GEO936

We find it annoying when cachers don't read the cache listing and just go and hunt for the cache, because the little icon "appeared on the radar". The problem is that the cache we have placed is on private property and although we have obtained permission from the owners to place the cache, the owners have asked that the geocachers let them know that they are there to do the cache. Yet, these cachers don't follow the rules and thus jeopardise the caches for other "law-abiding" cachers.

That is a Boswellia (or frankinsence) tree. They only grow in a small number of areas in the wolrd. With some of the highest quality frankinscence coming from the Dhofar region. We placed a cache near here (see Patience of Luban (GC1WTBQ) ) Thanks CH...that's why we liked the pic. It has something that we may never get to see first hand! Looks like you had a fantastic holiday!! Any you took tons of pictures - thanks for all the effort, as we know that the race owner will be very chuffed!

We nominate this one of Leopardo...nice one CH!

Oh WOW Pooks - we are in exactly the same position i.e. we are also considering getting a new phone which can do Internet as well as handle the info. to aid in paperless caching. Rolf wrote his own little software program which loads all the cache listings in a file format which you can zoom in on the phone and read. The problem with that is that only the 4 logs as they appear on the listing are saved. It doesn't make it very easy to read the details (especially when the listing is long) on this tiny phone screen. We are used to and like the Samsung phones, but long time ago we also used Nokia. We steered away from Nokia in the last 5 or so years as we found they were prone to loads of "viruses" being sent over the cellphone networks (believe it or not). Our one friend has the Samsung Omnia cellphone which has a GPS built in and it can surf the Internet. He struggled to load the GSAK software, but got it right in the end. It actually was quite accurate on the GPS side, but he had trouble with loading the Google Maps?? Rolf's best advice is to get a PDA that also has a built in GPS. In that way, he reckons you can get to see the caches just in a specific area instead of scrolling through a long list of caches or needing to know the cache listing code beforehand. From my side, the touch screen technology has come a long way and should last a little longer than your older Palm (well I hope it is that way). Perhaps you should consider a product with a decent warranty or guarantee, so that if it does break you can get a replacement or fixed at no extra cost. We also plan to pay a visit to Vodaworld (all the cellphone brands under one roof) and see what is out there. We would like to be notified of new listing publications if we are out and about, as well as be able to access the internet (provided there is 3G or wireless in the area) to check on things, view the pics and input our logs, etc. We would like to be able to do caching whenever we feel like it or wherever we are, by having something to access the website. Otherwise, currently we spend a lot of time planning which caches we'll do and then it doesn't always work out as planned. If we find out more about suitable phone models, or PDAs to go for, we'll share it with you. On the other hand, if other cachers have some advice please, do let us know!

Thanks Gerhard. Actually, Rolf was also interested in this setup of yours, so even though it may be slightly off the topic, you have grabbed the interest of other geocachers!

Hi there is no need to Put together a really cool Event as you have already done this. It was the great 2009 South African TB race. Im sure quite a few other cachers would agree with me. thanks Ding bat Thanks Ding Bat! We did have a great time, but we want to put together an even cooler Event....watch this space!!

Thank you for the new way of seeing the caches on Google Earth. We had to read the instructions a bit, as the new method is a bit different than what it was before. But we really like the new version and are eternally grateful that this issue was resolved. We relied heavily on GE with the KML feature showing where all the caches were! Thanks once again!

We joined on 8 April 2008 and had hoped to reach 200 caches by our 1st anniversary. With Enzo's arrival, we weren't able to do it and only reached our 200th in July 2009. We realised that with little people, you simply cannot do all that you want to do. So now we just appreciate the times that we can geocache and the caches that we find. The ones we cannot do, is just one of those things. We are not sure where we'll be at our 2nd anniversary, but we would like to achieve the following: 1. Place our 1st Earthcache (and some more if we get things right) 2. Place one or two Mystery caches 3. Place a Letterbox Hybrid cache 4. Increase the finds of Multi & Mystery caches 5. Get some more caches done with higher difficulty and terrain ratings (not so easy with two little critters!) 6. Put together a really cool Event Well done Jors for nearly caching for 10 years WOW - that is a huge milestone!

Hey FE...sounds awesome, but you know if you want to attract cachers to the area or the Event don't you think you need to make things a little more easy? Jokes aside, we would love to come but we have to see if we can manage it, as we still have small kiddies who have needs that are not as flexible as with older children or adults. We will need to find a suitable camping place in the vicinity and would lneed to miss the Hike - as nice as it sounds - we won't manage it with the kids so early nor for the climb!

