Brisbane City Botanic Gardens

The Hunt for the Lost Seed Vault

A race against time is on in Brisbane's City Botanic Gardens, and only the bravest explorers need apply.

Legend has it that in 1855, the gardens' visionary curator Walter Hill hid a secret seed vault somewhere among the figs and palms. Inside grows a plant whose magical leaves can turn children into their favourite animal for one glorious day. Queensland Quests has uncovered a replica of the antique map that reveals where it's hidden, encrypted with clues only a sharp mind can crack.

But there's trouble. Walter Hill's old rival family, the Downhills, have always held a fragment of the original map, and it's just been inherited by Jimmy Downhill. Jimmy can't stand children, and if he finds the vault first he plans to turn every kid in Brisbane into a "stinkin' rat" forever.

Your mission: follow the trail through fig-lined avenues, winding riverside paths and hidden corners of the gardens, solving fifteen clues along the way. Each one strikes a false location off your map until only the real vault remains. Can you crack the code and beat Jimmy to it before time runs out?

A 1.75 km loop with cafés, toilets, playgrounds and shade along the way. We acknowledge the Turrbal people as the Traditional Custodians of this land.