For all your general chit chat, caching or not.
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quiet1_au
- 5500 or more caches found
- Posts: 338
- Joined: 24 April 10 1:26 pm
- Location: Box Hill South
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by quiet1_au » 20 November 12 8:38 pm
Oh that's a classic!
...and something I hope not to happen to me
I had a "close call" doing Prahran Parks (GC3BZK4) when a car drove into the park and shone it's headlights my way, and I later discovered there were CCTV cameras too.
Luckily it proved to be just the BBQ cleaner
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pjmpjm
- 6000 or more caches found
- Posts: 864
- Joined: 09 April 10 12:35 am
- Location: Blue Mountains
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Contact:
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by pjmpjm » 20 November 12 9:28 pm
Sorry to hear about this disturbing event, storchburp.
If you find a great many geocaches, over a period of years, you'll eventually -- inevitably, I think -- run afoul of someone, and this may include the police or security guards as well as unhappy locals.
I've had my share of all these kinds of confrontations . . .
Honestly explaining to the people you encounter what you're doing is, in my humble opinion, always the best option. This especially applies to the police and security guards. And of course, it's usually best to leave the area if asked, even if you believe you're in a park or on public property of some kind. Geocaching isn't worth an unhappy or, in the worst case, a violent confrontation.
All these suggestions apply triple if you're out geocaching late at night.
Hope you'll keep your up interest and not be discouraged.
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Chrisval7
- 600 or more caches found
- Posts: 48
- Joined: 07 October 12 5:55 pm
- Location: Barossa valley
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by Chrisval7 » 20 November 12 9:51 pm
Here in SA we currently have extensive bush fires, including some deliberately lit by arsonists. The geocaching community has raised the issue of being especially careful about being in fire prone areas and acting in what could be seen as a suspicious manner while searching for a cache in the area. Local residents are highly alert to strange people and vehicles being in rural areas right now.
I fully expect one day we will be bailed up by police, or visited later at home to explain what we were doing.
As stated previously, all we can do is explain what we are doing and be courteous at such times.
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storchburp
- Posts: 9
- Joined: 02 October 12 9:20 pm
- Location: Victoria
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by storchburp » 21 November 12 1:05 am
I just had to step out last night and attempt two caches just to end the day on a happier note....and got both without being noticed. I won't let the first experience turn me off just yet and I'm actually pretty stoked at finding my third cache, since its not one that is recommended for newbies and I went at 2am in the morning! Though I think I might nip back to the first one sometime and top it up - my log for it noted that a toy spider was outside the cache and it did seem pretty sparse for a container of that size (now that I've had two more caches for a frame of reference
)...yet the container was closed and upright when I found it, so its not like it had fallen open causing the spider to fall out. Possibly muggled?
Thanks for the encouraging words. Though if I see that lady on the same stretch of road, I'm moving a whole block away and not returning for an hour.
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tronador
- 6500 or more caches found
- Posts: 1555
- Joined: 04 November 05 10:18 pm
- Location: Lidcombe,Sydney, NSW
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by tronador » 21 November 12 10:26 pm
C@W....oh please do tell the story that goes with that video..... probably a cracker!!!!! Web cam?????
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budgietas
- 10000 or more caches found
- Posts: 578
- Joined: 25 January 10 9:35 pm
- Location: Lenah Valley
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by budgietas » 22 November 12 1:34 pm
Love this and it's in Benny Hill fast forward vision as well
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Yurt
- 4500 or more caches found
- Posts: 1509
- Joined: 01 May 09 10:08 pm
- Location: Northern Suburbs, Sydney
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by Yurt » 23 November 12 10:21 am
storchburp wrote:I just had to step out last night and attempt two caches just to end the day on a happier note....and got both without being noticed. I won't let the first experience turn me off just yet and I'm actually pretty stoked at finding my third cache, since its not one that is recommended for newbies and I went at 2am in the morning! Though I think I might nip back to the first one sometime and top it up - my log for it noted that a toy spider was outside the cache and it did seem pretty sparse for a container of that size (now that I've had two more caches for a frame of reference
)...yet the container was closed and upright when I found it, so its not like it had fallen open causing the spider to fall out. Possibly muggled?
