Caching in Southern Africa Mystery Cache

In November 2025, I once again went on a motorcycle tour, this time through South Africa and Namibia. We were on the road for almost four weeks and covered a total of 5,375 km. Although geocaching was not the main focus of this trip, I still managed to find and log quite a few caches along the way.

Now one of my own caches has found a home here in South Africa. To find it, I invite you to join me on a virtual journey and retrace some of the geocaching adventures we experienced along the way.

For all questions asking for the letter value of a word, use A=1, B=2, C=3, ... Z=26 and add the values of all letters.

1. We spent the first few days in Cape Town. Of course, a trip to the Cape of Good Hope was a must. While there, I also logged the Virtual Cache GC7B71M Cape Light.

   

   

   If you climb the steps all the way up to the lighthouse, you will find a black plaque with two years written in white (xxxx - yyyy). The difference between these two years gives you the value of A.

2. While staying in Cape Town, I also hosted a geocaching event.

   

   The number of Attended logs for this event gives you B.

3. After just one day's ride eastwards along the Garden Route, we reached Cape L'Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa. Here I logged the Virtual Cache GC890M7 The Southernmost Tip of Africa, making it the southernmost geocache I have ever found. I suspect this personal record will remain unbroken for quite some time.

   

   On the blue strip at our feet, you can see four words. The letter value of the word on the far left gives you C.

4. After another day's ride, we reached Knysna. The Knysna Heads are a beautiful spot on our favourite playground – planet Earth.

   

   

   Several ships have sunk at this beautiful but dangerous location. One of them was the German sailing ship PAQUITA, which sank here in 1903. There is a plaque dedicated to the wreck of the PAQUITA. Find it and look for the name of the DIVING club mentioned as a sponsor. The letter value of this name gives you D. Incidentally, you also need this plaque to solve the Virtual Cache GC8920P Oh Paquita ! What happened to you ?, which I was also able to log as Found It.

5. After another day's ride, we reached Colchester, where a safari in Addo Elephant National Park was on our itinerary.

   

   

   Near the southern entrance to the park you will find the Traditional Cache GC4XYDC Matyholweni. Very close to this cache there is a sign telling you what you are not allowed to take into the WILDLIFE AREA. The letter value of these two words gives you E.

6. Over the next few days, we travelled northwest along the R63, the Karoo Highway. I found a few rather special Traditional Caches along the way. With the cache GC9EJ90 Rest stop, I even managed to log a T5 cache in South Africa.

   

   What colour, besides white, can you see on the front of this sign? The letter value of this colour gives you F.

7. On our way from Victoria West to Williston, I even managed to get an FTF a few kilometres before reaching Williston.

   

   How many days after the cache was published did I find it? The number of days gives you G.

8. In Williston we stayed in a rather unusual hotel. It felt more like a museum dedicated to America's famous Mother Road, Route 66, which I had the pleasure of travelling myself in 2017.

   

   Directly in front of the hotel is the Traditional Cache GC6X5F4 Blikkantien, which of course I had to find and log. For dinner, we went to a restaurant located at the intersection of Reynecke Street and the R63. The letter value of the restaurant's name (one word) gives you H.

9. Between Williston and Klaver, we rode our first 70 kilometres on gravel roads. I didn't manage another FTF here, but I did get an STF, about two and a half years after the first find.

   

   In the photo you can see me logging the cache together with a total of 377 horsepower. How many horsepower can you actually see in the photo in the cache listing? The number gives you I.

10. We continued via Klaver and Springbok towards the Namibian border. We spent our final night in South Africa at Augrabies. The Augrabies Falls are definitely worth a visit. Here I solved the EarthCache GC2B0AP Augrabies Falls.

    

    How many vertical wooden posts form the boundary of the horizontal viewing platform at the posted coordinates of this EarthCache? The number gives you J.

11. We then continued into Namibia. Not long after crossing the border, I found my first Traditional Cache in the country.

    

    The letter value of the cache name gives you K.

12. Another highlight of our trip was visiting the Fish River Canyon, one of the largest canyons in Africa.

    

    At Fish River Canyon, I logged two Traditional Caches and two EarthCaches. Find the oldest of these four caches and take its hidden date in the format dd.mm.yyyy. Add all the individual digits of this date together. The digit sum gives you L.

13. In Keetmanshoop, I visited the Traditional Cache GC8GK0D Rhenish Mission Church. This former church now houses a museum – and also the cache.

    

    Next to the yellow photo frame you will find a sign showing the museum's opening hours. For how many minutes is the museum open on Friday? The number gives you M.

14. Another highlight of the trip was, of course, visiting the dunes of Sossusvlei and Sesriem Canyon.

    

    

    Here I also logged the EarthCache GC4RVGR Sesriem Canyon. What is the name of the river that formed Sesriem Canyon? The letter value of the river's name (one word) gives you N.

15. The final stop of our journey was Namibia's capital, Windhoek. Here I logged the Virtual Cache GCAJK18 Windhoek Christus Kirche, the last cache of our trip.

    

    Very close to the church is the Independence Memorial Museum, which is sometimes nicknamed the "coffee machine" because of its distinctive appearance. From which country do the construction company and the architect originate? The letter value of the country's name gives you O.

The coordinates of the final cache are provided by the following Multichecker:

I hope you enjoy this virtual journey through Southern Africa.

Happy caching!