This month in the Grapevine – New Committee, Hogsback Challenge part 2, Climbing Elbrus and more…

 

Ask any cacher that attend the Nothing Grander than a Day on the Meander in 2019 and they will tell you what an epically fun filled time they had! Well, here is something to look forward to – in 2022 there will be a similar event, In the Shadow of the Dragon. The KZN Fun committee have been hard at work planning the day and making caches for the last few months. In fact, it will be a multi-icon day and there will be at least 60 new caches to find!!

 
ISD will be held on 19 March 2022 (it is the Saturday of a long weekend) in Underberg. We specifically picked this date and area so that it would be accessible to as many cachers as possible from across SA and would love for everyone to join us for a fun filled day out, in fact, make a weekend of it!

There will be more to the day than just caching and details will follow on what we have planned over the next few months. We will end off at the Underberg Country Club with a prize giving event, In the Shadow of the Dragon, so please log your will attends – we will have some great prizes up for grabs.
 
Here is a sneak peak of a few of the caches that will be hidden:

                                                     

Hogsback Challenge 2021 – Part 3, Day 6,7 & 8
By CamelZA
 

Day 6: 25 September 2021. Today’s to do list included  the  Geo-art puzzles and whereIgo. All the  research concluded that this should be a simple set of caches to find while completing the WhereIgo. WhereIgo’s have been a hit a miss caching experience for The Tribe. Never daunted by failure Quarter Tribe decided to give this one a go. On the way to the geo-art we stopped to find Before GPSr (GC4ZV7F). I remember solving this kept me busy for a few afternoons in lockdown. The find was so much easier.
 
Our nemesis cache type WhereIgo won again. QT eventually gave up halfway through after 2 DNFs, and 2 cache containers were found but badly damaged. IngetjieZA was kicking pebbles when Orosman spotted a random split in the trail. Which had an array of green dots to collect on the way home. QT had discovered the Schoenies series. Our luck in finding the interesting caches improved. QT was a much happier Tribe by the time we exited at Retha’s Trail
 
The Retha’s Trail Adventure Lab was an amazing gem hidden in the dunes. The bonus cache is a sneaky cache in a sneaky hide. We caught up on snacks while waiting for the muggles to disperse. A few more earth caches were found on the way back to the Hog. Many beach goers were surprised to see 4 hikers with boots and backpacks strolling down the beach.
 
We went to find the second concrete camouflage fort. More steps… no cache… this fort is in a bad state is neglect and vandalism.
 
The afternoon saw us back in town for Hello from Gauteng(GC9DKA7) hosted by Nico&chantelle from Pretoria. While we caught everyone up on our travels Two Oxen was mentioned. An absolute must do cache we were told. A quick park and grab… with a backtrack of knowing giggles.
 
The Two Oxen (GC7MFFN) … The giggles followed us as Orosman had already completed Gqeberha’s initiation cache. With lots of helpful comments like: “you’re hot”, “you’re cold”, “not down there Andrie!”, “its metallic”, “I have seen it already!”, Andrie you have touched the cache at least once already…no, not over there!”. IngetjieZA tried Cow whispering as seen in the photo, but they stubbornly refused to tell. Eventually the oxen relinquished, and the log was signed. QT mooooved onto the next challenge!
   

After packing the Hog, Orosman plotted the route to our overnight stop in Colesburg. The third fort cache was spotted and added into the route. Concrete Camouflage: Amsterdam Hoek (GC2P50W) is the best maintained of the 3 forts. With the final clue gained we worked out the co-ordinates for the last cache in the fort series. Unfortunately, it was in the wrong direction. QT decided to save it for next year’s Mega. Hint hint… After leaving town QT followed a string of roadside green dots travelling north. We left a trail of smileys in our wake after finding most of these caches. And as is normal for a caching road trip we arrived in Craddock just after sunset. Happy to be halfway home but sad to have the road trip coming to an end.



 
 
  
 
 

Day 8: 27 September 2021.The last day of QTs incredible road trip. KrokosZA had been stating that she was missing a province in her cache finds. The Northern Cape and waiting for the next Tribe tour to get it was not acceptable. Especially since we were already in Colesburg. Always up for the stranger of challenges QT expended this idea to caching in 4 provinces in one day.

First up Northern Cape. Pottery (GC42J8J) This was a quick roadside cache around the corner from where we stayed. Milestone achieved for KrokosZA!  Next on the list was Eastern Cape. New Gariep Dam (GC6671) was the obvious choice. This cache is a wonderful viewing point overlooking the Gariep Dam Wall. Our third stop was in the Free State. Orange River Octagonal (GC3RDAQ) is an Anglo Boer War Blockhouse. It is places like is that geocaching takes us to, helping us discover the forgotten history of South Africa. After exploring the blockhouse QT and the Hog were on the road again. Traveling north, getting ever closer to home. We found the last cache of the day and the trip to complete our four provinces in a day challenge. Rusted Rusty Rhino (GC8M65X).
 

