There are quite a few things of interest in Runescape. They vary from simple things to very intense things that you really want to look at.
Notes-OK this is a simple thing, and somehow, people don't know how to do it. This can actually get you a lot of money- someone once gave me 1k per trip to turn 25 rune essence into real essence instead of a note (this wasn't because they didn't know how- just for faster runecrafting, visit my Runecrafting Skill Guide section for more info on running essence). Simply, go to the bank. At the bottom, it should say withdraw as Items or Notes. Deposit notes and then withdraw them as items to take them out of notes, and vice versa. Notes are convenient for trading large amounts. However, you must go to a bank to change them, so they are pretty much worthless while in notes.
Picks- About picks...the only place you can get them is in mining shops. There are none above land; only in mines. The only non-member area that I know of with a mining shop is in the dwarven (also commonly called Falador) mines. There, you can buy from bronze picks to the rare and awesome rune pick. However cool rune picks may be, they are expensive; 32k to be exact (that's 32,000gp!)! Addy picks are just about as good, and they only cost 4k. If you are a really serious miner, then a rune pick is something you might want; save up your money! However, if you don't mine that often, an addy pick is good to have. If you are rich, then a rune pick is great anyways, but don't buy it unless you are a serious miner or rich. The nice thing is that it is a rune weapon, but unfortunately, it's not a very good one-about equal to an addy weapon, so if you're looking for a rune weapon, buy a real rune weapon. Bronze picks? They are horrible- unless that's the only pick you can use, don't use it. Iron or Steel is OK, mith is pretty good, but addy and rune are really a lot better.
Runite ore; a mystery- Yes there is runite ore available to all players! However, it is dangerous, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone at a lower level than 30. If you think you can survive level 34 deadly red spiders, then go ahead. The Runite ore is in level 46 wilderness. It is just north of the lava maze. You should see either 2 rocks, or, if you came while there is ore in them, you should see 2 baby blue colored rocks. It is really cool. One suggestion though; don't bring anything, especially if you are a higher level. The bad thing about these rocks is people kill anyone else by the rocks because they want the ore. If you are a low enough level (40 or less) then you probably won't be able to be attacked, as most people who can mine rune (at least those who go there) are level 80 and up. If you're just a tourist who wants to see it, then take a chance, but bring food just in case. I survived without food, but I was level 40. Just in case you want to take a look at the area or to see the rocks without having to go to the wild, a picture is located below. There are other rocks. There are 2 rune rocks in the Hero's Guild, also (members only), and another rune rock in a cavern with Greaters (lv 92) and Poisonous spiders (lv 62, they can poison, too) (members only). You might have suspected some rune in the miner's guild- sorry, only a bunch of coal, and a few mith and addy rocks. When you are mining rune in the wild, here are some helpful tips.
Go from world to world mining it; rune ore takes about 10-15 minutes to come back!
Try to avoid the red spiders if at all possible to conserve HP for PKs and other miners
Bring a high-level pick, such as rune or addy, unless you are skulled, and in that case either use protect item or bring a pick you don't mind losing
If you enter a world with 1 or more miners, RUN before they attack you (once they attack you you have to wait until 10 seconds after the battle ends to log out)
Walk if at all possible and as much as you can on the way up there to conserve energy to run away from PKs/other miners
Go into unpopulated worlds
Bring very few things; in fact, unless you really need to, bring your pick and equip it and nothing else, this way you get as much ore as possible and you get to keep more of the ores if you die (and don't have a skull over your head) so it isn't a complete loss
AVOID MINING IN THE WILD IF AT ALL POSSIBLE!!!
