Adventures for women

by Neil Woodburn on

Female over 30 seeking adventure and good times.

This might sound like a personal ad for an online dating service, but in reality it’s the cry of an oft-neglected travel niche: the female adventure traveler.

There aren’t too many travel outfitters that specialize in women who would rather kayak in Greenland than shop in Paris. But, they do exist.

One of the most established ones is Adventure Women. This very cool outfitter has been around for 26 years and serves up adventures for “women traveling solo, or with sisters, mothers, daughters, and friends.” In other words, no dudes allowed–nor for that matter, prissy girls.

That’s because the women who sign up for these “small, congenial, non-smoking groups” are those that seek far more from a vacation than just sitting on the beach and ordering room service. Instead, these are women turned on by bear sightings, rafting in the Grand Canyon, trekking in the Himalayas, going on safari in Botswana, and more. Oh, and they have to be over 30.

If that’s you, consider a different vacation this year where you take off with the girls and leave your man at home watching the game. It’s a win-win situation if you ask me!

World’s best adventure travel outfitters

by Neil Woodburn on

There are a lot of travel outfitters vying for your business. But, who to trust? Which outfitter is going to go that extra step to make sure your accommodations are comfortable enough, your food is tasty enough and your adventure is adventurous enough?

With the understanding that so many people are taking chances with random travel outfitters located haphazardly online, the fine folks at National Geographic Adventure have put together a very cool search engine that rates 157 of the best players out there.

Interested adventurers can search based upon Sustainability, Client Expertise, Quality of Service, Spirit of Adventure, Education, and Best Overall. The ratings can also be broken out by activities, and most importantly, destinations.

In case you’re wondering, the highest scoring overall outfitter is Mark Thornton Safaris, which pulled in a 97.7 score out of 100. According to National Geographic Adventure, “This small Tanzania-only outfitter caps its clientele at 100 per year and delivers unparalleled intimacy on its bush treks across the Serengeti–all of which are led by a team of Maasai warriors and Thornton himself, a ten-year safari guide. His trips are part luxury camping, part field ecology course, and part raw adventure.”

Very cool!

War in Panama: attack of the sandflies

by Iva Skoch on

Yes, these are my legs. Yes, they have seen better days. I woke up a couple of nights ago and counted 85 sandfly bites on my left calf alone. I don’t understand why I don’t see anyone else chewed to pieces. Why do they love me so much?

Last week, I spent trekking through the Corcovadorainforest in Costa Rica and didn’t get a single bite. I was ready to fight mosquitoes in Panama’s Bocas del Toro, but I wasn’t prepared for sandflies! They have mosquito nets here but those pose no problem for sandflies. The sandfly is basically invisible, doesn’t make a noise, is about a quarter of the size of a mosquito and much faster. By the time you feel them biting you, they are gone. If there is a definition of irregular warfare, this must be damn close.

I brought repellent (40% DEET) and have been using it religiously during my hikes through the jungle. I should have been better about putting it on at night, I guess. That’s when sandflies attack. Apparently, most sandflies are harmless (except for the really itchy bites) but some carry the parasite Leishmaniasis, which can result in ugly sores, scars and if left untreated, death.* That does not sound like fun. Meanwhile, I am putting all my energy into NOT scratching.

* I find that 5 to 6 bottles of Panama beer makes one forget about the imminent death by tropical parasites.

A Bittersweet Reminder of Global Warming

by Brett Atkinson on

Excuse my absence from Gadling for the last couple of months. but I’ve been discovering what’s new and different in the South Island of New Zealand for the next edition of Lonely Planet’s guide to my home country. Normally my LP ventures with laptop and notebook take me overseas, but it’s been kind of cool to poke around off the beaten track in my own backyard.

Between being surprised by the increasing number of great Kiwi microbrews and dangling off a hang glider above Queenstown, the most bittersweet memory is an excursion by inflatable boat onto the waters of Lake Tasman. The lake’s just three decades old, and its increasing size is being fuelled as global warming melts the Tasman Glacier, still New Zealand’s largest river of alpine ice, but 5 km shorter than it was 30 years ago.

The lake’s now a similar length and dotted with icebergs of all shapes and sizes that are continually rearranged by the mountain winds like giant floating chess pieces. The crystalline ice is up to 500 years old, and a lack of air bubbles trapped from earlier centuries produces an almost diamond hardness.

Out on the lake, a surprising late spring overnight snowfall had settled on the icy monoliths, and the gossamer sprinkling was enough to disturb the delicate balance of several icebergs that turned and rebalanced during the early morning.

Beautiful yes, but also a poignant and tangible reinforcement of the impact of climate change.

Valley of the Geysers not entirely destroyed

by Neil Woodburn on

Last June we reported the sad news that a landslide wiped out one of Russia’s most outstanding natural attractions: the Valley of the Geysers.

Although hardly known outside of Russia, this amazing valley, located in the heart of Kamchatka, was home to more than 90 active geysers before a mile-wide mudslide buried it forever–or so the reports at the time led us to believe.

Visitors to the scene–accessible only by helicopter–are now reporting that parts of the valley and its heralded geysers have actually survived. Thanks to a very detailed report by Spanishflyer on LiveJournal.com, we can now see for ourselves what was destroyed and what was spared by Mother Nature’s wrath. A combination of satellite and aerial photos as well as digital imagery clearly shows the path of the mudslide, the geysers destroyed, and the flooding which occurred when the nearby river was dammed by the mud.

The result is a severely damaged Valley of the Geysers that looks like it is still an amazing place to visit–albeit extraordinarily expensive to do so.

If you have the time, be sure to check out the website for a depressing feel for how fickle and temporal our natural world can be.