The world is always going to be an uncertain place. Wars, natural disasters, disease—nothing is predictable. However, even in the midst of these times, there are adventures to be had. You’ve heard of the Amazing Race, or the Global Scavenger Hunt. These treasure-seeking tours are world-wide, but you can create your own, local hunt.
You can use your own cars or stick strictly to bicycles or public transport. Once you’ve decided the means of travel, you can then decide the venues. You could include a beach, shopping mall, famous landmark, or even the golf course Perth residents all know and love.
Thereafter, you decide the treasure. You don’t want it to be junk, so make the prize for your scavenger hunt sufficiently high to cover costs of experiences, or objects of value.
Interested? Read on to create your own local scavenger hunt with friends.
The Venues
Golf Courses
You have myriads of venues to choose from in Perth. You could always start with the golf courses. They are fantastic, large places to either hide caches of goods, or to introduce your friends to a new game.
Museums
The museums give you the opportunity to add specific historical clues, which are easy to create. People will either have to find a prize at the museum (with the museum’s permission), or they have to find a piece of history. Either way, they’ll grow in their knowledge and understanding of the world as it was in the past.
Entertainment Venues
You could add popular entertainment venues, such as movie theatres, restaurants, clubs and cafes to the list. The clues can either be GPS- or name-driven. You can introduce your friends to new taste experiences, or have them find another clue whilst drinking a cup of coffee at the venue.
Tip: you don’t want to have them experience food at the same venues they always go to. Introduce them to something new and exotic to keep it interesting.
Parks and Adventure Facilities
One of the great ways of discovering your own city is by getting out and discovering it in the open air. You can always send your friends to a large park, or to facilities which offer balloon rides, quadbike rides, or 4×4 tracks. You can offer your friends the opportunity to learn about the unique natural environment in your area or have them see the city from a bird’s-eye viewpoint.
This, in turn, could lead them to a hidden clue or treasure that directs to the next destination.
Beaches
We’ve added this separately from parks, because there are not only many fantastic beaches in Perth to choose from, but also a wide range of water-based activities to do. You could have them row in a boat, take a surfing lesson, find specific shells, or even try kiting. Perhaps they could learn how to catch a fish or find seafood from locals.
Whatever you choose, chat to people beforehand who know nature and the area very well and can provide the support and training that you want on the day. You can either cover the cost or find a way to sponsor it.
The Means of Travel
Travelling on a Scavenger Hunt is all important. If you decide on walking or cycling, your venues and adventures can’t be too far apart or up steep inclines unless you know your friends are very fit.
Going by car may incur fuel costs and could lead to people caught up in traffic. Still, it means teams could travel to further outposts of the city for their experiences. The only rule would have to be that no one breaks the speed limit—traffic laws are there for people’s protection and you want to have a safe, fun day.
Public transport is acceptable—you just have to make sure you don’t travel to areas where there aren’t enough services throughout the day. Make sure no one gets stuck without a means to get home. If the public transport is good in all your chosen venues, go for it. It makes life easier not to have to stress about navigation.
The Treasure
What you collect on your hunt will vary. You have two options—experiences and objects of value.
Experiences
The experiences are as discussed above:
- Balloon ride
- Cycling through vineyards
- Finding out about history
- Tasting a new menu
You can give a range of experiences that will suit every taste, but people really enjoy something out of the ordinary; something by which they feel challenged.
Objects of Value
Objects of value are bought prior to the event and hidden in areas around the city. The objects have to motivate people. They can be products from the local market, plants from the botanical gardens, golf balls or clubs for their new-found hobby, or historical artefacts. Let it be a memento related to the venues on your journey.
[Conclusion]
A scavenger hunt is great fun, and planning it brings even more entertainment. Yes, there is quite a lot of hard work involved. Also, you may very well need to acquire sponsorship, but even for small events, there is a way to do this without too much stress or hassle.
Final tip: start your new YouTube channel about your treasure hunt, and get your department of tourism to sponsor you.
Angela Spearman is a journalist at EzineMark who enjoys writing about the latest trending technology and business news.
