A spreadsheet is a reasonable app choice for many things you would want to track in a table format. Especially if you need it to expand, rather than starting a new document every time you exceed so many entries.
Numbers is a good choice if you're going to do things mostly on the iPad, with only an occasional need to import or export the spreadsheet. It is one of the easiest to use for actual creation on the iPad, once you get used to how it works, which is enough different from Excel to throw some people. You can even create forms to enter your data.
If you are constantly importing/exporting your spreadsheets and need maximum compatibility with MS Office/Excel, then you should probably look at one of the other popular office suite apps. Everyone has their preferences, and I don't use any of them, so I'll just list the four most often recommended (besides the iWorks apps; Pages, Numbers, Keynote).
Documents to Go
QuickOffice Pro HD
Office HD
Polaris Office
There are a couple of other online options, but for what you are describing a local app would work best.
If you want to avoid the complexity of a spreadsheet, there are other options. Pages will allow you to create and use simple tables, adequate for entering things like location, dates, and names.