Geocaching in the Czech Republic

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As we’ve mentioned before, the Czech Republic has plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities. But perhaps you’ve seen it all, or sight-seeing and taking in nature is not enough. Maybe you want more of a challenge. If you haven’t already tried it, perhaps you could consider geocaching – a great way to get involved now is Česká Spořitelna’s Treasure Hunt Competition (see bottom of the article for more information).

Geocaching?
Geocaching [pronounced gee-oh-kash-ing] has been around for about a decade. Basically, it is an updated version of letterboxing or treasure hunt games which requires a person to visit the specific co-ordinates listed on geocaching websites (see website section below).

Using a GPS device or mobile with GPS capabilities, the participant then visits the location to find the cache, which is in most cases a water-tight container with a logbook and a pen or pencil inside. Once the participant locates the cache, he or she logs in their geocaching nickname and when they found the cache, plus other information about the find. They should then log the details on the website which listed the cache.

Other caches can contain an item for trade such as a small toy, CD or in some cases even a book. Geocoins are especially popular, and there are even special Czech ones (see http://wiki.geocaching.cz/wiki/CWG).

The item in the cache is only limited by the size of the cache and the generosity of the person leaving it behind. The only rule is that you leave something of equal or greater value.

Sorry, there is one more. Don’t leave anything illegal, dangerous or offensive. To do so would go against the spirit of the game.

Why?
The simple answer given to me by a few geocachers is that it’s fun. You get to travel around and see parts of the country you haven’t seen before plus there is a sense of achieving something when you find the item.

One geocacher I met put it best. “You feel like you’re part of some big secret which only those involved know about,” he said. “It’s like some secret history going on under everyone’s nose.”

Another geocacher, a woman, said, “I especially like when you exchange items. I like the idea of these toys or coins or whatever going from one place to other, carried by different people. It’s like each thing has its own journey.”

Getting started
First of all, you obviously need some type of GPS device for the coordinates. Then it is recommended to join one of the geocaching sites so that you can look up the lists of caches.

The websites will list the difficulty and cache size to give you an idea how successful you’ll be. You might also enter the coordinates into Google Maps or Google Earth to get an idea where it is. This approach can be helpful in the beginning, and some websites may even include the position on a map.

For purists, using Google Maps might be considered cheating, an opinion which seems paradoxical given that geocachers use navigational equipment. However, when you try it yourself you’ll see there is a difference in using Google Maps rather than following the coordinates, which definitely gives it more of a sense of a chase.

If you don’t have a GPS device, you can still try. However, there will be some problems. GPS devices use the World Geodetic System WSG84, which places the meridian zero longitude 102 meters east of the prime meridian used for most other maps. Even if you can convert the coordinates, some experienced geocachers think that this lo-tech approach is only suitable for obvious caches.

Now the Websites
As stated before, a geocaching website is the other important tool for your treasure hunting. The reason we’ve kept the section separate is that there are quite a few to choose from.

The largest of these is Geocaching.com, owned by Groundspeak Inc. Basic membership is free, though they charge for premium. All that is required to join is an email address. Even if you visit the Czech Republic site Geocaching.cz, you will need membership for Geocaching.com to get the coordinates.

An alternative to Geocaching.com isOpenCaching. The downside – for some – might be that when opened in the Czech Republic many of the instructions are given in Czech. However, it is quite easy to use. In the white box write the city, zip code or coordinates to find if there are any caches.

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What’s great about the OpenCaching website is that you don’t need membership to get the coordinates and the website comes up with a map showing the position of the cache plus a rating of the difficulty, terrain, impression and cache size.

Another website which will show you coordinates for caches is Navicache.com. Under the heading ‘newest caches’, you can find some locations. However, to search all locations, you will need to register.

Apart from the aforementioned geocaching.cz, there are some regional websites:
Geocaching Plzeň – http://www.gc-plzen.net/news.php
Klub Geocacherů Brno – http://www.kgbrno.eu/news.php
Geocaching na jihu Čech – http://www.geojih.cz/news.php
Geocaching Kladno a okolí – http://geokladno.cz/
Olomoucké geokačerstvo – http://www.geool.cz/news.php
Czech GeoWest – http://www.coolstranky.cz/geowest/news.php

Most of the time, they link to caches on geocaching.com. However, the various sites can let you know what’s happening in the Czech Republic and even allow you to meet other geocachers.

Česká Spořitelna Treasure Hunt Competition
In case this hasn’t enticed you to take part in modern treasure hunting, Česká spořitelna is launching a competition “Hon za Pokladem”, or Treasure Hunt.

The first round of the competition starts on July 27th and runs until August 21st. The second round starts on August 26th and finishes on September 18th. The first prize for both rounds is an LG 42LD420 TV.

To take part in the competition, you will first have to enter. Once you’ve done that, the idea is to find caches around the Czech Republic. For caches and other tasks you receive the following points:
●   5 points for a photo taken at the location where a Česká spořitelna geocache is hidden.
●   4 points for a photo at a ‘significant’ tourist locale.
●   3 points (once only) for liking the page on FaceBook
●   2 points for finding a Czech Wood Geocoin.

Those with the twenty highest scores will then be given a map with the GPS coordinates and a description of the location of the prizes. The maps will be released every hour on the hour on 20th August (first round) and 17th September (second round) starting at 05:00 for the contestant with the first points. At 06:00 the two next highest will receive the map and so on until to 11:00 when all the top twenty will get their maps. Then at 12:00 on those same days a rougher map will be made public for anyone who has gained over 15 points. From that point on, it is the first to find the buried treasure.

So happy hunting!

Incidentally, according to one website, one of the most visited traditional caches is in Prague. Have you found it?