Video of the Day: Hidden Horizons

by Jake Thiewes on



Note: Beginning of video contains language that may be offensive to some viewers.

When was the last time you thought, “I should just pack up and go somewhere“? Did you ever act on the thought? One Redditor actually did.

Only going by “zonz1,” they claim to be 26 and to have spent their life savings of roughly $20,000 to take a year off and travel the world. The list of stops is exhaustive and includes Peru, Bolivia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Ireland and Denmark.

We’d love to feature your photos and videos on Gadling, so please add them to our Flickr Pool (with Creative Commons licensing!), tag @GadlingTravel on Instagram or email us at OfTheDay@gadling.com.

Couple to visit most of planet on 424 day tour

by Chris Owen on

Darren and Sandy Van Soye, a couple from Southern California, have started on a global adventure to raise awareness about world geography and make the subject more accessible to children. Visiting fifty countries on six continents in 424 days, they will share the journey with more than 700 classrooms representing 50,000 students.

“Our dream is to educate children about geography and world cultures so we’ve planned the ultimate trek around the world to do just that,” said Sandy Van Soye.

Chronicling the journey on their TrekkingthePlanet web site, they were inspired to plan the year+ trip after experiencing first-hand the positive impact of a previous family journey around the globe. Traveling a total of 12 legs by rail, bus, air and ship, they plan to see some of the most remote and unspoiled places in the world, by visiting sites of cultural and natural significance, to instill a greater awareness and curiosity about Earth geography in as many people as possible.

To make efficient use of their time and set an eco-friendly travel example, several legs of the journey will be traveled using Princess cruise ships.

“We wanted to use cruise ships as part of our travel method because they offer an efficient way to reach all the different stops on our voyage while minimizing our global footprint,” said Sandy in a statement.

Their full at-sea travel itinerary incorporates five different Princess Cruises voyages, totaling 96 days sea. Both the first and last legs of their journey, plus three legs in between, will be aboard a Princess cruise ship.
“We frequently hear stories from travelers who cruise to accomplish a goal – from celebrating milestones with family members to crossing something off their bucket list,” said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises executive vice president. “Sandy and Darren are a great example of how cruise travel can be both relaxing and rewarding. We’re inspired by their story and we’re honored they’ve chosen Princess to help them achieve their trekking goals.”

Their full 424-day itinerary is available on their web site, where they will be journaling their trip and fans can also follow them on Facebook.

The Van Soyes will complete their global journey in March 2013.


Flickr photo by epitomized1

Around the world in 65 days on green sea-monster

by Abha Malpani on

“Holy crap!” was my first reaction when I saw this sensational picture of Earthrace, the world’s first 100% bio-diesel power boat that will circumnavigate the world early next year.

Built at a cost of $3 million by New-Zealand skipper Pete Bethune, if it manages this undertaking in under 75 days (the previous record held by a British boat called Cable and Wireless in 1998), it will be the first time this has been done using 100% renewable fuel. Their target is to complete the route in 65 days.

Earthrace’s environmental objective is to spread the vision of a world that uses sustainable resources (e.g. bio-fuels) by demonstrating the power, reliability and safety of bio-diesel so as to prove it as a viable alternative to petroleum diesel.

With it’s special design and engineering, the boat is one of the fastest and greenest boats on the planet that will be covering a distance of 24,000 nautical miles, making the feat the world’s longest race.

The boat is low emission, non-toxic, antifoul and as an efficient hull design. The graphics on the boat are done by a Maori tattoo artist and the symbols represent the environment and the positive/negative influence of human interaction with the environment.

Earthrace is currently on a promotional tour in Europe where you can get up-close-and-personal with the boat and attend environmental education lectures in schools. The boat will begin it’s adventure from Valencia on March 1, 2008.

[Via Telegraph: Earthrace — the green machine]