Before hiding a geocache, I recommend that you have at least a dozen or so finds as experience. Finding what others have hidden (such as the containers in the image above) really helps demonstrate what works and doesn’t work when it comes to hiding geocaches.

Once you’ve done this, you may want to consider hiding a cache of your own. The first step is to find a suitable location. Look for nearby parks or nature reserves with plenty of good places to hide a cache. Don’t just hide the cache on a verge or somewhere it could be found really easily by muggles.

For the purpose of this post, I’m assumign you wish to place a fairly traditional cache. These are a good start for beginners, however you may want to turn your hand to more innovative hides, such as constructed containers using the materials nearby, etc. I’ve placed caches using power point cases, carved wooden planks, hollow sticks, and the like.

My philosophy is that it either should be an interesting location (so in a beautiful part of nature, an area worth visiting for some reason; historical or otherwise, or a tourist landmark) or that the cache should be an interesting hide (so well camoflauged, or in a very tricky hiding spot). If you’re planning to throw a plastic container under a bush in an ugly industrial site, you’ll find that your cache won’t be well received.

Also be aware of the placement rules. It’s not a smart idea to place the cache on school grounds, outside a police station, or anywhere that it could be considered a security issue. I also suggest that you don’t place it right near a playground, as the hunting process, especially for lone males, will look very suspicious.

Next, put together the cache. Remember that you’ll need to maintain it, so choosing the cheapest container isn’t a smart move; cheap plastic containers tend not to be watertight, and therefore will soon need replacement. I tend to use Sistema containers, which are hardy well constructed plastic lunchbox style containers, with multiple locking latches, to help keep the cache watertight.

Next, consider camouflaging it. I have a few different spray paints which I use to paint the outside of the container. Using brown, green and black or beige in a random fashion helps make the container less likely to be spotted by non-players.

Whilst letting your painting job dry, start collecting the contents. I typically have a bag of cheap toys that I have bought at a local bargain outlet, and a few different sizes and styles of notebooks. Place a notebook and pencil in a snap lock bag, add a few swappable items, and you’re good to go!

Visit the location you wish to place the cache. Make sure that there are no other caches nearby – you wont get your cache listed if there is another cache less than 200 metres away, and it just doesn’t make sense to place yours that close, anyway.

Place the container, ensuring that it’s hidden well from accidental finds. Take note of the location, and record the co ordinates using your GPS. It’s wise to let the coordinates settle for at least a few minutes, and it’s advisable to actually take a few readings, so you can average them out.

Once you’re happy, return to your computer and from the Geocaching.com homepage, click the ‘Add a new Cache’. Make sure that you read the Guidelines before listing, and that you add plenty of information, including those important attributes.

Best of luck with your first hide!

So, you’ve read my previous posts about Geocaching, and you’re up with all the lingo and how to read the Geocache listing page, and ready to try your first cache. Let’s walk you through finding that elusive first find.

Start by reading everything you can before you leave the house. Read the attributes, ratings, description and possibly the hint (if your confidence is low). I’m going to assume you’re attempting a Traditional cache with a fairly low difficulty and terrain rating.

As a result, you won’t need to take much with you, besides perhaps a print out of the cache listing or your smartphone, which you can use for ‘paperless caching’. It’s also a good idea to take a pencil or two (bring a spare to place in the cache, if the one provided is missing), a few cheap trinkets to swap (especially important if you’re taking children) and it’s probably worth taking a drink bottle.

Arrive near the listed coordinates, and find somewhere nearby to park. Now, head on over to the rough location. Take a look around, and see if there are any people nearby – part of the geocaching game is to not be caught, so you need to be ready to abort the hunt if there are people nearby. Fire up your geocaching app, or your GPSr if you have one, and wait a few moments for the coordinates to settle.

Then, walk in to where the device leads you (if you’ve got the excellent Geocaching application for the iPhone, it features a handy compass and map). Once there, remind yourself of any clues to where the cache could be hidden. Perhaps the clue is ‘down low’ or ‘in the abvious place’. For many caches, the obvious place to start looking is at the base of a tree or underneath a bush.

Be careful! There may be broken glass, spiders, snakes or other refuse to keep an eye out for – you may want to resort to using a stick or heavy duty gloves to hunt. Look for anything that could be out of place; an unusual pile of twigs or leaves, or a stack of stones are a good giveaway.

