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Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online.

I discovered the game while parking off on the boardwalk on the beach one day. My reverie was interrupted by a very animated Swedish family, who tramped past me and promptly began excavating the surrounding dunes. I must have looked a little fierce, or bemused or both, because mama asked me if I knew what geocaching was and when I replied that I did not, proceeded to explain that there was treasure buried somewhere in the sand under me and that the coordinates posted on the geocaching website (geocaching.com) pointed to a place somewhere under my bum. I was sitting on a treasure trove. Said family did not find anything on this occasion and merrily drove off to plunder their next "x marks the spot". Later, when I had a look at the website, I discovered that there were dozens of caches planted nearby; just a fraction of the 960 000 or so active geocaches around the world.







How to make a metal detector
If you don't have a GPS, or prefer to find your treasure by using a more traditional method, why not try making your own metal detector. According to eHow.com, it requires very little skill to construct one from cheap materials that you will probably find lying around the house. You need a cheap set of headphones, a writeable CD and a writeable DVD,  a nine-volt battery, insulation tape, Pratley putty,  scissors and a functioning non solar powered calculator. The detector, which is basically a calculator sandwiched between the CD and DVD, should only around half an hour to construct and will cost you under R200.