Camille Chicheportiche has spent almost a decade hunting what’s underneath our feet, and she reckons she’s just getting started. Photo: Stuart O’Rourke.
There are a few ways you might have discovered Camille Chicheportiche.
It could have been if she rescued your lost jewellery from the ocean. Or maybe you cheered for her on the television series The Traitors.
Either way, the former federal agent turned treasure hunter says the journey all started on a whim about seven years ago.
“I do recognise treasure hunting is quite an unusual hobby,” she tells Region.
“I literally just thought, ‘What a cool hobby and what could I find?’ … There’s a whole mix of the thrill of it, the unknown of it, unearthing history, unearthing valuable things – all that comes into why you do it.”
Camille says there’s more to the craft than swinging a metal detector and hoping for the best.
“It all comes down to the user and understanding how to get the most out of a detector,” she says.
“Anyone can buy a detector, and it will beep at some metal. Knowing how to get the really tricky stuff, the old stuff that’s tangled up in roots or really deep and being able to understand this is actually going to be something really good [is harder].”
Her finds have ranged from $2 coins to a $16,000 ring engagement ring that accidentally came off a woman’s hand.
“You eventually come across gold bracelets, necklaces – literal gold items.
“I found a gold Australian military forces button off a soldier’s uniform, a very high-ranking soldier, who had converted that into a locket.”
Camille says that while finding those expensive items is fairly rare, “it does happen”.
“You’re a sort of modern-day archaeologist, a modern-day pirate, reaping rewards.
“Once you pay off your detector, then everything else is a bonus.”
Whenever she heads out to sites around Canberra, she’ll take a waterproof metal detector that works up to 15 metres below water, a pinpoint (a small, handheld metal detector) and something to dig up her finds.
For visits to the South Coast, she’ll add a wetsuit and snorkel to her kit so she can explore what’s lurking underwater.
“I always recommend a pair of good gloves to protect your hands, a finds point (that also means rubbish pouch) and some protective equipment.”
For Camille, there’s a combination of “luck, choosing locations, hard work and skill” involved in finding missing items.
“You need time on your detector – that’s as simple as it is.
“People can’t go out once a month for one hour and think they’re going to master it.”
She also says that there are core rules, such as not going onto private property and other sites, that guide her work.
In addition to The Traitors, she’s also one of the stars of Discovery Channel’s Treasure Hunters Down Under, which will soon start production on its second season.
While Camille won’t reveal which locations she’s searching next, the adventures will continue.
“We’re going to be filming for the Discovery Channel. We’re going to still keep trying to help local Canberrans find stuff,” she says.
“[I’ll also keep] going out by myself and growing the YouTube channel and getting in the water more down the coast.
“I’m definitely not stopping.”
Follow her treasure hunting adventures on her YouTube channel, 10 Targets Detecting.
