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From the Desk of the Chairman

Hello from a rooftop in Melville and thank you for all the great things that have been happening over the last few weeks. In particular, lovely new stories are being submitted, I’m noticing new cachers and even hiders on the logs and we have a wonderful treasure chest of trackables important to South Africa thanks to the great work of DamhuisClan.

I’m going to colonize the interesting geocache section to share a really great cache we found yesterday.

Also, as I was typing this, Lilo happened to send me this picture:

Notwithstanding the gender and marriage specificity, I think many of us can relate. Continuing the series of how Geocaching almost cost me more than some petrol, I found myself being shouted at by armed response guys last week looking for a cache in an area that was supposedly full of Zama Zamas. I never got to meet any but the security chap was quite convincing. Makes me think that some others have some interest close to danger caching stories that I’d invite you to share. Before that, we have a delightfully happy submission…

A Caching Engagement

By Liz22SA

Part 1: Discovering Geocaching

My first find was cache GCA5P37 in Bloemfontein on 22 November 2023, but my geocaching journey started a little before that.

I was wrapping up my final year of a Geography degree at the University of the Free State and slowly going crazy in my room. I needed a hobby that would get me out of the house and into the fresh air. Unfortunately, my favourite outdoor activity, hiking, is hard to come by near Bloemfontein, a city where, from the hill in the centre of town, you can see kilometres across the dry, dusty, beautiful Free State.

I had heard of geocaching throughout the years from various people. The conversation would normally go something like this:

"Have you ever heard of geocaching?"

"Nope."

"It's something you would probably find very interesting. I think you'd like it."

"Cool."

And then I would never give it another thought.

That changed when I met a good-looking guy in the Geography Department who invited me for coffee on Naval Hill. The interaction was far more awkward than either of us imagined it would be, although I'm not sure what two introverts expected. During one of the many awkward silences, he pulled out his phone and showed me an app called Geocaching. He pointed out that there were several caches hidden nearby. (Anyone who has spent time on Naval Hill knows it is absolutely covered in geocaches.)

This was my opportunity to keep the conversation going, so I asked him what geocaching was and how it worked. He gave me a brief explanation and that was that.

Later, when I got home, I downloaded the app and promptly forgot about it.

A few weeks later I once again found myself desperately wanting to get out of my room and do something outdoors, but I wasn't sure what. Then I remembered geocaching. I opened the app and decided to give it a try.

I fell in love with it almost immediately.

While searching for my very first cache, I ripped my jeans. In a strange way, that was the moment I knew I had found the hobby that had been missing from my life. It was a hobby that would get me outside, send me on little adventures, and eventually take me to interesting places all over South Africa. My scooter and I got to know Bloemfontein even better, driving around trying to find caches. 

Looking back now, it's funny to think that one awkward coffee date (that led nowhere), an app I nearly forgot about, and a pair of torn jeans were all it took to start a hobby that has become such a big part of my life.

Figure 1: The cache that started it all

Part 2: The Engagement

Fast forward to 2024. After a random swipe on Tinder and a few months of online conversations, I met my future husband in person for the first time at OR Tambo Airport over lunch.

Over the next few months, whenever he visited Bloemfontein, I would drag him geocaching across the city. We discovered some really interesting spots together, especially some of the caches tucked away off the beaten track on Naval Hill. Geocaching became a surprisingly large part of our relationship very quickly.

In November 2024 we went on holiday to Mabibi on the east coast, just north of Sodwana Bay. What I didn't know at the time was that my boyfriend had decided to plan our engagement in the style of a geocache.

Because he was still very new to geocaching, he wasn't entirely sure how to hide a cache or how best to make his plan work he decided on a “fake” geocache. Before we left for holiday, he 3D printed a container, placed the ring inside, and printed a small geocaching flag. While we were relaxing at camp, he enlisted the help of his sisters to hide the "cache" on the beach.

Later that day he suggested we take a walk along the beach. It didn't take long before I spotted the familiar geocaching logo fluttering in the distance. At that point I had a fairly good idea of what was happening, especially since I knew there were no official geocaches anywhere nearby, but I decided to play along.

When we reached the cache, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. He opened the container, pulled out the ring, and presented me with a logsheet that I had to sign. Fortunately, he had remembered to include a pen in the container as well.

Figure 2: The proposal

Figure 3: I said yes

A month later, in December 2024, I married the love of my life.

Our honeymoon featured a healthy combination of geocaching and 4x4 driving, two hobbies that work remarkably well together in South Africa. I get to find the geocaches, and my husband gets to drive the rough roads.

Looking back, it is funny to think that geocaching started as a way to get me out of my room during my final year at university. Since then it has helped me discover new places and even played a role in one of the most important moments of my life.

Here's to many more geocaching and 4x4 adventures.

Figure 4: The logsheet

TIDBITS

A Geocache Worth Noting

While on our usual weekend thrift, we found a great lockable container and while Lilo was sorting out the seeds she’d foraged from the Parkrun we’d attended earlier, we discussed the idea of a making a seedbank cache. It would be like a cache with different packets in it with different seeds and the idea would be to take a packet and go plant it; with the mystery revealing itself when the plant grows.

With that idea tucked firmly into our list of cache ideas that we’ll get to one day, we went about the rest of the day’s business. The following day was booked for foraging pinecones so off to Emmerentia we went, only to learn of the Linden Market happening as we arrived. That took some time but eventually we got to the pinecones.

I’d done the local caches years before but with just 2% left of my battery, I figured it was worth checking whether there were any new ones. There was one! Feed the Ducks (GCB8QBW) by CO Fionamillan.

Incidentally, the cache is one year old today and without giving too much away, it’s located in a park with lots of ducks. Once you’ve solved how to retrieve the cache, it’s a large container that does what containers do; contains stuff. But it’s not a mere container of a logsheet and pen…no no no. This one contains several bags of seeds for you to take one and go and feed the ducks. If ever there was a delightful “it’s in the name” cache, this would be it. So…we got to feed ducks! Novel idea and concept and one that I wish I had thought of earlier lest it look like I stole it when I eventually get to place my seed bank.

Lilo feeding ducks

SA Geocaching Stats

By Adventure_T and Danie Viljoen

Because sometimes, for some, it is about the numbers…

980 Cachers found a total of 4,287 caches during April 2026.

39 Cachers placed 83 new caches during April 2026.

The number of Cachers who found at least 1 SA cache in the previous 12 months is 6,707.

The number of Cachers who placed at least 1 SA cache in the previous 12 months is 190.

The total number of SA caches found in the previous 12 months: 50,574 (139 per day).

The total number of active South African caches at the end of April is 13,809.

April’s Top Dogs and Doggets:

Events to Attend

Souvenirs to Grab

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

• June Solstice: June 20-22: Find a cache or adventure lab location or attend an event
  • Some events we know that are coming but still don’t know what to do for them…
    • 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

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