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One Year


tgsnoopy

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Well it has been one year today since my first Geocache find. I've averaged over one geocache found per week and placed more than one geocache for every month since then, so I suppose thats pretty darn good if I do say so myself.

 

For all of you assisting in making this sport possible, Thank You.

 

It's grown a lot since then, I think there was about 80 caches back then and now we are getting close to 230 here in NZ.

 

I'm planning on placing more as time permits, unfortunately I'm a bit busy at present, but will as soon as I can afford the time.

 

Also planned are some trips. I intitially was planning some trips to visit more existing caches, but am now thinking I might instead try to fill in some of the areas of NZ that are lacking caches.

 

Lets see how we can progress Geocaching over the next year. Perhaps we could discuss areas that are missing caches, and if anyone knows an area worth putting a cache in one of those barren areas. Then perhaps someone might be in a position to place a cache and fill in some of the areas of NZ that are lacking caches.

 

Thoughts everyone, all feedback welcome icon_smile.gif Thanks.

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Hi Neil

 

A year? pfft! As a matter of fact I "celebrated" my second year of Geocaching on Oct 16. My first find was Aukland Stash (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=75) which I fondly remember as the only cache I bothered to find without a GPSr - and was the reason why I bought my first GPSr! :-) It was a bastard to find with nothing but a roadmap and a printout from Mapblast and the clues!

 

Aukland Stash is now the second oldest NZ Geocache. There were one or two others before it that have been long plundered.

 

One point to note is that while I've been Geocaching twice as long as you Neil, you've found nearly twice as many caches as me.. how do you find the time ?!?! :)

 

It would be interesting to hear from people how they heard about Geocaching. I personally discovered it while looking at Slashdot one day - http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/09/25/2030252&mode=thread&tid=99

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I found out about geocaching from an article in a club orienteering magazine about 2 or 3 years ago. At that time there were only a couple of caches in Auckland. I must have got the co-ordinates mistyped for Aukland Stash back then 'cause I remember hunting for it in the central city icon_rolleyes.gif! Obviously I didn't find it, wasn't too impressed with my 8 channel multiplex GPSr going all over the place, and lost interest.

 

Early this year I was at a sea kayaking symposium where one of the sessions was on using GPS. I remembered geocaching and brought this up. I found then how much it had grown and tried again. My first find was Cathedral Cove and have been looking for them ever since.

M@

 

Auckland Kayakers Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/auckland-kayakers

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Congrats on your year, and also 50 found caches recently too!!

 

In answer to your questions ariwa, I also read probably the same post as you to slashdot, although I didn't really get into it until I got a GPS in April 2001. Then things took off from there icon_wink.gif

 

Cheers Gav

 

PS Sorry about the brief postings, busy boy for the next two weeks.

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We are comming up to our one year aniversery (and plan on returning to our first find on the day - 1/1/03).

 

I caught the end of an article on Geocaching on the Discovery channel and jumped onto the net to have a look to see if there was any caches in New Zealand and was suprised to find quite a few (Donovans, Gavins, BaldEd and Matd were the local cachers at the time) - talked about it non stop for a couple of days to Bernadette who went out and bought me a GPSr to shut me up icon_smile.gif

 

Been out most weekends since...

 

Cheers

Nick.

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Well, what can I say Steve (Ariwa), hitting caches in quantity requires planning and persistance. I've had run ins with the police, had my car tampered with, and nearly got lost in the dark (actually had to use my GPS to get out icon_redface.gif) whilst trying to get just one more cache in before retiring for the day.

 

As for how I heard about Geocaching, it was in an Electronics magazine, Electronics Australia initially, but that didn't motivate me, it was a second article in Silicon Chip that got my attention, but not immediately.

 

After my first attempt I was hooked (Thanks Kerry & Christine (Elfclan)). As there were very few caches in my area at the time I rapidly put in quite a few, and things have just got better from there.

