Kayak the Yasawa Islands

 

Sea kayaking isn't supposed to be a life-and-death struggle with massive waves, freezing sea spray and fun in short supply. Sea kayaking should be paddling the placid bluer-than-blue waters of the Yasawa Islands. Nothing but sun, sand, blue sky and you.

Distance: Four to Eleven Days 

Location: Fiji

Ideal Time Commitment: Two Weeks

Best Time of Year: May to October

Essential Tip: Swimming is a great way to get ready for long distance sea kayaking trips- It strengthens your shoulders and prepares you for all the snorkeling action! 

• Feeling the soft sand squish between your toes as you set foot on yet another private island hidden from the rest of the world.
• Hearing the gentle sounds of the South Pacific lapping against the shore of your own deserted desert island. 
• Marveling at the seemingly millions of fish at play among the coral reef as you snorkel around.
• Tasting that strange brew kava, and reeling the relaxing effects as it washes a day of hard kayaking from your muscles.

Compromising around 20 islands, the Yasawas are tailor-made for paddling exploration and are well suited for those who like camping.
Some islands will have welcoming locals who'll offer you a drink of kava or shout a friendly greeting "Bula!" as you pass by. Other islands you'll have all to yourself.
While it's easy to find kayaking day trips, getting hooked into a longer trip is a taller order. That's what sets this trip apart from other tropical sea-kayak adventures: the opportunity to get into the rhythm of camping on a different island every night.
If azure blue water, white-sand beaches and kayaking around the quiet backwaters of the South Pacific without another group in sight sounds like your sort of thing, then this is the trip for you.

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Drive the World's Deadliest Road

 

 

Known in Bolivia as El Camino De La Muerte ("The road of death"), this crude stretch of road marks a spectacular descent from the Bolivian Andes to the floor of the Amazon basin. Treacherously plunging 3000M in just 70 KM, this is one of the world's epic drives.

Distance: 69KM

Elevation: 4650M to 1604M

Location: La Paz, Bolivia

Ideal Time Commitment: A few harrowing hours of your life

Best Time of Year: May to October

• Hurtling yourself down the deadliest road in the world, ludicrous speeds, while on the back of a mountain bike.
• Resettling the nerves after your hazardous descent in the sleepy town of Coroico, perched mid-hilltop and boasting wholesale views of cloud-draped valleys and Andean peaks.
• Wandering La Paz's Mercado de Herchiceria (Witches' Market) - filled with herbs, potions and the occasional llama foetus.
• Macheteing your way through the depths of the Amazon jungle near the town of Rurrenabaque.

Built by prisoners during the 1932-35 Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay, for 80 years this thin scar etched into the mountain flanks was the only way down into the northern Yunas region of Bolivia. Unfortunately,  traveling along its length is as precarious as it is stunning.
The road has its own rules: downhill drivers always have the right of way - forcing faster vehicles to slow and find a spot wide enough to allow trucks and buses to shimmy past. Barely a whisker stands between them and a plunge to the canyon floor.
The three-hour journey down to Coroico is truly breathtaking - passing from cool Altiplano terrain to subtropical rainforest, through dense clouds and waterfall spray, all to a backdrop of grand Andean summits and canyons plunging deep into the earth. Whether the views justify the mediocre odds of completing the journey in one piece, however, is another matter altogether.

Walk Turkey's Lycian Way

Take a hike on a trail that traces the Eastern Mediterranean Coast neighboring turquoise waters, traditional farming, villages, wildflower-strewn hillsides and the relics of ancient civilizations.

Distance: 509KM 

Ideal Time Commitment: 3-6 Weeks

Location: Teke Peninsula, Turkey 

Best Time of Year: Late January-February, May to June, September to October 

• Wander among the empty stone houses of "ghost village", the whisper of what was once a thriving Greek town
• Pick your way between rock-hewn Lycian graves to discover the Greco-Roman theatre at Myra
• Get to know the locals-meet families along the trail
• Marvel at the ancient castle, harbour and sunken ruins at Ucagiz

As early as 4000 years ago, the mountainous Teke Peninsula was inhabited by the Lukka whose tombs still stud the coastline.

Though this is one of the world's most famous trails, it is not officially maintained. Hotels, pensions and simple guesthouses provide most accommodation, but in some spots wild camping and stays in village houses are the only option.

Track your progress not in kilometres, but in many tiny personal landmarks that punctuate the trail in your memory: the tangy cheese and olives for breakfast, the fragranced zephyr wafting from the empty cove, an impromptu swim in a rocky pool

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