Be careful with the environment though – the purpose of Geocaching is to enjoy nature, not destroy it. Trampling over plants and throwing rocks and sticks every which way isn’t taking care of the environment.

Another good hint is to consider where you would hide something. That’s helped me find a number of elusive hides before. Could it be up in a tree, underneath some rocks, or hidden inside a log?

If you don’t immediately find it, start to widen your search area – some devices (especially the iPhone) could be out by a few metres at least.

Assuming you find it (and face it; many first hunters don’t, so please don’t despair), pull the container out a distance, open it carefully, and pull out the logbook (typically an exercise book or notepad). Find the first blank page, and sign the log – something along the lines of date, your caching username, and a comment or feedback, such as ‘Thanks for the great cache – love the location!’.

Now, if you have kids, they’ll want to look through the trinkets and perhaps swap something. The key here is to swap to approximately equal value. Don’t go putting in a 10 cent coin in exchange for a watch, for example. It’s also worth noting you shouldn’t place food items or any perishables in, either, as this could go off, and attract wildlife.

If the log book or pencil needs replacing, feel free to do this – leave the original log book in there though. Experienced cachers often bring spare pencils, plastic ziplock bags, etc for this very purpose. It’s a nice way to help the community and the cache owner.

Once you’ve gotten over the excitement of the find, replace the container exactly where it was. Hide it well (so take note how it was originally hidden) and head back home. Once back at your computer, revisit the listing page, and click the ‘Log this cache’ link. Even if you didn’t find it, this is a step to take regardless. Choose the appropriate choice ‘Found it, or Did not Find’, choose the correct date, and then leave your comment or feedback.

Hit save, and that’s it! You’ve found your first cache. Now, there’s plenty more to find in the future – many of us have thousands of caches available within a few hours drive!

Best of luck finding that first find!

You’ve read my last two posts, What is Geocaching? and Getting started with Geocaching, and now you’re ready to learn some of the terms used by geocaching participants.

You certainly don’t need to be proficient at these in order to start geocaching, but it certainly helps if you have an idea what is being said or written in logs.

Here are some of the more popular phrases found in Geocaching.

Cache
The actual container that you’re looking for. These can be anything from Mont Tins, to fake rocks, to Ammo cans, plastic containers or other watertight items.

Cacher
Someone who hunts geocaches.

Camo
Short for camouflage, a popular method of helping to hide those caches.

DNF
Acronym for ‘Did not find’. It’s worth logging your DNF’s, as it helps the owners understand if there are potential issues with a cache of theirs.

FTF
Acronym for ‘First to find’. As your geocaching developers, you’ll start wanting further challenges, by being one of the first to find a new cache. This adds an element of speed to the game.

GC
An acronym for ‘Geocoin’. These are specially made coins that feature a unique code that can be logged on the website, and moved form cache to cache. They are not designed to be kept, but rather moved to another cache.

GZ
Acronym for ‘Ground Zero’. The GZ is the listed final coordinates for a cache.

Muggle
A term used to describe non-players of geocaching, ie: the general public. Muggles are a blight on the game of geocaching, as they’ll unexpectadly pop up when you’re hunting for a cache.

Q&E
Short for ‘Quick and Easy’. This often appears in logs, if you find the cache within a few minutes of looking.

SL
Acronym for ‘Signed Log’. This is often used in the phrase TNLNSL (see below for TNLN).

STF or 2TF
Acronym for ‘Second to Find’ – see FTF above, you’ve won Silver, not Gold.

TB
Short for Travelbug. These are other not-to-be-kept trackable items, similar to Geocoins, and can be tracked on the Geocaching website.

TFTC, TFTH or T4TH
A short way of saying ‘Thanks for the Cache’ or ‘Thanks for the Hunt’. This is a nice way of thanking the cache owner for placing the cache you’ve just found.

TNLN
This is short for ‘Took Nothing, Left Nothing’. This means the finder literally only signed the log, and didn’t swap any of the contents of the cache.

TTF or 3TF
This means ‘Third to Find’. A bronze place in the art of chasing down new caches. See FTF or STF above.

