Climbing Kilimanjaro with Roadmonkey

by Kraig Becker on

A few months back we wrote about travel company Roadmonkey, which offered unique travel experiences that combined adventure with the opportunity to leave a lasting impact on the places you visit. For instance, one of their 2009 expeditions is a mountain biking tour through the remote jungles of Vietnam that culminates with a volunteer project to build a farm that will grow fruits and vegetables on the campus of a boarding school in that country.

Their other 2009 expedition combines a project to build a clean water system to a school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with a climb on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Roadmonkey was founded by Paul von Zielbauer, who formerly worked as a war correspondent in Iraq. He is currently in Tanzania and guiding the team up Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. Throughout the trip he is providing regular updates on their progress for the National Geographic Adventure Blog.

The first of Paul’s blog entires can be found here. He reports that the team has arrived in Moshi, Tanzania, where he and nine other adventure travelers were just about to begin their six day trek up the mountain. On the morning that the post was written, it was raining quite hard, but everyone was eager to hit the trail and begin their climb none the less.

Over the course of the expedition, Paul and the others are expected to check-in and report on their progress, both on Kilimanjaro itself, and again while they are working on the new water system. The dispatches should be very interesting to follow and give some good insights what it is like to travel with Roadmonkey. Check in with the NG Adventure blog over the next week or so to follow their progress, and to see “voluntourism” in action.

18 unique travel experiences for the well traveled

by Kraig Becker on

So you think you’ve been everywhere and done everything? Is their something missing when you travel these days? Is the sense of adventure gone? Never fear, because the Times Online has compiled an interesting list of 18 unique travel experiences that are designed to give us a special experience on our getaways.

The suggestions on the list run the gamut from adventurous to decadent to down right surreal. For instance, if you’re headed to southern Africa, then you might want to stay with the bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, where you’ll have the opportunity to go on an initiation hunt and spend the night in their village. If that seems like you might be roughing it a bit too much, than perhaps you’d prefer to spend the night on a private island and go sailing off the coast of Croatia. How about taking an exclusive tour of Nefertari’s Tomb in Egypt, where you’ll be one of just 20 visitors in the soon to be closed monument. Or, how about the workout of a lifetime when you’ll be training with the the toughest rugby team on the planet, New Zealand’s All Blacks, , for one very intense week.

Each of the travel experiences comes with a good description of what you can expect on your unique adventure. A link is included to the travel company that is offering the trip, along with expected prices, in this case listed in pounds. But be warned, these one-of-a-kind experiences don’t come cheap, but how do you put a price tag on this kind of excitement?

Blogger Stephen Greenwood

by Stephen Greenwood on

Introducing another new blogger at Gadling, Stephen Greenwood…

Where was your photo taken? This photo was taken on the way up Kilimanjaro. I had the chance to hike it last November at the end of my stay in Tanzania. It was a great challenge, and a good introduction to trekking above 5,000m.

Where do you live now?. SAR Hong Kong. I’ll be here through the summer, editing a documentary about a failed orphanage in Tanzania.

Scariest airline ever flown? Ethiopian. Not particularly because it felt unsafe, but because I never knew if my bags would make it with me or if my next route would get cancelled without notice.

Favorite city / country / place? I think Stonetown in Zanzibar is pretty high on my list. Its culture, history and location make it a beautiful and complex place.

Most remote corner of the globe visited? I’m hoping it will soon be somewhere in Southeast Asia. As of now: spending a few nights in a Masai village for a rite of passage ceremony, several hours from any major town.

Favorite guidebook series? Sorry to be cliché, but Lonely Planet has led me to some great places.

The ideal vacation is… a small backpack, no electronics, a good travel partner, and a sense of adventure.

Favorite trip? Beside the family trips I took as a kid…When I was 18, I bought a 3-week Greyhound ticket with unlimited stops. I started from San Diego and worked my way as far Northeast as Boston and back through the South. I spent hours talking to some of the most interesting people in the country…people with stories that you just wouldn’t find using any other mode of transportation. It was great.

Other jobs? I work as a freelance designer & videojournalist. I’m also just starting to work with nonprofits to provide them with fundraising videos.

Celebrity you’d most like to sit next to in first class? Steve Jobs.

The dangers of the Grand Canyon

by Kraig Becker on

Considering that this is a fee free weekend in all national parks in the U.S., I would imagine that many people will be heading out to to take advantage of the Park Services’ generosity. No doubt many will be headed to the Grand Canyon, which is the second most visited park in the country, but as this article from the AP points out, it can be a very dangerous place for the unprepared.

