25 years of geocaching and still hunting! Czechs are avid "geocachers"
Long before GPS apps were common and smartphones ubiquitous, Pavel Novák was printing maps and decoding clues with his wife and two young children on the streets of Brussels. It was 2008, and what started as a simple weekend activity soon evolved into something much bigger: a cross-continental pursuit of hidden treasures. As geocaching celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, Novák reflects on how the hobby shaped his family life, his travels, and even his reporting.
“It was during our stay in Brussels in 2008,” Pavel Novák explains: “My wife was there with our two children, and she was looking for something to do with them, to get them outside. It’s always better when there’s a goal—somewhere you’re walking to for a reason. She discovered geocaching. Her brother was already into it back in Brno. He had a GPS, but we didn’t. So I printed out simple maps and instructions. For the kids, it was just big fun.”
Pavel soon joined in. “We started going out to forests a bit further from Brussels, looking for geocaches. My wife infected me with her enthusiasm. When we moved back to Prague, the kids were older and lost interest, but I didn’t. I kept going. I placed my own caches—one right in front of our house, and later others near our weekend place. And when I traveled for work, I tried to find at least one cache wherever I went.”
That blend of personal hobby and professional rhythm has continued ever since. Now based in the United States, Novák still geocaches, albeit more spontaneously. “When I was in Texas, in San Antonio—I found two caches there. I was proud,” he says with a smile. “Then recently in Canada, during the elections. In Montreal, I found two. One of them took me twenty minutes because the hint wasn’t very clear. In Ottawa, I couldn’t find it at all—it started raining, and I had to give up. So no happy face on the virtual map that day.”
For Pavel Novák, geocaching is less about collecting finds and more about what happens along the way. “I was once in French Guiana, reporting on the launch of satellites that were part of the European Galileo navigation system. Before I even got there, I checked online—was there a cache at the spaceport? Yes, there was. So I printed the instructions. When I got there, the hint said: ‘It’s above your head.’ There were some old launchers on display, and I thought—okay, it must be one of those. I was scratching the wing of a rocket like a madman. But I found it! And that’s how I got a geocache at a satellite launch site in South America.”
Another favorite memory comes from much closer to home—his current home in Maryland. “I was walking around a historic building in Annapolis, looking for a cache with no clue at all. Just using the app. Suddenly a woman from across the street shouted at me: ‘What are you looking for?’ I tried to deflect, but she knew. She said, ‘It’s on your left.’ And it turned out she was the cache’s owner. It’s always great when you meet someone like that—you can tell them: 'It’s a clever box. Well done. Thanks for hiding it.’”
So why keep doing it? Why geocaching?
“It takes you to places that aren’t crowded with tourists,” he says. “You see a beautiful view, or a small sculpture, or some interesting building you’d normally never notice. For me, it’s also about leaving my marks—my happy faces—on that virtual map. I can say: ‘Yeah, I was there.’”
One moment in Montreal sticks with him: “I’d just found a cache. I looked up, and there was this animal watching me. At first I thought it was a cat. But no—it was a groundhog. In the middle of the city. That’s what I remember: not just the cache, but that little surprise. That’s what geocaching gives you.”
After 25 years, it’s clear geocaching is more than a game. For Pavel Novák, it’s a way to stay curious, stay active—and keep discovering the world, one hidden box at a time.