Waypoint
These are recorded coordinates, possibly in a multi-cache or used to show good places for parking, etc.

It may all seem like secret code, and in a way, I guess it is; Geocaching is a secret handshake kind of hobby, and these terms make it easy to write quick logs or have codewords for the general public, etc.

Now that you’ve become familiar with some of the terms used in Geocaching, I’ll next post about ‘Finding that first cache’.

If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to read my ‘What is Geocaching’ blog post, which will help this post make sense.

So, I’ve piqued your interest, and now you are keen to get started in geocaching. The first item you’ll need is a GPS capable device. Although I’ve heard of some people who literally just use the satellite overlay on Google Maps to try and pinpoint the location before going out to find a cache, having a device that lets you know where you are in coordinates terms is far easier in my opinion.

For me, I’d heard of Geocaching before, however I wasn’t ready to go and splurge a few hundred dollars on a dedicated GPS receiver to try the game. I was lucky to find that there are dedicated applications available from the App Store for my Apple iPhone. I still don’t actually own a GPSr, and rely on my iPhone for geocaching. I’ve found over 350 caches this way, so I am testament to the fact this works.

The official Geocaching app from Groundspeak is an excellent app for the iPhone, and there are plenty of other apps available for other mobile devices as well. Search the web or look in the Geocaching forums to find one suitable for your device.

The next item you’ll need is an account on geocaching.com. It’s really simple to get going; create a free account by visiting this page. There are premium accounts as well, which give you extra features, however for a beginner, the free account is more than ample for your requirements.

Using the geocaching website, you can enter your home coordinates in your account details. This is really important, as it will allow the site to show you all the caches near your home. If you’re worried about privacy, you’ll be happy to know these details aren’t shared, but you can always do what I do, which is choose a landmark near my home as the coordinates I use.

Once all set up, you can search for nearby geocaches. You’ll likely be amazed at how close one is, and how many there are. For example, there are more than a dozen within a few kilometres of my home, and over 500 in the Perth metropolitan area alone.

You’ll find when you do look at a Geocaching listing, that there are some important elements to the listing. Firstly, look at the terrain and difficulty ratings. The terrain rating will give you an insight into what sort of environment the cache is hidden in (one star is nice flat and easy to navigate land, where five stars is likely to be somewhere normally quite inaccessible)

The difficulty rating will show you what the cache hider thinks will be the rating of difficulty finding the cache, with one star being really easy to find, and five stars means it may take hours to find the elusive container.

The next important item on the listing is the type of cache. Visiting this page will give you a better insight into what each type means, however I recommend that for your first few finds, you stick to ‘Traditional’ caches, which are the typical ‘hidden container’ variety.

Another often useful item is the Attributes. These are predefined terms that the placer of the cache can use to better explain the cache and its environment. Attributes include;

• Recommended for kids
• Takes less than an hour
• Wheelchair accessible
• Stroller accessible
• Dangerous area
• Snakes

Then, let’s take a look at the cache description. These are written descriptions provided by the hider of the cache to help explain the purpose of the cache, any meanings associated with the cache, and potentially a few hints to narrow the search.

Another great element of a cache listing is that some feature ‘Hints’, however these are encoded by using a simple code, to avoid people accidently reading them. The fun of finding a cache can often be reduced if you read ‘Under the gum tree, near the fence’. Hints are optional items to add when hiding a cache, so not all of them feature this.

To decrypt a hint, simply click on the ‘Decrypt’ link on the cache listing page. This will then display the hint, or use the decryption key also shown on the listing page to manually decrypt the hint.

All geocaching listing services link to a map. Geocaching.com for example, links to Google maps. By clicking on the map, you can zoom in/out, and it shows the hiding spot (called a ‘GZ’) overlaid using an icon. You can turn ‘Satellite view’ on, to see the actual terrain and nearby landmarks.

A good tip is to also read some of the recent logs. When you find a cache, you record that achievement on the website, so it adds to your ‘finders score’ and allows you to leave some feedback. In the next post, I’ll explain some of the terms used in writing logs, or speaking to fellow geocaching enthusiasts – it may seem like a secret handshake society without some insight!

You no doubt know what GPS is; that invisible grid of latitude and longitude brought to handheld devices using a global space-based network of satellites. It’s really handy for hikers and adventurers, and used as a modern navigation device by both sea and land based vehicles.