According to the story, rangers at the Grand Canyon perform more rescues every year than any other park, including 300 helicopter evacuations a year. Many more are treated for exhaustion and dehydration, mostly because they come unprepared for the challenges of hiking in the dry, hot, canyon that is a difficult trek for anyone. Many suffer more serious injuries, such as broken bones and heart attacks.

The overwhelming majority of visitors, as much as 90% according to the NPS, begin their day at the South Rim. Many of them are caught off guard by the fact that the temperature at the canyon floor is actually 20 degrees warmer than it is at the rim, where they start the day. This unexpectedly intense heat, mixed with the exertion of the climb back out of the canyon, is what causes many of the problems for unprepared hikers.

So, if your weekend plans include a visit to the Grand Canyon, take plenty of water, go slow, and take time to enjoy the scenery. After all, you wouldn’t want to be one of those 300 people who need to catch a ride on a helicopter.

Five national parks to hit this weekend

by Kraig Becker on

Yesterday we mentioned that the National Park Service has waived all entry fees to every national park this weekend, and while that may increase the crowds in places like Yellowstone and Yosemite, there are still plenty of great parks that you can visit that will remain quiet. Here are five suggestions on where to take dad this weekend and still avoid the crowds.

Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Located in the southwest corner of South Dakota, Badlands National Park offers spectacular scenery and a surprising array of activities to keep you occupied. The windswept landscapes range from towering jagged rock spires and winding canyons to open grasslands and and miles of prairie. The Badlands also contain a huge fossil bed dating back more than 30 million years, giving visitors the opportunity to peek back in time to an era when long extinct animals still roamed the area. Today, the park is home to a large herd of bison, plenty of big horn sheep, and the endangered black footed ferret, amongst other species of wildlife.

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico
The National Park system is home to one of the most spectacular cave systems found anywhere in the world in the form of Carlsbad Caverns, located in the far southeast section of New Mexico. With its 94 individual caves, carved from the limestone that is prominent in the region, the Carlsbad Caverns are otherworldly in their beauty. The underground labyrinth is filled with narrow, twisting passages as well as large chambers and open passageways. Perhaps the most spectacular is the Big Room, which is 8.2 acres in size, handicap accessible, and well lit with electric lights. The more adventurous will want to sign up for one of the tours that will take them deeper into the Earth, where they’ll make their way with headlamps into seldom visited dark crevasses.Crater Lake, Oregon
Located deep within the Cascade Mountain range, Crater Lake was formed when water from retreating glaciers in the last ice age, filled in the caldera of an extinct volcano. The lake is six miles across and more than 2000 feet in depth, making it the deepest in the U.S. It also happens to sits at the middle of 250 square miles of pristine wilderness that is the perfect outdoor playground. Hikers and backpackers will find plenty to love on the spectacular trails, and SCUBA divers have been known to plunge deep into the lake’s crystal clear blue waters. In the winter, the hiking gives way to skiing and snowshoeing as well.

Congaree, South Carolina
South Carolina is home to the remains of the largest old-growth floodplain forest in North America. Conagree National Park covers more than 22,000 acres and is home to 75 species of ancient trees, earning it a designation as a International Biosphere Reserve. Visitors can stroll beneath one of the world’s highest natural canopies along 20 miles of trail. But to really explore this park you’ll want to break out a canoe or kayak, and paddle deep into the interior. The park offers free guided tours on most weekends, although an advanced reservation is required. Birdwatchers will enjoy Congaree as well, with its plethora of birdlife, and white tailed deer, raccoons, and otters are also frequently spotted.

Great Basin, Nevada
Don’t be fooled by the desert location of Great Basin National Park, it is far from a dry, dead wasteland as many believe. In fact, the park is alive with plants and animals, and is accented by snow capepd Wheeler Peak, which stands over 13,000 feet in height. The best way to explore Great Basin is on foot, and there are plenty of great hiking trails to take you past the parks top attractions, such as the 5000 year old bristlecone pine trees and the six-story tall Lexington Arch Trail. If you do go to Great Basin, be sure to stick around after dark, as the view of the night sky is spectacular, with the Mikly Way on full display.

These are just a few of the many national parks and monuments that will be fee free this weekend. To find others, be sure to head to NPS.gov to checkout the options close to you.