Improve Your Communication Skills
What is Geocaching?
What is Geocaching? It’s like a real-life treasure hunt and is a great way to make a walk in the woods just a bit more interesting!
Julianne Robertson explains what it is and how to do it.
What is it?
Players use a handheld GPS device or a smartphone to look for a set of co-ordinates near to wherever they are and find the geocache (or treasure!) hidden at that location. These are usually a small container of some kind with a logbook and ‘treasure’ inside – this can be anything, like a little toy, some stickers, a badge, a pretty stone – basically anything small enough to fit inside and be worth finding!
Sounds good! How do I get started?
Go to the website www.geocaching.com and register – it’s free to sign up. Then you put in your postcode and you should see a list of all the geocaches near to where you live. Choose one and you’ll get the co-ordinates you need to put into the GPS, as well as a description of the area and clues about how to find the cache.
Are geocaches always hidden in the woods?
No – there are geocaches all over the world and they are usually put in places which are important to the person hiding them. Some are hidden in forest areas, others are in local parks, or city streets – even underwater! There are also different sizes of geocache and a range of difficulty – you should probably start with one that’s easy, at least to begin with!
What do I do when I find one – can I keep the treasure?!
Yes, but you should replace anything you keep with something of equal or greater value. You should also write about your find in the logbook and when you get home log your experience on the website too, so that others know the cache is still active.
Can I hide my own cache for others to find?
Yes, once you’ve found a few caches you’ll know what makes a good geocache and hiding place, and you might want to create your own! There are lots of guidelines on the website about how to do it.
Now you know about geocaching – go and try it! It’s a great activity to do with your family or a group of friends. Once you’ve found one, you’ll want to find more!
Julianne Robertson is a freelance journalist, based in Dundee. Her background is radio news, and she now writes features and reviews, specialising in parenting, faith and religion, events and lifestyle issues.
Real Life Minecraft – Cactus
Part of our series on the features in Minecraft. If you are a Minecraft player, then you know that Cactus blocks grow naturally in deserts and mesas. The blocks can be harvested, but will destroy any items that come in contact with them. But what are REAL cacti like (and why do we sometimes say “cactus” and other times say “cacti”? Sarah takes a closer look.
What is Falcon 9?
There has been a lot of excitement about Falcon 9, but what it it, and why is it so exciting? Our Science Editor, Samantha Gouldson, explains.
Mighty Books for Mighty Girls
I’ve been reading only books written by women for nearly a year now and I have read incredible works by women such as Maya Angelou, Barbara Kingsolver, Margaret Atwood, Agatha Christie and Meg Cabot. There are so many wonderful books written by women that I’ve had to narrow the focus of my reading and read only those books written by women which feature strong, intelligent female characters. It’s been very hard to decide what to read next as so many friends keep recommending me new authors.
Adventure in Uganda
On my second day in Uganda, we went white water rafting on the Nile, near a town called Jinja. The rapids are just 
down river from Lake Victoria, which is where the Nile starts.
The rapids are caused by the force of the water as it crashes over rocks and around islands in the river. There used to be more rapids there, and the famous Bujugali Falls. However, a couple of years ago a dam was built across the river, which has made part of it more like a lake and has increased the water levels, wiping out lots of the rapids, including Bujugali. However, below the dam, the rapids are still just as scary! The rapids are a favourite for rafters and kayakers all over the world.
The rapids are caused by the force of the water as it crashes over rocks and around islands in the river. There used to be more rapids there, and the famous Bujugali Falls. However, a couple of years ago a dam was built across the river, which has made part of it more like a lake and has increased the water levels, wiping out lots of the rapids, including Bujugali. However, below the dam, the rapids are still just as scary! The rapids are a favourite for rafters and kayakers all over the world.