 

Oh, and yes, I do remember the comments in here from Nick re his wanting a GPS and the message saying his lovely wife had gone out and bought him one (to shut him up??? icon_wink.gif). So is that how you get what you want from your wife, the constant badgering technique, must remember that, I've always just gone and bought it, maybe thats why I'm single again icon_rolleyes.gif.

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Hunting for Aukland stash in the central city? Mwahahaha!

 

Actually I wonder what happened to Glenn (the guy that hid Aukland stash).. I used to talk to him occasionally and he even planted another cache that was in a cupboard by his front door step, but that was removed I assume since he moved.

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I heard about geocaching on the late afternoon round up from the regions on the National Programme, one afternoon as I was driving home. I looked it up on the web and thought no more about it until a few weeks later when we were driving to Dunedin for a few days with no plans in mind! Just half an hour before leaving I decided to look up the site again and printed off reams of paper as we rushed to give out. icon_rolleyes.gif

We had no equipment, just the pieces of paper. Our first find was Ophihi River - we were hooked immediately. We just went from cache to cache over the next 3 days - they were all hidden by Donovan and we were impressed with his skills! However on the 3rd day we decided we needed a proper map and maybe a compass but we actually came away with our own GPS as well! We've been going just over 3 weeks now and have found 21 and hidden 6. We love it and have ideas for hiding caches all over the place - just need the time to do it all. We will be hiding more so keep watching! icon_smile.gif

 

Sallies

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quote:
Originally posted by TeamHunterGatherer:

quote:
Originally posted by BigNick:

I keep talking about getting a 4WD, I wonder if I should keep my fingers crossed icon_wink.gif


nah, sorry nick... i tried that for months... gave up and bought my own. she has been nice enough to pay her share though icon_smile.gif


What, Bernadette has been paying for your 4WD, no wonder she has not got me one icon_wink.gif

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I learnt about geocaching from my brother, Tony. It looked interesting so I borrowed a gps from work and did the hour and a half drive to the closest cache. Thankfully gavs coordinates were bang on amongst the gorse and we found it quickly. I soon purchased my own gps and sought more caches.

Since then we have hidden a few caches around Nelson, my next task is to get a few others into finding caches.

Now we have located most of the close ones we have to venture further afield.

Since joining in June this year I have noticed the large number of new cachers, its good to see more using the polls too icon_cool.gif

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I got my first GPSR for aviation a few months before discovering Geocaching. I chose the eTrex Summit, because of its barometric altimeter (great for plotting track logs for loops showing elevations). It's a pity about the poor reception under some conditions.

 

It's been almost exactly two years since I read about Geocaching in Electronics Australia (just as Tgsnoopy did (you don't recall the issue by any chance, Tgsnoopy?)). I was visiting my grandparants in Temuka and I couldn't wait to get home to check out the web site.

 

When back in Dunedin, I discovered that there was one cache in the South Island, near Asburton (only about 100 km from where I had been in Temuka), and a couple in the North. Before I had a chance to go looking for it, it was washed away by a flood.

 

As I had no chance of finding a cache in the immediate future, I put together a dozen caches of my own over the next few weeks. Within a few days, I had doubled the total number of caches in New Zealand (there were only around 150 caches worldwide at that stage).

 

Not a lot happened for quite a while apart from the odd tourist finding a cache. But, as they say, cache it and they will come, and they did. Now we have tens of thousands of caches wordwide and several hundered in NZ, things have improved. So cache on! icon_smile.gif

 

Cheers,

Donovan.

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Good to hear that the largest contributor to geocaching in New Zealand is still around!! Hopefully we might see you hunting some caches again??? It was mostly Donovan's caches that got me hooked into geocaching - they provided the momentum to get me to the point of placing my own as others arrived on the scene.

 

Hope you're keeping well?! (and thinking of doing some caching icon_wink.gif )

 

Cheers Gav

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quote:
Originally posted by rediguana:

...Hopefully we might see you hunting some caches again?...


