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Placing Of Caches


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Last Saturday we did a cache which was placed on private property obviously without the owners permission. Not only were parts of their garden being visibly disturbed, we also caused the owners quite a lot of anxiety. A man in a 4x4 drove slowly past us, staring glaringly at us and went off at snail's pace up the road. Then a woman appeared on a balcony having a good luck at us. This all unnerved us a little and we got back into our vehicle and went off down the road and sat a while waiting to see if the police would arrive! Eventually we plucked up courage and went back, found the cache immediately and left. On our way out we did notice some fellow cachers heading towards this cache venue, so decided to return and show them where it was, so as not to distress the owners anymore. When we got there, the woman was in the garden talking to the other cachers and after we explained it all to her, she was very happy to allow us to continue with our fun.

Surely if we want to place caches on private property, it would be advisable to ask the owners if they mind? Most people are only too happy to help, when they know what it is all about.

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Thanks TV&M for the help that day. To complicate things further :ph34r: we cache together as a family and it’s hard to look not so suspicious with excited kids clambering and climbing, poking and turning over almost every thing in the surrounds. So stealth is a bit challenging in high muggel areas. Must also say their “out of the box” thinking and small little hands found many a caches were we would have given up long before. Only discovered that day that TV&M have a special geocaching tool for poking holes. :huh:

 

Great success has been achieved by involving the owners of the place were you will be placing the cache, it is definitely a great experience for the people finding the cache and it is promoting the sport. We really want to encourage all to be respectful of private property and think before you place the cache.

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mmm, my 2 cents worth. Surely a bit of ettiquette is required when placing caches, for instance, if a cache is on private land, it is just common decency to ask for permission, I think that caches that are placed on private land and permission is not asked should be archived.

Also, "Puddy Tat" cache was in the peoples garden with a very vague co-ords, plus no permission, all makes for an unhappy situation. I have not enjoyed some of these micros around town! A person feels too exposed and I think that caching should be an enjoyable thing, it's hard to enjoy caching if you're worried about getting into trouble just for looking for the cache!

Another thing is the amount of micros being placed. Now I enjoy a good micro, I think that they are a good solution to virtual caches, its good to take people to interesting urban places. The sad thing is that someone has just placed a micro on top of table mountain, some how it just does not seem right... in my opinion of course.

I know that caching has reached fever pitch in this country and I'm sure a lot of things are done and overlooked just to get a few points but careless placing of caches just to score points ruins it for everyone.

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I've found that when I've asked for permission, I was greeted with such enthusiasm and cooperation ... some owners even promised to maintain the cache.

 

Let's do the decent thing and keep the sport in good repute! :(

 

On the topic of micro's ... they are best when you do not want muggles to easily find a cache ... or when you have that very special hidey hole for a thrilling find. :ph34r:

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I agree whole heartedly with what has been said, and it is indeed sad when people place caches just for the points, but that said, knowing that points are being tallied certainly makes me want to get out and cache. I am competitive and therefore enjoy the challenge, but at the same time I believe it should be in the spirit of what geocaching is about.

 

The odd cache placed out of turn is not, in my humble opinion, the end of the world. Yes, its irresponsible, and yes the individual should be reprimanded and requested to refrain from such placements in future.

 

I dont think placing a micro on top of Table Mountain should be frowned upon, rather we should be thankful that caches are being placed for us to go and find. As long as it is within the guidelines, y not!!

 

I read a cache page the other day (cant rem which one though - its an age thing lol) that said when arriving at the gate you should inform the person at the gate that you were there to view a house ie. lying to obtain entrance in order to geocache - not above board IMO.

 

Its also quite sad that everything in SA is so commercialised, so much so, that the nicest areas to go geocaching require some sort of entrance fee. If you find a spot that you dont have to pay an entrance fee they are normally plagued by beggars and vagrants. (with the exception of a few of course) Alternatively, you have to drive miles into the middle of nowhere.

 

And lets not forget about placing a cache in an area which has a high crime rate. If I remember correctly it was Discombob who was recently robbed. I think the onus is on the cacher placing the cache to ensure that the area is relatively safe. There are quite a few caches which state that it is not advisable to do it alone.

 

I think one needs to look at all aspects of safety as well as suitability prior to the placement of a cache.

 

Happy caching ya'll :ph34r:

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Must agree with all the issues been said here .......!