 
This was a thoroughly enjoyed geo-caching road. We were busy the entire trip, always chasing that cache just over there. “Come on guys it will be quick!”  With small pockets of hammock time and relaxing on the beach to catch our breath and regroup for the next short stroll. With Hogsback behind us plans are already being made for The Tribe Road trip 2022 swopping the Eastern Cape forests for the austere vistas of the Orange River in the Northern Cape.
 

Climbing Kilimanjaro
By WÅLDO

Every land mass on Terra Firma, known in the local vernacular as continents, has one point to which that mass of land was attached to the gantry and was used during the early assembly phase. The collective memory of the occupants of the planet have held this for so long now that the original purpose has been watered down and diluted with images of self-importance and concerns as to where the instruction manual for the microwave oven is kept. Some continents fare better at this than others.
 
High above the African plate rests a mountain, rising up toward the long-gone gantry. The Trig beacon nearby names the picket fence betwixt Kenya and Tanzania, but this is more than a mass of molten rock. This inverse mudslide actually reflects the age-old contract the society has with itself, sort of like the unspoken obligations that exist between ouma and oupa. Kilimanjaro is the only such geomorphic relic that restricts self-discovery. In order to explore the original attachment, and aside from the reams of bureaucratic forms in carbon triplicate that need to be completed in Magenta, one may not explore this piece of the planet unaccompanied. Unlike the six other constructional constraints, none may venture upwards unless certain criteria are met, even under the guidance of a skilled Sherpa. The criteria are thus: The mountain may only be mounted by one enabled with a team; and such team shall consist of one leader, two emissaries from any of the several clans based around the foothills (not however both from the same clan) a minimum of four porters whose purpose is to carry potage to house the team plus exploring parties. Furthermore, food is prepared by at least a single chef, with a couple of cleansing bodies and the mandatory HR rep present. This makes the trip up Kilimanjaro the most expensive among all the seven continents. Even although the climbing is an above average hike simply following a mile marker along well-defined tracks.
 
A word on the Mount. Kilimanjaro was first recorded as being there back when the years had just begun to be numbered. The astronomer Ptolemy recognised it as one giant snow mountain. Situate astride the Equator! Semantically the Kili or Kilima is known to refer to a mountain. The 'mJarro is attributed to several tongues, meaning anything from 'Whiteness' through 'Greatness' with “Caravans' slipped into the mix. Of course, these names are based on the oral language forms of the nearby clans, and it is probable that the Anglicised enunciation of the waChangga phrase meaning “we failed to climb it “ sounds like Kili'ma Jori. At the end, it is probably to heed the advice of the third Porter of our group, a gangling beanpole who responded to the calling Forever 21 : “Keep The Faith”  Further utterances from the mouth of Forever 21 : “Mtunzi” which none has managed to interpret to date.
 
So, the team was prepared, under the leadership of a Mr Adam, who was recognised as having the experience of all mankind within his grasp. Such over-qualification struck me as being a little to close to home, being as overly confident as I was, but I was neither hot or mild about his leadership – as long as we could climb the mount. The opening gambit through one of the 7 pathways, this one marked by a sign board reading Gated – 2; the team jostled onto the broad walkway with several porters rushing ahead to set up and prepare the first night's bed. Our first night was to be housed in the make-shift camp appropriately named Cabin Sea View in an attempt to remind the explorer of the natural elevation his species were designed to remain at.  After a period of over four hours laying still upon a piece of pastoral ground, the rising sun drew the team toward the lush rain forest regime. The combination of organically rich magmatic soil beneath, and precipitation of pollutant free water from above, evoked feelings of love. Love of nature and of the quest led one leader to call the overnight stop Valentines Bay. Which was in and of itself noteworthy, as said leader was not very talkative. At all. Representing the small settlement at Jarro, found just beyond the small toe of the foot of the mount, his pronunciation of Kilimanjaro sounded like Kam'berg to my East Coast tuned hearing. He was known as Kamberg for the rest of the climb, and his input was recorded as Kamberg waterfall, and Kamberg meander 360 whenever he pointed out a waterfall, or described the next passage of the journey.
 
As we left the rain forest region, and moved through moorland toward the lower Alpine zone, on the third or fourth day, the Biosphere Boffin of the team surprised us. She showed us a plant, not unlike a regular Palm Tree, with a stem of over 81 meters high! From the top of that tree, you would have a clear Umhlanga View. I guess that is the unexpected consequence of planting an endemic plant into a volcanic rich substrate. What surprised us more than this natural anomaly was that there was a Biosphere boffin among the team.
 
