Geocaching Australia

A query to the knowledgeable
Not a complaint, just a confused cacher

I have come across a cache where the CO has placed a dummy cache in close proximity to the real one.
The dummy one, at the published coordinates, has a note in it that says "Cache Decoy - Keep Looking" (or words to that effect).
Is it in the"rules" to do this? I have not come across this before.

There is nothing on the cache page to say there is a dummy cache.

I PM'd the CO to see if there had been a muggle at work.
His reply advised it was indeed a dummy he had placed and confirmed that the true cache was very near.
This is not a new Cacher, with 140+ finds over several years and owns a number of caches.

A red herring, seen many in my time.

What's worse is when you come across a puzzle you have solved, get to GZ and there is a dummy cache. Damn. Wrong solution.
To then find out that you were right and the real cache is a few inched UNDER the dummy (red herring). Doh!

Nothing wrong with them, just potentially annoying

This is one of those things that is clever if done well, such as a decoy in the obvious spot, and the real cache a tad more difficult. But also really annoying and painful when done poorly (which really means when I can't find the real one. )

There is an excellent decoy on a traditional cache in Canberra. I wont mention which one, but there is an obvious spot to hide a cache within 5m of the actual hiding spot and I found a laminated slip of paper there that said "You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" I thought it was great.

Another cache I came across had a decoy hidden at the coordinates of a red herring in the puzzle, which would have been fine in my book, but the paper in the decoy was so wet and soggy that I couldn't read what it said.

Potential spoiler...

Even worse when the cache is in the other end of the same container that you just DNF'd. aaargh

I've seen one where the dummy was at the right coords to the solution of the (easy) puzzle. The real cache was at the same coords, but 20m lower, in the tunnel below!

There was also an infamous multi in Auckland that had at least three or four decoys around GZ, but that was just the owner adding a few more degrees of nasty to the already full-of-nasty mix...

Come across one in Adelaide before with a few decoys. It's acceptable under the rules, though can be cruel depending on how hard the real cache is to find.

Would be annoying on a mystery without coord checking though, if you find something at GZ that ends up not being the cache.

Was it at a cache called Red Herring ?

Or one named "This cache has a lot of decoys"?

I've found a few caches with decoy containers. I find them annoying and frustrating, but then I guess that is the entire point! One cache I found had six decoy caches, and then actually container was extremely well hidden in the middle of all of the decoys!

There is a cache in Kadina, SA that had an empty eclipse mint container placed nearby as a decoy. I found this decoy on my first attempt at a find, but not the real cache, so logged a DNF.

Looking back through subsequent find logs, some cachers have found the decoy, and simply thought the logbook was missing. They placed their own signed piece of paper in the decoy and logged a find. I guess the decoy should have been clearly marked as such.

I've seen one or two that have decoys or decoy-like substances, but have largely been marked as such. I'd be pretty narked if they were more ambiguous like some of these you've mentioned - It's things like this (amongst others!) that can turn a 'clever cache' into a 'smart-arse cache'.... I certainly know which I prefer!

Correct "Happy Chappies". This is what got me. The note declaring the find to be a decoy is written on a scrappy piece of paper and to all intent and purpose, looks like a devious muggle has been at work.
Although I have never come across a decoy before, I would not have been so "pi..sd" if the decoy note had been better presented, signed by the CO and maybe had the standard "If found.... this is a cache etc. " note on the other side.
As such, I would have not started this thread, just swore under my breath at the deviousness of the CO. (still swear at him, I have still to go back and find the true cache.)
Some interesting discussion has come out of it though!!

Maybe a mental note for the future. If I am ever going to place a decoy, make sure it is presented and identified as a Geo-caching object, not as a muggled cache.

Did one in Brisbane this week where you find the cache with all the goodies in it first (it seems) but there's no log and you have to look for another container with the log. I guess you could find the log cache first and not have to worry about the other but going by the logs everyone seemed to find the 'decoy' first.
Wasn't sure about the 'rules' here but it certainly was more interesting than some more 'normal' hides.

There is a cache in Casino NSW that is called Decoy Tree. It is really tricky. There are at least 5 decoys there and the cache is actually in the easiest spot to get.