Submitted by: Rachael Woolston
Posted: 01/09/2011From jungle survival skills to diving into the abyss, travel companies are increasingly offering expedition-style adventures that make for a truly life-changing experience. Rachael Woolston goes off the beaten track to bring you six of the best
Voodoo in North Africa
Fancy exploring a culture unlike any you will have ever experienced? Then enter the Cradle of Voodoo, a breathtaking tour around North Africa. Before you envisage the voodoo of Hollywood films, complete with evil sorcerers and voodoo dolls, remember this is a religious practise that remains central to the lives of millions here.
You will visit Akodessewa fetish market, where many of the religious and medicinal ingredients used in voodoo are sold, before heading out to rural villages where the practise still dominates the lives of local people. And forget the usual lounging by the pool, on this trip you will be staying at a fishing village where the locals swim in the river and attempt to sit on the back of crocodiles, which they believe are sacred and contain the spirits of their ancestors.
Don't fancy your chances on a croc? There's always the python pits of the voodoo temples at Ouidoh, once a slave-trading post, to try. Or perhaps the throne of human skulls at the Royal Palaces of the pre-colonial kingdom of Dahomey, now a UNESCO world heritage site.
Not for the faint-hearted, this 17-day trip involves camping and basic accommodation but will provide a fascinating insight into a little-known culture and will certainly take you far away from your day-to-day life.
From £2,465 for 17 nights (a hotel for eight nights, camping for six nights and guest
house for three nights) including meals, flights, transport and expert guiding
Book with Explore (0844 499 0901, www.explore.co.uk)
Extreme ranching in Guyana
Would you like a real taste of what it feels like to be a proper explorer? You'll certainly get it with this epic adventure to a rarely visited corner of South America's beautiful Guyana, where you will learn to ranch with the remote Amerindian and Vaquero Indians on their spectacular rolling savannahs. But first you'll have to get there through the uncharted, mist-shrouded Amazonian jungle.
With the help of ex-SAS personnel, who will accompany you on your trip, you will learn the skills needed to survive in the jungle, including foraging for food and hunting with a traditional bow and arrow. Travelling by foot and dug-out canoe, you will see all jungle wildlife – and you may even be lucky enough to spot the elusive Jaguar.
Once you have reached the dramatic Amazonian plains, you'll be picked up by 4x4 and will overnight in a traditional barracón, or bunkhouse. The next morning you will set off to help the remote Indian tribes round up their cattle, sleeping under the stars in the vast wilderness of the open savannah. This will leave you on a high long after your tan has faded.
From £9,895 per person for 14 nights, based on two travelling, including most meals, expert private guiding, logistical support, equipment, and all internal transport (not including international flights). Book with Epic Tomato (020 7426 9899, www.epictomato.com)
Secret river rafting in Madagascar
Just off the coast of East Africa, Madagascar is an island of contrasts with landscapes that range from rainforests to deserts and mountains to mangrove swamps. What makes this trip even more special is that you will be rafting part of the Benahy river in the south west, which is not even marked on maps.
Completely cut off from civilisation, you'll raft down rivers where you can spot everything from lemurs to chameleons – and even a few crocodiles. Peaceful, calm waters will give way to adrenaline-fuelled white water at times, but you
will be taught everything you need to know.
Passing no one but local cattle rustlers and sapphire diggers, you will camp on the banks of the river with nothing but the glow of the campfire and thousands of stars to light the velvety darkness. All this will make the last few nights in the luxurious Anako beach resort all the more appreciated. This trip is suitable for all fitness levels.
From £1,995 for 14 nights, including all meals, accommodation and internal flights (not including international flights). Book with Pioneer Expeditions (0845 004 7801, www.pioneerexpeditions.com)
Scott and Shackleton Antarctica adventure
‘Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.' So wrote Ernest Shackleton as he sought fellow adventurers to join him on his push to the South Pole.
Now, you too can follow in his fur-lined footsteps, albeit with the luxury of being on-board the five-star expedition cruise ship Orion. Embarking from New Zealand, you'll sail to the Ross Sea region, which is not navigable for nine months of the year. Here you will get the chance to experience life like the great Polar explorers as you trade the cruise ship for small Zodiac landing crafts so you can navigate the thick pack ice.
You'll tread the same ice as the great explorers and visit Scott's Terra Nova hut, where 10 men from the ill-fated imperial trans-Antarctic expeditions were marooned in 1915 after their ship, Aurora, was blown out to sea. Two of the ships anchors still remain outside the hut.
This trip will bring new meaning to the term ‘making first tracks' and you will be able to count yourself as one of just a few thousand who have braved this inhospitable but truly majestic icy frontier.
From £12,590 for a 20-night voyage, including all meals, excursions, and accommodation. Book with Orion Expeditions (020 7399 7620, www.orionexpeditions.com)
Volcanic camping in Ethiopia
A journey of contrasts, this 14-day trip will take you from the Danakil Depression, one of the lowest, hottest places on earth, to the mountains of Tigray. Although some places on this itinerary are not recommended by the Foreign Office, you're guided by experts, and for intrepid travellers it offers intriguing cultural insights, adventure and activity.
In addition to exploring one of the largest open-air markets in the world in Addis Abada, you will ride camels from the base to the rim of the active Era Ale volcano where you will camp overnight. In the morning, awake to a spectacular sunrise before exploring the lava lake, one of just five in the world.
The trip also takes in a visit to the spectacular churches of Ethiopia, famous for being carved entirely out of the rock face. You will also spend three nights with local communities, in conjunction with the charity TESFA (Tourism in Ethiopia for Sustainable Future Alternatives). This is not for those looking for luxury, but if you want a trip that will
enrich your life, this is it.
£2,850 for 14 nights, including all meals and accommodation (not including international flights). Book with Wild Frontiers (020 7736 3968, www.wildfrontiers.co.uk)
If you love diving, explore the next frontier with sinkhole diving, which offers the eerie experience of dropping
into the deep unknown. The Great Blue Hole, which lies 43 miles from Belize's coastline, stands out dark against the turquoise sea. At just under a kilometre across, it drops a dizzying 126 metres, and divers must stay close to the sides
to prevent being disorientated.
Discover stunning cave systems formed during the ice age, and explore the amazing stalactite formations and marine life deep underwater. If that's not enough to float your tank, visit between April and June to swim with whale sharks as they begin their annual migration. Special dive training for the depths required for the Blue Hole is available, and you can choose to stay on the water on the 55-foot Sun Dancer II ‘live aboard' or plump for more luxury at the private
island resort of Turneffe Island Lodge.
From £2,545 for seven nights, including flights, accommodation, meals and dive package. Book with Dive Worldwide (0845 130 6980, www.diveworldwide.com)