Professional Rower Roz Savage is back on the third and the last leg of her across pacific solo row. The other two legs were between San Francisco and Hawaii in 2008 and from Hawaii to Tarawa in 2009. And now she has begun her journey from this tiny island in the pacific to Australia. But reports of her heading to Madang are appearing since the tracker with her seems to be heading in that direction. So it looks like her pacific voyage will end just 260 miles off her target destination and maybe she will come back next year to finish this little destination too. It is a thrilling ride for the rower with the completion of her lifelong commitment fulfilling and she becoming the first woman in the world to cross the pacific by rowing. This project was the focus for her since 5 years, which is finally taken shape. Along with being an adventurer, she is also an avid environmentalist with being declared the eco hero for 2009.

For almost all of the climbers and adventurers travelling to the magnificent and mighty Himalayas, the most common place of departure is Kathmandu. The journey to Kathmandu is far from a short drive. To get here from Nepal the only means of travel is by the horrendous road and it takes more than 2 days of constant travelling to get here. To add insult to injury, there are no motels on the way and the only place you get to sleep is in the car.

When you arrive to Kathmandu, you will not be satisfied with what you find a hot and humid place with mediocre hotels.  One of the best of the mediocre hotels is the Manag Hotel, which is a comfortable and serviceable one. The power goes very often and the rooms get quite hot, which goes very often here. The shops in the Thamel district have a good collection of climbing gears and places to eat. It cannot be denied that this is a very interesting place with friendly people. But it’s the mountain that is on every travelers mind and this place is of little interest. They just stay here for a while to rest and replenish and then move on to the experience of their life.

The Tour d’Afrique 2010 race has just concluded and the winners were a Australian man and a German female.

The tour ended in the Cape Town which began from Cairo in Egypt. The participants had to travel about 1200 kilometers and 120 days across the continent of Africa through the toughest terrains known to man. This is a physical and metal challenge like no other with extreme dedication and will from participants. The participants have to pass through terrains that are beautiful yet treacherous. The mandate’s for the tour are multiple with the intention of testing the human spirit, raising awareness about the conditions of Africa and finally to raise funds for environmental protection by promoting bicycles.

The race was won in an overall time of 398 hours by the Australian Stuart Biggs and the second was South African Jethri de Decker with a time of 414 hours. In the woman’s category the German Gisela Gartmair won the first place with 404 hours. Some 55 participants took part, some of them mostly to experience the natural beauty of the African countries like Sudan, Nigeria, Zambia, Namibia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, South Africa and many other outcries.

A long running competition in the town of Vile is the Teva Mountain games. This is a long standing tradition of this region where on offer are some of the best in the areas of outdoor games. They are here to claim the crown of the king or queen of the mountain.

There are a series of intense races where the competitors race, paddle and run against each other in sporting events that include rafting, kayaking, mountain biking, cycling, bouldering, climbing, trail running, half marathon, and stand up paddling. The winner is the one person who participates and wins the most number of events. It can be either a he or a she. And an event called the Ultimate Mountain Challenge will have a series of 4 events; the times in these events will be used to pick the winner.

The event also has many lifestyle related events such as photography, film school competition, film festival, music, exhibitions, family village and the Teva Mountain ball. Amy free concerts are organized here for the participants and the attendees that include celebrities and local artists.

The games are supposed to start from June 3^rd and will go on till 6^th. It is considered the most demanding and intense multisport event of all time.

European adventure travel?

I am looking for a company that provides guided adventure tours in Europe. I would like some adventure, climbing, biking, snorkeling, etc but also touring the country. My first coice is Spain, but anything you recommend will be helpful.
Thanks!

Countless movies have been made while keeping the vast jungles of Amazon as the backdrop and countless fables and legends are associated with these majestic expanses of biologically diverse forests. The Amazon jungle is the largest jungle in the world where very few humans have dared to trek and unlike most of the other travel destinations in the world, this is not been visited by millions.

