Probably the biggest scavenger hunt in the world: with geocaching, you can find small treasures around the globe, solve puzzles, enter your finds in a logbook and discover really cool places. We show you how to get started quickly and easily with your new outdoor hobby and give you a little help and practical tips.
Geocaching: What is it actually?
When you hear the word “treasure hunt”, you suddenly feel a childlike curiosity that you’ve been missing since the last Indiana Jones film? Then you should try geocaching: a kind of modern treasure hunt via GPS. So-called geocachers hide small boxes in hidden places around the world and publish their coordinates on the internet. Other geocachers – you, for example – track down these boxes with the help of these coordinates and by solving one or two riddles.
Inside you will find a logbook in which you enter your nickname and the date you found the object when you have successfully completed your search. Then close the container again and place it in exactly the same place. You then record your success digitally on Geocaching.com. By the way, “logging” also explains the romantic name: Geo = earth, Cache = cache. With an entry in the logbook, you leave a small note in the world’s cache. Sometimes you can also find souvenirs in the boxes. The motto here is: take one, leave one so that the next finder can also grab a little something.
Souvenirs can “Überraschungsei” figurines, key rings or similar small items. By the way, there are currently three million active geocaches in circulation, 54,000 of them in Austria alone. By the way, a particularly exotic geocache that will most likely not make it to the top of the list is the one on the ISS space station.
No GPS device? No problem!
Do you want to try out the world of geocaching without obligation and without having to equip yourself with a GPS device, hiking boots and a divining rod? No problem in this age of smartphone technology: simply download one of the geocaching apps onto your mobile phone (we recommend the original from Groundspeak), register and give the app access to your location. Geocaches can be found everywhere, in big cities as well as out in the countryside. You can bet that you’ve already walked past several without noticing them. The proof is in the next step: as soon as you log in, the app shows you the location of the nearest geocache. Details such as difficulty level, terrain and size of the container are also listed. If you press “Navigate”, the GPS on your smartphone will take you directly to the coordinates. If you are on the move with your mobile phone, make sure that you also need reception for successful GPS tracking.
To find the hidden container on the spot, you need a little detective intuition – otherwise, the undertaking would be too easy. By the way, many geocachers include funny stories or exciting facts about the cache location in their descriptions, explain street names or tell about historical events that took place at this location. The geocaching network works completely on a voluntary basis, which means that everyone is allowed to hide geocaches themselves (according to certain rules, of course) and write their own descriptions. But if you want to place your first own cache, we have a tip: please don’t do it in broad daylight with an ominous box in the middle of a train station – that could send the wrong signals to the police.
More than just finding: The most common types of caches are explained simply
You’ve become masterful at finding the little containers? Then it’s time to set your curiosity to new challenges. After all, following the given coordinates to find the caches is just one of the many variations of this game and is called “Traditional” or “Tradi” for short. The more convenient versions are the multi-caches (for which, however, you need a premium subscription), which resemble a classic scavenger hunt with several stages. Here you get the coordinates for station 1, where you in turn find information about the location of station 2, and so on. Often the location of the next box can only be found by solving a riddle, for example by adding up numbers on a house wall. If you click on a question mark on the cache map of your app, you will land at a mystery or puzzle cache. With these, you have to solve a puzzle in advance that is in the cache description in order to get to the correct coordinates. However, you can do this from the comfort of your own home and then make your way to the box with the – hoffentlich correct – combination of numbers.Discover the world with geocaching
Many enthusiastic geocachers love to discover their surroundings with geocaching, especially on holiday. After all, it saves you from having to leaf through travel guides for sights and instead you can playfully discover the locals’ favourite spots, including background facts. Try it out on your next trip and go on a treasure hunt during your holidays!
