What is geocaching? -basic video

This is the official Groundspeak video from YouTube: 'What is Geocaching?'

It is just under 2 minutes long, and explains geocaching simply, covering most areas and making geocaching simple.

If you haven't geocached before I really recommend watching this as it is very easy to understand and shows you how fun geocaching is.

Hope you enjoy it! Will post again soon :)

What are 'Travel Bugs'?

The definition of a travelbug described by Groundspeak is below.

What is a Groundspeak Travel Bug?
Simply put, a Groundspeak Travel Bug is a trackable tag that you attach to an item. This allows you to track your item on Geocaching.com. The item becomes a hitchhiker that is carried from cache to cache (or person to person) in the real world and you can follow its progress online.

What does a Travel Bug do?
It’s up to the owner of the Bug to give it whatever task they desire. Or no task at all. Part of the fun in owning a Travel Bug is inventing new goals for the Bug to achieve. A Bug’s goal may be to reach a specific country, travel to 10 countries, or simply to see the world.

How do Travel Bugs work?

Each Travel Bug has its own unique tracking number stamped on it. This tracking number is used to prove that one found the item and allows finders to locate the personal web page for the travel bug.
Travel Bugs are tracked with the help of users who go online and “grab” them from caches, or receive them from users. The idea is by picking up and dropping off Travel Bugs on the web site you are mirroring the Bug’s real world adventures. Each Travel Bug has its own “diary” that follows its movements.

Personally I love travel bugs and trackables, though trackables are constantly going missing. Either they are stolen, taken but not logged online, or kept by another geocacher and forgotten about, or lost in some other way.

I had a trackable, 'Teddy Bear's Picnic', which only went in one cache before going missing. It is really disappointing when they disappear, but there is always a hope that they will re-surface.

Geocache Types & Symbols

- A brief summary of the geocache types and symbols, so that if you see these symbols you know what type of cache they are.


* Geocache Types - Caches that are still available to create *
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  Traditional Cache                                  Project A.P.E Cache

  Multi Cache (Offset Cache)                     Groundspeak Headquarters Cache

  Mystery or Puzzle Cache                         GPS Adventures Maze Exhibit

  Event Cache                                          Wherigo Cache

  Earth Cache                                           Letterbox Hybrid

   Cache In Trash Out                               Mega-Event Cache



* Granfathered Cache Types - Caches that are still avalible to find, but not to hide. *

  Virtual Cache                                       Webcam Cache

  10 years! event cache                        Locationless (Reverse) Cache


Hope this helps anyone who doesn't know what each symbol stands for!
I will be doing a set of posts describing what each one actually is: e.g. what an 'Earth Cache' is and how to find it. - so don't worry if you don't know what each one means!


To find out more, visit this page on the geocaching website.

What is geocaching?

Well, geocaching is a the outdoor sport or game of searching for hidden objects by using Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates posted on the internet.

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It is a high-tech treasure hunt in which small objects are stored in a waterproof container ("geocache") that can be located in the wilderness or in a public venue; usually not in public view.
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The GPS coordinates of the cache are published on the geocaching website, and the object of the hunt is to locate the cache and enter your name in the log book as well as move objects from one cache to the next, or swap some objects and keep some for yourself. There are also some objects which travel round the world, and have a code to log them online. These are called trackables.
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In addition, geocachers may want to share their experiences online. Like a traditional treasure hunt, the contents of one geocache may provide the coordinates to the next one.
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As of today, there are 1,822,237 active geocaches in the world.