1. See the great migration
2. Track mountain gorillas
3. Amazon rainforest
4. Meet orang-utans
5. Go whale-watching
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Top five white-knuckle thrills1: The Bloukrans Bungy Our number one white-knuckle thrill is the World's highest bungy jump: the Bloukrans Bungy, South Africa. Jump off the third-highest bridge ever built, 216 metres above the ground... That's more than one-and-a-half times the height of the London Eye. Not to worry you or anything...Secured in a harness on the end of a long, elastic cord, you'll freefall head-first for 180 metres, reaching a speed of 120 miles per hour, then bounce up and down before being winched back up. An unbeatable adrenalin rush! You'll find the bridge just outside Tsitsikamma in southern South African. The bad news is that it's on the Garden Route, the most popular backpacker route through South Africa, so there's no excuse not to jump! You can jump seven days a week - tickets cost around £53. Click here >> for more info about the Bloukrans Bungy, and to book a jump Click here >> for more info about travelling in South Africa Click here >> for more adventure sports 2: Skydive Lake Taupo Jump from 12,000 feet... freefall at 120 mph... before opening your parachute for five minutes of gentle floating back down to earth. Skydiving gives you both a massive thrill and a sublimely peaceful birds-eye view of the scenery below.Most people start with a tandem jump, during which they're strapped to a specially-trained expert. This is an easy and safe option, requiring just half an hour's training on the ground. Lake Taupo, New Zealand is one of the most popular places to throw yourself out of a plane, and for good reason. There are several skydive companies in the area, which means that prices stay low - considerably lower than in Queenstown. The scenery is spectacular with views over Lake Taupo and the snow-capped mountains of Tongariro National Park (make sure you jump when the weather is clear). Expect to pay around £50 to jump from 12,000 feet at Taupo. Double this if you want a DVD and photos of your jump. Click here >> for Skydive Taupo Click here >> for Taupo Tandem Skydiving Click here >> for the Great Lake Skydive Centre (all of these are skydive companies in Taupo) Click here >> for the Kiwi Experience - hop-on, hop-off bus tours of New Zealand Click here >> for more New Zealand info 3: White-water rafting on the Zambezi White-water rafting comes in at number three in our top five white-knuckle thrills. And not just any old white-water rafting...On the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe are the mighty Zambezi River and the widest waterfall on Earth, the thunderous Victoria Falls. The stretch of river below the Falls - Batoka Gorge - is the World’s wildest white-water rafting spot. With 23 stomach-turning, heart-pounding rapids and stunning African scenery, this Grade 5 stretch is the ultimate adrenalin-rush for people who like their thrills on the soggy side. You can take a rafting trip from either side of the river - Zimbabwe or Zambia - starting just below the Falls. Remember you’ll need your passport if you’re crossing from one side to the other. You’ll pay around £55 for a full day’s rafting; multi-day trips are also available, where you camp overnight on the side of the river. No rafting experience is necessary. The river is at its wildest when water levels are high, from March to July, making it too dangerous to raft the rapids closest to the Falls. As the water subsides, from June to February, all 23 rapids become safe to raft. Click here >> for Safari Par Excellence Click here >> for Shearwater Adventures Click here >> for Cholwe Adventures (all of these are rafting companies on the Zambezi) Click here >> for more info about travel in Zambia Click here >> for overland tours of Africa 4: Cycle Death Road As the name might suggest to the more perceptive amongst you, this is not one for the faint-hearted. There are a few things you should know about Death Road in Bolivia before you agree to cycle down it. It's 64km long, all of it downhill: you'll descend 11,800 feet, from snow-covered peaks down to the steaming Amazon Jungle. It's eight feet wide, made of gravel, and edged by sheer drops of 3,000 feet. Your mountain bike will reach speeds of 70km/h on the four-hour ride, occasionally swerving to avoid oncoming trucks and buses. People have died on the descent. Now we've got that out of the way, here's how you go about it. There are several companies which will rent you a bike, drive you from La Paz to the top of Death Road by truck and guide you back down. Some are more reputable than others - our readers recommend Gravity Mountain Biking, the most expensive at £30 but with the best safety reputation. They don't ride during the rainy season (December to February). Click here >> for Gravity Mountain Biking Click here >> for more info about travel in Bolivia Click here >> for more adventure sports 5: Stratosphere Tower rides Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas, USA is America's tallest observation tower, and home to the World's three highest thrill rides. Acrophobics: look away now.The highest of all is The Big Shot, which catapults you from the 921-foot-high platform up the Tower's mast to a height of 1,081 feet. Next is Insanity, an arm that extends out 64 feet over the edge of the Tower and spins you at up to three Gs, flinging you outwards until you're facing down more than 900 feet above the city. And at a height of 866 feet there's X Scream, which propels you head-first, 27 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower and dangles you weightlessly above the Strip (Vegas's main entertainment street). The view over the neon wonderland of Vegas is unbeatable... if you can manage to open your eyes, that is. Entrance to the Tower costs £5.60. Each ride costs £4.50. A package that includes entrance and all three rides is £13.50. The Stratosphere is also a hotel and (surprise surprise) a casino. Rooms start at £20, which is decent for a hotel, though you'll find hostel dorms considerably cheaper. Click here >> for the Stratosphere's website Click here >> for USA adventure tours with Suntrek (gapyear.com users get 10% off) Click here >> for backpacker bus tours with TrekAmerica (again, you'll get 10% off) Click here >> for more USA info |
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