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From the Desk of the Chairman

Lilo and I went thrift shopping in the Johannesburg CBD and found the most appropriate pair of jeans:

Unfortunately, my cache is too large to fit into them but oh well, it made the newsletter all the same. Speaking of the newsletter, you’re aware you can write things for it, right? Keep those stories coming!

Speaking of stories, I’ve deliberately neglected to say my usual hello from because sometimes, I really do have to do my real job so this is coming from an office in Johannesburg which doesn’t make for a great story. Not that exciting though the last month saw me on the garden route and Cape Town. The caching is generally good over there and the stats show it.

Speaking of the stats, if you wondered about the stats over the months, you’re in for a treat below.

Speaking of treats, I was treated to a spot prize at a Cape event hosted by Skattie@1. Got me a whole container filled with a lot of smaller containers. I thought that was a cool addition to an event and one I’ve not experienced before; a draw made up from the names of the Will Attends. I think I may adopt that idea sometime.

Speaking of adoption. We’ve reached out to the hiders of the 100 oldest caches and other SA legacy caches to ensure that they’re still active or whether we need to arrange for adoption. Please ensure that caches stay current and make use of the adoption feature.

Speaking of feature…oh nevermind, you’ll read about the new Geocaching App feature below…

Happy caching…

Tribute to Edward “Panters”

By Annelie

Edward, known to the geocaching community as Panters, discovered geocaching on 17 June 2016 during a holiday in Marloth Park. What started as a suggestion from a colleague led to the first find, GC5DP4M – Billy’s Rest. From that moment, Edward and his wife Annelie were hooked, and a decade-long adventure began.

Together caching under the name Panters, Edward embraced everything that makes geocaching special: the thrill of discovery, the joy of the outdoors, and the friendships formed along the way. He particularly loved hiding caches and chasing First To Finds. Many cachers will smile at the thought of those late-night alerts when a new cache was published — because Edward was often already on the road. Driving long distances, sometimes even heading out at 2 a.m., was all part of the excitement of the chase.

Over the years Edward built an impressive geocaching legacy: 5,189 finds, 300 hides, and 651 favourite points received. He completed the D/T matrix, cached across South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho, and enjoyed some truly memorable adventures along the way. These included getting stuck on black ice at Sani Pass, tackling Sentinel View in Cape Town, completing geo-arts like PTA and Curse of the Nanos, and even conquering Table Mountain despite a severe fear of heights.

Edward also  contributed to the community beyond his personal caching, helping with Mega 2018  and always being part of the enthusiasm that makes the geocaching community so  special.

For Edward, geocaching was never just about the numbers or statistics. He loved being outdoors, exploring new places, and sharing those experiences with Annelie and with fellow cachers who soon became lifelong friends. The friendships formed through geocaching created memories that will be cherished forever.

Edward’s final cache was GC6KPNY – Piet-my-vrou, found while on holiday in Limpopo, shortly before he was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer. He fought the disease with remarkable courage and strength. On 23 December 2025 at 02:00, Edward passed away after a brave battle.

Those who knew Edward  will remember a man who was kind, adventurous, and deeply devoted to the people  he loved. Even after a long day of caching when he was tired and hungry, he  would happily continue when Annelie asked for “just one more cache.” Whether it  meant climbing another hill, searching one more hiding spot, or getting out of  bed in the middle of the night for a FTF, Edward was always ready — simply  because it made Annelie happy.

Edward’s footprints remain scattered across thousands of caches and countless adventures. His legacy lives on in the hides he placed, the finds he signed, the trails he walked, and the friendships he helped build within the geocaching community.

Though he may no longer be with us, the spirit of Panters will always be part of the journey.

Happy caching, Edward. May the greatest adventure continue.

Interesting and Different Cache Spotlight

By Orosman

What’s up with this?

I was hoping to have a bit more information around this by the time I got to making a short story on it, but having moved down to the Western Cape IngetjieZA and I have come across what looks to be an old collaboration between Cape Mountain passes SA and Geocaching.

We first spotted this oddity when doing Giants View by BelvidereBelle with my Parents, BDUTHIE13.

When you approach the cache there is a “larger” and “smaller” logbook which in the larger holds a story of past attempts to grow the geocaching game by collaborating with outdoor adventure groups such as Cape Mountain Passes SA.

This got me interested so we started to have a look for more information but sadly this seems to have died out, and I think would be a great project to kick off again, being that one of my tools of the trade is the trusty Jeep.

Since that day IngetjieZA and I have stopped at every one of the Brown Passes Signs and double checked if this box is actually on the back, indeed they have been so now the question is how do we get this series of Geocaches going again?

Some of the locations do have existing Geocaches such as Giants View or Four Passes by Andredj, others unfortunately just look like have been used by the locals to store some snacks.

So, who is keen to work on this project with me?

As always please help us out with this series and submit your Interesting and Different Geocaches here.  

FINDERS

Top Finders for the month

Top Hiders for the month

Top Finders for the Year Thus Far

Top Hiders  for the Year Thus Far

Top Finders of SA Caches of All Time

Top Hiders of SA Caches of All Time

Top Maintainers of SA Caches For the Month

Events to Attend

Souvenirs to Grab

Some inspiration to go out caching, here’s what’s on offer souvenir-wise

• Unboxing 2026 - 1 - 8 January (log any cache or adventure lab location)
• Magic Maker: 9 - 30 April (Host or attend a Magic Maker event)
• Blue Switch Day Hider: 1 - 31 May
• Blue Switch Day: 1 - 3 May
  • June Solstice: June 20-22
  • International Geocaching Day: August 14-16
  • International Geocaching Day Hider: August 1-30
  • September Equinox: September 19-22
  • Cache In Trash Out®, Season 2: September 1-November 30
  • World Postcard Day: September 27-October 3
  • International EarthCache Day: October 9-11
  • Adventure Day: November 25-29
  • December Solstice: December 19-21
  • Farewell 2026: December 24-31
• 
  Some events we know that are coming but still don’t know what to do for them…

New Caches Published in November

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