in helping out new cachers.
A geocacher casting a vote says, “TeamAstro has literally traveled the length and breadth of Australia with his cache hides, inspired others to look skywards with their caches, and is completely selfless in the way he conducts himself around other cachers…He just oozes inspiration… Team Astro is an absolute force behind the caching scene in Australia.”
TeamAstro 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.
Thank you to the fellow October nominees and all those who supported them. The nominees not chosen as Featured Geocacher of the Month will receive a gift of appreciation from Groundspeak. See a list of all the featured Geocachers of the Month here.
Featured Geocacher of the Month Icon
The geocaching community is encouraged to re-nominate those who have yet to be honored as featured Geocacher of the Month. 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 November Featured Geocacher of the Month must be received by the end of the day on Thursday, November 8th.
Once we have received all of the nominations, we will choose the top three candidates and post them on the Latitude 47 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.
Ever wonder what would it be like if the ground literally started to move under your feet? Geocachers who visited the Råbjerg Mile (GC21787) EarthCache know exactly what it’s like.
Located at the northern tip of Denmark, between the Danish cities of Skagen and Frederikshavn, the Råbjerg Mile is the largest migrating sand dune in Northern Europe. It contains millions of cubic meters of sand and moves up to 18 meters (59 feet) every year. Geocachers can enjoy this migrating wonder and observe many types of birds that make it their travelling home by visiting the difficulty 1.5, terrain 2 EarthCache.
Denmark once had many shifting dunes, even larger than the Råbjerg Mile. These dunes caused many problems for the people living in their paths. So, in the mid-19th century, the state bought the land under the dunes so that it could plant dune grasses and conifers that would help stabilize it. They then left the Råbjerg Mile so that future generations would remember both the challenges and the beauty of these shifting sand dunes.
Marking sand angels
Michael, a.k.a. WAUZZZ4B has given fellow Premium Member geocachers yet another reason to see and experience nature at its best since creating the EarthCache in November of 2009.
Geocachers everywhere can learn a lot about this dune just by reading the detailed cache page. But nearly 450 Premium Members got to experience this EarthCache for what it’s worth and share their experiences by posting more than 530 breathtaking images.
With Geocaching.com’s request, Michael has agreed to temporarily grant access to basic members for an opportunity to experience and log this EarthCache.
One geocacher who logged this Premium Cache wrote, “We heard about the dune from some friends who visited many years ago. We decided that we wanted to check out this place during our visit to Denmark. Sure enough, there’s an EarthCache, which gave us even more reason to come out and log our visit. We didn’t realize how beautiful this place is. Absolutely stunning scenery and by far the biggest sand box we’ve ever been in!”
For more information on Geocaching Premium features, such as Premium Caches, visit Geocaching.com/Premium.
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.
We’ve all seen the movies where the undead (slowly… very slowly) walk the earth. A zombie outbreak could happen at any time. It’s best to be prepared. Those uneven footsteps crunching through the leaves behind you might be your first sign of the next zombie attack. As a geocacher, you’re already on your way to being prepared. We’ve compiled a list of 13 essentials to survive a zombie outbreak.
