Are you a muggle or a seeker?
And I’m not talking about Harry Potter.
Although you may have been pottering through a park when you spied a seeker; a modern-day treasure hunter partaking in the popular activity of geocaching.
Muggle is the term used for an unsuspecting, non-geocaching, member of the public that may witness the hunting or recovery of the “treasure”.
Or indeed, a muggle may stumble across the treasure themselves without realising it.
The treasure (or geocache) is a container that is trickily hidden in a public place and sought using GPS co-ordinates and clues.
The container may be small and hold a log book only while larger ones have a selection of cheap trinkets that can be swapped for one of your own.
The clues, co-ordinates and general information are shared online through www.geocaching.com
To muggles the whole thing may initially just sound bizarre, but think about it…
It’s an exciting, high-tech, real-world, treasure-hunting game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and, while internet-based, it actually gets its participants outside and being active (to various degrees).
It’s an excellent way to get to know an area, and when you live and travel in somewhere like New Zealand then it’s definitely an awesome way to discover new places!
The Kiwi Annisons are geocachers of the infrequent variety.
We don’t do it on a regular basis (for no particular reason other than those pesky other things that get in the way) but we find having the Kiwi Blog Bus is an excellent way to geocache.
It has made us find amazing little corners of towns that we thought we knew.
Some of the locations have been interesting places of historical or environmental significance and mostly likely we would never have stumbled across them if we had not been hunting for a cache.
We have a little tin of “treasures” that we keep in the bus so we are ready to exchange items if we find a cache. It’s amazing how excited you can get over a bugs bunny eraser or Australian fridge magnet!
Hmmmm it's here somewhere...
Some of the smallest containers just hold a log book and pencil
Containers are often VERY well hidden - this one in Rotorua took us ages to find (I can say no more!)
Geocaching is a great way to learn more about the environment you live in
The Kiwi Annisons race to find a cache - "Eagle Eye" Sam is usually the first to spot it
Occasionally you have to get off the beaten track to find your treasure!
It is becoming a very popular activity here in New Zealand and apparently there are over 5 million geocachers around the world now.
Kids love it.
(After all it’s the ultimate hide and seek!)
Dogs can often come along too.
For us, it is the thrill of the hunt and the excitement upon finding hidden treasure.
And we have a lovely collection of erasers and fridge magnets now!
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9 responses to “Are you a muggle or a seeker?”
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Kiwi Blog Bus
Campervan tales from New Zealand
The Kiwi Blog Bus - campervan tales from New Zealand 
Love that! Geo-caching sounds like so much fun! Looks like you finished all the repairs on the Kiwi bus.
The Kiwi Blog bus is still undergoing painting – it is literally half done (E.g. one side of bus painted!)
I’m waiting until it is complete to put on a post about the transformation 🙂
I can’t wait to see the transformation. I really enjoy hearing about your adventures. In fact, I look forward to them. Thanks for always putting a smile on my face. Cheers!
Okay, now I am even more impressed.
Never knew about this – sounds like a lot of fun – may have to give this a go with the girls! 🙂 Love your blog by the way!!!
Thanks Pointons !!
You should try Geo-caching it’s good fun and you’d be amazed how many there are close to where you live too 😉
I’m still on crutches for the foreseeable future as my foot is mending really slooowly… but once I am properly back on my feet I WILL be adding some geo-caching fun to our families activity list.
Who doesn’t like a treasure hunt?
I was curious enough to click on the website link and when I put in my area I was stunned to see pages and pages of really local geo-cache sites near where we live… it’s clear the we must be going by them constantly but we never knew!
Now I’m REALLY inspired to join as soon as I can…Thanks for the intro and the inspiration!
It’s true that there are many on your doorstep – we have even discovered some places of historical note just down the road that we have driven past loads of time and never realised.
Geo-caching makes you slow down and open your eyes to everything!
I’m a 100% Seeker and long may I be so.