We love a good micro, but they seem to be the only caches being placed right now. There are super places for micro's, of course, but surely there must still be some places that are suitable for regular caches. All those travel bugs we love moving around need caches large enough to visit!

When we place a cache we think long and hard about it - we try to place them in areas which we think are special and which we feel people will enjoy visiting. On a number of occasions we have changed our minds about leaving a cache, because of large amounts of litter in the area. I know we could clean it up (have done often, too!), but we don't want to expose our geocaching friends to somewhere not quite up to standard.

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I agree with tricky and landy. We felt very awkward doing that cache too.

I once placed a cache on a wine farm without permission, and have learnt my lesson now :-)

 

With regards the safety issue, I was being a bit silly, caching a bit too late. I in fact recognized that the area was dodgy, and was so used to having my car broken into, I decided it woud be safer for me to take all my stuff with me. Oh, the Irony. I will be back to get that cache soon though :laughing:

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Seeing as I couldnt go caching today :laughing: I was browsing the posts and the analytical mind kicked in...heres what I came up with...

 

Micro - 155 - 16%

Small - 285 - 29%

Regular - 457 - 47%

Large - 17 - 2%

Other - 16 - 2%

Unknown - 29 - 3%

Virtual - 13 - 1%

 

For those with an interest :)

 

Happy caching

 

Ps. I almost forgot - total caches in SA now stands at 972 :(

Edited by tramper
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Of course it didn't help that dozens of cachers found the kitty cache on one single day. How To Attract Attention 101.

 

I think Musical Scales is an excellent example of brilliant cache placement - most folks would have placed a micro, but this is a clever place to hide a very large container! Yep - micros are great fun, but a goodies container, even a tiny one, is always a nice thing to find!

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I just have to chime in here and say Micros are fine. I found one on Saturday (GCVXMC) that was worth the effort even though I am sure a regular cache could have been hidden. But the fun was looking for something tiny and then BAM! it was right there. So place them, just make sure they are meaningful when placing.

 

On a side note, as a non-wineist (is that a word?) these micros at wine estates are little much for me. But I am beginning to ignore them since there are so many nice caches all around CT. So pick and choose when you go caching. Nothing wrong with that.

 

Another side note: 972! Well done everyone. Well done. 13 virtuals. really? and who's placing all the unknown caches? Surely you can fit them in a category.

 

and one more thing and then I will shut up for a while. I am liking the creativity of cache placements in CT lately (hat-tip JG). Sometimes the urban camo is better than the "under a pile of un-natural rocks" line that we get so often. Variety, I guess is what I am eventually getting to. Keep them coming.

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Out of interest I heard a story today about a certain Cape cache. The owners of the nearby restaurant where aware of the cache but this weekend they were asked if they still didn't mind the cache on their property and the response was something like: "Don't you dare move it! We have endless fun spying on the geocachers, trying to be secretive!" ;)

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Hi there we are really new at this and we had a slight problem at cache "I tawt I saw a putty cat" we found the co ordinates and just looking at where the micro cache was supposed to have been, the garden was so badly disarranged that we had a quick look without diturbing the garden anymore I even untied and retied my shoelace to make it look normal. We decided to leave it and enquire with ZAlandyman as he has found the cache, he has requested that I use the forum to inform other cachers of the condition of the site :rolleyes:

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the garden was so badly disarranged that we had a quick look without diturbing the garden anymore I even untied and retied my shoelace to make it look normal.

 

Shouldn't we all try and practice treading very lightly in a cache area. Numerous times you find the cache location because the area is treaded on so badly. I think back to my Boy Scout days where the motto was,

 

"leave an area better than you found it."

 

I suppose that applies to CITO also, but you get the point.

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I dont think placing a micro on top of Table Mountain should be frowned upon

 

I'm Guilty!

However, i feel that micros can be the best containers to be placed at times, and as it so happens, this is my only micro. I am still an avid fan of the good old traditional caches! Each to his own! So long as the spot is interesting and it's not just a numbers game!

 

And lets not forget about placing a cache in an area which has a high crime rate. If I remember correctly it was Discombob who was recently robbed. I think the onus is on the cacher placing the cache to ensure that the area is relatively safe

 

I'm guilty again!

It was my cache and I agree completely about placing caches in safe areas! And i don't see this as a dangerous area, but maybe not at night (as is the case with many other cache areas).

