SteveHenriMedillac Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 From an early age, my son has been fascinated with maps, road names etc and basically taught himself how to read by learning how to say street names on roadside name plates! He is now six(in five weeks anyway) and thoughts of an exiting new birthday present came to head this morning when I saw on CBeebies a young lad with his dad geocaching! I timidity struck me as an ideal way to get him out of the house doing something he likes- following maps, roads satnavs etc and finding treasure! We live in France and I quickly registered on geocaching.com and found ten caches nearby! So, before I splash out on a decent spec gps, can I have a go with just using an iPhone and minimal gear? Any tips and help appreciated! Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 (edited) So, before I splash out on a decent spec gps, can I have a go with just using an iPhone and minimal gear? The free Official Geocaching App is suitable, especially if you have a constant data connection. It behaves as an intro or demo, for basic members, but people still find a lot of caches with it. There are other Apps with various payment requirements, which will present a wider variety of caches, but limit the number of caches a basic member can download. So you could try other Apps such as "Looking4Cache" and "Cachly", and see what works for you. Or, depending on the cache, you might be able to simply download & print maps from the web site (or save a map or screen shot on the phone). Edited July 31, 2016 by kunarion Quote Link to comment
ohgood Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 From an early age, my son has been fascinated with maps, road names etc and basically taught himself how to read by learning how to say street names on roadside name plates! He is now six(in five weeks anyway) and thoughts of an exiting new birthday present came to head this morning when I saw on CBeebies a young lad with his dad geocaching! I timidity struck me as an ideal way to get him out of the house doing something he likes- following maps, roads satnavs etc and finding treasure! We live in France and I quickly registered on geocaching.com and found ten caches nearby! So, before I splash out on a decent spec gps, can I have a go with just using an iPhone and minimal gear? Any tips and help appreciated! Cheers Steve that's very cool. yes, he can do it all on an iPhone. there are rugged Android devices that handle heavy battery usage and drops better, but am iPhone with a case is fine. Quote Link to comment
SteveHenriMedillac Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 Thanks for that. Have downloaded the app now. Am I best to go hunting for the nearest cach what ever it is or find a more kid freindly one? If kid freindly, how do I judge that? Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 (edited) Thanks for that. Have downloaded the app now. Am I best to go hunting for the nearest cach what ever it is or find a more kid freindly one? If kid freindly, how do I judge that? Cheers Steve The app -Groundspeaks free one-- as it is downloaded has a few restrictions, one of which is it will show the easier caches to find! Have fun! (But watch out for the 'Nano' cache size, thay ARE small...) Edited July 31, 2016 by Bear and Ragged Quote Link to comment
SteveHenriMedillac Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 Thanks for that, just been put to find our first! Not so easy to find! On wards ad upwards! Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment
ohgood Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Thanks for that. Have downloaded the app now. Am I best to go hunting for the nearest cach what ever it is or find a more kid freindly one? If kid freindly, how do I judge that? Cheers Steve skip all of the caches listed as size "micro" and you'll have more fun. the tiny caches are usually just a log instead of an interesting location/view/hike. you can pull up the caches rating and see if they have been found recently. the better the comments the better the cache have fun Quote Link to comment
+Joe_L Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Another suggestion: If you want an excellent map, then consider map and compass navigation commonly called orienteering. The national organization in France is La Fédération Française de Course d’Orientation (FFCO). (I can't read French, but somewhere on their website should be a list of local clubs and links to their websites and schedules.) Joe Quote Link to comment
SteveHenriMedillac Posted August 1, 2016 Author Share Posted August 1, 2016 Thanks for the tips! Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment
ohgood Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 Another suggestion: If you want an excellent map, then consider map and compass navigation commonly called orienteering. The national organization in France is La Fédération Française de Course d’Orientation (FFCO). (I can't read French, but somewhere on their website should be a list of local clubs and links to their websites and schedules.) Joe Oh man ya! Orienteering is a BLAST! Quote Link to comment
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