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Know Your Island Treasure Hunt Edifies and Entertains
http://www.trinijunglejuice.com/tjjnews/articles/3105/1/Know-Your-Island-Treasure-Hunt-Edifies-and-Entertains/Page1.html
By TJJ Admin
Published on 15-Nov-12
 
The Know Your Island Treasure Hunt, coordinated by the Division of Tourism and Transportation, was an overwhelming success with scores of persons converging at the starting point in Black Rock on November 13, 2012. Equipped with full tanks of gas and ...

The Know Your Island Treasure Hunt, coordinated by the Division of Tourism and Transportation, was an overwhelming success with scores of persons converging at the starting point in Black Rock on November 13, 2012. Equipped with full tanks of gas and empty memory cards, excited participants marked their vehicles with their team numbers, collected their clues and set off to have their photographs taken at 10 Tobago attractions.

The carefully crafted riddles led teams to some of the island’s more popular sites like the Mystery Tomb Stone, as well as some of the less frequented places of interest, such as Gan’ Gan’ Sarah’s grave. As they traveled from one destination to the next, posing for images with their ‘I Know My Tobago’ signs to prove they visited each venue, participants had the opportunity to learn about Tobago’s history.

Prior to the treasure hunt, many contestants weren’t aware that the light house at the Fort King George Heritage Park was once the third brightest in the world, and quite a few drove through the village of Parlatuvier unaware that it is the home of the beautiful Top River Waterfalls. By the day’s end however, the avid treasure hunters admitted they were more enlightened and grateful for the crafty clues that shed some light on the stories behind these tourist attractions.

In total, 53 teams participated, 41 of which made it back to Black Rock within the 3 p.m. deadline. Of those that finished, only six teams correctly identified all 10 sites, but there could be only be one winner.

The coveted first prize of three iPads went to the team whose flawless strategy returned them to the base in just under 3 hours. Team 4D Squad comprising Randell Thomas, Anthony Brown and Akil Reid rolled into the parking lot at exactly 12:24 pm with photographic proof from all ten sites. Less than half an hour later Vanessa Boyce, Essie Parks and Aneika Benoit of Team PDS arrived, also with all 10 clues, collecting the second place prize of three smart phones. In third place were Nathalie McKenna Alleyne, Marlon Alleyne and Natasha Alleyne, of Team Blue Marlins with all 10 clues and a time of 1:05 pm. They won three digital cameras. All prizes will be distributed at this year’s Tourism Awards Ceremony on November 29 at Gulf City Mall, Lowlands.

The Treasure Hunt was added to the Tourism Month calendar this year as an interactive, educational component meant to engage residents of the island and develop a greater understanding and appreciation of the sites and attractions that make up Tobago’s tourism product.