South Africa Car Hire

John Oxley

The Ford Focus ST, especially in the bright orange paintwork of our test car, catches eyes, but isn't easily caught. We test this fast and furious machine.

What is it about?

Fast Fords have been around a lot longer than fast VWs. Think back to the original Ford Cortina GT and Ford Lotus Cortina. In those days, VWs still had sluggish flat-four engines in the boot. It actually took VW another 10 years to come up with the Golf, and 13 to launch the GTi.

Then, in the decades that followed, snobbery dictated fast VWs were for yuppies and fast Fords were not.

Then the Mks III and IV Golfs started putting on weight and losing their reputation for reliability, and Ford had the audacity to come up with a better car.

Ford's answer to the new Golf GTi is the Focus ST - the 3-door version, subject of this test, nearly R6 000 cheaper. And I think it's better.

Features

A lot of work has been done to make the ST look good, inside and out, and to stand out from the crowd.

Thus it gets aggressive bumper enhancements as well as a colour coded deep front, mirrors, door handles and body side mouldings.

Brushed aluminium accents and chromed dual exhausts are complemented by rear wheel arch spats and a purposeful tailgate spoiler.

Inside there are great looking figure hugging leather-trimmed Recaro sports seats, (an extra-cost option - cloth is standard), and brushed aluminium inserts.

There's a thick leather-clad steering wheel with bold thumb grips and three brushed aluminium-finished spokes; the centre spoke is distinguished by a bold red ST logo.

A red six-speed gate graphic, purpose-designed performance pedals with rubber pads set in cast aluminium and unique ST scuff plates complete the ST design theme.

There's individual aircon control for driver and front passenger as well as electric windows and mirrors, plus a 6-speed front-loader CD/radio that's custom built into the centre console.

There's also a USB slot in the glovebox where you can slot in a memory stick or MPC player so you can listen to your own music choices.

The steering wheel has tilt and height adjustment, while the seats have 8-way adjustment which includes height, reach and backrest movement, plus adjustable thigh support (leather trim).

Other features include remote controls for the sound system (to the right of the steering column), a "Marie biscuit" spare wheel, and Ford's passive anti-theft system (PATS).

The Focus gains 5 Euro NCAP stars, and gets front, side and curtain airbags.

It also gets 20 000 km service intervals, a 5 year/60 000 km maintenance plan, 3 year/100 000 km warranty, 5 year/100 000 km anti-rust warranty, and 3 years/unlimited km roadside assistance!

Options include a powered sunroof, a sports striping pack, and those leather seats.

Driving it

The idea of a big engine in a compact car is appealing, results in the Focus hitting 240 km/h, touches 100 km/h from standstill in about 7 seconds yet returns an average 11.4 litres/100 km.

Power for the ST -166 kW at 6 000 r/min, backed up by an even 320 Nm of torque all the way from 1 600 r/min to 4 000 r/min - comes from another part of Ford's worldwide empire, Volvo.

Hence that macho sounding five-cylinder beat - it's the T5 engine as seen in the S40 and V50.

It fits perfectly because, under the skin, the Focus is closely related to the Volvo models and shares their front crash structure (the Mazda 3 is another cousin) - although Ford has been able to tune the engine to the Focus's requirements and boost power and torque outputs slightly.

The ST body sits 15 mm lower than the "cooking" versions on 30% stiffer springs and recalibrated dampers.

There is a brace between the front suspension struts, as in a rally car, and the front subframe is made of thicker steel.

The rear anti-roll bar is stiffer, which creates greater weight transfer across the rear wheels to counteract the heavier nose, and the steering wheel requires 8% less movement for a given directional change. The brakes are bigger, too.

And to make sure the grip is up to scratch, the ST comes with wide 18 inch alloy wheels shod with 225/40 R18 tyres.

It also gets the latest stability control programme (EPS) specially tweaked by the TeamRS guys to allow much sportier driving, as well as ABS with EBD and optional brake assist.

So we have this really quick engine, and on the road it translates to slick and very quick overtaking, with minimum exposure to oncoming vehicles.

Yet you don't need to paddle the smooth 6-speed gearbox (also taken from Volvo) - in fact in sixth it accelerates faster than many hot hatches do in third, making it very driveable in all conditions.

At the same time it offers exemplary ride quality. Most hot hatches have stiff suspension and low-ratio tyres, and the ride STINKS. But not this one.

