Hi there, my name is Anthony and I’m from TheTravelTart.com. I’m good mates with Dave and Deb from The Planet D, and they’ve been silly enough to let me write a guest post for them.
I write about the funny, offbeat, and downright weird aspects at my website. But I also like doing the odd Adventure Travel activity here and there, and I’m going to write about five thrill seeking activities that I’ve really enjoyed on my travels around the world.
I’ve also included a ‘Crap Your Pants’ rating to add my description – basically, a crude measurement to describe the thrill rating of each activity.
Crazy Things to do Before you Die
Here we go!
Mountain Biking down the World’s Most Dangerous Road, Bolivia
This infamous ‘Road of Death’ claimed an average of 20 vehicles each year until a new highway opened in 2007 – in fact, the locals were so annoyed with the old road, that they used the new road during the construction period!
These days, ‘The World’s Most Dangerous Road’ is pretty much a mountain bike track. Only tourists are silly enough to use this road. In fact, about 10 people have lost their lives mountain biking down this magnificent part of Bolivia.
The trip is about 70 kilometres and starts at 4000 metres above sea level (sometimes in the snow), and finishes at 1500 metres above sea level – in tropical forest. It takes about 6 to 7 hours cycling downhill. The hardest part is a 3 kilometre uphill pedal at 3500 metres – which almost burst my lungs.
The drop over the edge is ‘only’ 600 metres!
Believe me, it’s worth risking your life to ride this fantastic track! I was on a high for days after cycling down The World’s Most Dangerous Road – in fact, I wanted to go again!
Crap Your Pants Rating (out of 10) – 7 (if you complete the ride). 10 if you fall over the edge.
Microlighting Over Victoria Falls – Zambia/Zimbabwe
Victoria Falls is one of the most spectacular places in the world to visit – and you have to visit 2 countries to experience it! Since the troubles of Zimbabwe has pretty much killed the tourist trade there (for example, see my post about the Zimbabwe Dollar), most of the infrastructure and facilities for visiting Victoria Falls now occur in Zambia.
There’s all sorts of things you can do at Victoria Falls – you could possibly try and drown yourself in the Grade 5 rapids by white water rafting, you can bungee jump off the Victoria Falls Bridge, and go for a twighlight booze cruise on the Zambezi River.
But there is something you should do – fly over Victoria Falls via a Microlight. This gives a fantastic panoramic view of the falls, but also provides a fascinating insight into the surrounding areas. For example, you can see animals such as elephants and hippos from this high up.
Microlighting over Victoria Falls is a great way to blow $USD 100 in 15 minutes, but it’s worth it. Read more: Incredible Things to Do in Victoria Falls, Zambia
Crap Your Pants Rating – 4.
Coasteering – Wales
Coasteering is a relatively new Adventure Travel sport – it’s been around for barely over 20 years, and I would describe it as a coastal obstacle course that involves rock climbing, swimming, jumping and subjecting yourself to the elements of nature.
It was invented by a number of adrenalin junkies who used to rock climb around the rugged Welsh coastline, and then they realised they could combine all of their passions into one, and hence decided to include gear such as wetsuits and helmets. I would think the closest relation to Coasteering would be Canyoning. Read more: What to Expect when Coasteering in Wales
This is definitely a team sport – everyone helps each other out in and out of the water, and it’s something that gives you no choice but to do things together. In fact, Coasteering is a popular option for corporate love-ins, hen’s nights, and buck’s parties.
You can also swim (or rather, be swept in by the tide) inside a nearby cave. I’d describe this Coasteering experience as being thrown around in a hard washing machine!
Crap Your Pants Rating – 7
Gorge Swing at Oribi Gorge, South Africa and Zambia
Gorge Swinging is a good excuse to throw yourself off a perfectly stable rocky platform and into a seemingly endless abyss of about 70 metres. Basically, it’s a rudimentary construction involving a bungee cord attached to a cable running across the Gorge.
Anyway, here is some video footage of me totally crapping myself attempting to complete this Gorge Swing. Try not to laugh at me screaming my guts out. That’s because you will hear others in the background giggling as well.
Crap Your Pants Rating – 9
We had our own gorge swing adventure in Zambia, check out our very different experience here. Dave is itching to give the South African one a try now, thanks Anthony for the fabulous inspiration.
There you go. If you are anywhere near these places on your travels, I strongly suggest trying out these Adventure Travel activities – you won’t regret it!
Do the Polar Plunge in Antarctica
Cage Dive with Great White Sharks in South Africa
Go Skydiving in New Zealand
Go Tidal Bore Rafting in Nova Scotia
Take a Walk Around the EdgeWalk
Climb a Frozen Waterfall – Alberta
Zip Lining in the Rainforest – Fiji
Zip Lining in the Fijian Rainforest is a good excuse to get away from that nice resort that you’re staying in and work off all of those buffet lunches. Basically, Zip Lining is stringing steel cables between a number of trees, then attaching yourself to them via a pulley, and hurtling yourself down them.
It’s great fun! People of all ages can do Zip Lining, and you can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour (around 44 miles per hour). Ironically, this speed is only 10 kilometres below the official National Road Speed Limit of 80 km/hour!
There are a total of 8 Zip Lines on the course – the shortest is a quick transfer of 15 metres (around 50 feet), with the longest around 220 metres (720 feet). The total length of Zip Lines is around 1 kilometre, or 0.6 of a mile. It takes about 40 minutes to an hour to traverse the course.
We did our own Fiji Zipline if you feel like checking it out you can click here to see our video. Amazingly, we had the same guide as Anthony.
Crap Your Pants Rating – 5
Drive a Stunt Car – Bucharest
Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
Swim with Whale Sharks
Walk with Polar Bears
Cheers!
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