Yeah, I've got one that I haven't found within 2 km of my front door. But, I've always preferred hiding caches, I have a few new ones lined up (mostly virtual, however) for when I find the time (hopefully soon). I see that you are about to overtake me in the hiding stats, with 31 hidden, congratulations. icon_smile.gif

 

Cheers,

Donovan.

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Read a short article about geocaching in an orienteering club magazine in Aug or Sept last year and did a search on the internet and found geocaching.com. Looked up NZ and discovered that there were some caches near CHCH. Thought nothing more about the activity until I went 4WDing with friends on the Banks Penninsular. I raised the topic of geocaching and mentioned that there was a cache (Ampitheatre of the Gods) somewhere adjacent to where we were at the time but that I had no way of locating it as I didn't have a GPS. My friend say he did (a Trimble Scout) It was an almost forgotten left over from his tramping days some 5 or 6 years earlier. He said that I was free to borrow it. So after I had had a couple of days of practice with it we teamed up the next weekend and hit both the very local Waimak River Stash and Wolfes Bridge. I used the Trimble until I was able to receive the results of some overtime and so the 12XL became my Xmas present to myself.

There are still a number of relatively old caches in the local area that I haven't visited yet - but like good wine they will keep and I'll get to them when they're just right to open.

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Thank's alot snoopy because of you we have spent days driving from one end of the Island to the other,grovelled for hours in the rain up steep tracks in thick bush. Had others give us strange looks for loitering beside toilets and behind bushes.Now have a internet bill longer than our phone number but wouldn't have it any other way thanks heaps icon_biggrin.gif Keep up the challenges.

Vicki & Claude

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Well, What can I say, the Christophers wet fet cache will fit the bill nicely, I'm just waiting to see who will be the first to hit it. Oh, and the blisters weren't from the wet feet, it was from doing Frequency City and Lake View after my feet had been wet for several hours. More coming when I find the time icon_biggrin.gif

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Pleased to see Klaymen got to Christophers Wet Feet ok, and enjoyed the crossings. Can't say I enjoy wet feet and slippery rocks that much myself, but hey, life would be pretty darn boring if we were all the same now wouldn't it?

 

It's really good to see the cache count in NZ climbing, it looks like everyone is going to have a great summer, hopefully I'll be able to afford to put some in rather than be tempted to just chase new ones (not that I'd be complaining, but of course it's only fair I put some in as well).

 

As of yet, no-one has made any suggestions of areas they are aware of that are deserving of a cache. I'm not suggesting you give away locations in your area, the idea is to get a few in places that are lacking. Obvious areas I'd like to see a cache or two appear is Gisborne, Napier & Hastings for the moment, a few in the Waikato wouldn't go astray either. Trouble is, I don't know the Gisborne, Napier & Hastings areas. Lake Waikaremoana is planned as its a great spot that so few know about.

 

One thing I will say is a lot of others have placed caches in locations I was considering. Thats a good sign, we must think alike. Perhaps someone could help out with ideas for new caches in areas lacking, so others who aren't familiar with the area might consider placing caches there.

 

I'm terrible, I try to introduce people to geocaching every chance I get, now I'm wanting to fill in the gaps in the NZ Map. Now if I could just find a source of free GPS units to give away to get families past that purchase hurdle... Sponser wanted icon_biggrin.gif

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I don't think we'll ever be able to give GPSrs away but perhaps we could open an account as a non-profit organisation with a local (unlikely) or foreign (more likely) disty of entry level GPSrs (eg. Garmin eTrex) and set up a simple e-com site (perhaps on geocaching.co.nz?) that lets people buy them direct through us. We could price them at cost plus perhaps a tiny little extra to cover the basics (website maintance, etc) with the sole intention of getting people hooked on Geocaching.

 

The probable outcome though would be that the distributor would say no if they already have arrangements with other NZ resellers who charge full list and we come along to undercut them; in which case we'd have to go with a possible sponsership arrangment with a local reseller who'd give us a discount in exchange for advertising.

