Aka 'Wanderers'
Posts: 233
(11/1/02 8:08:29 pm)
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ezSupporter
How did we get into Geocaching???
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It was Ray and Maya (Nomads) who got me into it. We hadn't even met before!
We were talking on the net, about fourwheel drives actually. Both Ray and I had Pajeros.
It was organised that they would call in home as they were passing through town. When they pulled up I saw the computer, mapping, GPS, all set up so Maya could navigate..............
That was it, Geocaching was explained and I was hooked. I didnt even have a GPS.
Over the next few months I purchased my GPS and the laptop to go with it. (well the GPS doesnt work without a laptop does it )
So how did other Geocachers get into Geocaching???
Derringer
Registered User
Posts: 7
(11/1/02 8:27:52 pm)
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About a year ago I was downloading a software update for my GPS from the Garmin website when I saw the Geocaching icon.
As a bushwalker for many years I saw it as an extension of my walking.
We love visiting areas of Australia we have not previously been to, the more remote the better.
Kevin & Meredith
northern invaders
Registered User
Posts: 19
(11/1/02 10:00:40 pm)
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My uncle came down to Adelaide for my sisters wedding, bringing a crazy, yet beautiful, object with him named GPS. It only takes about 2-4 seconds to get hooked, huh? Found our first cache, then another until we had 10 to our name but my uncle had to go back to Brisbane, so soon we got our own GPS. Geocaching is great...takes you into lots of interesting places, and on bushwalking trails you've never heard of.
swampgecko
Moderator
Posts: 80
(11/2/02 8:11:54 am)
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I, like Derringer, spotted the geocaching icon at the garmin website. I was upgrading software for worldmap and decided to have a look at this "new" sport. I thought about it for a week, as it was black christmas as well, we couldn't really do much. My wife then said to me that she wished to get out of the house and do something different. So i suggested "geocaching", showed her the website and we were off and running. Our first cache was AEIOU by snifter up in the Blue Mountains, and we have been hooked ever since.
We enjoy the sport as it can be a family affair and we get to visit areas that we never knew existed, or I can go out on my night shift and attempt those ones I have been putting off due to time or difficulty factors
My GPS was purchased in the States for the purpose of fishing, bushwalking and 4wheel driving. It has been in the boat few times for it's intended purpose but now spends more time dangling around my neck on a green strap.
Edited by: swampgecko at: 11/2/02 8:27:13 am
Biggles Bear
GeoCacher
Posts: 39
(11/2/02 8:21:51 am)
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We've had a GPS for quite some time, it was purchased, by my wife, as a gift, with the intention of using for bushwalking etc. This has only happened once in the five or so years that we had it.
Then whilst perusing Roy & H.G.’s web page for Salt Lake City winter Olympic, I noticed a banner for something called GeoCaching. Being a little curious I followed the link, and knew I’d finally found a use for that little black box which until then had just been a rather interesting piece of technology. The rest as they say “Is History”
embi
Administrator
Posts: 163
(11/2/02 8:56:34 am)
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Re: How did we get into Geocaching???
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I got into it when I purchased a new Nokia 6210 mobile phone. The phone has an IR port, modem and WAP. I bought it to be able to 'talk' to my Palm pilot. The day I got the phone I was playing with the WAP stuff and clicked on site of the day. Geocaching!? Whats that? I had a quick look but its not very easy on WAP, so when I got home I looked it up. I was hooked. I convinced Bec that we needed a GPS and we bought one the next day and found 4 caches that day.
Caching was one of the best things to come our way. Bec loved caching. Gave us a chance to spend quality time together of which we didn't end up having a lot of.
I'm sure Bec is in heaven now twisting the sats for all of us making sure we get a good reception.
"To find something you can enjoy is far better than finding something you can possess."
dajjct
Registered User
Posts: 3
(11/2/02 2:32:59 pm)
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I guy I was working with had bought an Etrex, and when asked what he was going to use it for, showed me the geocaching site. After evaluating for cost and features bought an Etrex just over a year ago and started hunting. Sometimes it's not easy with up to 4 kids and sometimes wish I could just jump in the car and go.
Horace Caching
GeoCacher
Posts: 22
(11/2/02 6:09:15 pm)
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Re: How did we get into Geocaching???
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I fell on to the Geocaching Website one day. Can't remember how, but I know it took me a couple of months to actually go and find a cache when my brother said we should go for a ride and find the one closest. Inca View, about 3 km from home. After that i was addicted, and so are my friends now, we are looking forward to the SA Geocachers Spring Get together (in summer).
Pretty boring story, but.....
HORACEcaching
"The caching team with no GPS"
"Maps are good"
"Cheese....It's funny"
leek
GeoCacher
Posts: 21
(11/2/02 10:27:21 pm)
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I found a reference to a geocache when searching on Google for "Lane Cove"...
My curious nature caused me to click on the link and I read the description of the first ever Australian geocache...
That sounds like fun!!! - I thought...
I bought my first GPS unit the following day at Dick Smiths and have been hooked ever since...
I've had more exercise in the last 6 months than in 6 years prior and have enjoyed the physical and mental challenge posed by most caches...
I have been living in Sydney for 6 years, but this sport has taken me to locations I didn't know existed and suburbs I wouldn't normally enter into...
I am yet to convince my wife or any of my mates that it is anything more than a nerdy pastime, but I'll keep working on that...
Keep it up fellow cachers... Aim for a 1:4 ratio of hidden:found and that should keep us all busy for a while to come...
Edited by: leek at: 11/2/02 10:30:15 pm
Scubadoo67
Registered User
Posts: 5
(11/3/02 7:55:41 am)
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My Mate AlternateRoute stumbled onto geocaching and within a week took me out for my first find "Time Capsule" on a Friday in May we went of to find a second on that Fri then we went away on the Saturday morning for some weekend caching, by Sunday I had five under my belt, on the way home I bought a Magellan Meridian and on Monday I got my first virgin cache.
