Tuesday, 6 January 2015

Madhouse diaries : Our final geocache for 2014


It's hard to believe that we've only been geocaching for less than a year - we only started in April last year and have already racked up 133 geocaches and countless adventures. It's taken a real backseat during the autumn and winter months sadly, partly because many of the caches are off the beaten tracks and the paths are too muddy at the moment and also because it gets dark too early for going out for long walks. We managed to fit in a very quick bit of geocaching when we were in Hastings though and even took the Madhouse grandparents and Auntie Em along for the ride on the last day of the year.



When I spotted the name of a local cache - Ye Big Ole Toy Chest - I thought it sounded good. When I saw that it was categorised as large and the description mentioned a 35 litre box covered in camo netting, I still didn't really appreciate how big it would be. When we spotted an enormous toybox in the undergrowth, we all squealed ! Would it have anything inside it though?


Now that's what I call a well stocked geocache ! Luckily I always have a backpack stuffed with toys to swap so we took lots of things to appeal to all three of the Madhouse kids (even the two who had stayed home in the warm in their onesies with Madhouse Daddy !) and dropped off lots of new treasures.


When we unpacked our finds back at home, it was like Christmas all over again ! I think we may have to revisit this one every time we come to visit the Madhouse grandparents now, to see if there are any new treasures to exchange !


We decided to revisit another cache that we had already found in the summer on our way home because it was supposed to have a travel bug in it, but unfortunately it had been moved on but not logged out.


It was certainly a fabulous end  to our first year of geocaching. I wonder where this year's adventures will take us ?!


Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

12 comments:

  1. Wow that is loads of geocaches, well done! I still have to get started :)

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    1. I'm eagerly awaiting a sunny day to go and do some more :)

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  2. I've loved your geocaching journey. Each one has developed with you and you now seam experts in knowing the type of places to look. I hope you have many more adventures in 2015. Thank you for joining me all the way on Country Kids.

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    1. Fingers crossed there will be loads more to discover in 2015! :)

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  3. Amazing! We love geocaching but have never, EVER seen one with toys! All the ones we've found have been tiny. Well done! X

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    1. It's definitely worth scrolling through the list looking for "large" ones ! :)

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  4. we have one the same sort of size locally (http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2HE1Q_changing-seasons) but when I was there it was virtually empty. I had hoped for more winter caching when all the nettles and brambles are gone but never have the time in the day light. Roll on the light nights. Well done in introducing more family to the hobby.

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    1. I always try to fill up the empty ones as we go - it's a good way of clearing out the toyboxes ! I can't wait for the lighter nights too

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  5. Just done the first of the year but it was very muddy! That's a huge box, great find :)

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    1. It's better in the summer because it's less muddy, but then you have the brambles and nettles to contend with and it's harder to spot them if they're hidden in vegetation so I'm not sure what's best really !

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  6. I have to certainly look into this geocaching as it gets you and the kids outside.

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    1. It introduces you to some great new places (parks, walks, woods, ...) that you never knew about too :)

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