malo mystery

Nothing to do with stars.

Thanks Hesamati, those kind of stats can often seem a little skewed, we think of what our piers consume, but that often is not what the overall population consumes most, like the fact that something around 80% volume of all beer is sold in quarts. Okay - back to something more closely linked to caching. The picture below is of a navigation tool of days gone by, how was it used to assist in navigation?

Here is my take on trading up: Rather take out two (or more) not so great objects and put it one great item. This way the stuff in the cache will get better and better. If you trade multiple objects for one great item, the value gets "watered down" (even if the overall value of the swag has increased) and the next person to find the cache will have nothing great to find. "Trade up and don't dilute". I agree with the "trade up and not dilute" - too often you see something like "took out flash drive, and put in 3 Macdonalds toys, a few golf teas and a plastic cow". I guess this is a case of preparing properly before caching by having a range of different valued items in your bag, including some of higher value.

All gone a little quiet here so lets try liven this party up again. (i) Beers, RTDs, Spirits, Unfortified wines, Fortified wines. (ii) Brandy, Whisky, Vodka, Liqueurs, Gin, Rum, Cane. (iii) 3 000 000 Hectolitres

I recently came across a cache with a cracked lid, and thought "if only I had some duct tape" - a little strip stuck over the crack or stuck on the inside (if it is a cammo painted container) might not be a permanent solution, but a good temporary one. Something like Presstick can also be useful to temporarily cover small holes in containers or a blob of it placed on the end of a stick might help retrieve items dropped into hard to reach places.

Where am I? Looks like a snake/dinosaur/dragon trying to squeeze down a chimney to me.

Congratulations Tomtwogates on your 700 finds, keep up the fantastic work.

It looks to be a cache SOMEBODY did about a year ago. Is that the front door in the background, and if so are the people in this town really short are are the windows just exceptionally big?

Is Googling allowed on this thread? because I just Googled "two goats deli" and came to that same conclusion.

(i) Beer, Spirits, RTDs, Unfortified wines, Fortified wines (ii) Brandy, Vodka, Whisky, Liqueurs, Cane, Rum, Gin (iii) 384 000 Hectolitres

I think we would have beaten the record but were defeated by Wales at the opening match of their new Millenuim Stadium.

I doubt this will get any critical acclaim, but thought it might be interesting to take a look at this peculiar looking specimen. Anyone know what it is?

Well those caches all have chains to climb, so does it mean by means of chain?

A lateral guess here, but can a "steel road" not be a "wire" - by means of wire?

From what I've read it can be done by combining Garmap & OSM into one gmapsupp.img file using Mapsource. You then use the Map Info button on the Nuvi to chose which map to display. Trouble is that I haven't come across an OSM compiled map that can be loaded into Mapsource yet. The link I gave above doesn't have the Mapsource file. Anyone know of a site? When I was in Europe I used this site to generate maps that are MapSource ready. I don't know how detailed the SA maps are, however. This site is a useful resource for getting OSM maps when you travel elsewhere. Some are Garmin ready, some are not. I've been happy with the mileage I get. Thanks besem The reason I was wondering about having access to both is because it seems that the OSM might have better coverage of the hiking trails, so then when out hiking I could swop over and take advantage of the more detailed coverage. I have not had chance to test it yet, any comments?

