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  • GoSA Grapevine February 2022

GoSA Grapevine February 2022

GoSA NewLogo Grapevine
 
This month in the Grapevine – Annual Stats, ISD update, a Geocaching competition and more.....

From the Desk of the Chairman

…and just like that, we’re a month into 2022. Looking at the 2021 statistics, it seems like there’s growth from 2020. Not too difficult to believe since we were pretty locked down nearly 2 years ago but seeing the improvement is as exciting as holding on to Steinhoff shares.
 
Thinking back to our AGM, I was also excited to see the enthusiasm in new players and an event held in Bloemfontein last month was attended almost exclusively by players new to the game. While this is amazing, it’s important that we capitalize on this increasing interest in our awesome hobby. The quickest way to drop this interest is sending new players to find unmaintained caches so my appeal to you, as cache owners, is to do a maintenance run. While you’re at it, throw an event. If you need help, Project-GC has this nifty tool that checks which of your caches need maintenance based on DNFs and other factors. If you weren’t familiar with Project-GC until now, you’re welcome.
 
However you go about it, keeping the game awesome for incoming players is good for all of us.
 
Speaking of events, I’ve been following some interesting ones being created and appreciate the effort put in to elaborate event activities. I’m getting pretty excited about In The Shadow of the Dragon. As I booked my accommodation, it just got all the more real and it’s going to be great seeing so many of you there by the looks of the Will Attends.
 
Oh and given that February is all about the Valentines, if you’re not going to buy them flowers, you may want to take them geocaching, specifically around here.

In the Shadow of the Dragon


Less than 50 sleeps to go until the BIG KZN caching day and event -  In the Shadow of the Dragon. 60 new caches were promised but the KZN Fun committee out done themselves by almost doubling this goal - over 100 caches have been placed and are in the process of being reviewed!
 
There are loads of traditionals, an event, a whereigo, a letterbox, a couple of multis, and an earth cache that have been placed plus there is also the adventure lab, puzzle cache and community celebration event that have already been published. Please make sure to have your geocaching tool kit packed – some caches may need special tools in order for you to retrieve them. For any of the newbies out there some of the items you could include in your geocaching tool kit would be a pen (or 3), tweezers, prestik, torch, car phone charger or battery pack, spare batteries or car charger for your GPS, sunscreen, bug spray, snacks, water, mirror, magnet, pocketknife, 2l water bottle, raingear, first aid kit, sanitizer, and wet wipes.
 
ISD will be held on 19 March 2022 in Underberg. The day will kick off at 07h00 and will end with the prizegiving event at 16h00 at the Underberg Country Club. If anyone would like to donate any prizes, please make contact with NinJa Speechie
 
We have had a few queries about accommodation in the area – there is loads, from camping & self-catering to B&Bs & hotels. Google is your friend 😊 If you would however like to deal with someone directly, please reach out to Deborah Taylor from Underberg Accommodation on 066 012 8642. It is a long weekend, so we suggest that you get your bookings in early.
 

 
Apart from Geocaching there will be some other fun activities to complete on the day, keep an eye out for all the info relating to this in the March edition of the Grapevine.
 
Please log your will attends, if you haven’t already done so, and please encourage others in your caching community to do the same – the day will only be a success if we have lots of cachers attending and joining in the fun! We are looking forward to seeing all of you in March!

Betty’s Bay: Leopard’s Kloof Hiking Trail and Geocaching

 

Isn’t it awesome when you randomly stumble across a YouTube video that includes Geocaching? Thank you to the late Vuilhond for introducing new cachers to the game and for the social media exposure that went along with it.
 
This is what The Ninja Chugus had to say:
 
“We made an awesome friend on a hike one Saturday in the snow. His name is Braam, and he is the coolest dude we know. He took us on an epic adventure in Betty’s Bay where we hiked the Leopard’s Kloof trail. This trail is an easy hike and an absolutely must do for even the not so fit hikers out there. It boasts with beautiful rock pools and jaw dropping waterfalls that the camera just cannot capture! This hike is 1.5km in each direction and will take you around 90min for the return trip. Entry into the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens is R35. Braam also introduced us to Geocaching and we found our first Geocache with him! The link to the Geocache that we found is D.F Malherbe Stoel

Your Geocaching Will


As unpleasant as it is to think about, we will all pass away at some point in time. None of us want our geocaching legacy to be unmaintained caches or geolitter and so we really do encourage each and every active cacher to make provision for what will happen with their caches once they pass away.
 
Below in an extract of some of the information that is already on the GoSA website.
 
Dealing with geocaches after the death of the cache owner
After the death of a Geocacher that in life had been a member of Groundspeak’s Geocaching website (www.geocaching.com) and who had placed geocaches that are still active at the date of his/her death, the geocaches in question remain active. Without any clear instruction on how these geocaches should be dealt with, it is impossible for Groundspeak or other members of the Geocaching community to appropriately deal with these geocaches except by attrition over time as the geocaches get lost and are archived due to inadequate maintenance leading to the demise of the geocaches in question. This is an unsatisfactory circumstance as it can lead to the problem of geo-litter and/or the sterilisation of viable geocaching hiding spots while a protracted process of natural demise of the geocaches has to play out.
 
