me N u

The Najran-Empty Quarter trip was a success! Even with an annoying and time consuming police escort that we picked up along the way. But they were good sports and came caching with us. The trip blog is on this website http://theadventuresofmenu.shutterfly.com/blog/30 (photos will be up as soon as I can get them uploaded)

There is an earthcache powerpoint presentation at http://www.saudigeocachers.com/index.php?o...8&Itemid=89 It was submitted by Carbon Hunter and he gave us permission to post it. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the feedback. I have added a Multimedia menu this week and reorganized the site a bit. I will add a link to the Podcacher site there and then people can go direct to them.

Thanks for the feedback. I have added a Multimedia menu this week and reorganized the site a bit. I will add a link to the Podcacher site there and then people can go direct to them.

10 10 10 Saudi Arabia (GC2GQPX) is in place and just awaiting publication - we back dated its placement to 10 October in order to keep in the spirit of the idea

Hi - we'll be happy to place a cache in Saudi Arabia. I wish I had seen this post before I went out with a group of new cachers on Thursday, we could have put it out then (but we did find 2/2 that we went hunting for ). Sunday is a work day so we'll put it out a bit after, but obviously name it 10-10-10 Saudi Arabia. Hope that's OK with the rules. Will post with more information, once we put it out.

We are taking registration for the White Volcanoes trip scheduled to be from 12-19 February 2011. Please contact: menugeocaching@gmail.com for more details For more trips and information on geocaching in Saudi Arabia head over to WWW.SAUDIGEOCACHERS.COM Follow us on FB: SAUDI-GEOCACHERS TWITTER: SAGEOCACHE

The Saudi Geocachers are taking registrations for the Empty Quarter Trip 3 - 11 February 2011 CONTACT: MENUGEOCACHING@GMAIL.COM for more details For more trips and information on geocaching in Saudi Arabia head over to WWW.SAUDIGEOCACHERS.COM Follow us on FB: SAUDI-GEOCACHERS TWITTER: SAGEOCACHE

The Saudi Geocachers are taking registrations for the Najran Geocaching Trip during Haj 2010 (11-19 November 2010) CONTACT: MENUGEOCACHING@GMAIL.COM for more details For more trips and information on geocaching in Saudi Arabia head over to WWW.SAUDIGEOCACHERS.COM Follow us on FB: SAUDI-GEOCACHERS TWITTER: SAGEOCACHE

I have uploaded the GoGeocaching, TB Rescue and First Geocache videos to the FB page and website (available on YouTube). Will the Podcacher people mind if I upload the podcast to the site or to FB?

We posted this on www.saudigeocachers.com to guide local cachers in grading their hides. The gradings out here are definitely a bit different from "normal" grading and it's hard sometimes to determine cache grading using www.GC.com rating

Unfortunately, we have to agree - we entered the wadi last weekend from Route 40 [25 01.539N, 047 13.320E]and quickly found ourselves in a rock and gypsum quarry. We estimated that 80% of the wadi is now quarry. The road in from Route 522 at [24 57.322N, 047 16.426E] has a security gate about a mile into the wadi. We passed from North to South across the wadi and exited through here with no interception or problems with the expat workers, just a friendly wave from the Yemeni security guard. This trip is not recommended because of the obvious quarrying and private land issues, and due to the extremely high volume of trucks travelling at high speed along the 522 from Riyadh to Khurais.

We`re trying to visit every cache here in Saudi Arabia before we leave and return to the UK - although there are less than 180 caches in the whole country, some are over 750 miles from our current location and others are more than 250 miles from the nearest tarmac into the desert.

Although we haven`t attempted it yet, we think Hadidah meteorite cache (GCAA76) has an interesting obstacle - over 200 miles of soft sand (from the nearest tarmac) into the the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia!

If you`re going to an area with seldom visited caches, why not use the TB "visited" facility, this way they won`t be hanging around but the owners are aware of where its been? We have done this with some trackables we picked up in the UK earlier in the year and brought back to Saudi Arabia, (with good feedback from some of the owners) and are intending taking them out of the country again, when we next go on holiday, to an area where they are more likely to travel regularly.

TBs tend to get stuck in Saudi Arabia - for many reasons. Why not post them on TB Rescue and wait for help? TB Rescue We check for stranded TBs each time we go out on holiday. We took 3 to the UK last year that had been stuck in a cache near Riyadh for 3 years!! They were more than happy to be moved to a milder climate and on their way to their destinations. We are taking 7 with us to the USA next week - after a tour of Saudi Arabia.

