A few months back I had seen an article by Wells House and Gardens (one of our favourite fairy hunting destinations) about geocaching and it got me intrigued, what’s all this about geocaching? I’ve seen so much about it on Twitter and in the media lately…
Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game for young and old using GPS-enabled devices anywhere in the world. Geocachers navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates to find a geocache (a container of any size) hidden at that location.
Last week I decided to download the free geocaching app and discovered there were thousands of caches hidden in Ireland and three of those were right under our noses. One of them was literally only a ten-minute walk away from our house. So yesterday after dinner, we went off seeking the cache and to our surprise, we found it within minutes of arriving at the coordinate location.
There is lots of different types of geocaches to be discovered from little micro caches to Tupperware boxes of treasure. It’s so simple, you can work your way through their website or use the geocaching app but you will also need some sort of GPS. Luckily it comes with most smartphones nowadays so if you’re just doing it for fun with the family there is no need to be investing in a hand-held device.
Using my phone we followed the signal from the app and found a micro cache, a teeny waterproof container with a little logbook scroll inside. Not the most exciting of caches for the big kid, she anticipated a treasure chest spitting of gold. We signed the logbook, popped it back and made sure there were no muggles around.
Muggles, taken from the Harry Potter series are people who are not seeking caches and you have to be careful not to arouse any suspicion. Some muggles may dismantle or destroy the cache. Spoil sports!
I found it all very exciting, it’s a great way to keep active as I soldier my way into the third trimester and the big kid is begging to do another. Our next geocache includes treasure so she’s planning the perfect trinkets to replace our future find with. We’ll most likely pick up some stuff from Dealz or the Euro Shop to bring along and replace for the next geocachers.
It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, anyone can start geocaching and it’s completely free. There are millions of caches waiting to be discovered. It’s a great way to add a little adventure to your afternoon walks and explore your surroundings. I’m already addicted, I can see myself downloading the full version of the app to find more caches local to us very soon.
Would it be something you would try out or have you been geocaching before?
18 Comments on Geocaching in Ireland | Treasure Hunting with the Babogs
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I only heard about this last week Can’t wait to try it!
Oh the kids will love it. Download the app and see if you’ve any local to you.
Welcome to the Geocaching community – we are a friendly bunch I promise! 2 things : there are actually WAY more than 6500 in Ireland, if you decide to stay at it you could become a Premium Member and another whole world then opens up.:)
The other thing I would say is don’t be afraid to reach out to a Cache Owner or other cacher, if you are stuck on a find for an extra hint etc – most CO’s (Cache Owners) actually want their caches to be found. 🙂 And as a last tip, while TFTC (thanks for the cache) is the minimum to write on an online log (in my opinion) Every cache owner appreciates it if you take a few moments to write a couple of lines about your experience.
Enjoy and lok foward to meeting you someday at an event or out in the field
Blue Jay
Hi Blue Jay
Yah, more caches to find so. I can’t believe there is so many in Ireland never mind local to me.
Great tip, thank you! I logged our find but didn’t add much really as I wasn’t sure what to say so really thank you.
I have heard of this before but never really knew what it was! Sounds like a fab idea though and a great family activity! xo
It was something different on our afternoon walk for sure, added a little excitement. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
we have never done this before! Sounds fab though, such an good idea to use an app x
I know it’s super handy so if we are in town we can just pop on and see if there is any around us if we’ve some time to kill 🙂
This sounds so fun! My kids would just love going on little treasure hunts. I’ve heard of it but never tried it and now you’ve inspired me to find out if there are any near me, thanks!
Oh brilliant Gemma, have fun!!
This sounds so interesting and fun! I know my girls would love this, especially my youngest. She loves treasure hunts
Now she can go on a real treasure hunt, just bring some trinkets to swap if you do go 🙂
So much fun, Kellie, I need to download the app for NI, I knew there is one in Carrickfergus as friends have done it recently.xx
I think Clayton will enjoy this more then the boys. I can already imagine him going into full army mode. Hopefully we will have some nice weather over the weekend so we can give it a go 🙂
I’d love to try geocaching and think Toby will really enjoy it when he’s a little bit older xx
I genuinely had no idea what Geo-Caching was it it sounds so much fun
I love this! My brother suggested we do this with the kids, and I might take him up on the offer now! X
You’ve reminded me to download the app….! I can’t wait to start this with my kids, I keep meaning to do it.