I am keen to help put something together. I like the point of having tips regarding finding caches AND tips on placements, maybe that would help prevent mugglings and other forms of cache decay. I would think that the multi would have to cover urban as well as mountain areas because of different lessons learned regarding cache finding/placement, although a straight forward walk/hike from beginning would most likely be preferable, would it be possible? Are you set on one long multi or open to a series of individual caches, maybe linked by having an essential clue to the following cache hidden in the cache container of the preceding cache. Either way I guess all individuals would be responsible for the dedicated maintenance of their portion otherwise the whole thing would fall apart. I think cache retrieval is just as important as cache replacement. Often over time because of the nature of the hide, the cache ends up being less and less disguised because for example rocks become scratched and scuffed, so what used to be a well hidden cache under a natural looking pile of rocks becomes a rather obvious hide under a conspicuous pile of rocks . Lessons can be learned regarding cache placement and to be cautious when replacing caches and to hide them just as they were found with everything returned as you found it. There might be cachers that have ideas on caching areas that need help regarding containers and vice-versa - it might help if we could help each other by trading ideas or containers. Could there be a puzzle solving portion to the cache - maybe a basic list of the more common things to look for regarding puzzles, and some of the ways of solving them? It seem many are weary/cautious/scared of puzzles and this might help open the window for them to enjoy puzzles more.

Is there any way that I can load OpenStreetMaps and regular Garmin maps onto a Nuvi 205 and chop and change between the two at will?

I might not have the answer to your problem but rather some answers to your cause. 1) Yes the TB is not there and is long gone, as you might see from previous logs saying that cachers noted it was missing, although it seems Fish Eagle has been hard at work recently posting notes to bug/coin owners and clearing this out of the system. 2) Some cachers - particularly those travelling distances (out of town/overseas) might only log their cache finds on returning home/having internet access and this could be days or weeks later. 3) Others, like me dont log instantly via all those methods you are using, so I only get to log later that evening, maybe you cache an hour or two after me and find an empty cache that I raided earlier that day. 4) If you are caching on a Pocket Query a few days old the answer is obvious. 5) Sometimes cachers might cache a few caches along a path and forget which cache they dropped a TB/coin in or get it muddled and log it as dropped in a certain cache meanwhile they actually dropped it in a neighbouring cache. I guess sometimes you win and sometimes you loose, ever find a coin in a cache that was marked as not having any trackables? I dont think you will ever solve this problem unless everyone logs correct up to the minute logs.

I have never been there so dont know the proportions of land above and below sea level, but is the area around the dead sea not below sea level, bringing the "average" altitude down a bit, so my guess would be Israel for the lowest, average altitude unknown.

Capetownfly, I think you are going to get a few more of the same responses in that everyone has a different idea of quality. Personally I am not a fan of a micro unless it is a last resort to get a cache at the desired location. They have their place and usually increase the difficulty ratings, but if it just a question of lazy cache placement then I often come away feeling a little let down. There is one near the new stadium in Greenpoint and one at the cable station that to me are well placed. Both areas are extremely busy muggle areas and have a lot of security nearby, both have been placed in those specific areas for a point and that makes them essential. There are a few micros around the cape on the top of mountains which to me is fairly pointless, but that is just my opinion and some might love them. For me caches can be rated on several factors which can include some of the following in no particular order: Cache page - is it well laid out, informative easy to follow, does it tell me what I need to know regarding the cache and any extra details that might be required to find the cache - precautions, vague routes, extra equipment needed etc this can sometimes be essential when doing difficult terrain caches where a wrong route might lead to a dangerous situation. Cache location - is it an interesting location, maybe an amazing hike to get to the location, does it show me an interesting spot I might not otherwise have been to or known about, is there a good view, it might even be a place that we drive past every day but did not notice until a cacher pointed it out. Learn something - did the cache teach me something maybe the history of a place or object, maybe how to decode another puzzle? Container - is the container well disguised/hidden/secure with all the essentials - neat log book,writing equipment,geocache note and swag all dry. I have read recently about a ziplock bag with a piece of paper and a lego block inside it - that is about as close to a cache as what a match is to a bonfire. Enjoyment - did I enjoy the cache and come away thinking - thanks, that was worth it? cache placer who has put in the effort and maintains the cache, takes heed of logs that might be saying that the cache needs attention. A cache does not need all these to be good, you can have an amazing puzzle leading to a mediocre cache but still have an enjoyable cache. You can have a simple cache page but a brilliant location with an ordinary cache container and still have an enjoyable cache. This is obviously all subjective and many people enjoy to just "cache" - find a cache, enjoy the hunt no matter what kind of cache it might be, but just do it for the drive, the hunt, the find. We seem to be fairly lucky with the quality of most of our caches, and even the poorest of quality caches seemed to get their finds. Read the logs, see what the others say, read between the lines - a cacher that usually writes extensive logs might not write a scathing attacking log but purely by the fact that he might leave an unusually short log might tell you something. Longer logs are often a sign of enjoyment - more cache placer effort = more cache finder effort. some that I have enjoyed include : GC1T4ZW - King's Block House - unique puzzles, cache page and location and effort. GC1ZR65 - Orpheus in the Underworld - Fantastic page, location and effort GC1VRNX - The Ghost of Tokai Manor - History, page , location. GC21XRQ - Quirky Quercus parts I, II and III - amazing cache hides and containers, location GC21V2P Number Crunch - including any of the puzzle caches in that area that are all interesting and unique in their own way. I have enjoyed most of the caching I have done and dont mean to leave anyone off the list, these ones just come to mind at the moment.