 

I think we have fantastic caches and cachers in SA! And we are only getting better! Our standard of setting caches is top notch! And threads like this only help to improve it!

 

Cheers!

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No need to admit guilt Larks, no wrong doing in my opinion. We will never be able to please all the people all the time. I think the views expressed are great and I'll be honest I'm not a micro fan myself, but thats my personal view. I prefer traditional and mystery caches so thats what I stick to most of the time.

 

Happy caching....:(

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sooooo many micros added this week!!! Somebody pleeeease stop them :(:(:)

 

So, Landyman, you are now facing a moral dilemma. We all know by now you dont like micros - but are you going to start boycotting them, or are you going to have to go out and find them anyway, just to keep your rankings good.

 

Personally, while I think there are a lot of these micros coming out recently, it is not the fact that they are micros that gets me. Its that they are all drive by caches (and the petrol fees to get to the winelands every weekend :( .

I prefer the caches which have a bit more of pleasant stroll in nature, and what tends to happen is that with so many easy caches coming out every week, people tend to go for these and overlook the more challenging or longer caches. How many people have been caching in Stellenbosch and Somerset West regularly, and have never attempted Tweede Waterval, for instance. They are missing out on an incredible walk, and some amazing scenery!! (get a green card before you go, to save on the entrance fee)

however, that said, i will certainly do these new caches and enjoy them, but I am going to combine them with some pleasant strolls. I also think that we probably shouldnt complain just because they are not our cup of tea. They are in fact very good for winter caching, and for the less fit cachers, who also deserve just as much caching fun as the rest of us fitter types :D

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Hold on tight! I could become an enemy in the next few weeks!

 

We need some balance here!

So in true SA style (according to Vespa) I shall be countering the drive-by caches and the micros in the suburbs.

 

I will be placing several slightly tougher yet infinately more rewarding caches on the Table Mountain Range.

Personally they are my favourite, but some people may tend to disagree.

 

Keep an eye out....

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So, Landyman, you are now facing a moral dilemma. We all know by now you dont like micros - but are you going to start boycotting them, or are you going to have to go out and find them anyway, just to keep your rankings good.

:)

Its not that I dont like micros, I dont mind them, its those hastily placed caches that are just put somewhere just for the sake of placing a cache... THAT I dont enjoy, but hey... cie la vie, each to his own in the end I suppose.

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Hi Everyone,

 

Sorry to bring this oldish topic up again but something has been bothering me since I got back from a few days camping and hiking in the Magaliesburg. We did the Mountain Santuary Park caches which are really great. We enjoyed it very much.

 

We are new to geocaching and have enjoyed all (18) of our finds to date (and even some of the DNF's)

 

Without trying to upset anyone or trample on anyones toes but I have been trying to research the placing of 2 caches as our first hides and feel it needs to be done with thought and care and take the cacher to someplace worth while as has been said in this topic.

 

On research on the web, I found a place in the Magalieburg area (a place with still huge potential, me thinks) Went onto Google earth and GSAK and found no apparent cache placement there. (but being new I did not do this part correctly and missed it and there was actually a cache on this hiking trail.)

 

That aside, I had already sent an email to the owners to ask permission and explain the concept of GeoCaching etc. This was his reply:

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi <...>,

 

You are welcome to visit <...> for a day hike. During your visit we would like to get more info on Geocaches.

 

Greetings,

 

<...>

---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

So, the cache on this hiking trail was placed without permission if the owner would like to first find out a little more info on geocaching? :anicute: The cache is also logged as several meters off the trail, so what damage will be caused by scooting around the area off the trail to look for it?

 

I think the trail might be big enough for another 2 caches or so, but it peeves me off that the owners are seemingly unaware that they have a cache on thier property at present. :)

 

As was said in this topic before, it brings the Geocaching sport/activity into a bad light, which is not good for the sport/activity or good for me, that is now hooked on it. There is the arguement of "what the eye does not see the heart will not cry about", but that is not what I thought Geocaching was about. :)

 

Anyway thats my 2c worth anyway.

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It's true that most cachers will not ask permission for a cache placement, even when permission is usually easily obtainable.

 

Just download this booklet to show to the land owners and they are usually very happy about it. I have one cache that the owner is actually maintaining for me, he sometimes emails me saying that someone logged the cache (I don't think he realises that I get an email from GC.com anyway), but its fun to hear his version of what is written in the logbook.

 

You're going about it the right way TripTrick, Thanks!

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