Louise_Gerhard
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Posts posted by Louise_Gerhard
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Dit is baie goed, nee verkeerde woord - dit is uitstekend. Ek het nou net die tonteldoos Vredesboom en Guerilla tactics gelees. Julle het goed gedoen - dit lees lekker en 'n mens voel sommer lus om te ry om die cache te gaan soek. 
Dit is nou lesse wat ek nie van geweet het nie. Ons gaan nou kenners word na hierdie series. Hier kom 'n ding. Miskien kan hierdie nog 'n Mega event word - met 'n fees. Gerhard
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I bought the street maps and the topo edition at a previous occasion. I can’t remember anymore the prices – it was something like R250 for the street map key and R500 for the topo key. I use the topo for off-road driving. Actually I never load the Quest with the topo maps but when I am off-road I use the topo on my laptop with the Quest. I then use n point to track my routes and to determine routes.
I updated both of them yesterday and it was both free of charge because I only updated them with the previous version on 3 rd March 2008. If you have bought a key for the previous version on 1st January or thereafter you will get the key for free. This is generous of them.
The new DVD contains the following and a key is needed for each one of them.
1. Garmap Africa series 2008 southern Africa streetmaps, March edition.
2. Garmap Africa series 2008 southern Africa topo and rec, March edition.
3. Garmap Africa series 2008 southern Africa DEM, March edition. (this is more of use for the guys with the Colorado)
4. Garmap Africa series 2008 South Africa waterways, March edition.
5. Garmap Nigeria Street maps, topo and recreation, March edition.
6. Garmap east Africa streetmaps V1.
7. Garmap Indian ocean streetmaps v1, Mauritius.
I have a quest 2 which I really like. I loaded all the maps on the set including Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. I could be mistaken of the size but I loaded all of the new maps which were in the region of 350 kbyte onto the Quest 2.
Hope this is of some info.
Gerhard
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Good morning, Anlufu, I wish I was in George. On my way back last night we had a massive hail storm. Luckily I missed it. The hail was scraping the chassis. I never seen so many hail. Some guys had to pull off and they were stuck next to the road. This morning it is bitter cold and the rain is not making it better. Not a good day for caching – I will be on my way soon to plant a cache near Standerton. Gerhard
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+Tusk O'2, +Tricky Vicky & Mickey, +RedGlobe, Wazat, +geocacher_coza, +Jors are all busy at present. Looks like the cachers are back. Good morning to all !!!
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I installed the new maps and found it very useful. Yesterday we drove around some of the smaller towns and it is amazing to see that Ermelo, Belfast and the smaller little towns are in full details. However, I tried one of the smaller tracks and I ended up at a farmhouse with a very worried looking farmer. However, we had a nice chat and he offered us coffee.
I had to select fewer details for my quest as too much info was displayed. We then connected it to my laptop and it is great. For travelling and hunting caches in the future I will connect the GPS to my laptop to see all details.
The new maps are a great help and is worth every cent. I got myself lost in Swaziland in the past and with the new map and comparing it with the previous map I can now see why.
The new map gets my thumb up approval. It installed the first time with no surprises. I had a problem with n point previously but with the new installation this problem is also resolved.
I paid a price of about R195 for the maps and the key was free as I purchased my previous map set past 1 st January 2008.
Gerhard
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Yes, you caught me. Good morning geocachers coza, I hope you have a nice day. It looks like a lot of cachers are out hunting. Gerhard
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Yes, you are right. That is why I said that I do not like names and I mentioned only a few as an example, the list is not exhaustive. If one read carefully then I am trying to sell an idea and not the names. So one must shift your attention to the idea and not focus on the name. The focus once again is not on names. Let us highlight this idea further,
I have seen this working at our workplace. We have what we called an employer of the month. Sometimes I propose a name sometimes my team will propose a name. I then draft a proposal why a certain employee should get the employer of the month. This proposal must be defended at a management meeting. The management team members then take this proposal to their own team members and they discuss it. If they return for the next meeting their mind is made up. The majority vote of the senior managers is then done. It is then also decided if he/she gets bronze, sliver or gold. The employee is then handed a basket full of goodies. At the next 3 monthly meeting with the CEO this certificate is handed to the employee by himself.
It is amazing to see the effect on morale and to realise that you are sometimes missing the good they do. In the last seven years this system is working; it is transparent and it is open to all. A manager can get it and an employee sweeping the floor can get it. The best is that the system is used for all achievements – working long hours to get something going, attitude to the company, sick leave not used for the year, commitment, a new idea. The employer of the month is also not for one person, the company allows more than one employer of the month. If this works at a company it should work for a geocachers.
