Newbie

Newbie

A newbie is someone who is new to anything. In this case you would be new to geocaching, so this is a good place to get some basic information.

Welcome to the game. First thing that will happen when you find a cache is that you will get hooked. Your former life will go out the window and you will spend more and more time looking for plastic boxes in the bush.

There are two main sites used for geocaches in Australia.

http://www.geocaching.com and http://www.geocaching.com.au

Here's a little blurb on the differences. http://wiki.geocaching.com.au/wiki/Gc_vs_gca

The biggest thing to note is that GCA is NOT affiliated with GC.

http://www.geocaching.com (aka GC) is the site with the most listings on it. You will need a separate account created over there to seek, find and log caches that are listed at GC. Easily distinguishable from a GCA cache is that GC caches have a waypoint that starts with GC. This is a cache in Croydon in Victoria as an example.

http://geocaching.com.au/cache/gcqpqe

Note that the code is GCQPQE and as it starts with GC you will need to seek, find and log it at the GC site.

The cache details on the page at GCA also inform you of his:

   * This cache is listed on an external site.
   * By visiting the external cache listing you are leaving Geocaching Australia.
   * Geocaching Australia is not affiliated with the original listing site for this cache.
   * Please click here to view the cache.
   * If you wish to log this cache, you will need to log it on the external site.
   * This will require a separate user account on that site. (More Details)

If you click on the link next to the word Waypoint: it will take you to this listing at the GC site.

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GCQPQE

As long as you are logged in over there, you should be able to see the co-ords. Remember you will need an account for each site. They are not affiliated.

http://www.geocaching.com.au (aka GCA) is the site with the fewer listing listings on it, but offers more functionality and an uniquely Australian perspective. It's run by volunteers and costs nothing to join up and get cache information from. You will need a separate account created to seek, find and log caches that are listed at GCA. As you're posting here, you already have an account. Easily distinguishable from a GC cache is that GCA caches have a waypoint that starts with GA. This is a GCA cache near Croydon, Victoria.

http://geocaching.com.au/cache/ga1078

http://geocaching.com.au/cache/ga1080

Note that the code is GA1078 and GA080 and as it starts with GA you will need to seek, find and log it at the GCA site.

You should be able to see the co-ords. Remember you will need an account for each site. They are not affiliated.

That's the basic difference between the two sites. We're Australian and don't charge for anything. They are an American based FOR PROFIT company and charge for some aspects of their site.

If you are looking for someone to help guide you though your first couple of caches click on this link. http://geocaching.com.au/search/gurus/ Enter a suburb or select a region.

It's a link to the Geocaching Guru / Guide page*. Zoom into your area, click on an icon and contact that person. They have volunteered to help, so don't be shy about contacting them.

As far as which caches are easiest in your area, look for a cache that has a difficulty of 1 or 1.5 (easiest) and a terrain of 1 or 1.5 (easiest). These should allow you to get to the cache, almost in a wheelchair, so might be best to search for to start with.

Go here http://geocaching.com.au/ enter our suburb in the search box top right and hit enter. That will show you caches in your area. Look for a single blob under the terr and diff columns, click on the name, visit the GC website (by clicking on the link next to the word waypoint), sign up if necessary and you should get the co-ords.

Welcome to the site. It's all a little confusing to start with, but once you get the hang of it, it's really easy and fun.