And if you manage to get it onto a race track you'll find it can be pushed it into a glorious power slide round a long left-hander then linked into an equally wonderful drift round the following right-hander.

All totally under control, and a very good testament to the fundamental safety of the chassis.

It has legs as well. Sixth gear gives around 50 km/h per 1 000 revs, so high speed cruising is reasonably relaxed and economical.

There's a turning circle of 11,7 metres, and luggage capacity ranging from 224 litres to 968 litres with the rear seats folded flat.

Suspension at the front is independent of the MacPherson type with offset coil springs and gas-filled dampers. At the back is an independent control blade multi-link system mounted on a reinforced sub-frame.

Likes

* Styling
* Performance
* Handling
* Ride quality
* Keen pricing

Dislikes

* Rear seat access

Verdict

Ford is taking VW and Opel full on with the Focus ST, and it has produced a better package than either of the competitors.

The VW GTi might have a cachet with those who put snob value above all else (why I don't know) but in truth it's got lousy ride quality and so-so performance compared to the Ford, while the Opel Astra OPC might have equally good legs, but it really is a shame about the face - and, again, ride quality.


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Hendrik Cronjé, Die Volksblad

London - Springbok coach Jake White produced a major surprise on Wednesday when he announced that Danie Rossouw would be South Africa's No 8 in the rugby Test against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

White also included Juan Smith at No 7, brought in new cap Kabamba Floors on the other flank and recalled André Pretorius at flyhalf to replace the injured Butch James.

Smith was unable to train on Monday and Tuesday because of a calf muscle injury that he had picked up against Ireland in the first match of the tour.

Rossouw, who was at flank last week, will now take over at No 8 from Jacques Cronjé, who was unavailable because of a knee injury. The South Africans are also without flanker Pierre Spies, who also has a knee injury.

"Danie has played at eighthman before," White explained after announcing the team. "I chose him at No 8 because then only one change would be necessary if Juan could not play for the full 80 minutes."

Knows the signals better

Gerrie Britz will take over on the flank if Smith has to leave the field.

With Smith back in the team, Hilton Lobberts is out of the squad of 22 after playing for a few minutes as a substitute last week.

This can be regarded as another major surprise because Lobberts has been training with the squad for much longer than Britz and Floors and knows the signals better than they do.

White said: "If Juan had been unavailable, Hilton would have been on the bench. I am excited about the possibilities that Kabamba offers us.

"He slotted in well during training and could be a good link between the forwards and the backs."

If Smith is completely fit he will enhance the physical approach of the Springbok pack.

Earlier this week, it seemed Floors would be the eighthman because he had played Currie Cup rugby in that position. He also trained at No 8 on Tuesday when Britz was on the flank.

Rossouw has represented the Blue Bulls at lock and flank, making his move to eighthman a major surprise.

In another interesting move, White has made room on the bench for Jaco Pretorius, who was on the wing when he made his debut in Dublin.

The Springbok team: Frans Steyn; Akona Ndungane, Wynand Olivier, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana; André Pretorius, Enrico Januarie; Danie Rossouw, Juan Smith, Kabamba Floors, Johann Muller, Johan Ackermann, BJ Botha, John Smit (c), CJ van der Linde.

Substitutes: Chiliboy Ralepelle, Deon Carstens, Albert van den Berg, Gerrie Britz, Ruan Pienaar, JP Pietersen or Bevin Fortuin, Jaco Pretorius.


News was from www.news24.co.za
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Thabisile Khoza

Malelane - An Mpumalanga cop has been charged with vehicle theft after outraged neighbours tipped off police that he was driving a flashy new BMW.

Police found a stolen black BMW hidden in constable Obed Mhlanga's backyard when they raided his Komatipoort house this week.

Mhlanga appeared briefly in Malelane regional court on charges of vehicle theft and possession of stolen goods on Wednesday. He was refused bail and the case was postponed to December 27.

The 34-year-old constable was arrested by members of the serious and violent crimes unit in Nelspruit to ensure that Mhlanga was not warned by colleagues at his local police station.

Police refused to say on Wednesday, however, whether the arrest was linked to local vehicle-theft syndicates, who smuggled luxury cars into neighbouring Mozambique and Swaziland.