I believe that there are various gecocachers that must be recognized for their systems and input. I am very fortunate to be in a position where I am in the middle of many caches in a relative short travelling distance. But I do see a lot of people that are staying far away from any cachers and they travel a lot. Without mentioning names there is a person in KZP, more east from me and not south, which do have a high cache number that is really travelling to get to a cache. One of the cachers I know is staying near Upington. It will take a lifetime to get to 1000 caches. When you focus on awarding colours on numbers you can not compare these guys with a person for example in Gauteng or in Cape Town.
I think the idea should now be clear and my viewpoint of colours. Colours could be destructive and morale breaking for some cachers. We should focus more on the cachers out there that are doing a difference bit by bit and that includes geocaching.co.za which do not gain financially but is delivering a great value added service to cachers. I hope my viewpoint is now clear.
Gerhard
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Geocaching should stay as a hobby with the rewards of getting to places to see and things to do. To me it is fun to see my ranking on geocacher.co.za. I noted that some geocacher are very active the moment you pass him/her on the ranking. The competitive edge is there but a little bit hidden.
If you start to talk springbok colours you also need to bring affirmative action and numbers into the equation. In this field it is going to be hard and difficult. You will enter a mine field like none.
I do believe that there are cachers out there that do make a huge difference. I do not like to quote examples but let us discuss some examples. Wazat has done a lot in the Newcastle area to promote the sport. Then there is Fisheagle in Nelspruit, he is always ready to help you even when you are asking stupid questions. He has a passion for the caches and his trackables. Log a problem on his cache and he will fix it in a reasonable time span. Even with problems with other geocaches from a different owner he will attend or comment when a problem is experienced. Then there are cachers such as Brick and Cabey. Cabey has done a lot and he is still young, should he not receive some sort of award?
There must be a system for recognizing geocachers. It must be something like a bronze, silver, gold and a platinum award in the form of a nice certificate. This should not only be based on numbers but on the good he does. I see a lot of cachers out there that takes time to repair caches and to fill caches again if it is empty. I see cachers that are really trying to promote the sport. I see good caches which brings a wonderful feeling to me. I see feedback on certain caches where I experienced a problem. I personally believe that a specific event must be dedicated to these cachers. I think one should hold an event where these rewards must be issued. To log such an event one must receive an award. This will highlight the cachers that are making a difference. This will force some geocachers in a direction to improve the sport. The geocacher with only 100 finds or less should also be able to receive such an award. Maybe cachers with good hides, number of newbies introduced to the sport, promotion, repairs to caches, filling of caches, constructive comments and feedback should form part of these awards.
Only my thoughts.
Gerhard
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Dakartrix, I feel bad to read that you have lost your cell/GPS at the Noly – Slagdam. I was close to this area and so were a lot of other cachers. If you only had my cell phone number I would not have hesitated to help you. I was probably not more than 10 km away.
I am sure if we phoned your number we would have been able to find it as it is cell phone.
I had first hand experience of this and it does put panic in your mind. I lost my GPS at Green Heritage. I took a day to recover from the shock and I drove all the way back to Nelspruit the next day to search for it. You can ask Fish Eagle about this one. I found it after a couple of hours. I had to retrace my steps from the top of the hill to the bottom. Fish Eagle was so kind to offer assistance but I had to sidestep him a little bit. I did not want him to battle with my stupid mistake. If I had no luck finding it then I would have called him.
Strange enough I was thinking about similar lines. I battled with two caches and I could not get hold of the cache owner. Soon we are planning a raid for Newcastle again. The obvious person for this area is Wazat, please keep your phone close I will contact you if I hit another “Fools Gold”.
Most of the areas do have one dominant cacher or cache owner. I think we must have a contact telephone number if we visit these areas. We are planning a raid in June for Limpopo and I will need contact details in case we are getting stuck. Most of these caches are not found regurlary and it is safe to assume that we will hit more DNF’s in this area. Ok, I also know that some people will abuse this and will phone you during any searches longer than 1 minute. In your case it could have been prevented the loss if it was possible to contact someone.
Only my thoughts.
Gerhard
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Dakartrix, Ek sien jy maak die pap dik aan. Ek sien jy jaag hom met 18 finds so twee dae terug. Ja ek sien almal, party mense roer die getalle.
