Cache Me if You Can

Published on www.geeks.co.uk, a link to the article has also been included in geocaching.com's monthly international newsletter.

After 10 minutes of hunting through ivy-covered trees I finally find what I’m looking for – part of a fence post has been carefully wedged between a couple of lower branches. Pulling it away I discover a small Tupperware box concealed among the leaves – a geocache.
Put simply, geocaching is an international treasure hunt. There are over 42,000 of them to be found in the UK, as well as 3380 in Italy, 32 in Antarctica and even one hidden on Mt Kilimanjaro.
To start you’ll need to log on to www.geocaching.com and create an account. The site used to be completely free, but you now have the option to become a premium member for about £30 a year. The only kit you need is a GPS device. Some caches may be possible to find without one, but the majority would be nearly impossible as OS grid references aren’t specific enough to be of much use unless there is a definite landmark described in the cache’s clue.
You can get geocaching applications for iPhones for £5.99. If you don’t own one then a standard walking GPS such as the Garmin Geko 201 (£89.99) will work just as well.
If finding the caches alone isn’t challenging enough, you must do so without being seen by ‘muggles’ – non-geocachers. Some boxes are deliberately hidden in busy areas such as cities, parks and supermarkets, so a good plan is needed to retrieve one secretly. After you’ve searched for a cache, you log on to the site and post whether or not you found it.
When you’re lucky enough to find a cache there will be a logbook inside to sign. Some boxes may also contain other objects such as toys, postcards or, in some cases, CDs. If you take something you put something else back in, unless the object removed is a trackable one. There are two main types of trackable objects – coins and bugs – the latter being a dog-tag which is normally attached to a key-ring or model. Geocachers move these objects from box to box and they normally have ‘missions’ given to them by their owners. These can be anything from visiting as many British castles as possible to travelling to Australia. One cache in Folkestone has been put in place especially for people wishing to have their trackables taken across to the continent, with people going on the Channel Tunnel stopping by to pick them up.
Some caches are placed in a trail, with one box having to be found in order to retrieve clues to the next, others may only be searched for at night. My favourite cache –which I have, shamefully, yet to find – is hidden at Bletchley Park, where WW2 code breakers cracked the German enigma. The clue to finding the cache is written in code, which users have to decipher before they can search for it.
Near many landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and The Houses of Parliament, being seen hiding a small box is likely to get you arrested. Geocachers have solved this issue by creating virtual caches which are ‘found’ by answering a question about the location.
A word of warning – geocaching is surprisingly addictive. You will soon find yourself spending hours on the site checking for new caches. A simple trip to London will include a quick detour to look for that box near Victoria Square. This sport may take over your life, but it’s worth it!