After another night of tented respite – when asked how many days had passed upon the side of the mountain, the apostrophe looking team member called Forever 21 said Fore. Four nights and we were entering the harsh and inhospitable Arctic zone. It was here that the pioneer of this assent, a certain Hans Meyer, had to turn back from his ground-breaking feat as he had forgotten to bring the necessary snow crampons! History, that cruel mistress, had it that his next attempt was interrupted by a conflict between the locals and some German traders. After paying the hostage ransom fee, and upon his third attempt, Hans finally managed to reach the top, and set in motion the vertical equivalent of walking from the Equator to the South Pole.

 
Gasping through the Arctic zone, having passed the two supporting spouts of Mawenzi (now extinct) and Shira (also extinct and collapsed in on itself like Ngorongoro and the Serengeti plain) our spirits were lifted by the shimmering prospect of reaching Uhuru Peak. Not distracted by the regular belay of porters running downhill bearing bivouacs of altitude ailing explorers. It is said that one out of every three attempts to ascend end up in emergency evac's. Undeterred by this stark reminder of the frailty of life, our eye was up, focused on A box of Oysters above us and the entry into the attachment point of continental Africa to the original Gantry. As we crested the mount and had to circumnavigate the crater edge to get to the topmost point, with the plume of subterranean gas noxiously rising lazily into the still air above the mount; as we started off toward Uhuru, a porter suggested we pop in at the bubbling larva for a hot selfie with the sulphurous backdrop. The quiet porter known only as WD, broke out animatedly, saying “After that Urban Hike! Are you NUTS? “This prompted the rest of the team to swing about and shuffle to the signboard proclaiming our achievement. It was at the summit that the tall porter known as Forever 21 sang “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” thereby earning a slight increase in the gratuity he was to receive.
 
Post note: There is a journal housed atop this mount, found at Gilman's point. It is used to record the incidents and suggestions of many explorers who have reached the top. Almost like a guide for future hikers to learn from and prepare for their own adventures. Our Mr Adams posted a note, and when we peered at his entry to read it, what we saw left us perplexed. He had written, next to the printed word Earth and the two words in smaller font 'mostly harmless' - alongside these entries to the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, Douglas Adams had added the words “… and eccentric.”
I guess his choice of wearing a Rhinoceros suit for the climb should have alerted us! The descent to sea level was punctuated with many a furtive glance toward the peak we had left, embellished by the experience and eager to face the forthcoming mount.

 
Have you ever looked at your geocaching map and wondered what those blue question mark icons are? Or, if you know what they are, have you felt excluded from a part of the game that you just can’t do, or won’t do? Do you look at Mystery caches, also known as Puzzle caches, and have no idea where to start? You’re not the only one. Many Geocachers feel overwhelmed by Mystery/Puzzle Caches, but they’re not as scary as they appear.
 
You may have also heard the patronising “It’s ok if you can’t do them, they are kind of “smart people” caches…!”
Seasoned Cachers have told me that they detest Mystery caches because they would rather be outside finding caches, than sitting at home getting frustrated trying to work out what went through the CO’s mind when they placed the cache. This may be true, but there are currently 1,986 active Mystery caches in South Africa, and that is a lot of caching fun to be missing out on! Mystery caches - love them or hate them - those blue icons on your map are taunting you!
 
According to Geocaching HQ, Puzzle caches, Mystery caches, or Unknown caches are a type of geocache for those who enjoy an extra challenge. They require Geocachers to solve puzzles to decode the correct cache coordinates or crack secret clues to unlock a cache's stash. The posted coordinates for Puzzle caches are usually bogus coordinates. Geocachers must solve a puzzle on the cache page to get the coordinates for the first stage or the final container. All clues needed to solve the puzzle must be on the cache page, and the information to solve the puzzle must be publicly available. Puzzle caches often include a Solution Checker.
 
A key difference between Mystery and Multi-Caches is that Mystery Caches require additional research that goes beyond reading the cache page.
 
Although it was a tragic global pandemic, COVID lockdown ended up being a blessing for me personally, because suddenly I had a lot of time on my hands and nowhere to go. This opened me up to the world of Mystery/Puzzle caches. I had previously ignored them because I didn’t have the time or inclination to dig deeply into to them. This period made me realise that they are “double joy” geocaches - one in solving and then one in finding! They are also an excellent way to mix up my geocaching routine.
 
Dusty and tucked away at the back of my bookshelf, I found the key to the door, which I had purchased a year earlier. This key was the reference puzzle cache book: “How to Puzzle Cache” by Cully Long. I got mine from the Capri Cache Store - our very own geocaching store in South Africa (). The book was a bit pricey as it’s imported, but it is so worth it because it contains loads of invaluable information that will open a whole new world of caches to you. I went from Zero to Hero (in my own eyes!) in a week…!
 
