If you’ve got the time, they’ve got the cache

Mike Van Burik and the large ammo can at Coombs Wooden Shoe. It’s used for geocaching, he says.
Steven Heywood photo
By Steven Heywood - Parksville Qualicum Beach News
Published: July 29, 2011 9:00 AM
You could use your global positioning system to find Aranea and Mike Van Burik’s geocache in Coombs. Or, you could simply use your eyes. However, you might not believe them.

Outside the couple’s store, Coombs Wooden Shoe, sits what is being hailed as possibly the largest geocache in Canada (perhaps the world). It’s a large, metal ammo can.

Modeled after a typical storage bin used in the sport of geocaching (using a GPS to locate waypoints and hidden caches), the couple’s large ammo can is attracting a lot of attention.

“I love the big stuff,” said Aranea, who has been geocaching with her family for three years. “An ammo can is a typical cache and a good quality hide. I thought it would be cool to make it bigger.”

After toying with the idea of making a wooden one, the couple decided authentic and metal was the way to go. She and Mike engaged the services of the Kwalikum Secondary School metalwork class, after taking them a sample — and much smaller — ammo can from the Coombs military surplus store. After three weeks, they received their large can — four feet long, three feet tall and about 18 inches wide.

“They did an awesome job,” Aranea said of the workmanship. “There’s a lot of guys who stop and have a look at it and are impressed with the quality of work.”

It was so good, and the material used so authentic, that the Van Buriks had to modify the lid, so that people could actually lift it.

“It’s completely functional,” she explained. “It’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

Aranea attended a recent geocaching event in Alberta, where she said a high-ranking geocacher indicated their can might be the largest cache in the world. Aranea’s only willing to go so far as to say it’s the largest in Canada — for now.

It’s size is attracting people and has quickly become a bit of a tourist draw. Aranea added people already come to Vancouver Island to geocache, this just adds a little something extra.

Since the large ammo can is functional as a cache, there are things inside to find. There’s a log book to record who was there, when, and where they are from, a smaller can for tradable items and other things for children. Geocachers generally take something and leave something behind for the next person to find.

One thing is for certain, they won’t have too much difficulty finding the Van Buriks’ great big can.

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