Our latest video……..
What adventures will we have in 2024?
We would like to wish everyone a very happy, fun filled New Year, may 2024 be full of geocaching adventures!
Keeping the fun in Geocaching
Our latest video……..
What adventures will we have in 2024?
We would like to wish everyone a very happy, fun filled New Year, may 2024 be full of geocaching adventures!
A couple of new caches to report since our last post:
GCAH73T Happy Christmas 2023 by escapefromwork Traditional D1/T1.5
GCAA66Y War Memorial #1964 – Colwyn Bay by The Magna Defender Earthcache D1.5/T1.5
Event Reminders
GCAGXT5 9 Usual Suspects Say Goodbye 2023 by 9 Usual Suspects
Our last event of 2023 and a chance for a quick catch up before the New Year Celebrations begin. There is no better way to start your celebrations than meeting up with your geocaching friends!
A new venue for us, we will be in the garden room. This is a small venue so please log “will attends” to ensure we book enough space for everyone.
When: 31st December, 2023
Where: Scoops, 8 Palace St, Caernarfon LL55 1RR
Time: 11am-12pm
GCAGY4V 9 Usual Suspects Say Hello 2024 by 9 Usual Suspects
Our first event of 2024! Why not join us at Traeth Lafan Nature Reserve?
When: 1st January, 2024
Where: Bangor LL57 3YH
Time: 12-12.30pm
Depending on how awful the weather is, after the event we invite you to join us to explore part of the new section of the Wales Coastal Path and find the following cache:
GCA9KNY Bath House Ruins View by Qniu25 Traditional D2/T2.5
Please note after all the rain we have had this path will be wet and muddy.
Happy New Year
We would like to take this opportunity to Thank everyone for their support and wish you all a very Happy New Year, may 2024 be a year full of fun and adventures.
There is still time to enter our competition to design our next slate coin.
We have 15 blank slate coins that are awaiting your design. The coins will be sold at our events to raise money for 9US funds.
Rules/Guidelines
The slate coins are approx 50mm in diameter. The coin will have two designs one on the obverse (heads) and one on the reverse (tails). The design needs to contain the wording ‘9 Usual Suspects’ and ‘Track at Geocaching.com’. Space has to be left for TB 6 digit tracking number which will begin 9U. No brand names, trademarks or logos to be used. The coin design has to go through an approval process by Geocaching HQ. Designs to be either emailed to competition@9usualsuspects.uk or handed directly to us. The competition closing date is 31st December 2023.
Further details message us either through the comments, 9 Usuals Suspects Geocaching account or competition@9usualsuspects.uk
Merry Christmas/Nadolig Llawen
Christmas is not Christmas without bad Christmas cracker jokes, here are 3 to get you in the festive mood:
What did Santa do when he went speed dating?
He pulled a cracker.
Why could the skeleton not go to the Christmas party?
Because he had nobody to go with.
last one… Did Rudolph go to school?
No, he was elf-taught
Remember this:
We would just like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and Thank you all for your support over the last year.
Marrakesh is the fourth largest city in Morocco, a former imperial city with beautiful mosques, palaces and gardens. The city is divided into two, the ancient and new. The walled medieval Medina dates back to 1070 and the Berber Empire, it is densely packed with a maze of alleys full of souks (market stalls) selling everything from traditional textiles, pottery, leather items, household goods, spices, fruit, vegetables, meat to street food. Step outside the old city walls to find a very modern world of wide streets lined with trees, gardens, expensive apartments, hotels and shopping centres full of designer goods from around the world.
For the geocacher there is, at the time of writing, 15 caches, 12 traditionals, 2 earthcaches and a mystery plus 3 sets of Adventure Labs which will take you to the highlights of the city. Forget the rules of UK geocaching, here caches are placed in souks, cafes and restaurants with the sole intention to promote the business. Staff and local tradesmen are all aware of the geocaches, they will point you in the right direction of the cache while trying to sell you their wares.
Here in North Wales caches are never allowed to be placed in stone walls but in Marrakesh caches are hidden in holes carved out of the ‘fragile’ sun dried earthen walls. We also have rules on the proximity to airports or military establishments. The cache below is hidden in a wall surrounding the military area of the International airport.
GC1DB1F Marracache by the Mailers Traditional D1/T1.5
We can highly recommend a visit, Africa meets Europe here, the city is crowded, noisy and chaotic, especially the Medina with its continuous streams of mopeds, bikes, cars and people. The weather can be very hot in the summer months but for us in December it was a very pleasant 18-27 degrees. We were surprised at how many people could speak English, we found the people friendly and very helpful.
General Information and things you should know before Visiting Morocco
British nationals don’t need a visa to enter Morocco as a tourist for stays up to 90 days. British nationals who stay longer than 90 days need to go to a local police station to request an extension. When entering the country, make sure your passport is stamped and you receive a tourist number. Some travellers have experienced difficulties leaving the country because their passport has no entry stamp.
