How NOT to Geocache
Tip for young players: don’t place your cache near a building in the city with CCTV cameras.
I’ve just spent 90 minutes with the police explaining geocaching, convincing them it’s not a problem, and viewing CCTV footage to confirm the guy was holding a GPS.
I’ve logged the cache as “Needs Maintenance“.
Update: The New Zealand police have issued a press release:
New Zealand Police Alert 6:00pm 13 Feb 2008 Auckland City
Location of incident: MAYORAL DRIVE, AUCKLAND CITY
Incident type: SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE
At approximately 6pm this evening the Defence Force revealed the suspicious package located in Mayoral Drive was not explosive nor a danger to any member of the public.
All cordons have been lifted from the area and Police and Defence staff have dispersed. The package is believed to be a ‘Geocache’. A ‘Geocache’ is apparently an electronic package used by computer buffs that can be tracked electronically around the world. The computer buffs use them as a form of entertainment.
Issued By: Inspector Gary Hill
The didn’t seem to understand when I explained what a geocache was!
Update 2: And now Stuff.co.nz is saying “Computer game causes Auckland bomb scare“
Update 3: Engadget makes a good point: the actual cache container looks pretty scary. The photo below is from under the handrail that you see behind the police bike in the photo above. The container had a magnet glued to the top, so it could hang there under the hand rail.
Update 4: And here’s me on the radio explaining what was going on.
Popularity: 15% [?]
lol
Hi there,
I work for Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report programme, and we’re very interested in talking to you about this cache – both because of your observations of this specific incident, and to discuss geocaching in general – as a relatively unusual sport. If you’d mind emailing me at emily.muller@radionz.co.nz, or calling me on 04 474 1908 I’d really appreciate it.
If anyone is reading this and knows how I can get hold of pivotal – please get in touch with me too!
Cheers,
Emily
Hi there,
I work for Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report programme, and we’re very interested in talking to you about this cache – both because of your observations of this specific incident, and to discuss geocaching in general – as a relatively unusual sport. If you’d mind emailing me at emily.muller@radionz.co.nz, or calling me on 04 474 1908 I’d really appreciate it.
If anyone is reading this and knows how I can get hold of pivotal – please get in touch with me too!
Cheers,
Emily
It’s on engadget!!!
See online Herald on Sunday 30th December, for an article on geocaching.
I’d recommend against going on radio, the interviewer will almost certainly try to paint you in a very negative fashion. Anything even slightly geeky is still seen as black arts to these people.
Steve, this is New Zealand media not a British tabloid, seems to me pivotal could handle himself ok, just remember if it’s your first time on radio just do it !!! ( my first time, I did ok pre-interview, until they rang back with a tape recorder, it was a few years back & I turned unto gibbering idiot ).
LOL
Someone should have given the Inspector the actual definition of Geocaching before he issued his statement… it has nothing to do with computer buffs and electronic packages. Now leaving an electronic package would be scary
Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called “geocaches” or “caches”) anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and “treasure,” usually toys or trinkets of little value. Today, well over 480,000 geocaches are registered on various websites devoted to the sport. Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica.
Gotta love the dinosaur media reporting geocaching as a computer game heh. Do they ever get anything right these days?
Hey Ben, let us know if you do talk to the media. I’d be interested to hear what you say, and how they report it (compare, contrast etc).
LOL! Just listened to you on Morning Report – you were excellent! Well done! What fun it all is!
BTW, the radio report should go up on their website soon (should be there in about half an hour): http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/20080214
Thanks Dylan. The segment is up there now. I think it came across ok. No scare tactic angle, just common sense.
Hey Ben, you came across very well. The interviewer didn’t try to paint you in a negative fashion at all.
Hey, just found the artical, pretty damn funny situation (though can see how it could be taken very seriously)
Listened to the radio interview and sounded good
came across clear and the interviewer, as someone said, was just trying to get an understanding of what the game is 
http://www.geocaching.com/
http://www.geocaching.com/
The geocachers creed, #4 Avoid causing disruptions or public alarm
http://www.geocreed.info/#lnt4