A journey to "Seek The Truth" saw 42 cars go on a 350km drive from Malaysiakini's office in Petaling Jaya to Penang.

During the prize-giving ceremony held at Bayview Beach Resort in Batu Feringghi yesterday, the team "2 Sneakies and 2 Innocents" bagged the grand prize of RM3,000 with a total score of 122 points.

Of the 35 clues to be deciphered, the hunt veterans only missed four questions - skipping three and incorrectly identifying one sign located along the route, which ended at Medan Selera Juru.

Group member Goh Teck Koon said the three questions they skipped were ones that no participant had guessed correctly.

"We've hunted many, many times. This is our regular team. Maybe in one year, we will join up to 10 hunts," said the retiree.

Goh also described his experience joining Malaysiakini's first-ever treasure hunt on Saturday, organised in conjunction with the portal's 20th anniversary this year as being "exciting and challenging".

Second place winners "Hunters R Us" went home with an RM2,000 prize money.

Goh (below) said they are rivals and close friends.

"Sometimes we win first place and sometimes they will win," he added.

Team "Vettai Sakthi" was announced as the third prize winner of RM1,000, while seven other teams that made it on the Top 10 list received Malaysiakini merchandise for their efforts.

Malaysiakini CEO and co-founder Premesh Chandran, whose team "Weapons of Mad Deductions" was ranked 10th, presented the prizes alongside Penang state executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo and Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Steven Sim.

Premesh said the hunt from Petaling Jaya to Penang, which requires participants to solve at times wildly deceiving clues, was much like Malaysiakini's journey over the past 20 years.

"Along the way, to me, it kind of reminded me of this 20th anniversary.

"There are times when it has been easygoing, there are times when it has been tough," Premesh said.

All "treasures" bought by the teams were donated to a local children's home.

The hunt was organised as part of a series of events leading to Malaysiakini's 20th Anniversary Gala Dinner on Nov 23.