{"id":13580,"date":"2018-06-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flashpack.preview.uk.com\/2018\/06\/15\/geocaching-turns-adventures-into-epic-treasure-hunts\/"},"modified":"2023-09-25T13:17:40","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T12:17:40","slug":"geocaching-adventures-epic-treasure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/solo\/travel\/geocaching-adventures-epic-treasure\/","title":{"rendered":"Geocaching turns adventures into epic treasure hunts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ever heard of geocaching? Me neither, until one random day in Vancouver…<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I found myself with a whole day to kill in one of Canada’s most incredible cities and, on a recommendation from an overly friendly barman, I ended up taking a lovely hike around Stanley Park, a big old forested area just outside town. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About an hour into my walk, I spotted a group of hikers huddled around a tree. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first thought was that they\u2019d found a dead body and, having seen Stand By Me multiple times and knowing no good comes of such situations, I decided to give them a wide berth. As I got closer, they seemed to be searching for something up a tree \u2013 it looked quite bizarre \u2013 so I slowly approached and asked what they were up to.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe can\u2019t really tell you\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oldest among them piped up and I started backing away, thinking about my loved ones, when another guy chimed in:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re Geocaching!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What followed was an excited and relieved exchange (them = excited, me = relieved I wasn\u2019t about to be murdered) whereby I learned all about this madly passionate community of millions. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geocaching turns the whole world into one massive treasure hunt.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: Where in the world is your ultimate adventure?<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s an \u201c<\/span>any day, any time adventure that can take you to amazing and beautiful places<\/span><\/i>\u201d. The idea is that you hunt for these caches by using clues you find in the Geocaching app \u2013 just load it up wherever you are and the app will direct you to your nearest cache. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are currently <\/span>3 million geocaches<\/b> in more than <\/span>190 countries <\/b>\u2013 the chances are there\u2019s one near you right now. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The treasures people have left for others to find range from small, funny trinkets to books to an $800 dollar diamond watch! With most though, the treasure is actually finding the geocache itself because, more often than not, you\u2019ll have to solve a series of challenging clues to find it. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It essentially turns you into a real-life Indiana Jones (if Indy preferred using an iPhone instead of a whip). I don’t know about you, but embracing adventure like Indy sounds pretty good to me.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since finding out about this strange pastime, I\u2019ve found geocaches on the streets of Mombasa, near an abandoned lighthouse in Hawaii and the most beautiful of all: by a bin near Cardiff City\u2019s stadium. If I\u2019m ever at a loose end on holiday, Geocaching gives me the opportunity to spend a few hours seeing a new area in a completely different way.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: It’s official: Adventure makes you smarter and sexier<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, the itineraries on Flash Pack trips are already brimming with awesome activities \u2013 so it might be difficult to go off piste to find these \u2013 but I’ve cherry-picked six of the best looking geocaches in some of the areas a Flash Pack trip may take you. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of these as outstanding examples \u2013 but your group could try this on a ‘free day’. You never know, there’s probably an incredible geocache waiting to be found down the road from your house right now. Here are my top six:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue Lagoon, Iceland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard of Iceland\u2019s famous Blue Lagoon but in my humble opinion, you\u2019ve not experienced it properly unless you\u2019ve <\/span>hunted down a jar of messages<\/span><\/a> before plunging your body into the lagoon’s bright blue mineral baths. This one is more challenging than it looks.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flash Pack adventure: Into the unknown of Iceland<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asura Caves, Nepal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The <\/span>Asura Caves <\/span><\/a>cache is just outside of Kathmandu. It\u2019ll take you to the edge of beautiful cliffs and let you visit an old meditation hut before solving a series of riddles to get the final coordinates. When was the last time you had to get coordinates for something?! Brilliant.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yucatan, Mexico<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The <\/span>\u2018When It Feels Natural\u2019<\/span><\/a> cache, located just North of a village called Mucuych\u00e9. It even has instructions on what gear to use when driving to the location. The cache is near an amazing natural cenote (a \u2018sinkhole\u2019) that you can actually swim in.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flash Pack adventure: Wild swim the Yucatan peninsula<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just outside Helsinki, Finland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Finland<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finnish geocachers are a bit more extreme and there\u2019s a good few of them that call for experienced climbers. The <\/span>\u2018Burning Bridges<\/span><\/a>\u2019 cache warns people \u201cDO NOT attempt to log this cache without proper safety equipment\u201d. I mean, that just makes us want it to get this one <\/span>so much more<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flash Pack adventure: Break free in summertime Finland<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more: 5 ways to make every day an adventure<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cartagena, Colombia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The <\/span>\u2018Cast-a-Way\u2019<\/span><\/a> cache clues in Cartagena are written entirely in the first person which suggests a lot of effort has gone into it and also the possibility we\u2019re dealing with a cursed sentient cache. Be warned, adventurers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flash Pack adventure: A brave new world in Colombia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angkor Wat, Cambodia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This one is some serious, straight-up Lara Croft\/Nathan Drake tomb raider adventuring at the <\/span>Angkor Wat temple<\/span><\/a>, the oldest religious monument in the world. You\u2019ll make your way along an old stone wall to find this cache location but, be careful, as some seekers have encountered scorpions when hunting around. It\u2019s unclear whether the scorpions are part of the treasure but I highly doubt it.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flash Pack adventure: Kayaking, cooking and sunrise temples in Vietnam & Cambodia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And those are my six. As a fellow adventurer, I hope geocaching brings you as much joy as it has for me. And, anyway, who doesn’t love a good old treasure hunt? See you in the log books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unleash your adventurous side with Flash Pack:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n