Tip-off from 'neighbours'

Authorities in these two countries have insisted that South African police and customs officials must be complicit in the syndicates for the vehicles to be smuggled through border posts.

"We cannot comment on the case at the moment, for fear of prejudicing our investigations.

All we can confirm is that Mhlanga was arrested after a tip-off from the community," said Inspector Eddy Ngobeni of Malelane police.

It is not yet clear whether Mhlanga will be suspended from duty pending the outcome of the trial, or whether he will face any additional internal disciplinary or corruption charges.


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Amelia Oosthuizen, Beeld

Johannesburg - For days, he couldn't sleep a wink or eat anything, while he sweated and shook with the knowledge of his giant win on the Lotto.

Finally, the 40-year-old driver from KwaZulu-Natal scraped together enough courage to claim the R26 892 123 prize he had won in the national lottery.

"I couldn't sleep or eat. I was scared, mixed up, confused. I did not know what to do,² said the winner of the fourth largest jackpot, according to a statement by Uthingo, who run the Lotto.

The man bought a R28 Lotto ticket on Saturday, November 11, on his way home from a church function.

Began to shiver and sweat

On the Monday, while at a friend's house he looked at a newspaper and realised that four of the numbers he could remember had come up in the winning combination (1, 2, 4, 13 15, 33).

He had to wait to get home to get his ticket to confirm the remaining numbers.

Then he checked; he could not believe he had all six numbers right.

"I began to shiver and sweat. I was afraid, confused and shocked. I did not know what to do.

"For three days, I did not eat or sleep. I went to work every day, but I couldn't concentrate.

"I tried to act as normally as possible, but my wife kept asking me what was wrong. I did not tell her that I had become a multimillionaire overnight."

It was only when he saw in the media that Uthingo was calling on the winner to claim his prize, that he scraped together the courage to tell his wife.

The man, who lives in a two-roomed house in an informal settlement, must still decide if he is going to resign from the job he's had for 14 years.

Top-class education for his children

He will use some of the money to buy a new house and a car, and to pay off all his debts.

The rest will be invested, although he may decide to start a business.

But, the most-important thing is that he can now give his children the best possible education.

News was from www.news24.co.za

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San Francisco - Google Inc said on Wednesday that it has expanded its mobile internet-advertising tests to cellphone subscribers in eight additional countries, including China and several major European nations.

The ads apparently will appear whenever someone in those countries use a cellphone's internet capability to access a site or to search via Google's engine, the company announced on Wednesday.

It would not detail whether it had made deals with mobile-service providers.

But in expanding its cellphone advertising initiative, Google is attempting to expand the reach of its advertisers and online features beyond websites and personal computers.

It's also going after the $11bn that advertisers are expected to spend on mobile marketing by 2011, according to a recent report by the telecom division of Informa Group.

Google began testing text-only advertisements sent to cellphones earlier this year in the United States, as well as Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom.

As of Wednesday, Google said that it has added China, the world's largest cellphone market, as well as Australia, France, India, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

"The tests will enable a wider range of advertisers to reach users with relevant information when they're on the go," Google spokesperson Erin Fors said in an e-mail.

"For example, when users search for ringtones, they may see an ad to purchase or download one of the latest ringtones, directly from their mobile device."

Google joins a growing number of internet heavyweights focusing more intently on cellphone advertising.

The company's chief competitor, Yahoo - which considers itself a leading provider of advertisements that appear on cellphones - recently began testing graphical cellphone ads, claiming to have once again one-upped Google.

News source: www.news24.co.za

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Washington - Merely the sight of money can change a person's behaviour, a study by a marketing professor has determined.

Kathleen Vohs, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, and colleagues conducted a series of nine experiments in which people were asked to do puzzles or other tasks.

The behaviour of people exposed to money was compared to others who were not prompted to think about it.

The two groups acted differently, the researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

"The mere presence of money changes people," Vohs said. "The effect can be negative, it can be positive. Exposure to money, or the concept of money, elevates a sense of self-sufficiency and can make people less social," she said.

For example, she said, a student with little money who wants to move to a new apartment gets a group of friends together, and they have a few laughs along the way.

Once they get a good job, however, they hire a mover. That probably is more efficient, but the moving individual loses out on some personal moments, Vohs explained.

"The underlying idea is that at some point early on in human evolution, everyone probably needed someone else to help them achieve their goals," whether building a home or catching food.

