• Home

Best places to hunt for buried treasure

A secret world of goodies buried beneath the earth’s rocks and waves. Looking for loot — from pirate booty to secret stashes — is an adventure all its own

01 Opal Mining, 
Coober Pedy, 
Australia

Outback adventure and the chance to strike it rich: can you dig it? The good folk of Coober Pedy can… and have done, ever since opal was first discovered there in 1915. Named from the local aboriginal term ‘kupa-piti’ (meaning ‘whitefella in a whole’), this far-flung town is known as the opal capital of the world; it’s also famous for its underground homes, exca-vated to escape the desert sizzle.

While hard core miners need a government permit, anyone is allowed to fossick — in local parlance, ‘noodle’ — through the town’s many mine dumps. Don’t let the whimsical verb fool you: many a noodler has hit paydirt.

02 NORMAN ISLAND, 
British Virgin Islands

Peg-legs, black spots, West Country accent: if there was a map showing the home of every pirate cliché known to fancy-dressers, Norman Island would be marked with an X. Not shivering your timbers? Perhaps its fictional name, Treasure Island, will make you go ‘aaargh’. The inspiration behind Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale of mutiny and booty, Norman Island today is a haven for snorkellers and nature lovers. But rumours of undiscovered doubloons hidden in the Caves — a series of aptly murky watery caverns — attract rum-hoisters convinced the island remains home to ‘plenty of prizes and plenty of duff!’.

03 OAK ISLAND, 
NOVA SCOTIA, 
Canada

Home to a huge, mysterious hole nicknamed the Money Pit, this otherwise unremarkable island is the destination for those answering the call of booty. First discovered in 1795, the cryptic Pit is the site of the world’s longest-running treasure hunt… although just which treasure is being hunted remains the cause of frenzied debate. Rumoured riches hidden within the hole (which supposedly runs at least 60m deep) include Captain Kidd’s stash, the lost jewels of Marie Antoinette, documents proving the ‘real’ identity of Shakespeare (Francis Bacon, FYI) and the holy grail of treasure seekers, 
the erm, Holy Grail. Beware of the booby traps!

04 GEOCHACHING, 
LAS VEGAS, 
USA

Cache-ING! Looking for loot in Las Vegas? Forget fruit machines and bank breaking: these days, thousands of Sin City visitors are forgoing gambling for geocaching. A real-life treasure hunt that relies on GPS and cryptic clues, geocaching is more likely to yield a Kinder Egg than that of the nest variety, but that hasn’t stopped five million enthusiasts worldwide. Vegas has become a must-do for the high-tech hobbyists, with more than 2,400 stashes hidden in and around the city, including scores on the Strip, in the surrounding desert and spooky spots for ‘haunted’ night caching.

05 GOLD DETECTING, Papua New Guinea

There’s gold in them thar hills… and on them thar islands… and under that thar sea. Papua New Guinea is absolutely awash with the shiny stuff, and while much of it falls into the hands of multinational mining companies, there’s no reason the budding prospector can’t have a pick or a pan as well. Gold fever peaked in the 20^th century, with nuggets the ‘size of goose eggs’ attracting feverish prospectors, including a certain Mr. Errol Flynn. These days, PNG’s rough-and-tumble landscape (social and geographical) make joining an organised tour a better idea than striking out on your own. They’re not cheap, but with a potential ‘Eureka!’ moment lurking beneath every step, who cares?

06 ROMAN COINS, 
English Countryside

Either togas suffered from a lack of pockets or departing Romans hadn’t had time to stop at a currency exchange, because England is aglitter with ancient currency. And it’s yours for the picking. Amateur archaeologists and quaint folk with metal detectors have been responsible for massive finds across the island; in 2010, a chef uncovered a pot filled with 52,000 coins dated between AD 253 and 293, the largest such hoard yet discovered. Study up, be sure to get landowners’ permission and you too could hold history in your hands!

07 DIGGING FOR DINOS, Australia

Thrilled by theropods? Is ‘muttaburrasaurus’ more than just an amusing tongue twister to you? Then it’s a fair bet that joining a dinosaur dig is your idea of the ultimate treasure hunt. And where better to pander to your inner palaeontologist than outback Winton, home to Austra-lia’s largest hoard of dino bones? The 
not-for-profit organisation Australian Age of Dinosaurs holds tri-annual 
Dinosaur Discovery Weeks, giving enthusasauruses the chance to excavate, plaster and prep fossils buried for the past 95 million years. No experience is necessary, but only 13 spots per dig are available. Book quickly: they’ll be gone before you can say ‘Diamantinasaurus matildae’.

08 ARCTIC AMETHYSTS, KOLA PENINSULA, Russia

Far above the Arctic Circle, all that glitters is not ice: western Russia’s extreme north sparkles with the purple slivers of the prized amethyst. The rugged Kola Peninsula — a mineralogist’s dream with its hundreds of rare rock and metal species — is home to the windswept, amethyst-rich Tersky Coast. Unlike gold, the amethyst is surprisingly easy to find if you know where to look (Terksy’s Korabl Cape — ‘Ship Cape’ — is a great place to start): simply look for the purple clumps. In addition to its beauty, amethyst has a legendary quality which may come in handy in these frozen lands: it’s believed to 
protect its bearer from drunkenness.

09 FOSSIL 
GAWKING, GOBI DESERT, 
Mongolia

To the hurried eye, the vast Gobi Desert looks like 1.3 million sq km of dusty nothing. But stop, stoop and focus: the Gobi is one of the world’s richest fossil depositories, with many ancient (as in 100-
million-years-ancient) remains lying only centimetres from the surface.

It was here the first dinosaur eggs were discovered; other major excavated finds include rare, mid-evolutionary birds and some of the world’s best preserved mammal fossils. Hunting hotspots include the Flaming Hills of Bayanzag and Altan Uul (‘Golden Mountain’). You’re not supposed to take your finds home with you — they’re rightfully considered national treasures — but here, especially, the thrill is in the chase.

10 WRECK DIVING, 
FLORIDA, 
USA

It may be known as the Sunshine State, but many of Florida’s richest attractions haven’t seen the light of day in centuries. Thought to be home to more sunken treasure than any other state in the USA, Florida’s blue waters may be hiding more than US$200 million worth of loot.

Now home to Disneyworld and pampered retirees, the state was once a 
notorious pirate haven (even Blackbeard dropped anchor here), and its hurricanes sent countless Spanish galleons to Davy Jones’ locker. Check 
local legalities before you wriggle into your wettie, and never dive alone in Florida’s oft-treacherous waters: those wrecks are down there for a reason.

— Lonely Planet