With the popular advent of the GPS network, Geocaching was born in May 2000, in Beavercreek, Oregon.

So what is Geocaching? Often called a ‘High tech game of hide and seek’ or a ‘Global treasure hunt’, Geocaching is a mixture of orienteering and good old fashioned treasure hunting, using a handheld GPS receiver.

One saying used is ‘A game where you use equipment which costs hundreds of dollars, to find useless plastic containers in the bush’. That’s actually quite a good summary, however it sure doesn’t tend to endear people to the game.

In a nutshell, players (often referred to as ‘cachers’) either hide a container or go out to seek other hidden containers, using the GPS coordinates provided on websites such as geocaching.com or the Australian based non-commercial version, geocaching.com.au.

Cache containers (such as the ones in the image above) can be anything from a tiny ‘nano’ cache only a centimeter or two in size, through to a large 44 gallon drum, etc. They are hidden in places such as under structures, in leaves at the base of a tree, or camouflaged to blend with the environment, such as pretend bolts, magnetic signs, fake rocks, etc.

Some caches involve simply finding the container, where others may have puzzles to solve, or multiple waypoints to find first. When you find a cache, you can swap items (normally cheap junk food meal toys), move trackable items (geocoins and trackables) and most importantly, sign the log with the date, your caching name and possibly a few comments.

Anyone can hide or find a geocache, provided they have the right equipment, such as a GPS receiver (known as a GPSr) or GPS capable mobile phone, and an account on a geocaching site as mentioned.

So, why would you geocache? That’s the hard one to explain to someone who hasn’t tried. For me, I find that it’s a great mix of geeky hobby, mixed with exercise, with bush walking and orienteering style tracking. I find that my kids really enjoy it, and gives us a purpose to go for a hours walk in the great outdoors.

Some people try it once and decide it’s not for them, which is obviously fine, however I found the more I tried it in the beginning, the more I started to enjoy it. We’ve found over 350 caches in the last 18 months, and have hidden more than 40 of our own – you could say it’s become quite an addiction.

Over the next few blog posts, I plan to try and demystify the game, and give you an insight into how to start geocaching, explain the terms that are used, explain some of the popular geocaching containers, and help you find your first cache.

I hope that you give it a go, and I welcome comments on what you thought, below. Good luck!

The original bean bag was created in Italy, back in 1968. An icon throughout the 1970’s, the bean bag is back, and even more comfortable with the arrival of successful bean bag brand, Sumo Lounge, into the Australian market.

I got my hands on an Omni Chair a few weeks ago, and I’m hooked. The size of this 135cm x 165cm (4.5′ x 5.5′) super comfortable seat will make you want to refer to it as something other than a bag. Think of it as more a lounge, filled with beans. Perhaps ‘bean furniture’ would be an apt phrase?

Showing my age, I recall the bean bag craze of the late seventies, and now I understand what all those retro hipsters were on about. The first time I put the filling in (I used 300 litres of beans, and it could possibly do with some more), I climbed in and didn’t want to move. The whole family are now fighting over who gets a turn, yet the massive size means that both Miss 5 and Master 8 can both chill out on it in front of their favourite TV shows, or alternatively Master 9 months and I get to play with his toys, and still have room spare.

The material (Ballistic Nylon for those fabric geeks) is hardy, and held together with some serious triple stitching; the result being that the Omni looks fairly indestructible. The nylon looks easy enough to wipe clean, and the bean insertion area not only comprises a zip, but also enough velcro to make it a challenge for younger ones to even get to the zip.

I can see myself dragging this outside near the pool during the warmer months. Cooler months will see it being used as a spare bed, as well as an ‘in front of the movie’ couch.

I’m thinking the only drawback of this great Sumo Lounge product is that once you’re in it, you don’t want to get out – now you know what to blame for my lack of blogging!

You can get your hands on an Omni (available in five colours) from their online store for $199, which includes delivery. Sumo Lounge now has local presence in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States. They even offer a money back satisfaction guarantee, for the skeptical out there.

Disclaimer: I was provided an Omni Chair for the purposes of this review. Just because I got one for free doesn’t mean I feel obligated to write a positive product review. This really is one seriously cool lounge accessory.