The Amazon tropical jungles alter the basic perception associated with the jungles. Many activities can be experienced here such as trekking, wildlife observation, and photography, fishing and learning basic survival skills and plant and animal discovery. Many popular resorts are available here in the Amazon that can be available throughout the year. These resorts have on offer the best the Amazon has to offer and organize tours to deep jungles. Wildlife such as alligators, jaguar, howling monkeys are present among the animals in the forest. Bird watching is another popular and rich experience here in Amazon jungles. Another very popular and tremendous adventure activity available here is rafting, kayaking or canoeing in the unexplored tropical waters for the avid thrill seekers.

It is an experience of a life time and has no replacement in terms of the beauty, fun and excitement.

Australia has some of the iconic natural destinations in the world such as the Red centre, Australian Alps, Fraser Island’s sand dunes and its vast lakes and rain forests. Its unique beauty is found across all the eight states. The XPD is Australia’s expedition length adventure race that incorporates 50 teams for 4 consecutive events such as trekking, kayaking, mountain bike and running.

This race takes place every 18 months and happens at different natural destinations across Australia. The XPD course will send a chill down every adventurer’s spine. It passes through palces such as Great Barrier Reef,  Koombooloomba Preserve and the Tully Gorge National Park all in  one race. Here the participant ahs to canoe the great barrier reef, run about 100 km in the great Australian outback, trek about 50 km through misty mountains, and cycle more than 100+ km in remote mountain regions, running while carrying a kayak  for 20km, rowing for 70 km through class V waters and followed by an another 50Km trek with an 160Km bike ride in the end through the mountain valleys.

The race ends with the saying “the race of a life time” and every one who takes part in this race will agree that it’s an adventure that peaks any other experience.

Mississippi is the fourth longest river in the world after Nile, Amazon and the Yangtze River. At 2320 miles it passes through the heartland of The United States and has given birth to numerous myths and lore.

The opportunities for family paddle trips, kayaking and canoeing are endless with easily accessible locations throughout Mississippi. The best place to start Canoeing is in Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota. This lake is the birth place of the mighty Mississippi and leads all the way southward the Gulf of Mexico. The awesome adventures awaiting the paddling traveler are something that cannot be experienced elsewhere. Another nice place to start canoeing is Millinocket, Maine where resorts are found that are comfy and affordable. Hear kayaks and boats are available for rent.

The river is precipitated with numerous beaver dams, low bridges and sweepers which every boater has to be on the lookout for. Also the river breaks into numerous branches and the boater comes face to face with forks with no guess where to go, hence a proper map needs to be carried along with to navigate the channels. The area is rich in bio diversity and numerous deers, bears, raccoons and alligators can be found.

Many breath taking and picturesque places can be found on the way and no an opportunity that is  easily to forget.

It’s very hard to describe the beauty of the Himalayas in few words. But words like majestic, magnificent, heavenly, beautiful come very close. It is not a destination on every travelers list of places to travel but it’s worth all the effort that an adventurer goes through to reach these heights.

It is a picturesque place with numerous places where panoramic photos can be taken. The range of breath taking pictures that one returns with on the way back will always be a reminder and can be an instant nostalgia. It is anything but amazing to appreciate the sheer geographic diversity of the Himalayan range from the forested valleys to the verdant and to the tropical jungles having rich wildlife.

The climate of Himalayas offers an endless variation in geography, flora and fauna. Hence the trip needs to be properly planned so as not to be stuck in the middle of a blizzard and not be able to see anything. The rich cultures of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam are some of the many diverse cultures the traveler experiences on his trip to this remote region.

It will always feel like you were there yesterday even after ages and it is very important to go and see for yourself what the pictures do not do justice.

Back with more news for you today. It’s amazing how much good information there is on this stuff out there if you know where to look. Three in particular that I found really valuable were…

Tales Told From The Road™: "Extreme Travel": Living on A Razor’s Edge

Doug McConnell, host of San Francisco based KRON-TV's popular travel show of the past, Read the rest of this entry