Needless to say I was hooked.
Sandy Feet (previously Scubadoo67)
Slider and Smurf
Registered User
Posts: 8
(11/3/02 10:22:04 am)
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Slider had read an article about GPSs in Silicon Chip magazine (or maybe it was EA?) last year sometime, so the idea had been kicking around in the back of his head for a while. He picked up a cheap Garmin GPS12 on a work trip to the States late last year, and the day after he returned to Australia we were looking up the geocaching.com page. We hit three caches on our first attempt, and were hooked!! I love the different places this sport has taken us, and we have met some wonderful new friends as a result.
maccamob
GeoCacher
Posts: 43
(11/3/02 11:59:01 am)
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I (David) had read the same article as Slider. (He was at our place at the time, as I recall, and it <u>was</u> in the now-defunct Electronics Australia, September 2000, which I still have. It was possibly the first article on Geocaching anywhere in the world, predating anything mentioned on the geocaching.com website by a month. The Silicon Chip article came almost a year later.) Had also been thinking about getting a GPSr for several years before that, but didn't have enough justification. Slider & Smurf had invited JoMac over for Easter to do some caching, apparently with the idea that she might enjoy it and return to Melbourne to buy one. She jumped the gun, though, and bought one before the trip. I was at her place soon after and spied the User Manual (she'd hidden the GPSr itself) so the story came out. I was a bit surprised that our two daughters had beaten me to the GPSr punch. JoMac took me off to a local cache to 'try it out' and I loved it. Not being sure enough about Mary's reaction to just go and get one myself, we borrowed JoMac's a few days later and did our first three on Saturday 20 Apr 02. Needless to say, Mary was hooked as well and we bought our own Meridian the following Monday. As they keep saying, the rest is history.
Edited by: maccamob at: 11/18/02 3:55:26 pm
Mind Socket
Registered User
Posts: 16
(11/3/02 9:02:03 pm)
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Re: How did we get into Geocaching???
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Can't remember exactly, some reference on a website. I had a geocaching.com account long before I got a GPS.
Horus
Admin
Posts: 96
(11/4/02 8:24:00 pm)
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Re: How did we get into Geocaching???
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I fell upon the geocaching.com web site by accident in May or June 2001, I liked the idea and was surprised to see 3 caches in Tasmania, but didn't have a GPS at the time. The first cache I researched using maps at the local library - the 1:25,000 maps; combined with good local landmarks, are a fine enough scale to get you as close as a GPS can, in fact the maps got me to a point where I actually walked over the cache quite a few times. I confirmed the position with a borrowed GPS a few weeks later, but still didn't find the cache - in fact I didn't find it for at least another year
"Good Geocachers are hard to find"
embi
Administrator
Posts: 164
(11/4/02 9:19:06 pm)
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Re: How did we get into Geocaching???
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Quack Quack
"To find something you can enjoy is far better than finding something you can possess."
Horus
Admin
Posts: 97
(11/5/02 5:03:48 pm)
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Re: How did we get into Geocaching???
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There's always a comedian isn't there
"Good Geocachers are hard to find"
Pyrenees kid
Aka 'Wanderers'
Posts: 234
(11/6/02 6:05:33 pm)
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ezSupporter
Re: How did we get into Geocaching???
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Something I missed?????
Or am I just stupid................
I will delete the replies I dont like
embi
Administrator
Posts: 165
(11/6/02 9:00:10 pm)
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Re: How did we get into Geocaching???
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hmmm 'where' do I start
"To find something you can enjoy is far better than finding something you can possess."
Team piggy
GeoCacher
Posts: 41
(11/8/02 8:29:23 pm)
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I also saw the Silicon chip article on Geocaching, Was definiently SC , still have the copy.
And thought hmm, thats sounds different.
I had actually owned a few GPS's for work purposes for nearly 5 years before that and never really used them much.
Had sold or destroyed all of them, except for a GPS III (Garmin) , so loaded up and did one of Alex's caches first, Geocache novice stakes, found it and was hooked from there.
My lovely wife got involved as well, She has a love for Pigs and anything pig related, so we ended up with our team mascot "piggy" and the new team name !
We have all the usual stuff, couple of GPS units, Laptops etc, A "chunky" "Pig-Mobile" Cache-mobile that doesn't really get stopped by too much! helps to get up some of those really steep tracks to the top of hills!
I enjoy the sport for fitness, and just de-stressing from my (Damn) Hi-stress occupation.
I did have a bit of a break after the first few months, even travelling to do some work in Thailand, Malaysia Singapore with 4 caches in my luggage, but did not place one of them ! Slacker !!
I do occasionally get hampered down by extremely long work hours, and caching of course gets the back seat, so end up doing some serious very late night caching to get my fix when needed !
ideology
GeoCacher
Posts: 24
(11/18/02 8:39:38 am)
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We started when we read a newsgroup posting in May 2000. By June we had got our act together (GPS, but sadly no map or compass!) and logged our first find: Lane Cove.
It looks like we helped start a few others, too: Biggles, does this ad look familiar?
We placed it on Roy and HG's site, and apparently it had the highest-click through rate on the show! (Then again, every other ad was for a bank or something.)
We are glad to see that the Silicon Chip article got some people into Geocaching, although at the time we were pretty annoyed that Silicon Chip had ripped off our web page! (Check out the comments: Monkeys were talking about 12 Monkeys over a year ago!)
Biggles Bear
GeoCacher
Posts: 50
(11/18/02 5:12:14 pm)
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Ahha! So now we know who to send the bill to
