Blackjack Bailey

Sorry - duplicated post...

I also managed to find the first 4 of the caches this past weekend - fantastic caches in a great part of the world! I had a scrumptious Sunday roast at the lodge for lunch, which slowed me down a bit later! Hey, Rhino, why don't we make a day's outing to find the 5th one, The Pig? Anyone else wanna come along?

I don't think it is possible to get hold of a 9km long extension lead - it will be far more practical to take a generator up the mountain with you. A 1.5KVA unit should do it...

A little bit of bad news about my eTrex Vista HCx - all of a sudden the menu button (top right button) has stopped working! I haven't dropped it or bumped it as far as I know. I haven't had a chance to take it back to CUM for them to check it out, but I'm fearful that I'll have to part company with my little baby if it has to go in for repairs...

Thanks QFC! I've just had a look at the updated stats - wow! The scenery has changed somewhat! Thanks for putting in the effort for us analytical types...

So, QFC, how's it going with the re-build of the site (and your computer!)? No pressure, you understand...

The topo maps are essential and comprehensive, especially for the geocacher! If you already have Southern Africa Streetmaps V1.5, you can buy the topo mapset for about R365. It includes 20m contours, farm boundaries, gravel roads, dams, etc. To answer your second question, you can't update Garmin POIs directly - however, if you send suggestions to data@garmap.co.za, they will incorporate the changes in the next 6 monthly release. There's a very active GPS owner forum at http://www.garmap.co.za/Forum/ForumMain.asp - highly recommended! Hope this helps!

I'd be interested in coming along! When were you thinking of going? Who else is going so far?

Well, I've had my Vista HCx for a few weeks now and I'm really impressed with it - done quite a few cache hunts under dense foliage and it holds up well. About 7m accuracy under fairly thick cover.

Round and round the garden, goes the teddy bear... Sorry Leon - couldn't resist!

Thanks, Noddy! In fact, I was planning to get my 100th at the Northern KZN Event on Saturday. I got my 99th in Mtunzini (Fat Cat) today - I then sat down for lunch and then saw Colinaly's plea for someone to pick up his Race TB at another cache, only a few km's from where I was at the time! So I thought - do I ignore his plea so that I can time my 100th for Saturday? Not a chance! So we'll have a belated celebration on Saturday, together with Wazat's 50th and DiePienaars' 250th...

No, there's nothing wrong, but you need to customise the way CacheMate displays what you want. In CacheMate. tap on List at the bottom right. Then tap on Edit Columns - now tick the columns you want to see. Easy hey?

Hi colinaly, Done! I had just found my 99th cache in Mtunzini today, and I was planning to do my 100th at the Amajuba Mountain cache on Saturday (Northern KZN Event). As I was sitting at the Fat Cat having lunch, I checked the Groundspeak Forum on my PDA only to see your plaintive post, and it was just around the corner from where I was! How could I not do it? We'll still celebrate on Saturday, though!

That's great Geoff - welcome to the "Club"! I checked your profile just before you posted, and saw that your status had changed. By the way, I'm spending a week in Port Alfred from 23 Dec to 30 Dec - maybe we can do some caches then?

For me, the most important benefit of being a Premium member is that it allows you to generate Pocket Queries of caches, using various filters and criteria. These queries can then be imported into a PDA-based device like CacheMate, so that you can have all the cache details and logs with you as you go caching, without having to print reams of printouts. The Pocket Queries can also be used by GSAK to generate some useful personal statistics of your cache finds and hides. I haven't had much joy with caches along a route, though.

You can do it either way. I normally first connect my phone and computer with the USB cable, then download the file onto my computer. Sometimes (depending on the application) it will automatically install onto the phone while it is connected to the computer. Other times, you can copy the downloaded file from your computer to the SD card on your phone, then use the phone's File Explorer to browse to the copied file and launch the installation from there. I can't remember which option I had in the case of CacheMate.

Hi Geoff, CacheMate is fantastic! I use it on my HTC P4350 and I have had no problem with it at all. I installed it when my phone was running Windows Mobile 5 - I've recently upgraded to Windows Mobile 6 and it runs well on both platforms. I use CacheMate in conjunction with GSAK (which is on my computer). Go for it - paperless caching is the way to go.

The trouble with your suggestions is that I will be travelling direct to Amajuba in the early hours of Saturday morning! Too dark and too early...

Hi Wazat, I really hope I can time my 100th for this weekend, with you guys! I'm on 94 right now, so I'll try and sneak a few more in between appointments during the week...

On my eTrex Vista HCx, I have the option to use either the Compass view or the Map view to navigate to a geocache, which both seem to achieve the same objective. What are the pros and cons of using these either of these two methods?

Hi Wazat - here is a link to the specs of the eTrex Vista HCx. My unit included the latest Southern Africa Streetmaps v1.5 - I then purchased the Topo & Rec mapset for R365 or so. Well worth it for geocaching! With a 1GB micro SD card fitted to the unit, you can store the mapset for the entire country. Before I got my Vista, I was using my StreetPilot c310 for geocaching - not very practical and missing a lot of features. As far as the World View cache .... well, I can't really tell you over the forum, can I? I'll send you an email...

...and the Vista HCx can stay 1 metre underwater for up to half an hour...

Just under R5,000 at Cape Union Mart. It's a really nice receiver, with a high-sensitive antenna - I can pick up signal indoors!

Leon - at least he wasn't spinning his body around, trying to calibrate a compass! (Now who was telling me that they were doing that and getting drunk?)....

Hi Fish Eagle, I have spoken to Durbum and Durbabe. They will update their listings once they can get access to the internet - they have recently moved house and they don't have a line yet.