Hidden treasures await inquisitive, thrill-seeking minds of all ages at the Richmond Nature Park this Sunday for the annual Geocaching Extravaganza.
Items will be placed all around the park for the fast-growing GPS treasure hunt for families, groups and individuals, noted the City of Richmond, which is hosting the free event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in conjunction with the B.C. Geocaching Association.
Geocaching involves using a smartphone app or GPS device to track down “treasures” hidden by event organizers. Participants, or treasure hunters, accumulate items, or “check in” to locations by marking them on their devices and signing a log book at the geocache site.
Geocaches can vary greatly, making each geocache hunt unique.
Some geocaches are only boxes for log-in purposes. Others have small items (toys or coins, for example) one can trade. And, there are also mystery caches that require hunters to accumulate special codes.
Some caches are simply informative, such as the EarthCache, which has educational notes about the surroundings.
Richmond Nature Park staff will be on hand Sunday to provide information about the park’s natural surroundings. Assisting rookie geocachers will be experienced geocachers who will show them how to find a cache. There will also be workshops for experienced geocachers.
“Looking for something to do on the long summer days that are just around the corner or at any time of the year? Then try this high-tech modern-day treasure hunt that you can do in your neighbourhood or wherever your travels take you. There are over 2.6 million geocaches hidden worldwide so come to the Nature Park on May 1 and let us get you started,” says Ian Hewitt, President of the British Columbia Geocaching Association, via a city news release.
The one-day event is said to be suitable for all ages and a proper introduction to geocaching.
The city encourages travel to the park at 11852 Westminster Highway by bus or bicycle.
Meanwhile, Richmond’s ongoing Geo-Quest program is a set of 30 geocaches hidden in the city’s parks, trails and community facilities. The purpose of the program is said to be educational so Richmondites and visitors can discover natural and cultural heritage sites.
Notably, Richmond’s Geo-Quest was the first official geocache tour of a Canadian city.
One can download a printable passport online at Richmond.ca/Parks to start the 30-cache Geo-Quest. Once complete, the city will give participants a small prize.
There are six million geocachers worldwide and 2.5 million active geocaches.