The wilderness: how not to get crushed and how to crush- Many people are scared of the wilderness for different reasons. Some are afraid of a possibility of PKs. (refer to Runescape lingo for the meaning of PK) Some don't like the idea of high leveled computers. And some are afraid of the unknown; scared of what's out there. Really there is nothing to be scared of. If you are cautious then you should be fine. If you intend for exploration then you really don't need to bring anything-and you probably shouldn't risk it, and you would go faster anyways. If you are there for item collection I would suggest bringing an extra pair of armor that you can smith, such as full iron, or if you are a high mining level, then smith the best pair of armor you can to bring into the wilderness, and bring some food, too. If you are a ranger, craft some leather/hardleather. Mages should bring a staff for quick spell-casting (a magic one is suggested because they are cheap). If you are there for PKing, bring whatever you are comfortable bringing, and a lot of food. (Important: Whenever you go into the wild, I would suggest not bringing anything that you are not comfortable losing, because it is very possible to die in there, and my friend lost full rune in the wild, I'm still not sure why he brought it...) Now for a few things to know; first PKs. There are different kinds of PKs. The first is courteous. They stand around either in or by the wild and ask "Hey wanna fight?" or something similar. Often they will be randomly some place and decide to ask you, also. Many will ask and then call you a chicken or a noob if you say no. Do not be intimidated; walk away if you don't want to fight them. However, some of the ones that hang around the wild will wait until you go in and then go after you and attack you; which leads us into our next kind of PKs. These are spontaneous. They suddenly attack you while you casually walk through, and they don't ask. The next are treasure hunters. They are more cowardly (some would call it strategic). They find a group who is fighting and then once they finish, they kill the weakened player for the dropped items. This is very annoying, as they only killed the weakened player, and are too weak to actually fight on their own. The second to last kind is teams. They go into the multiple fighters area (which is identified by the crossed swords in the corner by the wilderness symbol, also found in non-wilderness). This allows more than one player/computer to fight a single player/computer. They wait until someone passes by, and gang up on the lone player and kill them. They share the goodies. If you do decide to go into the wild like this or just with a friend or two, be careful not to accidentally attack them. The very last kind is Seekers. They are seeking treasure or to get xp, and some attack you if you get close, and some only attack if you're in their way. The second thing to know is mining in the wilderness. There are 4 total mining places in the wilderness, 3 of them being non-members. The non-members ones are mainly coal, and are surrounded by skeletons that hardly even give you a chance to start mining. I forget what is in the Hobogoblin mines, but this fact still applies to all of them; mining in the wilderness is not a good idea because of the computers and PKs hang out there. Runite you may have to mine there if you are a non-member, but there are many safer places to mine coal. As for the member's mining spot, I have no clue what is there in terms of mining or in terms of enemies. (Note: Non-members can only reach lv 48 wilderness, and that mining spot is past there) The final thing that I have to tell you about the wilderness is how to win, or at least survive in a fight. I admit it; I'm a warrior and proud about it, but seriously; warriors hardly ever win in the wild unless they are facing another warrior. Rangers usually do pretty well, and mages tend to do the best. If you are mage lv 25 or over, even if you aren't a mage, you are really a ranger or a warrior, bring a law and a fire rune in the wilderness, but it is only useful under lv 20 wild. If you end up in a tough spot and don't think you can escape, (make sure you are prepared the whole battle and don't do it at the last second or it may not work a) until you are already dead, or b) at all) use teleport to Varrock.
The Secret of Wizard's Tower-OK, I admit; it's not really a secret. However, it is something of interest. Did you ever travel to the top of Wizard's Tower, see a cool looking monster blocked by a fence, and then discovered that it's a lv 82 Lesser Demon? And then wonder why it's there, and how you're supposed to kill it? Say no more; I have 2 words for you; magic and ranging. This is a great way to get xp without getting murdered. The great thing is that sometimes Lessers will drop Rune Med. Helms!! However, don't go for this unless you have lv 33 magic and a law rune and an air rune with you. This is for telegrab, to grab an item you can see but not reach. Then you can destroy the Lesser and grab what it drops (it doesn't always drop Rune Med. Helms though!). If you can melee it, though, I would suggest that instead as telegrab is not used up and you don't risk having someone else killing the lesser and getting its drop.
The Secret of Varrock Bank- Yes, another secret, and this time, it really is a secret. If you've ever noticed, the west Varrock bank (the one by the the road that leads west into barbarian village) has a downstairs. There are all kind of glorious things. Ruby rings, Rubies, Gold, Money...but the gate doesn't open! Disappointing isn't it? Or it would be, but I'll tell you right here; much like the last thing, you need the telegrab magic spell. Then its just take and take-and some give...a law and an air...I would suggest you get tons of laws somehow (either be completely rich or craft them). Then reap the rewards-repeatedly! Get stuff for yourself-and sell the rest! Another way to make money is to stay down there and wait until people go down there and start wondering how to get in. Make them pay you 500gp-1k for you to tell them. One time I got someone offering to say for 2k. Personally, I wouldn't pay for that-considering I have friends who know more about the game than me and probably could tell me free of charge. But you never know...its not like its a scam or anything, so there's nothing wrong with trying it.