About Landsharkz
Hi there! We’re Chris and Helen and have been geocaching under our Landsharkz handle since 2005. We’ve been geocaching in 58 countries, have hosted multiple mega events and even one giga event! We’ve found over 7500 caches, and love nothing more than getting out on our boat or our 4×4 to explore a new place. We run a geocaching supply business in Victoria British Columbia and are one of North America’s premier geocoin design and production companies. Our passion though? Travel.
For years we have used geocaching as a tour guide to help us discover the world around us. In 2015, we offered to escort a group on a Caribbean cruise and at the wrap-up, the group wanted to know “where are WE going next?” The rest is history! All tours start with places that we are super excited to visit and learn about.
In 2013 we did an interview for someone… don’t recall who, but we recently found the q&A and it’s a fun look at who we were and is as relevant today as it was back then! We think it’ll give you an idea of who we are, so here is the interview:
Answer: We are adventurers – to log a cache we’ve shimmied through slot canyons, traversed a desert dirt road with 17 river crossings, squeezed through small openings into caves, explored abandoned mines, spent the night on trails in west coast rain forests and on mountains, set up base camp beside WW2 vehicles in the Utah desert, pulled ourselves up mountains/buttes by rope, hired private drivers in the Caribbean, hiked to the M.A.S.H. set site, walked through the tunnel to the original Mission 9 Tunnel of Light Ape Cache, swam to islands (lochs in Scotland) and kayaked or sailed the rugged BC coast.
We are Earthcachers – we also design interpretive signs for BC Parks and so EarthCaching was an obvious great fit for our inquisitive and educational minds.
We are Travellers – we use geocaching as a travel guide and enjoy exploring new areas cache by cache. We seek out geocaches with lots of favourite points and enjoy cache descriptions which contain historical, cultural or natural history information about the area.
We are Competitive – we will occasionally compete to be FTF on challenging puzzles. Trigonometry, base number systems, navigational puzzles and engineering fun are our favourites!
We are Outdoor Explorers – the outdoors is our classroom and our playground and always surpasses our expectations for adventure. We love hiking and exploring the beautiful places that geocaching invites us to discover.
Answer: GCNYAR – Kemp Lake has Gone to the Dogs Found and logged July 2, 2005 with Ickster, Mimi and Kiddo. Ickster and Mr Landsharkz were marine engineers in the Canadian Navy. They went through basic training and had trained and worked together. Their family invited us for a weekend hike to find a geocache and the rest is history.
Answer: Helen’s tip: Read the last few logs of a cache you’re going to attempt. This will alert you to any potential problems and can lead to a successful hunt. Examples are DNF logs or logs that say cache was located some distance away from the posted coordinates.
Answer: Chris’ tip: Find at least 50 caches before hiding one. It might sound like a lot, but it won’t take long. You’ll get a good sense of what you like and what’s appropriate for your community and the environment. A small amount of experience will go a long way to helping you be a responsible member of your geocaching community.