Adventure Start

Welcome to Adventure Start

A blog dedicated to seeking out and finding some of the worlds most exciting adventures

Favela Tours

While not everyone’s cup of tea, for those seeking a bit of adventure while being reminded of how many people in the world live in poverty, take a favela tour.

A favela is the Brazilian equivalent of a shanty town, which is generally found on the edge of the city. They have electricity, but often not formally.

Favelas are constructed from a variety of materials, ranging from bricks to garbage. Many favelas are very close and very cramped. They are plagued by sewage, crime and hygiene problems. Although many of the most infamous are located in Rio de Janeiro, there are favelas in almost every large Brazilian town. In Rio one in every four Cariocas (as the inhabitants are called) lives in a slum.

For additional information, click here

Sleep off the Beaten Path - Extreme Lodging

In an effort to step off the beaten path, I encourage everyone to stay in a hotel or bed and breakfast that isn’t on the typical tourist brochure.

Some examples of such exotic lodging:

The Northern Rail Train car Bed and Breakfast
This B&B features 18 elegant northwoods, Victorian, oriental & safari themed guestrooms housed in actual train cars and connected by a charming enclosed platform.

Costa Rica Tree House Lodge
This Tree House has two rooms and can sleep up to 6 people. The upstairs room has a private bathroom and a twin bed and the bathroom is built around a 100+ year-old tree, which is still growing around the house.

Jules’ Undersea Lodge
To enter the Lodge, one must actually scuba dive 21 feet beneath the surface of the sea. Jules’ really is underwater. Diving through the tropical mangrove habitat of the Emerald Lagoon and approaching the world’s only underwater hotel is quite an experience.

For more great exotic lodging, visit Extreme Lodging

AJ Hackett Cairns - World Class Bungy Jumping

The spectacular site in Cairns is a very special place, featuring the worlds first purpose built tower for Bungy Jumping and the only bungy operation on the planet that offers 16 different jump styles from traditional swan dives to riding off the roof on a BMX Bike.

The tower has been constructed 20 minutes north of Cairns in the middle of the rainforest. Featuring a pond below for water touches, waterfalls and Australian wildlife such as snakes, goannas and native birds.

From the top you can see out over the Northern Beaches and out to the Great Barrier Reef, so when you’re on the edge ready to jump suck in the view as it looks quite different on the rebound!

AJ Hackett Cairns
McGregor Road, Smithfield
PO Box 700, Smithfield QLD 4878
BOOKINGS: +61 (0)7 4057 7188
FREECALL: 1800 622 888 (Aust only)

Click here to visit official website

Tiger’s Nest Monastery

Taktshang is the most famous of monasteries in Bhutan. It hangs on a cliff at 3,120 metres (10,200 feet), some 700 meters (2,300 feet) above the bottom of Paro valley. Famous visitors include Ngawang Namgyal in the 17th century and Milarepa.

The name means "Tiger's nest", the legend being that Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) flew there on the back of a tiger. The monastery includes seven temples which can all be visited. The monastery suffered several blazes and is a recent restoration. Climbing to the monastery is on foot or mule.

Bhutan

For more information - search "Bhutan tours"

Zero Gravity Flight - Like Nothing on Earth!

The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fly like Superman can now be yours. Train with an expert coach, board a specially modified aircraft the G-FORCE ONE, and experience the unforgettable.

Experience zero gravity the only way possible without going to space. Parabolic flight is the same method NASA has used to train its astronauts for the last 45 years and the same way Tom Hanks floated in Apollo 13.

Book a seat on one of the regular flights conveniently based in Las Vegas, Nevada and at the Kennedy Space Center, near Orlando, Florida.

Zero Gravity Corporation
5275 Arville Street, Suite 116
Las Vegas, NV 89118
1-800-937-6480

Click here to visit official website
http://www.gozerog.com

Check out the video!

