CITO Week - September 2016

Cache In Trash Out® is an ongoing environmental initiative supported by the worldwide geocaching community. Since 2002, geocachers around the world have been dedicated to improving parks and other cache-friendly places. Through these volunteer efforts, we help preserve the natural beauty of our outdoor resources!

Geocachers around the world celebrate International Cache In Trash Out weeks annually by hosting and participating in Cache In Trash Out Events in their local area. Events might be focused on litter clean-up, removal of invasive species, revegetation efforts or building trails. Together, we make an enormous positive impact. Did we mention that we also have a bit of fun while we're at it?

The first part of the 14th Annual Cache In Trash Out Weeks happened during April 16-24 and the next part is scheduled for September 17-25. Watch our website for the details of CITO events as they are published.

No nearby CITO yet? Maybe you should be hosting the one in your area then.

Meet the Reviewers - Part II

Pte Curb, Afrika Rocks and ROTSIP, the three South African reviewers

We continue our Meet the Reviewers series with Grant Little, who started geocaching in October 2007.  He was introduced to the game by his brothers LittleClan and Cincol more than a year earlier, but Grant only registered his geoaccount when he had a GPS.  He has been reviewing for almost 4 years now on Earthcaches and a little less for physical caches.  Grant reviews Earthcaches as GeoawareAFR (all Earthcache reviews use Geoaware after the original Earthcache developer tagged with their area added on). He finds caches as Carbon Hunter, and reviews physical caches as Afrika Rocks which he decided goes well with being an African-wide reviewer with an Earthcache link.

When not figuring which username to sign into geocaching.com with, Grant is involved with sustainability work, climate change response is his main passion but he also does quality, environmental, health & safety audits for an international assurance company across Africa.  Grant spends various amounts of time on reviewing, sometimes only 6 or 7 hours a week, and other times is really swamped and needs to ask for help from one of our local reviewers - or a European colleague (especially when there are French or Portuguese caches to review).

We asked Grant to share some of his thoughts with our readers:
GoSA: What do you enjoy about reviewing?
Afrika Rocks: I enjoy working with experienced cachers who grow our game by placing new caches; I really enjoy when a cacher gets their creative juices flowing and we need to work on an innovative hide (be it geo-art, an interesting puzzle series or a particularly sneaky series making the caching community more enjoyable). I enjoy assisting new cachers who are wanting to place new caches and have some misunderstanding about the guidelines - but most of all I love the creativity in both hides and the places that geocachers manage to find for our enjoyment as players. I love caching and I am so happy that our game is growing and becoming more than some nerdy past-time. I am just sad I can't get to all the caches I review (especially some of those in far flung places like the Serengeti, Morocco and other remote places of natural beauty).

GoSA: What advice do you have for new geocachers?
Afrika Rocks: Find a number of caches first to get ideas. Do not just throw down a simple cache at your home - rather go out and experience the game, attend an event - or get a caching buddy or group via social media and really get to understand the game first. It saves you and the reviewers frustration and unhappiness later. Also ask questions if you are unsure. The guidelines are available online - and the forums (with an awesome amount of info online from the past).

GoSA: What advice do you have for geocachers who have placed a hide and are about to submit their listing?
Afrika Rocks: Ask these simple questions of yourself first:

• Is this a cache I'd enjoy driving to find?
• What is the "Wow" factor here (place, view, my write up) - i.e. why would someone enjoy finding this cache?
• Is it safe for all (children - near a road / cliff / water); tourists (near a military base or strategic place); at different hours (weekends / public holidays etc); for men alone (e.g. this is not good in a kids park where they draw unwanted looks); at night; from potential muggers or criminals, etc. Don't think because you know exactly where it is - that it will not take someone 20 minutes to find - and if you are looking for a cache - you are vulnerable to being a victim as you are very distracted and have car keys, wallets and a GPS or Smart phone easily available.
• Will it stand the test of time (hot / cold / wet / dry / veld fires /big logsheet, etc.)
• Does it meet the guidelines (commercial content / indoors / private property / access fee / buried, etc.)

GoSA: Why don’t you go for FTF’s?  
Afrika Rocks: While FTF's are key to some players - I have not really being a big FTF hound as a player. So this does not worry me too much. Secondly as a reviewer we have an unfair advantage in puzzles and multis especially with access to reviewer notes. I will try get a FTF from time to time - if I genuinely feel that I would have been in a similar position to any other cacher (e.g. a simple traditional close to home - that I may well have chased even if I was not a reviewer - and even then I often miss them due to some serious FTF hounds in KZN and me giving them adequate head starts) but these are few and far between. My favourite FTFs are those that I get in a different area - or remote ones that have been available for a good while before I get there.

GoSA: Anything else interesting you think our readers would like to know about you?
Afrika Rocks:  I'm a rugby ref - I really enjoy being with my family - It is always good to meet cachers - and I've had the privilege of caching in 40 countries around the globe - and have met cachers in most of these. I am one of only a few African cachers to have found the APE cache in Brazil – I prefer quality caches to quantity caches. I love being surprised by geo-caching - and my favourite cache is one that takes me to an amazing spot of either natural beauty or of "lesser known" historical or trivial significance.