Five Travel Activities You Should Add To Your Bucket List
If you’re like me, you want to do memorable things wherever you travel. Visiting museums is nice and shopping can help pass the time. But those activities can be done anywhere. Riding a tour bus from one site to another can be just what’s needed on some days. However, the trips I remember most are the ones where I did the most adventurous activities. I have been able to cross the activities below off my bucket list. Consider adding them to yours.
Bucket List Activities
My favorite bucket list items are outlined below.
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Bungee jumping off Bloukrans Bridge
If you’re ever in South Africa, you can jump off Bloukrans Bridge, the highest bungee jump in the world. It’s just outside of Tsitsikamma near Port Elizabeth. The jumps are operated by Face Adrenaline. They were extremely professional which made the jump easier. For your companions who choose not to jump, there’s a restaurant with TVs through which they can watch you make your jump. This was easily my favorite adventure.
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Hang gliding in Rio
We went hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro. We jumped from Pedra Bonita and landed on the beach. The whole flight lasted about 20 minutes. The jump was a tandem jump and the instructor allowed me to control the hang glider for a few minutes. It was truly thrilling. The views were amazing from up high with the city spread out before us.
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Climbing Kilimanjaro
I climbed to the summit of Kilimanjaro a few years ago. It’s not an activity you decide to do on the spur of the moment. Take at least 6 months to get into physical shape. More importantly, you will also need to mentally prepare. It takes between 4 and 10 days to get to the summit (Uhuru) depending on which route you decide to go through (see my post on climbing Kilimanjaro). Finally making it to the summut was anticlimactic but now I am very proud that I succeeded.
The climb is arduous and I recommend not doing this climb if your heart is not in it.
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Polar plunge
If you are ever on a cruise to Antarctica or the Arctic, a right of passage is jumping from the ship into the icy cold water. DO NOT do this on your own. The expedition team will organize it for the passengers. I did the polar plunge on my cruise to Antarctica. We were done with all the landings and headed back to Argentina. A harness was put on me and I jumped into the water. The harness helps the team pull the passengers back to the cruise ship. The sensation of being freezing cold water with floating icebergs is difficult to convey. When I got out of the water, the wind on my wet skin felt like a thousand ice needles pricking my skin. I am pretty proud of myself for doing it.
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Sand boarding in the Namib
For many years, I dreamed of sand boarding in Namibia in the Namib Desert. I finally made it happen last year when I took my 3.5 month trip around the world. Just outside of Swakopmund, Namibia, the steep sand dunes are perfect for sandboarding. The tour group was divided into novices and experts, with me firmly on the novice side. I fell a lot but I had a blast. The sand is soft so falling is really not painful. Just try to go when it’s Fall or Spring because it can get really hot in the desert.
These are my the most adventurous activities I have been able to cross off my bucket list. There are many more I have done and many many more I hope to do. But I know if you do any of these, you will have enough stories for a lifetime.