This revelation has led me to find 84 Mystery caches. And I have another 98 with solved coordinates, waiting for me to go and claim my prize. Some of my highlights included the following:

 
During this time, I also came across puzzle-solving legends, SKATTIE@1 and TheQuirkies, who are some of the go-to people when it comes to solving Mysteries.
 
Here are ten terrific tips I learnt that could help you with solving Puzzle caches:
1. Start by trying puzzle caches that have a 1- or 1.5-star Difficulty rating. Solve a few easier puzzles before moving on to more difficult ones. The more puzzle caches you solve, the more tricks of the trade you will learn and the easier they will become.
2. Ask for help. Most Cache Owners are more than happy to help you solve their puzzles. They want their caches to be found! So, reach out them on the site’s message function and ask for help! To make it easier for them to help you, you should start with something like "I tried this or that" or "I think it might have something to do with this", instead of just saying "Tell me how to solve it". Show that you at least tried it and they will be more inclined to help.
3. Collaborate with another Geocacher. Two heads are always better than one! Find someone who is good at the things you struggle with. Together, you can fill in each other’s gaps. For example. analytical/methodical + creative/artistic = wide range of puzzle types. Each can see and work through things the other can’t.
4. Attend geocaching events in your area and ask more experienced Geocachers for help. Geocachers enjoy helping other Geocachers.
5. Google is your friend. Search engines may not have the answer to everything, but they have the answer for many things. So, if you’re truly stuck, look to the internet to help you.
6. Start by trying to solve puzzles based on a subject you are familiar with. For example, if you know about history, you might be able to solve a history puzzle more easily than a complicated maths puzzle.
7. Understand the "3.2 km rule". There is a guideline for puzzle caches stating that the posted coordinates must be within 3.2 km of the actual hide. Why is this important? Well, if you are looking for a mystery cache, and the posted coordinates are S 34 03.575, then you know that the "real" coordinates must start with 34 (if you go to 35 or 33 it will be more than 3.2 km away). This means you can often "work backwards" and figure out, starting with "How does the first clue give me a 3?". Note that this doesn't work as well if you are only solving for the last three digits (Sometimes a puzzle will give you the "S 34 03" and just make you solve for the last three; these can be harder as you don't "know" what a certain number will be). The 3.2 km rule can be a powerful tool in solving mysteries. Final note on this: The 3.2 km rule was implemented around 2010, so for older puzzles, the 3.2 km rule may not apply.
8. More advanced tips:
8.1 Sometimes sneaky Cache Owners hide clues on the geocache webpage in white font. Highlight the page to reveal the secrets that are right in front of you.
8.2 Cache owners may even add comments with hints in the cache’s html source code. To find this open the source code on your browser’s menu selection and search for comments.
8.3 A hint to the cache’s location may be in the cache’s or Cache Owner’s name or give you an idea of where the cache may be or what it may look like.
9. Use your PC or laptop rather than your phone when solving puzzles, as there are puzzles you cannot solve with a phone alone.
10. Finally, you can also access online resources, like the Geocaching Toolbox, which has loads of useful tools in one place.
 
I hope you found this useful.
 
The Mystery is no longer a mystery, it is now a target! So, welcome to the fun world of Mystery caches!

New Souvenirs: Reach the Peaks Challenge - Aconcagua
 

 

GCHQ have released yet another challenge – this time inspired by the mountaineering challenge of reaching the 7 highest peaks on all 7 continents. No, we don’t need to actually climb these mountains or reach certain heights, what we do need to do is collect points. The points that you need will be the equivalent of the height above sea level of the base camps and summits of these famous mountain peaks. Each month will have different points for each type of cache find.
 
The challenge will run over 7 months from 2 August to 6 March 2022. Each month there will be two different souvenirs up for grabs – a base camp and a summit. At the end of the 7 months should you have collected all 14 souvenirs along the way you will receive a bonus souvenir – The Peak Performer.
 
The Souvenirs that can be earned are as follows:

Aconcagua is a mountain in Argentina near its border with Chile, it is the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere. For the Incas Aconcagua was a sacred mountain with places of worship discovered as high as 5167m.
 
Collect 350 points to earn the Aconcagua Basecamp souvenir and 6961 points to earn the Aconcagua summit souvenir. Points can be earned between 3 January 2022 and 6 February 2022 (UTC)
 
Here are the point values for the Aconcagua challenge:
 

• Find a Multi Cache                                                    775 points
• Find a Mystery Cache                                               750 points
• Find a cache with 15+ FPs                                       725 points
• Find an Earth Cache                                                 700 points
• Find a Letterbox Hybrid                                             550 points
• Find an Adventure Lab                                              450 points
• Find any other cache type                                         350 points

 
Maximum number of points you can earn for any cache log is 775 points
 
You will be able to track your points via the leader board on the geocaching website www.geocaching.com