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New to geocaching


graciax452

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Hi I'm new to geocaching and have been teaching my Brownies how to read maps, use GPS etc and talking about geocaching... and now they really want to go hunt for a cache. Do you have ideas for me of the best area to start looking? we are in North riding and were thingking of driving out to Magaliesburg or Haarties, the girls are between the ages of 7 and 10 and there is 6 of them, so nothing too daunting. They want it to be a bit of a hike too in nature but i dont think they can mange more than an hours walk one way. How do i go about finding the type of caches that would suit our group and are interesting enough for young girls?

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Hi I'm new to geocaching and have been teaching my Brownies how to read maps, use GPS etc and talking about geocaching... and now they really want to go hunt for a cache. Do you have ideas for me of the best area to start looking? we are in North riding and were thingking of driving out to Magaliesburg or Haarties, the girls are between the ages of 7 and 10 and there is 6 of them, so nothing too daunting. They want it to be a bit of a hike too in nature but i dont think they can mange more than an hours walk one way. How do i go about finding the type of caches that would suit our group and are interesting enough for young girls?

 

Hi graciax452, and welcome to geocaching :)

 

I don't know the area at all, so I can't give you any specific cache suggestions, however I'm sure that one of the locals will point out some to you in due course. In the meantime, the best way to get started is to concentrate mainly on "Traditional" caches, and chose ones in and around the area of interest to you that are around the 1-2 star rating for both terrain and difficulty. These should be reletivly easy to reach and find. As you and the girls get more experience, you can move on to the various other types of caches and higher star ratings.

 

As you are just starting out and only have a normal membership, probably you best way of selecting the first few caches would be to use the map. On your profile page, in the right margin, click on the "map it" icon. This will open the map centred on your home coords. Zoom in/out and move the map to the are you want to visit. You can then click on the icons to see the details of the cache and also send the coords to your GPS, assuming you have a cable and the plugin installed. You can also click on the name and open the cache page in a new tab, where you can also send the coords to your GPS and read/print the information about the cache. If you have a smartphone, there are various ways to carry this information with you, called paperless caching.

 

Hope that helps. Any questions, just ask.

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Hi there

Give our "Heia" Series a try - it is great with kids in lovely surroundings. They have to walk it and there is a Letterbox, Multicache and Traditional. The multi is very easy. Take a look at: GC2B4J9 - Heia - Reception Stripes.

Golden Harvest park is also great to find caches, but always remember to be vigilant as it is a public park.

Happy caching!

GEO936

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Firstly, have a look at the cache attributes on a cache listing. Icons on the right hand side. You will find an icon that looks like a girl with a flower in her hair for caches recommended for kids. Of course not all cache owners maintain the attributes, but it's a start.

 

I cache with a 6 and an 8 year old. Within cities I'll only take them to well maintained and "safe" parks that are well frequented by families. Otherwise I generally cache with them on holiday which tends to be pitstops along the way or nice walks in reserves. There are plenty of caches in the Magaliesburg and Harties area that are suitable for kids.

 

Kids prefer traditionals - i.e. box full of goodies. Take plenty of trade items with!

 

The Phaladingwe Nature reserve has an easy enough circular walk and there are a five caches within the reserve like this one

 

Another option is a few caches in the Groenkloof Nature Reserve just outside Pretoria

Edited by GlobalRat
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Wow, thank you all for all the info. The Heia series looks interesting and it seems like a good nature walk too so we will definitely try it. We also visit the Golden Harvest Fire-station so that's right down the road, I may just go check it out first. Thanks for the invaluable information and how to spot kid friend;y ones from the attributes :) I will keep you posted on how it goes :)

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Hi there

Give our "Heia" Series a try - it is great with kids in lovely surroundings. They have to walk it and there is a Letterbox, Multicache and Traditional. The multi is very easy. Take a look at: GC2B4J9 - Heia - Reception Stripes.

Golden Harvest park is also great to find caches, but always remember to be vigilant as it is a public park.

Happy caching!

GEO936

 

Wow thank you so much!We went out to Heia yesterday and we had a blast! We found 2, then spent too long trying to find the other and got so hot we deiced to give the last one a miss for another day. Thank you so much, some of the girls are definitely hooked, the others want caches were we don't have to walk so far LOL city kids. Thank you so much :)

 

graciax452

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