These buggers are so hard to find...

So when I used to write on this blog a lot, it really seemed to have a big focus on games and not much else. Well, today I’m coming at you with a new hobby of mine, and one that’ll actually get you outside the house and looking for adventure… geocaching!

The basic premise of geocaching is to find a hidden box (or cache) using a set of GPS co-ordinates, and using clues or solving puzzles to find the right location. Then you sign the log book to say that you found it, and register your find online using the official website. Sounds boring, yeah? I thought it sounded dull at first… but one day I was in Newcastle, had an hour to kill, and remembered reading an article about an Android geocaching app. I downloaded it, it pointed me to a nearby location, and solved the puzzle to find the hidden cache (which was surprisingly tiny, like in the picture above). Even though I’d only found a piece of paper with other names on it, it filled me with a sense of satisfaction and exploration, that I’d managed to find something that most people would just walk straight past.

I guess that’s one of the big appeals – you now know about a hidden world of puzzles and secret boxes, often in public places. And some of the hiding spots are pure genius (if you’re in Newcastle, try this one), so it’ll take some hard work, and possibly the help of a friend to find them. Another big appeal is the cost of geocaching – free. If you have a smart phone with GPS (which nearly all of you will have), then that’s all you need to get started and track down your nearest cache. Caching spots will often be in interesting locations and in places you wouldn’t normally see, like some creepy-ass statues in South Shields that I went to yesterday. If you find some of the bigger caches, you might even walk away with some treasure (objects left by other geocachers), or trackable coins that have travelled around the globe.

…so there’s my recommendation. Put down that controller, find your nearest geocache, and go outside for a nice stroll. Who knows what you’ll find?