Why is it, that there seems to be a long standing connection between geeks and pizza? It has often puzzled me, yet I digress.

I admit it, I am a pizza snob. The problem with having a wood-fired pizza oven installed in September this year, means that I am now spoilt. So spoilt, that I could be considered fairly elitist when it comes to pizza consumption.

I remember a time that I could eat gas- or electric- domestic oven fired pizza, and in fact, for a while many (like, 20) years ago, I worked in a pizza store which did just this.

Now? I can’t eat that sort of pizza. I’ve been to a few restaurants recently, and have had to turn it down. I’m considering this style of pizza a poor cousin of real pizza. Is that bad of me? I’m sure it is, but I’m pampered gastronomically now.

I’m hoping to write a few posts about Pizza, maybe even a few recipes, in this blog in the future. Pizza is too important a topic not to cover – wouldn’t you agree?

Meanwhile, you should take a look at some of the photos (Thanks Gary!) that were taken at the Pizza night that we held at our home, on the eve of Edge of the Web.

Image: Wood fired pizza oven at Burke’s Pizzeria.

I’ve read some great books recently, and I always mean to write a detailed review for each. I never seem to get around to it, so here’s a quick rundown of my five most recent book purchases…

Editing Made Easy by Bruce Kaplan
If terms like tautology and possessive apostrophe get you excited, then you’ll want to grab a copy of this book. This title is a handy pocket sized book on editing, which has the great side effect of improving your writing. Pitched mainly at beginners, but likely to be good for anyone who wants to write (or edit) well.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
As a fan of the television series, I had to get my hands on the book that inspired it all. It has all the characters we’ve grown to love in the series, but quite a few changes in storyline than the TV series. I’m a fan of reading the book after the movie/TV series, and not a fan at all of consuming stories the other way around; the movie or show normally disappoints.

Making Meaning by Steve Diller, Nathan Shedroff and Darrel Rhea
The subtitle of this book is ‘How Successful Businesses Deliver Meaningful Customer Experiences’. This book delivers the idea that a companies only way to gain customer loyalty is to build a meaningful customer experience. A fascinating read.

Designing for the Social Web by Joshua Porter
This is a great read for anyone involved in the user experience of any web application, social or not. There are still plenty of lessons here, and they’re delivered in an understandable and enjoyable way.

The Principles of Project Management by Meri Williams
Meri has an easy, clear way of outlining great practices for website project management. This is well worth a read no matter your team role. Note: I have a commercial relationship with SitePoint, publisher of this book, however this had no bearing on mentioning this book.

So, I’ve shared what’s on my bedside table. I encourage you to answer; What’s on your bookshelf or bedside table?

Image: Bedside table reading.

A couple of weeks ago, whilst in Albany WA, we visited one of the local museums and my 6 year old son, Davis, pointed to a laundry washboard, and asked me what it was. After my explanation of scrubbing clothes against it to get them clean, with a serious look on his face, he asked me ‘Yeah… but they had Dryers, right Dad?’.

I remembered this, earlier tonight when turning on our new fangled washing machine, and amusing myself with the 18+ wash programs, LCD screen and animated tips and trouble shooting screens.

Image: LCD screen for Fisher & Paykel Washing Machine.

So, I got a new toy on Friday, a long awaited Canon EOS 400D. A serious digital SLR, instead of the compact Sony DSC-V1 that has been my trusty friend for the last three years.

A crazy increase from 5.0 megapixels to 10.1 megapixels goes to show where technology has headed over the last three years. Now I just hope that my storage keeps up with my requirements. At 3mb per image in JPG format, the EOS400D can certainly chew up hard drive space, especially when I shoot 509 pictures in the first three days.

It’s about time I stepped out of my comfort zone with my photography, and started learning more about exposure, speeds, ISO, etc.

The pic above shows you what I was shooting on Sunday – the Red Bull Air Race came to Perth, Western Australia for the final stage of the 2006 World Series. An estimated 300,000 turned up on the banks of the Swan River to watch it, and a further 11 million watched it around the globe. An amazing new sport, completely created by a company looking for a sport to sponsor and promote – those marketing propeller heads at Red Bull are onto a winner.

Image: Michael Goulian in 2006 Red Bull Air Race, Perth WA.