For the second consecutive year, the UNESCO International Geopark Țara Hațegului managed by the University of Bucharest became, for three days, a playground for geocaching enthusiasts from all over the country. More than thirty people, including the oldest and most active Romanian geocacher, set out in search of creative boxes, called geocaches, created especially for the event “Geocaching in the Geopark – On the way to the volcanoes”.
The event featured a worldwide game that can be played by adults and children alike. It has no competitions and rankings, but only events consisting of meetings of members of the Romanian Geocaching Association (AGeR) and other enthusiasts. The game consists of searching, with the help of GPS and smart mobile applications, for geocaches that contain a piece of paper or a logbook. The one who discovers the geocache must write on the piece of paper the date and his player user. The finding of the boxes is done with the help of an application that can be downloaded to the mobile phone. This application is linked to an online platform. A section of the game is EarthCache. In this case, the coordinates are published on the online platform, and players who get there will discover a short lesson in geology.
“This year’s edition, compared to last year, is a little more complicated. In addition, we have chosen some routes that are dear to us, in the Densuș area. If last year we started <<Geocaching in the Geopark>> from Casa Geoparcului, this year we started from Casa Vulcanilor. It has less boxes than last year, but the difficulty of the boxes has increased. Out of the 40 hidden boxes this year, I tried to make at least half of them creative boxes. That is, they should not be simple containers, but should be made with a 3D printer, with a certain theme or with elements from nature in which we hid logbooks, that sheet on which the players must pass their user”, says Tiberiu Bociat, organizer of the event from Țara Hațegului, geocacher and volunteer for the Geopark.“
“Geocaching is nice because there are physical boxes hidden and the player has to find them, which I think is really cool. I mean, it’s not just virtual. And on top of that, it also has a cultural aspect. I mean these boxes have a description, it’s not just a monster hunting game. You read another description and learn something new about the world around you or about cultural sights. I started in 2013. I had heard in 2011 from my father who had recently bought an Iphone 3G. Then it was the newest model and had GPS on the phone. Dad looked for some cycling and trekking maps and came across geocaching. And then we started. I used to walk with my dad, but I didn’t like it so much in 2011. I remembered geocaching in 2013 and I started again because I got this taste of mountains, hiking and adventure because geocaching is an adventure”, says Mr. Erikusz (Erik Lambing, in his name), the most active player in Romania.
UNESCO International Geopark Ţara Hațegului supports the promotion of its routes through geocaching because it is a way to provide information in an attractive way, with minimal interventions in the natural landscape, without informative panels. Each of the Geopark Houses and part of the Geopark trails have geocaching boxes.
SECŢIUNE ACCESIBILIZATĂ PENTRU PERSOANELE CU DIZABILITĂŢI DE VEDERE
Postări asemănătoare:
A new species of fossil turtle, discovered on the territory of the UNESCO International Geopark Țara Hațegului of the University of Bucharest
Volunteers from the UNESCO International Geopark Țara Hațegului Prepared to Become Ambassadors of the Geopark
Volunteers for the Geopark inventoried fossils of dwarf dinosaurs discovered in Țara Hațegului
