Pokemon Go...or Pokemon Gone?

So everyone has been going nutso over Pokemon Go which has been around for what, maybe a week? Ooh, look we get to go and find computer generated animals that, let's face it, haven't been popular since 1999. Can I let you in on a little secret though? 

It's called Geocaching. Geocaching has been around since 2000 and is an awesome game featuring bagillions (well technically 2.8 million) of hidden treasure all around the world. Found with a standalone GPS or with the GPS in your phone (although not as accurate) geocaches are little containers hidden all throughout the world. 

Why is it better than Pokemon Go?  Geocaches are tangible. You actually find something you can hold, something you can learn about, and somewhere where you can leave your mark, rather than finding Pikachu, who, let's face it, is the only one anyway ever remembered anyway.

Geocaches also have these funky little things called trackables. You can leave a little souvenir in there and say where you'd like it to end up. If someone finds the cache and then is going that way, they can take it with them and log it and you can trace its journey across the world. 

Not cool enough? Ok, well here the other cool things about Geocaching. You have to use your brain. Sometimes, for the really awesome ones, you have to solve riddles in order to get the coordinates, to find the next cache, to find the coordinates for the last cache. It's like a real life cryptic crossword and treasure map rolled into one, that not only gets you out of the house, but challenges your mind as well.

Even better than that, the whole family can get involved and it teaches the kids about using GPS, how longitude and latitude are used, and you can also find different things from all over the world. With our little family alone, we've explored Canberra, Melbourne and along the Mornington Peninsula. There is nothing better than seeing a 4 year old girl's face light when you finally find the cache you've been looking for. The one at the site near Moomba and Princes Bridge was a tough one, but the thrill on her face when we finally found it, absolutely made our day - so if you happen to find that cache, and still see a Moomba flag in there - that was us :)

In short, Geocaching allows you to explore some amazing places, get into the real world, and use your brain rather than just getting ripped off at a Pokestop who has paid to have their business listed just so they can rake in the cash. 

Pokemon Go? Pfft, more like Pokemon Gone. Go Geocaching and explore the real world instead.