Treasure Hunt-2

I participated in my first treasure hunt under duress. It was a bank organised hunt and my head of department wanted to send two teams. That's eight people which amounts to one third of the head count in IBD. My immediate boss was a regular and avid hunter but unfortunately he had two reluctant hunters in his car. To be fair to myself, I did participate and contribute and had fun in the process.

My second hunt was nothing like the first. I was all excited and raring to go. Who wouldn't when you have two beautiful and intelligent ladies as hunt mates! I even woke up at 5am and was at the starting venue before Subuh! We did extremely well considering the other three didn't have any prior experience treasure hunting. In fact, we lost to the champions on countback.

My third hunt was as exciting as the second but faced with experienced hunters, we only managed to finish, I'm guessing somewhere in the middle, maybe 15-16th place. The two ladies from the first hunt was replaced by a solitary young lady ... which a certain Ms Shaliza attributes to our dismal performance. 

I'm now hunting for my next hunt.

Treasure hunting is not an easy sport. Not even with two beautiful, intelligent ladies in the car. Some hunts have three parts; the part where the hunter have to find the answers based on the clues given. The answers are mostly on the signboards, visible from the vehicle without having to get out from the car. For a 7-8 hour hunt, there's usually 30-35 of such items to find.

The second part is called the treasure where the hunters must perform or purchase or make something based on the clues given.  There are typically 3-5 treasures to find/make/buy and must be presented to the COC at the finish line. This is much tougher than the first especially if legwork and creativity is involved.

Some hunts do have them but most might not. It is called the picture hunt where hunters are given tiny portions of a large picture and they must find out what 'big' picture it is. This is basically bonus points for the really hopeless hunters, that's how easy it is.

Solving the clues requires some IQ, at least three digits. Maybe that explains why I did so badly ... It also requires a lot of general knowledge and an extensive vocab in at least two languages. The clues a fairly standard; 'inside' or 'middle' or 'within' means we have to find a word inside a word; 'at the back' means read backwards; XI means 11; C is 100; Monkey is Ape or Baboon or Kera; 'in front' means first letter and a popular clue is anagrams. There are more clues and most are not really straight forward. Like I said, it is a game for people with reasonable amounts of IQ and who knows more than 30 words. 

Apparently, the seasoned hunters hardly leave their cars during a hunt. The pro hunters also know what to look for, they are able to put the clues together before even getting to the stations and when they get there, all they have to do is look for the answers. Amateur hunters like me however, look at every single signboard and guess if it fits the answer.  

Treasure hunts starts before sunrise and winners are usually announced after dinner. It's a whole day affair, tiring and draining but after the hunt, you'll never look at a signboard the same way again ...