Calling all carnivores: brace yourself for the ultimate battle of the beasts. Join the annual sardine run off the coast of South Africa and witness one of the world’s greatest feeding frenzies in all its wild brutality and uncensored gore.
Watch as the sea is turned into a giant, seething broth of wriggling fish and predators as sardine shoals – up to 15 kilometres in length, 3.5 kilometres wide and nearly 40 metres deep – make their way north to warmer waters. Feathers, fur and fins collide to gorge on the millions of sardines that proliferate in nature’s immense banquet of the sea. Don your own fins together with snorkel or scuba gear and get amongst the carnage, or view this phenomenal spectacle from the safety of the boat.
Embark on an adrenaline rush that’s guaranteed to remove the cobwebs from your eyes as you tear down Changi Airport’s four-storey (12-metre) high indoor slide. Next, enjoy being among wings of an altogether different kind as you step into the enchanting butterfly garden. The lush greenery of this tropical oasis – complete with 6-metre waterfall and 47 species of native butterflies – will reinvigorate the senses.
If you don’t like fluttering critters on your face, head to the open-air rooftop cactus and sunflower gardens, or explore one of two landscaped ponds. Leave yourself just enough time to frolic in the Balinese-themed swimming pool and Jacuzzi. Pool access costs about US$8, but the energising effect of water on your dehydrated skin is priceless.
Saddle up your horse and gallop off into the mysterious land that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Get a dose of fresh mountain air as you canter through meadows of wild flowers, climb mountains and visit traditional villages.
You could very well spot the footprints of bears and wolves as you ride through the ancient forests near the Carpathian Mountains, or ascend the mountains for unencumbered views. After a couple of hours’ riding, let your horse graze and soak up the tranquility.
Peruvians prefer to work out their differences head-on, and there’s no better time to wipe the slate clean than just before the new year. People don’t come to the high-altitude Takanakuy festival (usually held on 25 December) to hold hands and sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ – they get straight to the point with an all-out scrap.
Romantic disputes, stolen llamas and trivial gripes are all fair game in this cathartic airing of grievances. Considering this is how many drunken new year celebrations end up back home, they probably have a point.
Tourists trawl Mutrah Souq in the heat of the day, sizing up Aladdin’s lamps and rocks of frankincense, but locals know the best time to go is at night. Stroll down the corniche, past vendors selling sweet potatoes and dates and sandwich shops with customers spilling onto the street, and enter the jostling bazaar.
If you look beyond the main passage, you can slink into a labyrinth of hole-in-the wall coffee shops, stands dripping with gold and boutiques where black-clad ladies thumb abayas (traditional robes) in fabrics of cerulean and hot pink.
Sweep between rusty red dunes and over honey-coloured peaks, then wade through lush vegetation to a freshwater oasis, surrounded by swaying palms. This is the romantic image of the desert come to life, where you can stargaze from your camp under the clear Arabian sky before mists veil the night.
You’ll encounter nomadic tribesmen who roam the sands with goats and camels, and peer down a sheer 1,000-metre drop to the bottom of Jebel Shams’s ‘Grand Canyon.’ Explore the fishing village at Ayega, once a stronghold of rebellious sheikhs, and pass a night on a dhow, a traditional sailing vessel.
Since some crazy souls decided that throwing themselves off a bridge tied to a piece of string sounded like a good idea, bigger bungees have thrown down the challenge all over the world. But this is where it all started, on a bridge outside of Queenstown in 1988, thanks to AJ Hackett and Henry van Asch. Kawarau Bridge, 43 metres above a river of the same name, was the world’s first commercial bungee jump and still attracts thrill-seeking punters from around the world.
Today you can even choose to do a water touch, take a mate on a tandem dive or strip down to your birthday suit. Although we can’t imagine the sort of friction caused by harness meeting bare skin…
New Zealand’s answer to Burning Man is all about self-exploration, collective living, creativity and, well, burning things. This eco-friendly paddock party is full of free spirits, art installations and nude strangers happy to share a hug. You’re sure to have your fair share of hippie-inspired conversations as you mingle with the festival’s open-minded crown. Who knows, you might even find the answer to all the world’s problems while staring into the flames.
Full of Dutch courage? Then join the 9,999 other orange-clad maniacs by the pier at Scheveningen on January 1 for a frigid swim in the North Sea, where the winter mercury plunges below zero. But it’s not an entirely masochistic enterprise.
Half of the proceeds from the exorbitant entry fee of €2 goes to charity, and you’ll be rewarded with a nice hot bowl of snert (split pea soup) for your troubles.
Everest Base camp – it’s on every traveller’s bucket list, but why put your lazy arse through a gruelling, multi-day trek at high altitude when you can take a shortcut to glory? Soar above jutting peaks and mountains thick with snow as you whirl to the pinnacle of trekking triumph, without even getting your shoes dirty. Designed for the time poor and, let’s face it, the instant-gratification-seeking idle tourist, this 4.5-hour trip costs a cool US$10,000.
Clamber aboard at Kathmandu and swoop through the Himalayas, before diving into the Hotel Everest View for a dandy spot of tea and a pat on the back for dealing so well with altitude. Add a whiff of culture and hover above Sherpa villages and monasteries dotting the Solukhumbu region, or fly direct to your main destination. Touch down at Base Camp to snap a few obligatory pics and scoot back to Kathmandu to upload them over lunch. Everest Base Camp – check.
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