Geluk met jou 200, sal jou moet dophou, dit lyk asof jy kompetisie kan wees. Die manne hier in MP is baie stil, net Land Rover, Fish Eagle en fpspringhorn wat nog baie roer so in die stilte. Geniet dit. Gerhard.
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Contributions to Jors with the 300 finds at my cache in Gauteng. I hope we see a zero added to the back of it in the future. Enjoyed it. Gerhard
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Bumper stickers is somewhere in the region of R22. Please look at the above link. Logo is however not there.
gerhard
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Yes, this is good news. I think geocaching will benefit from this event. Maybe through our actions at the event we can get a much better article published about the sport. The poor guy that have written the article was trying to explain and a demonstrate something he have no clue about. I actually feel sorry for him.
A special thanks to all who was involved in getting this event published.
I look forward to the event and I really would like to meet the Gauteng cachers. I always like to meet the person who actually planted the cache.
Thanks
Gerhard
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I think your observation could be flawed although I also believe that are people that is not logging a DNF.
During our last Pretoria raid we passed a lot of caches very close to us. An observer could easy say that we did visit the caches but is not logging the not finds. However there is a reason behind this madness.
However to understand why some caches are missed I would like to publish our technique of researching possible finds. We determine a specific point, our last trip in Pretoria was easy – we use the place we stayed as a reference point. We then set a target of 20 caches per day with a safety limit of 5 which give 25 caches/day. If the total time available is 4 days we will select a radius which will give us a total of 100 possible finds. We then adjust the radius to accept another safety margin and we then end up at about 140 caches as an initial target.
We then use GSAK to update the logs and we research the possible caches. The first scan we do is on DNF’s. This is easy with GSAK. Just go to the little red blocks on the left which represent a DNF. We then read that specific listing. If there is more than 2 DNF’s we remove this specific cache from our list of possible finds. If there is a DNF but a newbie was doing it we could keep it on the list. However, if an experienced cacher is saying we searched everywhere and we could not find it then the cache will be deleted from our list as a possible find. We then search for the too easy ones or the too difficult ones or the ones that need more than an hour to get it – this is also deleted. We then keep an eye on the entrance monies and if this is exceeding our budget it will be deleted from the list of possible finds.
With this technique we carry on until we are back at the original target of 100 possible finds. With other words we eliminated 40 caches from the original list. We then export this to Map source and we look at the final layout. If it is obvious that if a cache is too much out of the way we delete that cache as well. We then read all the logs and we ensure that the final list is acceptable.
During our last trip to Pretoria we deliberately missed the one cache with about 50 meters. If I remember correctly it was a cache from cache fan. When we arrive at the site we notice that some repair of the rocks next to the road were in progress and there was a possibility that the cache was on the other side of the fence. We do not climb fences and we drove straight pass the cache without visiting it. If one take our finds and log it one will notice that several caches were close.
Same in MP. We bypassed a lot of caches on our way, but there is a reason behind it and a method. For the casual observer it could be seen as “He does no like my name or my caches, or he is finding them but do not log the DNF’s”. But we will come back at a later date for them.
The lesson learned from this is that cachers must do their maintenance, if a DNF is recorded he must attend to it or else he will limit the visits.
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I see good arguments for and against. I personally believe that this issue is a border case and it is subjective. There is no clear cut. If I look at the comments then there is a 50/50 split in belief. We should have some sort of system such as a vote to determine the outcome or to assist in decision making.
I do not say through away the rules. Rules are what keeps geocaching and society together. But in a border case like this where there are good arguments for and against we should be able to resolve this at the local community level. The guys at geocaching.com can still have the final say but the vote should be considered during the decision-making process. Let the guys debate this first and let them vote on it.
Maybe the word stagnating is a harsh word. I belief that we do geocaching because it is fun and an interesting sport and it do help to keep families together. Even when I am caching alone we still have a lot to talk about when I get back and they help me with the logs. Even the organizing is done via my family. I keep my eye on the ratings at geocacher.co.za and I read the last lines of every provinces. I am constantly scanning for newbies. The rate of newbies joining and leaving is about the same. Now I see them, now I don’t. It is not growing in numbers, the word stagnating is probably out of contents.
I became interested in geocaching.com after discovering it at the garmin web site by accident while downloading a driver. I only whished I could have read about it in a magazine or in an advert a long time ago. Mitstibushi and geocaching.com is two separate entities which have nothing in common.