It's been a while since this post was visited and I thought it would be good to get people commenting again. Al Farsi has just updated it's Saudi Arabia country and city maps. Available at Jarir across the country. Darmoja now has Saudi desert maps as part of their standard software. Of course, there is the fabulous Google Earth (as long as the area you want has good resolution) If you are in Riyadh, you may want to pop into the Saudi Geological Survey. They have old, but good maps in various scales that you can buy. It might take a bit of negotiation to get through the gate, but they are more than helpful. Also, remember that maps are available online. We have posted some links on www.saudigeocachers.com We also use the regional Desert Treks books - they are very helpful and for the most part still relevant, despite local changes of tracks to roads etc.

We have been updating the website (to keep it fresh) and we were thinking that we should have an area on the website promoting geocaching in the Middle East. We love travel to our neighbours and going hunting. So..... To our neighbours or com-patriots (in the caching sense of the word): Would you mind writing a semi-regular piece about geocaching in Bahrain, Qatar and Oman or the UAE? wherever you live? this way we may be able to entice more folks stuck in Saudi to get out and explore the neighbourhood. Topics can include the history of caching in your country, the latest caches, special information/equipment needed to stay safe while caching in your area, event promotions, etc. Hope you all think this is a good idea.... You can email your article to menugeocaching@gmail.com or to admin@saudigeocachers.com or if you have website membership post it directly on the website. I will create a special area under Geocache Information in anticipation. Happy Geocaching - and don't let the heat keep you indoors Ellie PS if you know other cachers in your area who would be interested to submit something, please share this post with them.

I found these sites for Saudi Arabia (we haven't started exploring fully yet, but dip in when we are in the area) http://www.satelliteviews.net/saudiarabia.htm http://www.traveljournals.net/explore/saud...ations/s/6.html http://www.splendidarabia.com/ http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/201004/ http://www.outintheblue.com/desert_caves_of_saudi_arabia.htm

Hello from fellow Brits working in Riyadh. Firstly don`t get too caught up with security worries, yes there is a threat but at present simple common sense precautions should be enough. The British embassy Riyadh website has more information than can be listed here. Natural dangers can include extreme heat and humidity in Dhahran at this time of year, out of town there is a very, very small possibility of snakes and scorpions. The biggest danger is probably when you are on the road - expect other drivers to do totally unexpected and or incredibly foolish things - you`ll see what we mean when you get here. Other things to look out for - the Saudis strictly segregate single men from women and famillies, reastaurants and coffee shops will usually have 2 entrances, - they are usually well signed in English and fast food counters in shopping mall food courts will have a divider although there will be a seperate sittng area for single men (the family area usually has opaque glass). If you intend to go caching in the desert we recommend wearing hiking boots as the areas can be rather rocky and it is easy to twist an ankle. Above all enjoy your visit - it is an experience not many people get.

We are a new group - "Saudi Geocachers". There have been "Signal in Arabia" geocoins, desktop calendars and icons designed in the past, they are no longer available (we have contacted the designers for help) Can someone suggest a "logo designer" who can create a Signal in Arabia icon/logo for our website www.saudigeocachers.com ? We have almost no budget since members are spread across the country and many of us have never met - making us an online community. Something like this: http://shop.Groundspeak.com/productDetail....p;ProductID=201 (World Geocaching Series 12) I have been in contact with the designer of this coin, but they are unable to help at the moment. Or like the June 2007 Geocaching Calendar (World Geocaching Series 12) One of the co-founders suggested Signal on a camel on a sand dune - but as long as Signal is in a ghutra, I think we'd all be happy. Thanks me N u

We are a new group - "Saudi Geocachers". There have been "Signal in Arabia" geocoins, desktop calendars and icons designed in the past, they are no longer available (we have contacted the designers for help) Can someone suggest a "logo designer" who can create a Signal in Arabia icon/logo for our website www.saudigeocachers.com ? We have almost no budget since members are spread across the country and many of us have never met.

We just picked up a 2 man self-pitch tent for our day-trips (just in case of an emergency in the desert) - we picked it up for 150SR at Al Khadi Tents in Riyadh (for those of you in the Middle East who may want one) We have a large canvas self-pitch tent for extended trips and camping weekends - again from Al Khadi Tents. Best bit of kit we have bought recently - worth the money when you are pitching a tent in the middle of a sandstorm with +70km/hr winds.

We`re still out caching - found one today in Riyadh, whilst the temperature was 47C

We went to Sha'ib Nisah today (in 42C of heat!) to see if it was possible to follow Ionis Thompson's track to Hidden Valley (via Hafirat Nisah and the village of Ajaj) and find the 2 caches there. We took the above instructions with us (just in case) and after a successful trip to Sphinx Rock (including a nice chat with a few locals by the water tank) we headed over to the valley entrance from the east. However, once we arrived at the eastern entrance to Hidden Valley we were greeted with a 7+ft double berm! [24 14.890N, 046 29.281E] There were old tracks up and over the cliff to the left, but these had been bermed as well. Since we could clearly see the digger tire tracks, we are guessing the berm went up after the rains this year.