| Adventure
sports were probably born out of a need for providing a race steeped in
decadence with an outlet to express its most basic of instincts - the
need to pit itself against nature. Because thrilling as clambering up
the corporate ladder may be, it can't help but pale before the rush you
get from scaling a mountain face or plunging down a deep valley.
Presenting the extremest of adventure sports, and the best places for
indulging in them.
BUNGEE JUMPING
You
stand on the ledge, the wind blowing against your face. Every instinct
in your head tells you to close your eyes, begging in little screams to
do anything but look at what lies in store for you below. You can
chicken out, sure, but that won't look very good before your friends
once you're back. Your bungee instructor grunts impatiently, and a few
seconds later, you are dropping to the ground at 300 miles an hour - the
wind howling against your ears. A word of advice: Don't look before you
leap.You stand on the ledge, the wind blowing against your
face. Every instinct in your head tells you to close your eyes, begging
in little screams to do anything but look at what lies in store for you
below. You can chicken out, sure, but that won't look very good before
your friends once you're back. Your bungee instructor grunts
impatiently, and a few seconds later, you are dropping to the ground at
300 miles an hour - the wind howling against your ears. A word of
advice: Don't look before you leap.
VILLARRICA VOLCANO, CHILE: While
it's a known fact that bungee jumping isn't for the fainthearted,
taking on Chile's Villarrica Volcano would make even the courageous stop
for a rethink. A chopper lifts you 10,000 feet in the air before
perching itself over the active volcano, located near Pucon. Suppose you
jump (there's a good chance you may decide against it), the cord lets
you drop till you are a measly 700 feet above the smouldering pool of
molten lava. But wait, the experience does not end with the bungee jump.
Even as you start breathing again, the chopper transports you to an
airport 35 miles away - still dangling from the cord! Cost: $9,995,
inclusive of lodging at Hotel del Lago Resort & Casino.
ICE CLIMBING
What
if you had existed in 1250 CE, and clambering up frozen mountain faces
was the only way to get around? The wheel of time can't be reversed, but
this activity may just give you a taste of an age where life was a
continual battle between man and nature. For ice climbers, every inch
ascended is an inch conquered, and the feeling you get when you have
climbed to its very pinnacle is the stuff of poetry. A complete package
of untamed exhilaration, you have to contend with sub-zero temperatures,
freezing winds, extremely low visibility and slippery rock faces that
threaten to send you tumbling into the yawning chasm below.EIDFJORD, NORWAY:
This ice-climbing Mecca was a secret to the world until recently, and
even today, only a few routes up its icy slopes have actually been
traversed. With ice routes up to 500 metres long and a stunning
landscape of sea and mountains, Eidfjord titillates your finer
sensibilities just as much as it brings out the adventurer in you. Its
icefalls, on the other hand, are nothing short of a climber's dream -
providing the perfect setting for the ultimate test of your courage and
skills. While the pickaxe and rope are mandatory for taking on Eidfjord,
don't forget to keep your wits around you too. Cost: 3,000 NOK per day,
excluding climbing equipment, rental gear, lodging and travel
insurance.
WHITE WATER RAFTING
There
is something about the mountain river that enthralls man and beast
alike - gushing its way around rocks in a manner that casts a shadow of
fear on the hardiest of adventurers. It's a veritable force of nature,
threatening to take everything in its way on a bone-rattling journey
that culminates in a frothy explosion of white and blue at the bottom of
a beautiful waterfall. Now, imagine yourself with a few friends in a
small raft - hanging on for dear life as the river speeds you through
the journey of a lifetime. Survive the experience, and you will remember
it for the rest of your years. NORTH JOHNSTONE, OZ: A torrential river
that carves its way through a spectacular volcanic gorge, North
Johnstone is surrounded by ancient rainforests that have been preserved
for ages - allowing rafters a rare glimpse of the most exotic flora and
fauna while battling frothing waters that threaten to sink their shell
with every turn. The four-day expedition is an exercise in extreme
exotica - be it the exhilarating helicopter ride to the location, four
days of battling gigantic Grade 5 rapids or camping three nights under
starlit skies. Cost: $1,400 per adult for the entire four-day North
Johnstone River Heli Raft Expedition
SHARK CAGE DIVING
Remember
the time you watched Steven Spielberg's Jaws, the cinematic masterpiece
that turned the great white shark into a regular boogeyman for the
American public? Well, if you don't mind going a step further to
actually living the horror, this may be just the adventure for you.
Shark cage diving involves being put into a small steel enclosure, which
is then dropped into a portion of the sea densely populated with great
whites. The closest you can come to the ravenous creatures and their
much-feared fangs without actually getting devoured, it is advisable
that you say your prayers (and get your cardiac functions checked)
before trying this one out.GAANSBAI, SOUTH AFRICA: If
you are a shark cage diving enthusiast, the best place to head to would
be Gansbaai at South Africa's Shark Alley - a channel of water between
Dyer Island and Geyser Rock. A place where you will face the darkest of
aquatic fears, organisers ensure that you come within nudging distance
of ravenous great whites. But if your nerves aren't willing, you could
still get your fill of them through underwater telescopes. Or, you could
simply sit back on the deck of a boat and keep an eye out for whales,
penguins or the 60,000 fur seals inhabiting the area. Cost: Widely
varies from agency to agency
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