Today I’m meeting Virginie, the Château de Jumilhac ‘s guide, and Emilie, the village shop owner, who once heard about a secret hiding place near this beautiful fairytale castle.
They didn’t realise it but this was the beginning of the Terra Aventura adventure
Let’s find out more!
How did you find out about TA?
Emilie : I went along with Virginie who found out about Terra Aventura when they designed a trail in Jumilhac.
Virginie : When my twins were the right age to try it, we did the Chalard trail (2km) in February 2020 and we were hooked.
Got any stories to tell?
Virginie : Loads!
One that comes to mind is having to find a cache in the middle of a cow herd, it was totally flooded and we had to put our shoes down to scan the code (laughs). It was epic!
How many trails?
Emilie : Exactly 101 with 2 lockdowns.
Where were you for the 100th ?
Virginie : We were in Sarlat that day, we even had a drink to celebrate the 100th!
What’s the best one in our area and why?
En cœur : “the one in Jumilhac” because it combines village and nature (we’re not biased!)
Which one out of the 101 you’ve done stands out the most?
Together : « Les pierres jaumâtres »
Oh ? Where’s that ?
Virginie : In Creuse! We dropped the girls off at school and drove into Northern Creuse. We visited an amazing little village (Toulx-Sainte-Croix). It was fantastic. And we would never have been it if it wasn’t for Terra Aventura.
What makes it so great for families?
Virginie : Les jumelles adorent chercher et il y a beaucoup de sentiers qui font moins de 3 km.
QR codes replaced the Poi’z characters after lockdown. So me and Emilie hid little bags of sweets in the cache locations. The Poi’z characters are back now but the girls still ask for sweeties!!!
Sometimes the trails are too long for 4 year olds so we do them together for a girly outing!
If you had any advice for families doing their first cache, what would it be?
Emilie : Take your time reading the instructions and take a good look around because getting your bearings with the GPS is tricky at the start.
Get your gear ready: picnic hamper, water bottle, charger, good shoes, torches for evening outings, plasters, spare clothes.
How would you convince Terra Aventura novices to get involved ?
Terra Aventura introduces you to places you’d never visit.
If you like unearthing new things, broadening your horizons and travelling then the landscapes will never disappoint you!
We’re hooked! We plan our holidays just to do the trails (together) and weekends with the kids for shorter outings.
Interview conducted by :