Changes goals and behaviour

Eventually systems of exchange came along, and then money, which could be exchanged for things, allowing people to pursue their own aims without the aid of others. So, over time, people with money did not need other people so much.

In one of the experiments, 52 students were divided into groups and asked to make sentences out of a scrambled group of words. For one group the sentence turned out to be "a high-paying salary" while others got "it is cold outside".

Then they were asked to arrange a set of discs into a square and told they could ask for help if they needed it. Some who had made sentences not mentioning money were placed so they could see a stack of Monopoly money.

The students who had unscrambled the sentence about money worked on the puzzle an average of 5.2 minutes before asking for help.

Those who had made the neutral sentence but could see the play money worked on it an average of 5.1 minutes.

But students who had no money-related prompt turned to others for help sooner: They worked just over three minutes before asking for help.

In another test, 61 students sat at desks to complete questionnaires. Some desks faced a poster showing money, some saw a poster of flowers and others saw a seascape.

They were then asked to choose between group or individual recreational activities, such as a dinner for four or individual cooking lessons. Those who had seen the money poster were more likely to pick individual activities than those looking at the other posters.

The experiments indicate that even quite trivial exposure to money changes peoples' goals and behaviour, Carole B Burgoyne and Stephen EG Lee of the University of Exeter in England said.

"Subjects exposed to the idea of money subsequently show more self-reliant but also a more self-centred approach to problem solving than subjects exposed to neutral concepts," said Lee and Burgoyne, who were not part of Vohs research team.

News source: www.news24.co.za

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Florida - Ross Kelson of Miami Beach, Florida, likes to think of his business as the go-to guide for "tech-fluencers".

His year-old online company, HomeGear.com, features technology product reviews for people who want to be the first kid on the block with the newest gadget without spending hours researching on what's the best.

The site's first-ever Holiday High-Tech Gift Guide came out this week and features such categories as home entertainment, mobile devices and the "fabulous, outrageous and over the top", which includes a $16 995 projector to transform a living room wall into a theatre.

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Cape Canaveral - Discovery's seven astronauts put on bright orange spacesuits and strapped into the space shuttle for a practice countdown three weeks before their scheduled launch to the international space station.

The clock stopped with four seconds left on Thursday. A short time later, the astronauts practiced an escape from the spacecraft by crawling through the shuttle hatch.

In pairs, placing their hands on the shoulders of the astronaut in front of them, they scurried across the launch tower to basket lifts that could whisk them to the ground in an emergency.

"We got the astronauts in the vehicle, let them get hands-on with a real-life space shuttle vehicle," said Nasa spokesperson Bruce Buckingham.

The practice capped four days of drills at the Kennedy Space Centre.

The crew, which has five space flight rookies, was to return to Houston on Thursday.

Change to launch requirement

The launch is scheduled for the evening of December 7. It will be the third shuttle launch of the year, the fourth since the Columbia disaster in 2003 and the first night launch in four years.

Discovery's astronauts plan to rewire the international space station during their 12-day mission.

The shuttle will also deliver an $11m addition and rotate out a crew member for a six-month stay at the space lab.

Also on Thursday, Nasa managers in Houston approved a change to a launch requirement involving fuel tank sensors designed to prevent the main engines from running too long or not long enough during the climb to space.

The move allows a countdown to continue even if only three of the tanks' four engine cut-off sensors are working properly during the fuelling of the tank.

Nasa previously required launch controllers to wait 24 hours to examine the problem.

All three launches since Columbia have been delayed because of fuel tank sensor problems.

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By Laura Ruane
Originally posted on November 13, 2006


Photos by Jack Hardman/news-press.com
A Lowrance GPS unit at Bass Pro Shops
Order Picture
HOW GLOBAL POSITIONING WORKS
The Global Positioning System is comprised of a group of 27 earth-orbiting satellites (24 in operation and three extras in case one fails).
A GPS receiver locates four or more of these satellites, figures out the distance to each, and uses this information to determine its own location. This is done through a math process called trilateration.
To calculate your location, the GPS receiver in your hand must know two things: 1) the location of at least three satellites above you; and 2) the distance between you and each of those satellites.
The GPS receiver figures out both of those things by analyzing high-frequency, low-power radio signals from the GPS satellites.
The GPS unit can calculate your approximate location, within a 6- to 20-foot radius.

