Want to get the children –and teenagers away from the games console--Tried Geocaching?

Geocaching ( pronounced jee-oh-cashing) is a High Tech outdoor treasure hunting game that started 10 years ago in the US. The Treasure hunters (called Geocachers) use a GPS receiver ( lots of mobile phones have that facility now) to hide and seek containers ( geocaches or caches) anywhere in the world. I am not suggesting that you immediately book a plane,a s you can find many caches close to home . A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little value.

 It's an ideal way of getting the kids away from the playstation or xBox and as it involves walking and finding caches, and using the internet to locate them before you start out. It is a healthy activity that is very cost effective.

The best thing about it is you will be taken to places that are on your doorstep that you never even knew existed. All caches are on public land so you can find them without trespassing but they are usually hidden.  The exact location you get from the website, and you may be surprised at what you find really close to home. Many families geocache whilst on holiday too, and this may be something your teenagers can do to prepare for a holiday.

For the traditional geocache, a geocacher will place a waterproof container, containing a log book (with pen or pencil) and trinkets or some sort of treasures, then note the cache's coordinates. These coordinates, along with other details of the location, are posted on a website. Other geocachers obtain the coordinates from the Internet and seek out the cache using their GPS handheld receivers. The finding geocachers record their exploits in the logbook and online. Geocachers are free to take objects from the cache in exchange for leaving something of similar or higher value, so there is treasure for the next person to find.

So --how do you get started?

You could visit: www.geocaching.com  to find out the basics and maybe where there a geocache close to your home –my bet is there is one pretty close that you don’t know is there.

You will need some basic equipment which I have listed here:

• Internet Connection - It sounds obvious but an internet connection is required to retrieve the locations of geocaches.  It's quite easy getting online nowadays but if you are going away on holiday you may have to do some work downloading geocache locations before you depart.  You will only need the internet connection to download the locations of caches and then to log your finds on the listing sites afterwards.
• GPS - Whilst you can go geocaching without one of these it makes it much more difficult. Basic units such as a yellow Garmin e-trexH or a gecko can be purchased in our shop for around £80. Or you may have a phone –such as an i-phone that will give you GPS positions,
• Pen/Pencil - You should always carry one with you when out caching as some of the smaller caches do not have one in.
• Mobile Phone - Always carry a mobile phone in case you get into difficulties or if you want to ring the cache placer for some hints.
• Geoswag - Items that you will swap with items in the geocache, mostly these items are low in value.
• Waterproofs - Don't forget your waterproofs because of the great British weather.

You might want to have a preliminary project of getting the children to make some objects that can be swapped when you find the cache. You will need to check the size of the cache(s) you are searching for so that you make something that will fit in the cache.