There are scoring systems out there, usually the score is only visible to others that are using that specific add-on. There are some people around that use it but it seems very few, and it seems the less that use it, the less effective it is because you dont really get an "averaged" out score if you get any score at all. It seems reading the logs might be the way to go. How do you score a cache anyway? The reason I enjoyed a cache - like a really good puzzle might make you hate that cache. Here is a local thread One of them is called GCvote

Henzz - sorry for the loss CapeDoc - I agree with all your considerations regarding cache placement. I also try consider how the area might look in a few years time. An area that is ideal today might not look the same in a few years and might not be an enjoyable caching location after a few years decay. Would a cacher enjoy the cache or walk away thinking "what was the point?" To me it seems that one of the biggest causes of mugglings is being spotted by people who might not be easily noticeable to the cacher. Picture it from the muggles point of view - they are lying/sitting/relaxing under their usual tree/ bush and along comes a person/group of people and start scratching around (clearly looking for something), they find "something", inevitably pull it out and look for a comfortable place to open it up and write a log, take something out, put something in and then look cautiously around before going to replace it. I think that sometimes we overlook the fact that purely by being in an area makes us suspicious - if it be in a kids play park or an area on the urban fringes that might be frequented by homeless people - just the fact that we "dont fit in" makes us stand out - no matter how cautiously we might retrieve or replace the cache, just like a homeless person in you local GPS store would draw attention. This is probably part of the reason that mountain caches get muggled less often - we blend in. I have been toying with the idea of placing a cache at the abandoned Rhodes / Groote Schuur zoo, but am also concerned about all these things. So far the pro's I have thought of include: 1. Show people a place that they might not have known about/ have not been to. 2. History - originally built by Rhodes as a private zoo in 1897 3. Bring back memories of people who were there in its prime/ let people imagine how it would have looked. 4. I have found the plans on how it originally looked. 5. Easily accessible with nearby parking. Cons 1. Signs of people living/ have lived there and all the mess that comes along with that. 2. Cache / cacher safety. 3. How rapidly the area might decay further. So now I can 1. Forget about it. 2. Place a regular, explain my concerns, adjust the terrain and difficulty accordingly and hope for the best. 3. Make it a multi/ unknown with the cache itself placed in a safer location, but having to go to the zoo location to get numbers for co-ords. If the place was just another of many others it would be a no brainer, I dont want to waste peoples time. Any ideas?

Sorry Trev, but 8 bob a bucket in the late eighteen hundreds! Quite ironic really because early domestication of dogs was partially to clean up human waste and food scraps. So you domesticate the animal to clean up your mess and then you end up cleaning up its mess?

I am a dumbass thanks Paddawan, not just a sneaky cache hider.

Exactly like that thanks - but I am feeling rather stoooopid right now so please explain - I used to have it automated but am rather lost now.