Travel + Leisure Advertorial, June 2000

The Adventure Guide

Feel the need to get personal with hippos while rafting down a river in Zimbabwe? How about mountain biking under a snow-capped volcano in the heart of the Chilean Andes? Or sea kayaking along British Columbia's Gulf Islands, accompanied by seals, sea lions, and the occasional orca? Well now you can get lost in the wilderness without having to be the next Indiana Jones. Adventure travel in the 21st-century rips you away from your every day worries and transports you to the base of a 20,000-foot mountain where your only concern is how to reach the top. Many outfitters, like the ones iExplore.com selects, schedule trips to the most scenic parts of the globe, where you can try a certain sport and then gloat about your accomplishments that night over a five-course meal. Add some spice to your life and tackle one of these adventures. Then savor the memories.

•   Birding
•   Scuba Diving
•   White Water Rafting
•   Bicycle Touring (On-Road and Off)
•   Sea Kayaking
•   Day Hiking and Overnight Trekking

Birding

If you think a typical bird watching trip is hanging out at a lodge in Belize, binocs in one hand, cool drink in the other, watching a scarlet macaw fly by, you're in for a big surprise. Many trips are geared towards the power birder who wants to desperately add that once-in-a-lifetime bird to his long list. On these jaunts, you could be searching from dawn to dusk for all 16 species of hummingbirds found in southeastern Arizona. Being well-equipped is more important than being well-fit for these trips. First and foremost is a decent pair of binoculars and a birding book on the region of the world you're off to. Other equipment includes spotting scopes, tape recorders, and tapes of bird sounds.

Scuba Diving

Scuba diving is one of the most meditative and mesmerizing sports around. Once you get over your initial fear of breathing from an air tank and having to regulate your ears to the depth, you can relax and take in the wondrous surroundings. Coral of every fluorescent color imaginable play host to a dazzling array of sea life. Tropical fish look you in the eye, manta rays glide above your air bubbles, innocuous sharks thrill you as they swim by. But first you must be certified by the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) or Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI). Once you have your certification or C-card, you can dive with any outfitter in the world.

According to iExplore.com scuba expert, Jim Kittrell, one of the finest to places to dive in the South Pacific is Taveuni, Fiji, also called the Garden Isle. Divers come here to explore the renowned Rainbow Reef, whose intricate corals and abundant fish provide divers with a kaleidoscopic view of the sea. Add white-tip sharks, sea turtles, and manta rays and you feel like you're diving into your own private aquarium.

White Water Rafting

Depending on the river, white water rafting can be as slow as a Huck Finn paddle or as fast as a Six Flags rollercoaster ride. There's very little danger involved with the newest rafts, which easily can handle high and rough water. Occasionally the craft will tip, but guides are experienced in assisting guests back into the boat, and everybody is required to wear a flotation device. Rivers are rated by varying degrees of whitewater. Class I is calm with slow moving water; Class II has moderate rapids or waves with relatively few obstructions; Class III is a swift current with more obstructions; Class IV is a powerful current with drops and many obstacles; and Class V is the most advanced, with series of complex rapids, drops, and challenging obstacles.

It's no surprise that the Zambezi River tops the list of iExplore.com's rafting expert, Patrick McMahon. One glance down at Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls tumbling into a churn of froth at the mouth of the Zambezi River and you'll quickly understand how the Zambezi earned its reputation as the whitewater rafter's ultimate conquest. On this fourteen-day adventure featured in iExplore.com, you'll travel from the falls through the toughest part of this 1,700-mile river in an exhilarating blur of Class V rapids.

Bicycle Touring (On-Road and Off)

Whether you bike more than 100 miles a week or haven't been on two wheels in two years, bicycle touring is the perfect way to slow down and immerse yourself in the local landscape and culture. Best of all, when you get tired or, say, your bicycle gets a flat, you can simply hop in the trailing van and call it a day. Your reward that evening will probably be a scrumptious feast at an inn or chateaux. Mountain biking gives you the freedom to zip down a narrow mountain trail across a shallow stream or ride on a dirt road through hundreds of miles of virgin forest without having to deal with car traffic. However, a 5- to 10-mile jaunt on a narrow trail is far more exhausting than the same distance on a paved road. The best way to get in shape for either type of biking is simply to ride. Gradually build up your stamina by riding at least twice a week for several months before your trip.

iExplore.com expert bikers include John McKeon, founder of New England Bicycle Tours and former training manager at Abercrombie & Kent. Some of his favorite rides are on Route 100 in Vermont, where the farmland is so fertile, you feel like jumping off your bike and plunging your hands in the soil; and the South Island of New Zealand, where fjords, glaciers, and 12,000-foot peaks vie for your attention.

Sea Kayaking

Gliding over the ocean waters with the sea's myriad creatures at your side, it's no surprise that sea kayaking is the fastest growing warm-weather sport. Many of the guided trips are in bays or ocean tributaries where the surf is low or nonexistent. Even when you venture out to the open ocean, the water is usually calm once you break the crest of the waves. There are numerous trips for novices where you'll be taught the best way to enter a kayak and the proper technique for paddling. You'll be surprised at how easy kayaking is compared to the more strenuous canoe stroke.

Called "the last frontier" by the late Jacques Cousteau, the Calamian Archipelago in the Philippines is one of the few undiscovered sea kayaking spots left in the world. On this 16-day journey found in iExplore.com, you'll paddle from tropical isle to isle, trekking through rainforest, and camping on deserted golden beaches.

Day Hiking and Overnight Trekking

There's no easier way to get lost in the woods than simply throwing on those hiking boots and hitting a trail. If you decide to climb a mountain, regardless of height, you'll sweat. However, almost anyone in reasonably fit condition can tackle peaks less than 4,000 feet. In your day pack, always bring at least one 32 ounce bottle of water with you and nuts, raisins, or trail mix for a quick boost of energy. Far more strenuous are multi-day trekking and mountaineering trips that traverse some of the most isolated areas of the world like the Himalayas. Often backpacking at heights of 10,000-15,000 feet, conditioning is far more important here than any other activity on this list. Many outfitters require that you are in prime physical condition before registering.

So many trips, so little time. iExplore.com trekking expert Chess Edwards will help steer you in the right direction based on length of vacation and fitness level. He's guided tours in the Himalayas and the Andes, so he knows his way around a mountain or two. Two of his favorite jaunts are the Inca Trail from Cuzco to Macchu Pichu, Peru, and the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal.