Blackjack Bailey

Here are some screenshots of CacheBerry, on my BlackBerry Curve: This is the initial CacheBerry view once the database has been opened: If I click on one of the listings, this is what I see (scrollable up and down): Here is the drop-down menu available from a specific cache listing: A typical view of some of the logs: Using the built-in GPSr, I can log onto the GC website to see which are the nearest caches from my current location (this is real-time, online information). The following screenshot is the top of the page: And here is the same page, a little further down: From any cache listing in CacheBerry, I can log onto the listing on GC - here are a few screenshots of how the online listing looks on my BlackBerry. This is where I do my real-time logging of caches.

And just to confuse you even more, I use a BlackBerry with CacheBerry software! My BlackBerry has a built-in GPSr (which seems to be more accurate than my eTrex Vista HCx) so, with the CacheBerry application, I can review any number of caches, including their logs, hints and trackables, as well as use its compass and radar feature to navigate to the cache. I can switch to a Google Earth view at a press of the trackball and log my finds directly to the GC website in real-time! With BlackBerry push-email technology, I get instant notifications of any caches on my watch-list or new publications. I love technology!

Thanks Wayne - as I mentioned elsewhere, I try not to remember my birthdays any more! It's too painful...

Thanks Wayne - I try not to remember my birthdays these days!

I'm curious - can someone send me a PM with the details of this outlawed software?

Geocachers do it with a double entry!

Hi Claire, It's quite simple to do. After you have transferred the GPX file to the SD card of your BlackBerry, disconnect your BlackBerry from your computer - this step is important, otherwise you will be able to browse the contents of your SD card with CacheBerry. Now, in CacheBerry, go to the menu and scroll down to the option named Import GPX/LOC and then browse for the GPX file on the SD card. After the import is done, save the data by going to the menu and selecting Database...Save As and give it a name. I suggest that you sign up as a member of the CacheBerry forum where you will pick up many useful tips and get great help! The link is http://www.zitafarm.com/forum/

...And the FTF honours go to Wazat! Well done Wayne - I just knew that you would rise to the challenge! Enjoy the benefits of Premium Membership - how you have managed without it so far is amazing.

All's well that ends well! Annie from Groundspeak sent me a copy of the Gift Certificate code, and it has been successfully activated by the intended recipient!

According to my database, it is currently GCWYBB - Blouberg Views in Limpopo Province, hidden on 2 July 2006.

Just a quick update - the cacher has confirmed that he has not received the Gift Certificate by email, so my donation has most certainly been intercepted by a fraudster! I have sent another email to GC, quoting my ticket number, advising them of this development and requesting them to either forward a Gift Certificate directly to the intended recipient or to refund me the $30. It's a pity that it's a weekend now, so I will probably only get a response tomorrow at the earliest.

Thanks - I've done that, and I've received an auto-responder email from them with a ticket number. Hopefully I'll hear from them soon, or else the cacher in question will be able to confirm receipt of the certificate later today!

No, he couldn't have done that - I submitted the certificate minutes after he phoned me from the cache site, and it's at least a 2 hour hike from there to his car! So he would not have received it yet. Besides, I phoned him soon after I picked up the problem, hoping that he could pick up his emails on his cellphone, but he can't.

Has anyone ever given a fellow cacher a Premium membership gift certificate? I'm a bit worried - I rewarded a certain cacher for the FTF on one of my caches, by giving him a Premium Membership Gift Certificate online. I filled in all his contact details, including his email address, as well as my credit card details, and then the Gift Certificate gets emailed directly to the cacher. However, after the payment was processed online, I was presented with my receipt, but it had the beneficiary details of someone I don't know! A certain John Smith, with email address phaton3@yahoo.com! Is this a scam? I tried to get hold of the cacher to whom I donated the gift, so that he could check his email, but he's nowhere near a computer all day. How do I check whether or not the certificate had, in fact, gone to the right person? Or is there somehow of cancelling the transaction?

Just a quick heads up to the Sandpitters (those who like climbing!) - I placed a new cache yesterday (The Boot). It took me 5 hours up and down - granted, I took a few wrong turns along the way. I thought I should mention it here, as the cache is just over the KZN/Free State border, and most Sandpitters only check for new caches placed in KZN. As an incentive - if the FTF cacher does not have Premium Membership, I will donate the first year's subscription to that cacher (currently USD30.00). If there is a joint FTF by non-premium cachers, the USD30.00 will have to be shared between them. No hints for a FTF.

Have you got the Streetmaps version or the Topo & Rec version? In the Topo & Rec version there are often additional roads indicated - even though they are not routable, they are still very helpful.

I suppose it depends on how to view the challenge of a find! For me, if the auto-routing doesn't take me all the way, then I see it as a challenge to figure out how to get there. Of course, if you were expecting the cache to be a quick roadside cache, or if you are pressed for time, then you might not be in the mood for a challenge! When I do my planning for the day's caching, I often check the auto-routing on Mapsource to see if any such challenges - if there are, then I view the area in Google Earth which often reveals the route to get to the cache. I mark the coordinates of the relevant turnoffs and send them as waypoints to my Nuvi. Of course, if it is a spontaneous attempt, I switch off the auto-routing and use a bit of common sense together with keeping an eye on the Nuvi map. A good example of a cache in which auto-routing did not work was Twin Falls (GCRT2M) - however, I found it to be a great adventure trying to find the way to the cache, without trespassing in private property!

Hi Di, Please feel free to drop me a line if you need any assistance/company in the PMB/Midlands area! My number is 0824567881. If you are here over a weekend, or if I'm free during the week, I'll be happy to spend time caching with you!

I am sad to report that, due to a lack of interest, I am canceling the event and will archive the listing.

Unless there is a sudden surge of attendance confirmations very soon, I will have to consider cancelling the event. I need to lodge a 50% deposit in two weeks time to secure a booking and, so far, I haven't had any firm commitments from anyone.

The date in your query (2008/04/12) refers to the date of the last log for the cache, not the date when the TB was last logged. In this example, the TB was last logged on 2007/06/02.

There's a nifty little macro that will extract all the TB and GC details from a GSAK database - TravelBugDB.gsk.

Well done, Skyjuggler, on your immense feat! You have now earned your stripes... Now that the bug has been removed from its first KZN cache, I can now publish the pictures and videos that Rhino and I took when we dropped it there. This is how we did it: I pushed the wheelbarrow over 1km from the car-park to the chasm, then bagged it. We threw the rope across the chasm and then we hiked down the side of the gorge, along the bottom of the chasm (it was a bit scary, as the rock was poised on the ledge way above our heads) and then up the side of the gorge on the other side of the chasm! We then tied the rope to a tree to anchor it and I stood on the rope to keep it steady. Then Rhino pulled the rock off the ledge so that it was hanging a few metres below the top of the chasm. Then we pulled on the rope to get the rock onto our side of the chasm! You can download the video of the operation here. Then we de-bagged the rock and carried it over 50 metres to the edge of another sheer drop, above where the cache is hidden. We dropped the rock over the edge (about 10 metres) and it landed right on target! All I could smell afterwards was the smell of gunpowder (or flint) as the rock hit the other rocks on its way down! The second video (here) indicates the rocks's final resting place, while I start looking for the cache! It shows the serious terrain!

I thought I would bump this topic to the top again. Where are all the Berg enthusiasts? There is still lots of space available for the campsite, but I have until the middle of April to confirm the booking. It would be nice to see a lot of cachers outside of KZN attend!

What do you mean "the only mode of transport"? Surely Rhino could have carried you?