Dave and Karen Westhouse and with a geocache find.
Image Credit: SYBMITTED/ Dave Westhouse
January 25, 2025 - 6:00 AM
A world of exploration, adventure, travel and new discoveries are all possible through geocaching.
West Kelowna resident Dave Westhouse took an interest in geocaching in 2009, nearly a decade after the worldwide treasure hunt game had been created. Now, 15 years later he travels around the world with his wife Karen to find treasures, see natural wonders and make friends along the way.
Geocaching is a game of hide and seek for objects while using GPS tracking devices as clues. It's played in 191 countries and all seven continents. The goal of the game is to find hidden objects, ranging from coins, toy soldiers or even bowling pins, while being discreet and following coordinates to a secret location. Depending on how well hidden the cache is, it can take hours to find the treasure.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Dave Westhouse
“I like the challenge of stretching your mind, and I love the places it takes us. I use it as a travel device. I’ve done things I never thought I’d do," Westhouse says.
Geocaching has changed his life and with his YouTube channel videos, geocache member meetings and conversations with fellow enthusiasts, Westhouse shares his passion.
Westhouse says he geocaches to get out of the house and to discover things he would not have taken the opportunity to see before. He has been to 25 different countries, with each visit based around geocaching locations in the area.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Dave Westhouse
“It's one of the greatest hobbies we’ve found, you can do it while you’re young and old. It's a great way to get you out, a great way to see the word in a different light through somebody else's eyes,” Westhouse says.
He even went through a period of geocaching every day for 555 days straight, all the while discovering new parts in the Okanagan
Westhouse has found over 20,000 geocaches, although he not only a searcher. He plays a big part in the game and hides caches too. Over the years, he has hidden over 450 different individual geocaches for other hunters to find.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Dave Westhouse
Occasionally he finds himself in unusual situations.
“One time in the middle of February, I was up a tree about 30 feet in the air,” Westhouse says. “It was a blizzard, it was 9:30 p.m. at night, it was -25 Celsius and I'm thinking, ‘what the heck am I doing?’”
The Westhouse's plan to take trips to Arizona, Italy and Germany this year while geocaching in each destination.
For those who are interested in starting their own geocaching adventure, more information is available here.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Dave Westhouse
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Dave Westhouse
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