 

At the end of the day, assuming we had a local geocaching website in place with a direct order e-com system in place (ie, little overheads) we'ld still be able to achieve our goal of selling GPSrs at a discount to new entrants into the sport and the reseller would still win with a limited margin.

 

Steve

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Ah yes, but if they have to pay, then I simply refer them to Steve and Tony to buy a GPS12 at a sharp price (they purchase & import 2nd hand units). The problem is, our target audience (in my opinion) should be families, and most simply can't afford to buy a GPS. Times are tough for families these days, the families I'm meeting tramping etc generally run really tight budgets. I'm not exactly rolling in it myself, gone are the days of secure jobs with good incomes, well around here anyway. Speaking of which, I've actually started thinking of relocating somewhere that I can earn a reasonable income and have a lifestyle too. Wishfull thinking, perhaps, but I can only hope. icon_smile.gif

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Fair enough.. What sort of prices can Steve and Tony supply for 2nd hand entry level GPS units then?

 

Seeing as we're unlikely to ever get the government to subsidize GPS units for a new sport, the next best thing we can do is make costs as low as possible - and sure, if this means 2nd hand units then that's one more reason to get into Geocaching.

 

I know how hard it is to live off a tight budget, I just bought a house!!!

 

Steve

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quote:
Originally posted by tgsnoopy:

 

As of yet, no-one has made any suggestions of areas they are aware of that are deserving of a cache. I'm not suggesting you give away locations in your area, the idea is to get a few in places that are lacking. Obvious areas I'd like to see a cache or two appear is Gisborne, Napier & icon_biggrin.gif


 

Rumour has it that 'The Elves' have a 4WD camper and are heading for the East coast over Xmas/NY

 

Should be a great summer!

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*** Note, this offer & the pricing mentioned in it were quite some time ago. They may or may not still stand. However it was a very generous offer which I thank Tony for. Thanks, Neill :) ***

 

Hi - I'm the Tony of “Steve & Tony” and am also interested in helping families get outdoors together. Geocaching is a good way to do this - it has a refreshing lack of rules and laws - allowing the use of the imagination, travel as far or near as time, budget & fitness suits and not great expense compared to setting up for tramping, skiing (even hiring the stuff) etc. <BR><BR>The 12 model for $330. It was $310 but the buying price has risen so to make it worthwhile we put it up. There's one on Trade Me now by another importer for a remarkable $210 which is a bargain - way less than usual cost + postage. They retail for $547 at Dick Smith.<BR><BR>There’s several new, unused 12’s in boxes at $380 on Trade Me but I’ll lower that to $360.<BR><BR>Anyway, back to families trying out 'caching - I'd be happy to hire some for, say, $20 for a month to try it out. After all it takes a wee while to get the hang of it and with the "unsettled" weather lately not every weekend is great for getting out & about up hill & down dale with the kids. <BR><BR>If they wanted to return it that'd be cool or if they decided to buy it well they're already part way there as the hire paid so far would come off. I'd just need a member to vouch for them.<BR><BR>Cheerio for now - Tony icon_smile.gif<!--graemlin::)-->

Edited by da_snoop
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Bump. It's been a while now, and I think it might be good to hear a few other stories from newer members about how they heard about geocaching. It would also be good to see a little bit of traffic in this forum for newcomers who might not relaise we have our own local forums.

 

For anyone new that hasn't put two and two together, da_snoop and tgsnoopy are the same person.

 

tgsnoopy is my personal account at geocaching.com

 

da_snoop is my reviewers account used for moderating the forums and reviewing cache submissions, I list the submissions on the site or try to work with you to get them listed if there are any issues with guideline compliance.

Edited by da_snoop
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I got into geocaching through a mate who told me, I could make all the tramping and walking I do more interesting. 6 months later and I am totally hooked.

 

I've placed 4 caches, had one completely disappear without a trace, another which was just about swept down stream with the major flooding we had in the Wanganui/Manawatu district and the other two haven't been found yet.