In Morocco they drive on the right side of the road and seatbelts are mandatory, even though some taxis don’t have them. The city roads are crowded and chaotic. When walking always walk on the right side.
Taxis are the easiest way to travel around the cities. Petite taxis take up to 3 passengers for journeys within city limits but be aware that the driver may pick up other passenger going in the same direction. Grand taxis are for longer journeys, take up to 6 passengers, it is a shared vehicle, you only pay for your seat. These taxis have a fixed route to a set destination.
The Moroccan dirham is a closed currency, which means you cannot use or get it outside the country. It is very much a cash economy, but cards are accepted in some of the larger establishments and tourist attractions.
A mixture of French, Arabic, Amazigh and English languages are spoken in Morocco.
Islam is the state religion, and the rules of Islam are applied to personal matters in the same way that state law works in other countries. It is illegal to speak disrespectfully about religion or the king. Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter mosques or cemeteries. Friday is a holy day across the country, and most people take a few hours off in the afternoon to go to the mosque and eat couscous with their families afterward.
It’s best to ask permission before taking someone’s photo, many people are fine with it, but others aren’t. Drones are not allowed in Morocco without special permission.
Alcohol is forbidden by Islamic law but is available in licensed wine shops and some international hotels and restaurants.
For electric plugs and sockets there are two associated plug types, types C and E. Plug type C is the plug which has two round pins and plug type E is the plug which has two round pins and a hole for the socket’s male earthing pin. Morocco operates on a 220V supply voltage and 50Hz.
There is free WiFi in some cafes and restaurants but we advise to buy a local pay-as-you-go sim card as roaming charges are very expensive. Mobile signal is very good.
Flights to Morocco from the UK are frequent, cheap and available from most large airports, flight times are about 4 hours.
Only one event has been published since our last post:
GCAHCV4 9 Usual Suspects Pop a Lock by 9 Usual Suspects Event D1/T1
Have you ever wanted to learn how to pick a lock?
Why not join us for a lock picking workshop where our expert Cemlyn, MFW, will be on hand to demonstrate and instruct us on the use of racks, hooks, combs and jigglers, he may let you have a play with his bump and ball picks! All tools will be provided.
When: Saturday 27th January 2024
Where: The PortaCabin, Brynrefail, Llanberis
Time: 2-4pm
December Solstice Souvenir
Around the world, people celebrate the solstice in many different ways. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice marks the shortest day of the year.
Geocaching HQ have created a souvenir for geocachers to celebrate the December solstice. To earn this souvenir, geocachers must find a total of 12 geocaches, Event Caches, and/or Adventure Lab® Locations between December 17–23, 2023. Why 12 caches? Because December is the 12th month of the year.
2024 Souvenirs
Here are the confirmed souvenirs for 2024:
Another week with no new caches and Adventure labs published since our last post.
GIFF 2023 Results
Geocaching HQ have counted the votes for both the Signal and the People’s Choice Awards.
The Signal Award winner, selected by a panel of geocaching community volunteer reviewers from around the world, is….. Tilius Travel. Congratulations to the filmmakers Thorro, Occultator, and der_SiR!
In the heartwarming story of Tilius Travel, Tilius the Travel Bug® gets separated from his creator and has to find his way back in a series of adventures through the Black Forest. He encounters geocachers, geocaches of all shapes and sizes, and the dangers of the wilderness. It’s one trackable against the world on an epic journey to return home.
The People’s Choice Award winner, selected by the geocaching community whom took part in the online survey to vote for their favourite film, is….. Geocare – Home for the Aged Geocacher. Congratulations to the filmmaker chooknchunk! This was the winner of the vote at our event.
Geocare – Home for the Aged Geocacher is a hilarious glimpse into the future of geocaching. This lighthearted film shows a group of elderly geocacher residents as they attempt, with the help of their nurses, to find a newly-published geocache. Relatable, witty, and containing a surprise twist, this film resonates with many dedicated geocachers and was by far a fan favourite.
Here are some GIFF 2023 numbers:
Over 11 days, geocachers logged over 14,000 ‘Attended’ logs at registered GIFF Events.
58 film submissions from 21 different countries
18 finalist clips from 11 different countries
549 total Events in 46 different countries, including 547 regular Events and 2 Mega-Events
10,000+ votes for the People’s Choice Award
GIFF Intermission
Sadly there will be no GIFF for 2024, but the red carpet will be rolled out again in 2025 as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations. So that gives us a whole 2 years to make that winning film!
Locationless Cache
GC9FAVE Discovered while geocaching – Locationless Cache
If you have not already logged this special cache time is running out as it is going to be archived and locked on the 1st January, 2023.
In order to find this special cache, simply revisit and share a favourite local place that you discovered while geocaching. Then, go to the cache page and post your Found it log with
There is still time to earn the 2023 Hider Souvenir but time is quickly running out, either hide a cache or host an event by the 31st December 2023.