Finding ‘Ohana and Geocaching: An Interview with screenwriter Christina Strain and Director Jude Weng
Geocaching and Finding ‘Ohana
Finding ‘Ohana is a new movie coming out on Netflix on January 29, 2021. One of the things I love about the film is it introduced me to something new. What is that new thing? Geocaching! While geocaching itself is not new it is something I had not heard about till watching Finding ‘Ohana. (Yes, I know this probably means I live under a rock. Haha!) I had a chance to interview Finding ‘Ohana’s screenwriter Christina Strain and Director Jude Weng to ask them why geocaching. Below is my interview and also a little more information on what geocaching is and how to start!
Interview with Finding ‘Ohana’s Christina Strain and Jude Weng
In Finding ‘Ohana, the main character Pili loves geocaching, and she is really good at it. So, during a press junket for the movie, one of the questions I had for Finding ‘Ohana’s screenwriter Christina Strain was why geocaching? Why not just have the movie be a regular treasure hunt movie? (To be honest, off the top of my head, I cannot remember a movie that even mentions geocaching.) Screenwriter Christina Strain told us one of the reasons she chose geocaching was because she felt Pili was a young her, and “…young me if geocaching had been a thing when I was a kid, young me would have done a lot of geocaching.” In a follow-up, Jude Weng, Finding ‘Ohana’s director, encouraged us to look up geocaches in our area, and she mentioned there was, “Something like 2,000 geocaches on Oahu Island.” You can watch the interview below.
But what is it?
In short, geocaching is an outdoor activity where individuals place/hide containers full of items and a logbook, and other people find them. So, in a way, it is like treasure hunting but you are not truly finding “treasure”. It is the thrill and experience. When you find a cache you sign the logbook, and in some cases can take a little something from the box or exchange something of yours for something in the box. (Depends on the cache. Some do this and some just have a logbook to sign.) Then you place the cache right back where you found it. (The name of the game is to leave everything as you found it, and this ties into the movie perfectly.) There are also many different kinds of geocaches. (Traditional, multi-cache, puzzle/mystery caches, challenge caches, etc.) Geocaching has been going strong for over 20 years now.
How to get started
It is actually pretty easy! A great place to start is GeoCaching.com. (You can find the website HERE.) You can download the app and within seconds see what caches are in your area. (Side note on GeoCaching.com. You can use the app for free to find easy basic caches, but it does start charging a monthly fee if you want to find more advanced caches.) When I did my location I found out there are hundreds of caches in my area. Take a look and you might be surprised at how many are in your area!
The benefits
There are tons of benefits! There is the thrill, fun, and work of being able to find the caches. The ability to be able to travel anywhere and participate in an activity. (Geocaching is done throughout the world.) But the biggest benefit is being able to spend time with family and friends exploring the outdoors and learning about new places, people, and things.
