French Autoroute Mayhem?

[The Hardingstone Sloths]

Does anybody know of any French Autoroute caches (or bookmark lists), more specifically on the route between Calais & the Alps? Thanks.

Edited March 28, 2006 by The Hardingstone Sloths

[+Geo-Kate]

Does anybody know of any French Autoroute caches (or bookmark lists), more specifically on the route between Calais & the Alps? Thanks.

 

I would suggest you use Google Earth with the KML cache veiwer you can dowload from your profile page and view the route and roads you plan on using. The caches will appear on the maps.

 

Good luck

[+sTeamTraen]

You can find a map of every cache in France here:

http://www.geocaching-france.com/maps/_visualiser_maps.php

 

Don't expect much along your way - maybe one or two lame micros by "Team Kleijn". A minor detour around Dijon might take you to my cache "Not Exactly Purgatory", which could be a nice lunchtime drivette.

 

France is 2.25 times bigger than the UK and has about 12 times fewer caches (the UK will hit 10000 active caches this week, we're hoping for 1,000 in France in about June/July).

 

You have to go back to about July 2002 to find when the UK's cache density was about the same as France's is today.

[+dibbler69]

Thanks for the link sTreamTraen. Im off to Biarittz in August. I hoping for loads of caches to do. Looks like im going to have to spend my holiday talking to the wife and daughter

[+sTeamTraen]

Thanks for the link sTreamTraen. Im off to Biarittz in August.

 

Me too! See you there?

 

Actually, there may be some hope. Check out GCTX83. The owner is a brother (or -in-law) of a very active cacher near me, OMLingo. With some encouragement he might put out a few more between now and then.

 

If not, well, we'll drive down there the long way round.

 

Nick

[The Hardingstone Sloths]

Thanks for your help everyone - didn't realise there were so few in France.

[+t.a.folk]

You can find a map of every cache in France here:

http://www.geocaching-france.com/maps/_visualiser_maps.php

 

 

Whizzy site .

Is there a similar one for the U.K.?

[+Learned Gerbil]

You mean like www.geocacheuk.com?

[+sTeamTraen]

The Biarritz area is going mad! In the last 30 days, in a 50km radius, they've gone from 2 trad/1 virt to 8 trad/1 multi/1 virt... two new cachers, the above mentioned f8pkp and the very Basque-sounding PatXarran, are rolling them out at the rate of more than one a week!

[+The Other Stu]

I'm disappointed with the French. I would have thought caching was just the type of thing to do in the vast sprawling countrysides.

 

One of the biggest problems with the UK is that we're running out of space (see my latest DNF).

 

In France, they have the culture, the space and definitely the hidey-holes to make geocaching a national sport!

[+t.a.folk]

You mean like www.geocacheuk.com?

 

Thankyou.

Apologies for late response .

[+harrogate hunters]

I have had recently some sucess in southern France...

 

I placed a cache called Nice View in the old Castle grounds in Nice (South Coast for those that dont know) near Monaco a year ago.

 

Its intention was to promote geocaching in the area, and hopefully provide me with more caches when I visit on a regular basis.

 

In the last year and half all I have had is over 100 foreigners log the cache...

 

Last month two new geocachers suddenly appeared in the area, one being a local policeman who found my cache by accident !!!!

 

Bingo, he has now taken over the full time running of the cache, and also placed 4 other caches in the area...

 

I was lucky, I visit Nice on a regular basis, and was therefore able to maintain the cache... its a pity a few more caches can not be placed by 'non-french' ---- maybe we will get them caching eventually...

 

So if you are around the Nice/Monaco area... there is a little cluster of caches..... and they are growing !

[+sTeamTraen]

I'm disappointed with the French.

 

Don't be too hard on them - the people who aren't geocachers, don't know that they aren't.

 

One of the biggest problems with the UK is that we're running out of space (see my latest DNF).

 

I'd like to, but your DNF list isn't publicly accessible - can we have the link?

 

In France, they have the culture, the space and definitely the hidey-holes to make geocaching a national sport!

 

Not sure about the culture. Like it or not, a certain level on English is a requirement when getting started, and between those who can't speak/read/write English and those who won't for whatever nationalistic reason, it puts quite a few people off. Also, Internet connections are fewer than in the UK (I think only one home in 2 in France has a computer, and not all of those are 'netted up), GPS ownership is mostly limited to car navigation systems, and Sunday lunch lasts four hours, which is half the available daylight for a good chunk of the year.

 

But at least the chicken&egg problem is bring slowly overcome. I take my hat off to new players like buckfast, bobines84, khahjul, beaufort12, PatXarran, and f8pkp, all of whom have almost as many "placed" as "found", but who are making a real contribution to getting the game off the ground.

[+The Other Stu]

I'd like to, but your DNF list isn't publicly accessible - can we have the link?

 

oops sorry... try THIS

 

Stu

[+sTeamTraen]

Ah well, without roads, how will we get to the caches?