SOURCE: Geocaching.com

GPS BUYING TIPS

GPS devices used in geocaching can cost less than $100. With all the bells and whistles they can be in the $400 range. Useful features include:
• Built in base map, with bodies of water, cities and towns, interstate highways, plus railroads, airports and political boundaries.
• Channels: Go for a receiver with 12 parallel channels. It's faster and more accurate than single-channel units.
• External antenna jack, allowing it to be mounted inside a vehicle.
• Interface. If using the receiver with a computer, be sure that it includes both data in/out ports, and make sure it's NMEA compatible.
• Memory: At least 8 megabytes, or able to accept a memory card.
• Power source. A cigarette lighter power cable is best. If batteries, carry spares — and have a solar charger for extended field use.
• Rocker keypad: Allows you to move cursor, pan maps, etc. using the same hand that holds the GPS unit.
• Screen size: Go with the biggest screen you can comfortably handle. Color helps define map features, but burns battery power.
• Waterproof or at least water-resistant.
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A kind of global treasure hunt is adding a new dimension to Southwest Florida tourism — and another use for Global Positioning System technology.

Geocaching — pronounced geo-cash-ing — began just more than six years ago. Players get coordinates from a Web site or other means, and use Global Positioning System, or GPS, devices to lead them to caches.

GPS-based geocaching has grown into a worldwide sport with more than 320,000 hidden caches, according to geocaching.com, a site considered authoritative by many engaged in the high-tech scavenger hunt.

Lee County alone probably has just more than 200 caches, said Dr. Dean Traiger. He's a Cape Coral-based family physician with about 1,200 cache finds to his credit.

Caches are waterproof containers with a logbook and some sort of small toy or memento inside. Once people get hooked on geocaching, they usually create and hide caches as well as seek out others.

The Washington, D.C.-based Consumer Electronics Association predicts that more than a million GPS units will be sold this year, a 300 percent increase from 2002.

Some of these gadgets are getting a workout locally in a geocaching challenge launched this summer by the Charlotte County Visitor's Bureau.

"It's a good fit for our nature-based activities," said Liane Crawford, bureau communications director.

Unlike Gulf beaches and related watersports, geocaching alone probably won't lure first-time visitors to the area. However, it could keep them around for an extra day or two, Crawford said.

James and Pam Morse of Fort Myers enjoyed geocaching while vacationing recently in Utah and Colorado. Before they go on most trips, they log on to geocaching.com, and use ZIP codes to to search for cache coordinates at their destination. The commercial Web site offers a basic membership for free; a premium membership with more cache locations is $30 a year.

"It's a family sport. It doesn't endanger a player or the environment as long as everybody plays by the rules," said James Morse, a military retiree who works part time at Gavin's Ace Hardware in south of Fort Myers.

Individuals maintain about 30 caches in Lee County-owned parks, said Elizabeth Wilder, park ranger for Lee and an avid geocacher. The park system has a permit and ground rules for placing caches. Overall, the game is seen as a different yet positive way to enjoy a natural resource.

"There are people who are more inclined to visit a park because of a geocache," Wilder said.

The same could be said for area waterways. The Great Calusa Blueway is a 100-mile marked paddling trail along Lee County's coast that meanders through pristine seagrass beds, mangrove tunnels and bird-watching spots such as rookeries.

That's why geocachers who paddle are encouraged to "leave only paddle swirls," meaning they should do virtual caches so as not to disturb the environment, said Betsy Clayton, waterways coordinator for Lee County Parks and Recreation.

A virtual cache exists in the form of a location only. Depending on the cache "hider," a virtual cache could be the answer to a question about a location or just an interesting spot. The reward? The location itself and sharing information about your visit.

Charlotte County's tourism bureau has hidden 25 caches along county parks and blueway paddling trails. Visitors who stay overnight at participating lodgings are offered a list of coordinates enabling those with GPS devices to engage in the hunt.

Caches include gift certificates donated by area businesses; a select few have limited-edition geo-coins that can open the door to other prizes.

"I've talked to several customers who are excited about it. One guy actually ran out to buy a GPS (device) while he was here," said Tracy Lehn, director of sales for the Days Inn, Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express in Charlotte County.

For details, go to CharlotteHarborGeocaching.com.