In order to facilitate the addressing of the abovementioned problems, it is suggested that a Geocacher can as a responsible member of the Geocaching community take active steps to prevent the problem from arising. Two such steps are:
  • Providing an instruction to Groundspeak by way of a Reviewers Notice on how to deal with the Geocacher’s active caches upon death. Such a Reviewers Notice is then annotated to the confidential database linked to the Cache Owner’s profile in the Groundspeak website; and/or
  • Providing in a will for the management of geocaches after the death of a Cache Owner.
 It is submitted that there are essentially three possible actions that a Cache Owner can direct in these circumstances, namely:
  • Immediate archiving of all active caches upon death; or
  • Adoption of all active caches by a fellow geocacher(s); or
  • Allowing the representatives of Groundspeak, i.e., the volunteer reviewers of the area where the caches are located to take appropriate steps to arrange for the adoption of such caches by willing members of the Geocaching community in the area in question.
 It is important to note that the Adoption of geocaches will be performed subject to the applicable Groundspeak rules and to the extent that certain limitations exist e.g., on the adoption of certain geocache types, such rules will apply and the request by the geocacher in question will not override the Groundspeak rules.
 
For each of the three possible scenarios detailed example texts for both the note to reviewers and the geocachers will can be found on the GoSA website

Community Contributions


SA Geocaching Stats

By Adventure_T and Danie Viljoen
 

Because sometimes, for some people, it is about the numbers… Here is a summary of South African Geocaching activity for December that will hopefully inspire you:
 
It’s QUIZ TIME!
By Panthera03

Who doesn’t love the chance to win some awesome prizes? We are excited to be celebrating our 10th birthday and cannot wait to give away some prizes. Please follow the steps below to participate and please encourage any of your geocaching friends who are not on the GoSA Grapevine mailing list to sign up so that they too can enter the competition.
 
Good Luck!

Review of 2021 Geocaching in South Africa
By Adventure_T and Danie Viljoen
 

New Souvenirs: Reach the Peaks Challenge – Everest
New Souvenirs: Reach the Peaks Challenge – The Peak Performer
 
 
We are drawing to a close on the Reach the Peak Challenge, it’s been a great 6 months of “climbing” peaks and achieving souvenirs and we are finally down to the last 2 souvenirs – Everest Basecamp and Everest Summit.
 
For those of you that have achieved all the previous basecamp and summit souvenirs along the way once you “summit” Everest you will also be awarded a bonus souvenir – The Peak Performer.

The Souvenirs that can be earned are as follows:
 
  • Reach the Peak: Puncak Jaya Basecamp (2 Aug - 5 Sep)
  • Reach the Peak: Puncak Jaya Summit (2 Aug – 5 Sep)
  • Reach the Peak: Vinson Basecamp (6 Sept – 4 Oct)
  • Reach the Peak: Vinson Summit (6 Sept – 4 Oct)
  • Reach the Peak: Elbrus Basecamp (4 Oct – 31 Oct)
  • Reach the Peak: Elbrus Summit (4 Oct – 31 Oct)
  • Reach the Peak: Kilimanjaro Basecamp (1 Nov – 5 Dec)
  • Reach the Peak: Kilimanjaro Summit (1 Nov – 5 Dec)
  • Reach the Peak: Denali Basecamp (6 Dec – 2 Jan)
  • Reach the Peak: Denali Summit (6 Dec – 2 Jan)
  • Reach the Peak: Aconcagua Basecamp (3 Jan – 6 Feb)
  • Reach the Peak: Aconcagua Summit (3 Jan – 6 Feb)
  • Reach the Peak: Everest Basecamp (7 Feb – 6 Mar)
  • Reach the Peak: Everest Summit (7 Feb – 6 Mar)
  • Reach the Peak: Peak Performer (Bonus for earning all above souvenirs)
 
Mount Everest is a peak in the Himalaya Mountain range in Asia. It is located between Nepal and Tibet, an autonomous region of China. At 8,849 meters, it is considered the tallest point on Earth. In the nineteenth century, the mountain was named after George Everest, a former Surveyor General of India. The Tibetan name is Chomolungma, which means “Mother Goddess of the World.” The Nepali name is Sagarmatha, which has various meanings.

The first ever recorded people to climb Everest were Edmund Hillary (a mountaineer from New Zealand) and his Tibetan guide Tenzing Norgay.

Collect 425 points to earn the Everest Basecamp souvenir and 8849 points to earn the Everest summit souvenir. Points can be earned between 7 February 2022 and 6 March 2022 (UTC)
 
Here are the point values for the Everest challenge:
 
  • Completed an Adventure                                            975 points
  • Find a Mystery Cache                                                900 points
  • Find a Multi Cache                                                     850 points
  • Find a cache with 15+ FPs                                         700 points
  • Find a Letterbox Hybrid                                              550 points
  • Find an Earth Cache                                                  650 points
  • Find any other cache type                                          425 points
  • Find an Adventure Lab                                               125 points
 Maximum number of points you can earn for any cache log is 975 points
 
You will be able to track your points via the leader board on the geocaching website www.geocaching.com

New Souvenir: Deuces Wild 2/22/22

We know just how much GCHQ love funky dates and so it should be no surprise that we will be able to earn a new souvenir on Two-sday 22.02.22! The twist to this one? Well in celebrating all things “two” you need to find two caches or attend two events on the day. We are just glad they didn’t say it has to be logged at 22h22 😊

 

Current Souvenirs

Souvenirs are virtual pieces of art that you can earn, discover, and display on your profile page. They are associated with a particular location, task, find or event and may also be bound by time.
 
The souvenirs that are currently up for grabs are listed and pictured below:
 

  • Community Celebration – 2 May 2020 to 21 December 2022
  • GC8NEAT, Locationless Cache – 6 February to 31 December 2022
  • Wonders of the World – 24 February to 20 February 2022
  • Perserverance Rover on Mars TB – no end date announced
  • Reach the Peak Challenge: Everest Basecamp, Everest Summit & Peak Performer - 7 February 2022 to 6 March 2022
  • Deuces Wild – 22 February 2022

 

We are always on the lookout for photos from events or cool caches, as well as any fun, interesting, unusual or exciting geocaching stories to share with the geocaching community.  If you want to share yours, send it to us by emailing it to our newsletter writers.

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Last Updated: 13 February 2023
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