I am so glad I do not have to make the final call for this one. It is a tough one. At the end it should be in the best interest of geocaching.com. We should gain more than the losses. If this event proceeds then it will be a Mitshibushi event and we could loose a lot. We then depend on Mitshibushi to explain and to demonstrate geocaching. I will be there as a beginner and I will sell the principles of geocaching.com and their beliefs.
As the one cache is saying “If life deals you oranges… make wine”. So, CF I will be there and luckily I will not be alone. Yes, we are still going to enjoy it as a family.
Gerhard
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I see the event is now removed from the listings. But this is my view point. Life is about choices. You have the choice to attend or not to attend, no one will drag you there kicking and screaming. Only you decide. There is caches out there that grieve me but I turn around from them and ignore them. Maybe I hate them but others enjoy them. But it is still my choice. To me the event is just the beginning, ok now it is the end.
One must try to see the positives and not focus on the negatives. The positive is that geo caching is not that great in South Africa. We are a handful of people doing caches. The magazine could open a new world for the many out there that is sitting in front of the television and wondering what life can bring to them. This event could have resulted in greater number of cachers.
I do not care if geocaching.com do not appear in the ad or article. When people arrives at the location they will realise who geocaching.com is and what they stand for. Geocachers should attend this function and through their attitude they sell the sport. The magazine or Mitshibushi do not sell the sport. It is the actual people that forms geocaching.
I still believe that the article is relevant. The article is trying to explain geocaching but it never reaches the goal. Let us assume that I am a newbie and I read this article. I still won’t have a clue what to do and what not to do. My next step will be to visit the event and to talk to the guys that have done it and they will have the influence to make me interested or not. Just the fact that geocaching.com was not mentioned will emphasize in my mind that this is a non commercialized sport. If I arrive at this event and I find hooligans hiding knifes and they are all crazy people then I will not be interested in geocaching. As a newbie I will discover the rules at this event and where I can find the waypoints and there I will discover that a place like geocaching.com exists. Only geocachers can sell the sport but again you need a platform to do it.
I believe we are missing an opportunity to get growth in the geocaching sport. How do you develop something if it is hidden away from the public? If you place an ad then it is seen as commercializing the sport. If you mention geocaching.com then it is a commercial ad for them. Mitshibushi is the sponsor and yes I have no pain with their name – I will not rush out tomorrow and buy their products. I go their to enjoy caching with my family. About 50% of the caches in South Africa is commercial in one way or another. To visit a nature reserve can be seen as a commercial advert, but in South Africa it is a reality that everything you must pay for or else skip them. It is my choice to pay R150 to enter a nature reserve or not. To me this it is only the way to find more caches and the money I pay is for the pleasure and the luxury of personnel and maintenance of the roads and fences. Without the R150 there will be no nature reserve, caches or enjoyment or family time.
The bottom line is that geocaching is stagnating and it is not growing. Sometimes you must use innovation and “out of the box” thinking to get the public interested. Unfortunately with innovation resistance will be felt among the conservatives but innovation does break the conventional rules. This was innovation and it could have been enjoyable.
Ok, this is my view and there is people out there who feels the opposite and we can agree to disagree. If the event is taking place without geocaching.com then it will be a sad day. Then they will loose. But I will still be there and I will still tell people about the sport and I hope that I am not alone. Please drop me an e-mail if you plan to attend.
Gerhard
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Brandewyn het nie brieke nie. Kon dit nog nooit regtig verstaan nie maar kyk hoe wikkel die manne nou met die beplanning. Miskien is die brieke al klaar los. As ek reg verstaan sal daar moet gewikkel word die fees is om die draai. Iewers in April - sal more meer inligting kry.
Daardie plek smeek vir 'n cache. Kyk na Tonteldoos. Ek sal 'n e-mail stuur vir die ander cachers. Hulle is darem baie stil. Wonder wat broei. Maar ek het hulle name. Hoop net nie ek word aangekla vir spam nie.
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Eish, kyk hoe vang hy my met 'n dubbel boodskap. Regte een is of bo of onder.
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Nou toe nou. Die man sit daar anderkant die water alleen en hier vertel hy my die geskiedenis van Ermelo. Lyk my Ermelo is tog nie so onbekend nie.
Die wereld is maar klein, ons draai almal in die rondte maar soms kom ons weer by die selfde plek uit. JY is meer as welkom om ons te besoek as jy eendag in hierdie omtrek is. Jy behoort goeie geskiedenis te weet van hierdie plek.