A tourist magnet

Tourism's interest in GPS is hardly confined to geocaching. More than a year ago, Dallas-based Rosewood Hotels & Resorts began loaning GPS devices to guests at some of its properties, to help them find their way from the hotel to a business meeting or luncheon, and maybe some afternoon shopping.

Hertz has installed GPS navigation systems in thousands of its rental vehicles, as have other companies. It's an option that adds about $10 a day to the rental bill.

Evergreen Lodge near Yosemite National Park rents portable GPS units to hikers for $20 a day.

GPS technology as a tourist magnet likely never entered the minds of its inventors. The U.S. Department of Defense drove development of the technology, beginning in the 1970s. GPS signals emitted by satellites were deliberately scrambled to keep civilians from getting too close to military secrets.

By order from President Bill Clinton, the high level of scrambling ended May 1, 2000. Overnight, that brought the accuracy of civilian GPS down from about a 328-foot radius to 30 feet, or less.

The very next day, a computer engineer toasted the milestone by hiding a bucket of trinkets in the woods outside Portland, Ore., and announcing its location in an Internet discussion forum on GPS navigation.

Within a day, the original cache had been found. Days later, other people had hidden more. Within a month, a cache had been hidden as far away as Australia.

Since then, the design and manufacture of consumer GPS devices for a variety of purposes have flourished.

Electronic GPS devices can determine one's location within about a 6- to 20-foot radius, according to geocaching.com. Coordinates typically are expressed in numerical degrees of latitude and longitude.

GPS devices can be used to direct a boat or a vehicle or a hiker from one location to another. Many units have their own maps, built-in electronic compasses, voice navigation and other extras.

Reporter goes on prowl with a cache-finding king

Reading about geocaching isn't nearly as fun as doing it.

I discovered this while on my first cache hunt with a local, hardcore cacher.
Dr. Dean Traiger — aka Doc-Dean — has found about 1,200 caches, including one in Antarctica.

He's also hidden about 80 caches since taking up the sport in 2001. "I like the adventure of going on the hunt, seeing places I otherwise wouldn't know about."

Traiger is a busy man. He's a family doctor at Physicians Primary Care in Cape Coral and the father of a 3-year-old girl who loves to go on treasure hunts.

That's why he suggested we go for a nearby cache he'd hidden at riverfront Jaycee Park. Coordinates and other hints for the "Jaycee Park Stash" can be found at geocaching.com.

This was a multi-cache, which meant it required finding two or more locations, the final spot having the cache.

Traiger punched in the latitude and longitude numbers on his Magellan GPS unit, then handed it to me. As long as the red arrow in the display window was pointing in the 12 o'clock position, I was headed in the right direction.

I paced forward confidently until the red arrow spun around to 6 o'clock.

"You overshot your target," Traiger said. Oh well, I wasn't totally clueless. I was at the first location in a jiff.

To get coordinates for the Part II of the hunt, I had to do some simple multiplication and addition, using numbers at the park.

What numbers? Go to the Web site before going to the park with your GPS device. I don't want to spoil the game.

I narrowly avoided lurching into an Australian pine while staring at the red arrow.
And as people walked by with big, slobbering dogs on leash or hand-in-hand with toddlers, I started to feel self-conscious.

I'd heard that geocachers try to look inconspicuous so that strangers — they call them muggles — don't intrude on the hunt or spoil the cache.

"How?" I asked Traiger. "Just pretend it's a cell phone, and hold it to your ear," he suggested.

Finally, I reached my target — or at least the Magellan told me so. All I saw was grass, mulch and some scraggly palms.

"The cache is big, and it isn't buried," Traiger assured me. Buried caches are no-nos, because they'd lead people to dig up treacherous and unsightly holes in public spaces.

After several more minutes, I spotted a plastic jar painted camouflage green — and nestled in close-growing tree trunks. The lid was missing: Some crafty cache-finder had substituted a halved coconut.

Gleefully, I pulled out the booty: a pinball-style soccer game not much bigger than a deck of cards, a wee rubber duckie keychain signed by the "Lehigh Mafia" geocache team. Film canisters with tiny, rolled-up log sheets for folks who want to start their own micro-caches. An aerosol hand sanitizer from Doc-Dean, for germ-conscious cachers.

I took nothing, because I'd forgotten to bring along a replacement trinket.

However, I did take away memories of an entertaining hour spent at a lovely park — and the tale of a treasure hunt to share.