Thanks for the encouraging words. Though if I see that lady on the same stretch of road, I'm moving a whole block away and not returning for an hour.
Try some bushland caches - no chance of the same sort of encounter there!
I got stopped by police once. They were driving past and saw me looking into a stump in a park during the week with no one around and pulled up. Walked over and asked what I was doing. I said I was looking for a geocache and showed them the muggled remains of that one. One of them said straight away "Oh yeah I've heard of that" and they left me in peace. Saved further explanations at least!
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FelixII
- 10000 or more caches found
- Posts: 260
- Joined: 12 December 10 9:12 pm
- Location: Pearsall WA
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by FelixII » 25 November 12 12:51 am
I have to say that encounters with police in WA at least are becoming quite frequent.
Not sure if it's the popularity of the game or people being more vigilant.
But the calls of suspicious behaviour of people with GPS or phones and cameras is prevalent.
You certainly never know who is watching and taking down your registration.
Think we can all expect a knock on the door after the fact if not spoken to at the time
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Yurt
- 4500 or more caches found
- Posts: 1509
- Joined: 01 May 09 10:08 pm
- Location: Northern Suburbs, Sydney
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by Yurt » 25 November 12 10:32 am
All the more reason not to hide in nature strips outside houses in suburban areas! Unless it's the CO's house I guess.
That said, it doesn't stop me searching for them inside my radius. If they are just caches in passing then I probably wouldn't bother. Each to their own of course.
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storchburp
- Posts: 9
- Joined: 02 October 12 9:20 pm
- Location: Victoria
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by storchburp » 25 November 12 4:35 pm
I've taken up geoacaching as an alternative hobby for when the hunting is sparse...one piece of advice I'd give is to keep doing something you are allowed to do legally rather than shy away for fear of offending someone. To preemptively avoid doing something would be to encourage the notion that what you are doing is unsavory and creates legal 'creep'...kind of like the below hypothetical example.
1. Someone was approached by cops when looking for a cache under a bridge. The cops let him go after a friendly explanation.
2. He tells everyone what happened and people avoid geocaching near bridges.
3. Well meaning geocachers and the public suggest that geocaches near bridges shouldn't be done in case it causes public alarm
4. Lawmakers note that geocachers are avoiding bridges and enact a law banning geocaching near bridges since it would not affect as many people. Its promoted to the public as an anti-terror measure and examples of terrorists blowing up bridges in some distant war torn country are given.
5. The public is expected to dob in suspicious behaviour near bridges. Geocachers simply walking across bridges and tourists taking photographs are questioned routinely.
6. The whole geocaching community loses access to bridge caches...
So yeah, just as I refuse to hide my firearm if spotted by visitors in a state forest, I'll keep going after any geoacache I like as long as I'm not harming anyone, GPS in hand.
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tronador
- 6500 or more caches found
- Posts: 1555
- Joined: 04 November 05 10:18 pm
- Location: Lidcombe,Sydney, NSW
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by tronador » 25 November 12 4:55 pm
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storchburp
- Posts: 9
- Joined: 02 October 12 9:20 pm
- Location: Victoria
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by storchburp » 25 November 12 5:13 pm
I'm sorry you feel that way tronador. I'll be sure to have a little rabbit cassrole tucked away if you do stay around and chat though
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Chrisval7
- 600 or more caches found
- Posts: 48
- Joined: 07 October 12 5:55 pm
- Location: Barossa valley
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by Chrisval7 » 25 November 12 5:18 pm
I am with Tronador on this one. Someone
wandering around with a rifle would make me feel a tad insecure. And yes, I have owned and shot a rifle in the past.
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PesceVerde
- 700 or more Caches found
- Posts: 452
- Joined: 07 February 08 12:12 pm
- Location: Arana Hills.
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by PesceVerde » 25 November 12 6:08 pm
Chill dude. Put your gun away for a while.