Ek glo nog steeds tonteldoos is 'n spil punt. N tonteldoos in die tonteldoos dorpie sal goed wees. Goed om van jou te gehoor het.
Gerhard
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To the tonteldoos committee:
I volunteer to place one in Tonteldoos if required. I hope this is not too quick, hopefully there is a location to stash one such as a mountain or two. Or a bridge such as the Noly one that wanted to kill me. I will visit the town during next month (April) to determine any hiding places. Sounds like a very interesting place.
Your guys should move fast, diesel is going up by more than a R1. One of these days I will have to dust off the old bicycle for caches.
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I read the article and someone had his facts completely wrong way around. This is not geocaching at all. The auditors should correct themselves in the next issue.
We did not plan to attend the event but after reading this article we will attend and show them what it is about. It is no good to run away from a problem. Maybe this is the chance to set the record straight.
There is only one concern and that is that a photo will be taken at the event and this photo will be published in the very same magazine. I will not be associated with that photo for this magazine. I do geocaching for my pleasure and I will not be associated with anything else.
Guys let us all attend the event and show the muggles that we are not hooligans stashing knifes away in buried treasures. I think the article will cause a lot of people to visit and we must be in numbers to tell them what it is about. Only my 2 cents worth.
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Bosbitch is real. He is a member since 27 January 2008 and he logged only one find. The find was done on the cache called “A walk on the wild side” by GPS Storm (GCV8RM). He logged his find on 25 January. Two days before he joined.
Maybe he logged a find on the virtual cache but with a snake at the area. Maybe just the wrong expressions and words. His last time of log on was March the 4th. I am sure he will come back, he is not that active.
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My biggest problem is that we are in Ermelo and by the time you notice the new listing then it is normally too late. If there is a new listing in MP then it is a 3 hour drive to the cache. To get to the cache you need to be there at day break. To do this you need to be up at about 02h00 in the morning and at the latest you need to be on the road at 03h00. With this technique we found 21 new caches up to date.
But it also does have some good points and sometimes it does put a smile on your face. I was searching for Marco’s mantle but there is no GPS reception. You have to refer back to the photo which I did not have with me. I searched for about 30 minutes and then basically gave up. On my way back I met a man followed by a woman; they greeted me and kept walking. I was about 20 meters away from them before I realized that they are cachers. I turned around and followed them, they responded by walking faster. At the location I caught up with them and I then asked them if they are the team “Series land rover”. He was quite surprised. He probably thought that I am following him to mug him or something negative.
During this period I realized that they also do not have the photo. My idea was to allow them to search for the cache and that I will only log it and they then claim the FTF. We then organized a joint search team. We eventually found it and it was logged as a joint FTF.
Somehow we got out facts and faces mixed. If you read the logs today you will noticed that my log is saying a joint FTF with Series Land Rover. If you read the log from Series Land Rover you will noticed that he logged the find as a joint FTF with Taeros. Maybe someone will correct this one day.
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I had two very fast caches. The first one is Mountain Howitzer, owned by Bouts777 (GC19XHM). As I parked about 20 meters away I could see the micro laying on the grass. I walked to it and sign the log and replaced the cache without the GPS. Yes, this was also a FTF. What was amazing that it appeared that the grass was cut and for some reason the cache was not lost.
The next one was one called Guard House by Crystal Fairy (GC15W4G). I drove right up to this point and I took about 10 seconds to remove it. Again I used no GPS, the hint was obvious and I could clearly see where it is hidden.
Rest assure your caches could sometimes be a little bit tricky. Your fouls gold one is one I missed. But it is only temporary; I always come back to the ones I missed. We will be in Natal during May this year and we will see if we can find a couple more.
Dit is baie goed, nee verkeerde woord - dit is uitstekend. Ek het nou net die tonteldoos Vredesboom en Guerilla tactics gelees. Julle het goed gedoen - dit lees lekker en 'n mens voel sommer lus om te ry om die cache te gaan soek. 
Welcome
in South Africa
Posted
I noticed that geo_j and geostormer is active in our area and both had an amazing race today at “Wrong time – wrong place”.
It is also good to note that geo_j planted his/her first cache. Well done to both of you and hope there is many more.
There is no need to battle at any of the caches in this area. Feel free to drop me an e-mail if you need assistance with any geocaching matters or with the caches in this vicinity. If I do not have the answers I will get the answers.
Gerhard