Don’t spend your holidays taking the same trip as everyone else, check out these adventurous activities across the globe!

Does it sound like everybody is doing the same old big ‘round the world trip” including a bus tour of Europe, a few months in London, bar work in Whistler and one long booze-filled month on a beach in Bali?

As long as you’re getting out there seeing the world it’s all good, right? Well, we think ExplorerGirls need destinations and activities that are a little wilder, a bit more extreme, and a lot more unique!

Here’s some top experiences around the globe we promise you will never forget (and all your best mates haven’t done already!).

Swim with Killer Whales, Fjords of Norway

Ah, Fjords! Possibly the only Scandinavian word I will ever be able to pronounce, and possibly the most beautiful bodies of water in the whole world!

The Fjords of Norway are stunning, pristine rivers and lakes set between mountains with tiny fishing shacks and villages dotted around. A fjord is formed when glaciers cut into the earth, creating a deep valley. As a result, they still retain their crystal clear freshness and crisp, mountain beauty.

The fjords have always supported a host of marine life, including Killer Whales.  What better way to get your kicks than dive in a have a swim amongst it? Instead of just ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ over the splash of a whale’s tail and the spurt of their breath from a boat, slip into a wetsuit, strap on some flippers and dive right in for an up-close-and-personal encounter with killer whales!

Orca Safari run a day trip that includes the chance to head into the Fjords and dive in with the killer whales. To read a first-hand experience of what it’s like to swim with Orcas in the Norweigan Fjords, check out this gal’s account in DiveGirl Magazine!  (And if you’re into diving in general, you should get onto this mag, DiveGirl, they rock!).

While you’re hanging around the Fjords, don’t forget to check out the kayaking, mountaineering, glacier-walking and endless hiking available, too!

Extreme Flying Fox, New Zealand

If there is a more thrilling way to see lush valleys, gorgeous gorges and cascading waterfalls I’m yet to find it! Forget about hiking boots and row-boats, flying 175 meters over a river at 160 kilometers an hour, with nothing to protect you but a harness and some rope, is the best way to soak up the scenery!

After stepping across Mokai Gorge on a wooden bridge and climbing a mountain, the friendly staff at Gravity Canyon welcomes you before affixing a harness across your body, while you’re lying down face first ready to launch from the lift-off spot. From this point, 175 metres above the rushing river below and just meters above the green tree-tops, they send you screaming down the flying fox cable, feeling the wind in your hair, as you glide like Superman across the gorge!

This ExplorerGirl did the Extreme Flying Fox three years ago, and it still gives me a rush thinking about it!

While you’re in the area, check out the Mountain Luge for another rush as you head down a two kilometer concrete track picking up speed along a mountain side (like skateboarding but sitting down). For a little relaxation and to calm the nerves take a dip at the nearby mineral spas of Rotorua. There is also hiking, surfing and boating just around the corner.

Gravity Canyon, at Mokai Gorge in New Zealand’s North Island, offers extreme activities of all kinds. Not only do they have NZ’s most extreme flying fox, they also offer bungee jumps and bridge swings. Check out their website for more information.

Sandboarding, Western Australian Desert

As soon as you step out of the coral reefs, Western Australia’s desert hits you, an endless vision of red sand and blue sky form the perfect backdrop to try your new favourite sport: sandboarding!

Remember when you were a kid at the beach and you put your body board atop a sand dune and slid down, always resulting in falls, giggles, and sand in every available crease? Well, that’s basically sandboarding, but when you’re in the middle of the desert, the weather is 35degrees Celsius and the slope is at an 80degree angle and almost a kilometre long. You will get a thrill like never before!

(Joanne Harvy riding for Ocean Culture, shot by Daniel Pearson at Swan Lake, Victoria, Australia)

The best thing about sandboarding W.A’s dunes is once you’re hot, sticky and all finished close by are lush lagoons to cool off while lazing on your back staring at the red rocks against a blue sky.

Check out this profile from Sandboard Magazine of wicked Sandboarder Linda Corkery, who gave up everything to pursue sandboarding in the deserts of Africa!

For more info on sandboarding in the Kimberly, check out Sandboarding Australia, a tour company that will take you for a morning of sandboarding followed by snorkelling on nearby coral reefs! Awesome!

Also, find other locations to sandboard in Australia and all the best sandboarding gear including boards and apparel at Ocean Culture. Looking for more sandboarding events world-wide, click here.

Sandboarding Clip

Rock Climbing on Krabi Island, Thailand

Ok, ok, so maybe Thailand isn’t exactly off-the-beaten-track these days, but how could you miss those stunning white-sand beaches, tropical green waters and limestone rock formations?

Thailand is like a Utopia dreamt up by the Gods, and we can visit it too! But instead of lazing on the white sand and lapping up cocktails (ok, maybe as well as lazing on white sand...) why not try getting a view of paradise by rock-climbing your way around the islands!

Thailand has some of the world’s most beautiful limestone formations that create the perfect paradise for climbers. What’s more, some helpful folk have come along and firmly bolted extra footholds all around the Thailand, so there are specific, safe climbing routes for all to enjoy!

Thailand’s Krabi coast has over 450 climbing routes, each with a vista across beautiful beaches. If you’re a novice, there are instructors all around this area, so you have no excuses but to climb away those cocktail kilojoules!

Check out Railay.com and Away.com for more information and tours.

www.ExplorerGirls.com / Gemma Considine