 

The two most memorable caches I've completed are "mission impossible" and "mosquitos bay". Mission impossible was cool because we had to venture pass the warning signs :P , only to find that it came to a dead end.

Mosquitos bay was grouse because I took a wrong turn, stumbled onto the most bumpiest, bone jarring 4WD track I have ever done ;) !

By the time we had finished going to this cache we had three toned paint on the car, green, silver and NO PAINT. I quote what hubbie said

"Man these geekoids down South are tough!! You don't get these kind of cache tracks up North" :P

 

I totally recommend having the 4WD, both hubbie and myself have one. I've thought about placing caches on some 4WD trips that you can do solo, but it seems (only from placing my own) that geocachers prefer the easy find.......

any feedback would be cool, as I have a place which requires a 4WD in the Napier region, but no use placing, if people aren't going to visit it. :P

 

One question: Do we benchmark here??

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I read an article on Slashdot late 2003 that mentioned this thing called Geocaching. After a brief read I was busting to get out and try this sport. It sounded like a match made in heaven for someone who loves the outdoors as well as computing/gadgets. :P I trolled Ebay until I could get an eTrex unit with map display at a reasonable price, then had to wait ages for it to arrive by post.

 

During the wait, I discovered the NZ Forums and kissed goodbye to many an hour reading the threads and following software links. Very helpful people there!

 

The unit arrived and I was off hunting the nearest Dunedin cache. A lot of the Otago caches had been placed by Nemesis who seems to have a predeliction for prickles. ;) In my mind it just added to the fun, but the other half and kids didn't quite get why Dad was so keen to charge off into the scrub with his latest techno-toy. Still, they enjoyed the "trading" part: finding something cool in each cache. Arguments ensued as to who's turn it was to select a treasure to trade. All adding to the fun.

 

Phase two of a geocachers life has now hit and I'm now enjoying cache placing as much as finding! It's as much of a buzz reading other cachers' log entries on ones I've placed, as logging finds on caches I've found.

 

And for those who wonder, "GSVNofixedabode" was a moon-sized starship (General Systems Vehicle) that wandered around the galaxy exploring - rather apt I thought :P

[iain M. Banks, Culture novels]

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I can't really remember how I found out about Geocaching, but I think I got into it after I'd purchased a PCMCIA GPS for my laptop and had been surfing the web looking for things to do with it. My first geocache find was North Shore City - Kendalls Bay back on September 8, 2002, after walking there from home (about 3km through suburbia). I didn't really do very many caches in the subsequent 15 months mostly because of the awkwardness of my laptop/PCMCIA GPS setup, but on January 16 this year I invested in a little yellow eTrex which made the game much more enjoyable. I've since upgraded to a GPSMAP 60CS and my partner has inherrited the eTrex. We enjoy the challenge of the hunt and the thrill of the find.

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:lol: I just realised that I don't see a post from me in the earlier stage of this forum.

 

I've been into this caching gambit for nearly two years now. Ohhh the places it's lead me to.....

 

I often wonder what a tree would look like showing who got who involved but it seems like quite a few of you read about or saw it on tv.

 

I blame Friends/Colleagues of mine - nandor & parapunter for my fuel bill and all the extra gadgets I've "just had to have". I was hooked before I'd even been out caching with Nandor.... As someone else mentioned it's perfect for a gadget person who's looking for reasons to get out more.

 

I've got lost in the dark (more than once :D ), got wet and muddy (Thanks Gav :D ), found just about every blackberry bush (Thanks BigNick :D )....

 

Can't wait to get back out there....

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Thx neill for helping a new be in the way of the gps the ever greatfull ferret :lol: my thx also to money dork my little nephew it's his fault he took me on my first cache hunt :P mrs ferret want here own gps now :blink: who's going to do the house work lol :bad:

a greatful cacher badger-ferret <_<:P

Edited by Badger-Ferret
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