Climb Kilimanjaro with Polarmax’s ultimate adventure sweepstakes

by Kraig Becker on

Standing 19,340-feet in height, Mt. Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa, and a popular destination for adventure travelers. The climb to the summit is a non-technical, but still challenging, affair that will take your breath away as much for the spectacular views of the Serengeti below, as for the thin air at the top. For many, a Kili climb is a once in a lifetime adventure, and now, thanks to Polarmax, you could make the journey yourself.

The company has joined forces with Backpacker Magazine, Cotton Incorporated, and Zara Tours to bring us the Kilimanjaro Ultimate Adventure Sweepstakes which will send one lucky winner, and their guest, to Tanzania in January of 2011 to attempt to climb the mountain. The grand prize includes round trip airfare to Africa, ground transportation while there, four nights stay in a hotel, and a six day Kilimanjaro climb guided by Kili expert Macon Dunnagan. The sweepstakes winner will also be outfitted with plenty of Polarmax gear to keep them comfortable and warm while on the trek, and a custom video of the expedition will be shot for the Polarmax website as well.

To enter the contest, simply go to this page and fill out the entry form. Entries are being accepted through October 11, with travel scheduled to take place January 7-17, 2011. This is a great opportunity to experience one of the best adventure travel options on the planet, and entering the contest couldn’t be any easier.

For an idea of what to expect on this adventure, check out the video below.

CheapOair, Lonely Planet and South African Airways team up for Twitter contest

by Scott Carmichael on

Online travel firm CheapOair has joined forces with Lonely Planet and South African Airways to host a Twitter based contest.

Between now and August 30, they’ll give away one Lonely Planet South Africa guidebook every day – and at the end of the contest, the winners will be entered into a random drawing for two round trip tickets to South Africa.

Entering is simple – every day, the CheapOair Twitter account will post a question, all you need to do is correctly answer this question, and tag your post with the hashtag #COASA. You can increase your chance of winning by signing up for their newsletter, which also enters you in the grand prize contest.

The daily Twitter winners will be announced before 12PM ET the following day. The winner of the grand prize will be announced on the CheapOair blog on August 31. Plane tickets to South Africa usually go for around $1500, so this is a fantastic way to visit this amazing country without raiding your bank account. Good luck!

Tanzania approves new highway across Serengeti

by Kraig Becker on

Despite protests from environmental activists and conservationists from around the globe, the Tanzanian government has approved a $480 million project that will include building a highway through the Serengeti that will pass directly through the route of the Great Migration, a natural annual event that sees millions of animals pass between the country’s Serengeti National Park and Kenya’s Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

The new road is expected to be the busiest in northern Tanzania once it is complete, linking up the towns of Arusha and Musoma. The government has repeatedly said that it is necessary to continue the growth of trade in that area, allowing the nation’s economy to expand. Meanwhile, wildlife experts have expressed concerns from the moment the project was announced back in May, fearing the increased traffic will disrupt the largest animal migration on the planet. As a compromise, the plan has been adjusted so that a 50km section which passes through the migration route will now not be paved all, but will instead remain a gravel road.

The Serengeti is Tanzania’s number one tourist attraction, bringing thousands of visitors each year and generating millions of dollars in revenues for the country. Most come to take in the spectacular wildlife, which includes more than 2 million wildebeests who drive the annual migration. They are joined by thousands of zebras, elephants, and giraffes, as well as predators such as hyenas and lions, as they make a seasonal move that coincides with the changing of the wet and dry seasons, and the shift in location of food and water sources.

Having witnessed the migration first hand and explored the Serengeti personally, I can say that this news saddens me quite a bit. It is one of my favorite places on the planet, and the thought of anything negatively impacting the natural environment there is disheartening to say the least. Hopefully the increased traffic will do little to impact the animals, but I can’t help but think that this is yet another example of man encroaching on one of the last great wildernesses on Earth.

There’s a (foreign) word for that

by Meg Nesterov on

When traveling to a new place or leafing through a phrase book, have you ever come across a great expression that doesn’t exist in English or perfectly describes a common feeling or occurrence? I remember learning in Chile that taco is used for a traffic jam; now I could use taco supreme to describe the city of Istanbul’s daily traffic flow.

I Never Knew There Was a Word for it, a new book by Adam Jacot de Boinod, compiles his earlier works about foreign words The Meaning of Tingo and sequel Toujours Tingo with his collection of odd or out of use English words and phrases, The Wonder of Whiffling. Gadling reviewed de Boinod’s first book and highlighted some great phrases such as the French Seigneur-terrasse (one who spends too much time but little money in a café) and the German backpfeifengesicht (face that cries out for a fist in it), and this collection provides even more linguistic fodder.

Many travelers can admit to being guilty of catra patra, Turkish for speaking a foreign language badly and brokenly. Long-term travelers may have inadvertently pulled a minggat, an Indonesian phrase for leaving home forever without saying goodbye. How about spending time in a bar with a shot-clog, a drinking companion only tolerated because he’s buying the rounds? Perhaps that same bar buddy is crambazzled, or prematurely aged due to drinking?A few more great travel-related idioms:

  • asusu (Boro, India) — to feel like a stranger in a strange land
  • wewibendam (Ojibway, North America) — being in a hurry to get home
  • far-lami (Old Icelandic) — unable to go further on a journey
  • nochschlepper (Yiddish) — unwanted follower; literally, someone who drags along after someone else
  • Tapetenwechsel (German) — wanderlust, wanting a change of scenery; literally a change of wallpaper

And one more just for the Eat, Pray, Love fans…

  • Henkyoryugaku (Japanese) — Describes young women who rebel against social norms and travel abroad to devote time to an eccentric art form, such as Balinese dancing; Literally, study abroad in the wild.

Those are a few of the wonderful words and expressions in this collection currently for sale in the UK or on Kindle. Never suffer from onomatomania (frustration in not finding the correct word) again.

Epic cycling tour comes to North America

by Kraig Becker on

Tour d’Afrique Ltd., the adventure travel company that organizes some of the best cycling tours on the planet, has announced the latest addition to their catalog, and this time they’re bringing their magic to North America. This new ride is aptly named The North American Epic, and when it launches next May, it will cover nearly 5000 miles, stretching from the Pacific Coast of California to the Atlantic Coast of Canada’s Newfoundland.

The North American Epic gets underway on May 29th from San Francisco, and immediately proceeds south along the Pacific Coast, before the riders turn east, heading into the desert. From there it’s on to the Grand Canyon, and the Four Corners of Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, before tackling the Rocky Mountains themselves. The tour continues into the American Heartland, taking the legendary Route 66 east across Missouri and Illinois, then turning northward toward Michigan and the Great Lakes region, before finally crossing the border into Canada. Cycling through Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec, before proceeding up the scenic St. Lawrence Sea Way, the riders will experience plenty of Canadian hospitality before the ride finally comes to an end in St. Johns, Newfoundland on the 28th of August.

This three month long cycling tour features 76 days in the saddle, along with 16 rest days, and costs $9950 for the complete ride. But as with all their tours, Tour d’Afrique Ltd. offers cyclists various options for riding shorter sub-sections of the entire route. In the case of this tour, there are five shorter segments that can be ridden in any combination as well, allowing those with time constraints to take part in this great new tour too.

And for adventure cyclists looking for something a bit more exotic, check out the company’s 44 day ride along the Silk Road or their 80 day tour of South America. But for something really adventurous, go for the flagship ride, the Tour d’Afrique, which is 120 days in length and runs from Cairo to Cape Town.

[Photo credit: Tour d’Afrique Ltd.]