Oh WOW!!! Congratulations RedGlobe! That is an incredible milestone to reach - Well Done! We still need to put our first EarthCache together...we've even gone and purchased a nice book all about South Africa's geology to help us along .

I know...it is incredible how time flies! But we are loving it. On Sunday, we let Nadia "find" one of the caches - she was so thrilled. She's been into it from day one, and now she has just turned 3 and it makes much more sense. So she is enjoying it even more now - it is very sweet!

It's been DISCONTINUED! Big fuss going on in the main forums (linky) Apparently it caused too much server load. All number of suggestions are being made, but all to no avail. Very sad. Please see the announcement on the general forum made a short while ago..... Thanks FE...we only saw your response now with the announcement (after we had posted our unhappy response). We are SO HAPPY that the feature will be coming back - even with its limitations!

Thank goodness that Groundspeak has seen the light to bring back a fantastic feature! We are eternally greatful for their consideration and work to bring back the KML with GE feature. Thank you, thank you, thank you - it is very much appreciated. We look forward to the new KML version next week. We don't mind the size of the icons or anything like that - just letting us know that a cache is in a certain place on Google Earth is great for a start. Greetings from South Africa

It's been DISCONTINUED! Big fuss going on in the main forums (linky) Apparently it caused too much server load. All number of suggestions are being made, but all to no avail. Very sad. Oh WOW!! That is seriously AWFUL news!! We read the threads and personally that map feature in Groundspeak stinks in comparison to the fast KML & Google Earth link. We personally think that the change has nothing to do with server speed or that only "200" users were making use of it (what a load of rubbish). We wish that they could've been honest about the real reason for stopping it and then having a proper alternative in place before switching off something that was working great (for all geocachers worldwide). Anyway, just so typical of Americans...they always think just past their own nose and have no regard for anyone else on the globe! We made extensive use of the feature in GE very often, so now this has left a sour taste in our mouthes with regards to geocaching (as well as no other option available). We wish there was another alternative out there to give a bit of competition to Groundspeak.

We really think the same way! Not only did I start a thread on "What annoys you?" we have similar gripes! ((Slightly annoyed yo started a new thread.....)) Oh yes - we remember this thread but couldn't find it so opened up a new one because those little calling cards and bits of paper everywhere were getting really annoying...sorry about starting a new thread. Can we delete threads or move the posts to the other, original thread?

Well Done sidecar_spotters for your 150th!! Gosh that was blitsvinnig indeed.....best of luck for the next 150!

Thanks for the wishes TGinger!! We would've reached it a lot sooner had it not been for little Enzo's arrival! But we are not in a hurry to reach major milestones....we are just enjoying it as we go along!

This doesn't really have anything to do with GC emails not sent, but we didn't want to start a new thread about it. We just wanted to find out if any other geocacher out there is experiencing problems with Google Earth and the geocaching link that shows the caches in GE? We used to be able to see the caches when in Google Earth but for the last two weeks the caches disappeared and we don't know why? We've tried to search for this problem but without any luck/results. Please let us know?

We would also fall into the non-competitive family category. We prefer the relaxed type of Event, where we get to know fellow geocachers and find some new caches as well. The recent Event at Tswaing is a good example. Even though we missed out on much of the Event, we had such a wonderful relaxed time. We also learnt alot about our natural heritage. We don't think it is an age thing when it comes to the non-competitive thing - we think it boils down to quality vs quantity. We are also planning another major Event with a difference....but there is a lot of work to it, so it will take us a few months of prep. Hopefully we'll have it up and running before the end of this year....let's hope so!

Something with beans or samp in it?

Another pet hate of ours is when geocachers log their finds as "TFTC SL". Or something like "Nice" - that's it - nothing else! We really enjoy reading the various logs about cacher's experiences, for example, GerhardOosMPSA.....you have to love his logs!

We have to agree with this one. What makes it worse is when your GPS goes haywire with all the inteference so it makes it so much harder to locate the correct "pile of rocks". We believe that if the site is in a fairly safe muggle free area, a more specific hint should be given to assist in finding the cache.

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And also not to forget about cincol - Thank you for all your hard work with tallying up the points and keeping us up to date with the Race standings! You are also doing a great job and we appreciate your efforts!

Damhuisclan you are doing a STERLING job with the webpages on the Race. It doesn't matter about the glitches and slight errors. The main thing is that you have made the effort to do this for us, and for that we are truly grateful. Thanks to you, we have a graphical representation of what is happening with the Race, and it makes such a difference. Thank you so much!