Adventure comes at a cost - Success

World class Black Marlin Fishing

Cairns, Queensland, Australia became the Sport Fishing capital of the world for the mighty “Grander” Black Marlin on the 25th of September 1966, when American crewman Richard C. Obach landed a World Record 1064# Black Marlin on 80# test line. Not only was this the first Grander Black Marlin caught in Cairns but also the first Thousand Pound Marlin of any kind caught on 80# test line anywhere in the world. This made international Sportsfishing history for Cairns and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef region. Big Game Fishermen from all over the world flocked to Cairns in subsequent years, with hundreds succeeding in capturing their dream Billfish.

World record billfish, including the mighty Black Marlin and the acrobatic Sailfish are to be found in the rich waters off the Outer Barrier Reef. Whether light tackle world record sport fishing, fly fishing, tournament marlin fishing or conventional heavy tackle marlin fishing, Cairns is the place to be when the mighty black marlin migrate to their spawning grounds off the outer barrier reef between Cairns and Lizard Island. The Cairns fleet of modern sport fishing boats and their professional Captains and crews have led the world in Billfish Tag and Release fishing since the 1970’s. This continued practice and the consequent research has seen the past five years being the best Black Marlin fishing for twenty years. The majority of these crews are members of the Cairns Professional Game Fishing Association with a code of practice they strictly adhere to.

Australian Fishing Expeditions
Julie & Laurie Wright
PO Box 18
Malanda QLD 4885 Australia
07 40952260
Int 61 740952260

Click here to visit official website

Glacier Dog Sled Tours

Glacier Dog Sled Tours, The Oldest Glacier Dog Mushing operation and only Helicopter Dog Mushing operator in Seward, Alaska.

Pristine beauty, majestic mountains and ancient glaciers are seemingly within arm's reach as you near your destination... the Godwin Glacier! A breathtaking view of Resurrection Bay and glacier-carved mountains unfold to this unspoiled wilderness, home to mountain goats, bears, moose and eagles that may be spotted along the way.

On the glacier, wait to share an essential part of Alaskan culture . . . Alaska dog mushing! Experienced guides explain that Seward, Alaska was the historical start of the famous Iditarod Sled Dog Trail. Hear unique personal accounts of their own Iditarod races and back country experiences. As they answer your questions you feel the excitement as the team is hooked up, then... you're off!

Imagine yourself standing on the runners of a dog sled with a team of huskies loping across the ancient snowfield nestled among the peaks of the Chugach range. The lure of the trail and thrill of driving a dog team creates the ultimate Alaskan vacation!

Godwin Glacier Dog Sled Tours
P.O. Box 2711
Seward, AK 99664
T 907-224-8239

Click here to visit official website

Explore Middle Earth - Mammoth Cave

The first hour of the trip consists of walking, crawling and squeezing through the historic "Mammoth Cave" area. Then groups pass through the "Middle Earth" area which was discovered in 1980.

Here there is mostly walking through nearly knee deep, sticky cave clay (high top shoes are a must) and the scenery is incredibly beautiful. The remainder of the trip consists of exploring the horizontal fissures in the "Cave of the Quills" area and a quick, 70-foot rafting trip across "Tom's Lake." The trip concludes with passages filled with "goo," more beautiful crystalline rooms, and then ascending ladders to sunshine and showers.

Get your adrenalin pumping on our thrilling and challenging underground adventures.

Underground Adventures
P. O. Box 78, Vallecito, CA 95251
209 736-2708

Click here for official website

South Africa Sardine Run - The "Real" Greatest Show on Earth

The Sardine Run occurs between May and July along the East coast of South Africa when millions of sardines move up northwards. The sheer numbers create a feeding frenzy along the coastline in what is one of the largest marine events in the world. This has been dubbed "the greatest shoal on earth" by the Kwazulu-Natal tourist board.

The sardines spawn in the cool waters of the Agulhas Bank through spring and early summer. Most of the fish stay in the cooler waters of the Atlantic Ocean and end up along the west coast of Africa.

It is thought that the run containing millions of individual sardines occurs when a current of cold water heads north from the Agulhas Bank up to Mozambique where it then leaves the coast line and goes further East out into the Indian Ocean.

For more information on dive packages, contact UnrealDive Expeditions
US - (Tel) 1 (888) 334 6347
South Africa - (Tel) 27 21 425 5375