WANTED: Cached Guardian for new cache in Ang Thong Marine Park

[RGMT75]

Sawatdee Khrab!

 

I recently visited the Thai island of Koh Samui with my wife. On our final day in Samui, we took a speedboat tour over to the stunningly beautiful Ang Thong Marine Park. While there, we were captivated by the surrounding beauty of the islands comprising the archipelago and I rather impulsively decided to create a cache on one of the island's beaches. Since I had trackables with me, I dropped them off as well - so this currently unlogged cache contains a nice haul of TBs - including a brand new one. Of course, as I live more than 20 flight hours away from Thailand, it is simply not feasible for me to provide maintenance on this new cache.

 

So - I'm reaching out to the community in search of a caretaker. Fortunately, it's on one of the more popular islands (same island as Emerald Lake). Any volunteers? Snorkeling/Dive/Tour guides - this is located on a beach frequented by kayakers and would be easy maintenance as it's on the beach.

[+6NoisyHikers]

Anybody up for a trip to Thailand?

 

I'm sorry but this was a very irresponsible thing to do. Not just to place a container without a pre-determined plan for its maintenance, but to put other people's trackables in jeopardy.

I'll also assume you do not have permission from the park officials to place the cache.

 

The only other physical cache in the entire park The Aerie has only had 20 finds in the last two years. Please contact the owner of this cache Trueff and find out who is taking care of their maintenance. At the very least they may know someone who can retrieve the trackables and mail them back to you.

 

Vacation caches are not allowed by Groundspeak. It is up to the cache owner to have a viable maintenance plan. A short summer vacation doesn't tell you that the location you picked might be in a flood zone in winter. Or that there are plans to build a hotel on the spot next year.

 

And you should never test drive a new cache - no matter where it is - with other people's trackables. I can't see through your profile which trackables are in Thailand now, but if you can't come up with a plan to get them back PLEASE contact the owners and let them know.

 

Anyone else have any ideas for resolving this situation?

 

PS: RGMT75, I apologize for coming down hard on you but this really is a big mistake.

[RGMT75]

I acknowledged the fact it wasn't the brightest move, so I'm more concerned with solutions versus lectures.

 

In addition to this post, I've reached out to the owners of a few Koh Samui caches as well, since Ang Thong Marine Park is most often accessed via Samui. Furthermore, I already have a contingency plan in place for recovery of the trackables if a caretaker cannot be found for this location in a timely fashion.

[+6NoisyHikers]

Thanks for your response - I'm glad you are thinking forward to Plan B if you can't find someone to care for this cache and its "residents".

 

As I said, I'm sorry to come down so harshly on you but this situation covers many of the common issues in geocaching. There are ongoing discussions about cache maintenance, lost trackables, vacation caches, etc... Please tell me the container you placed is durable and suitable for the elements and not a mostly-clean ziplock sandwich bag

 

Believe me, our family is all for caches placed in beautiful places! I do hope you can find someone to maintain this cache.