When I was confronted with the question of what I want to be when I grow up, I said “an explorer” (ok, sometimes I also said astronaut, or abducted by aliens). My mother laughed and said, there isn’t anything left to explore. Boy, was I disappointed.
Years later I realised how wrong she was. Yes, Google Earth gives us the impression that we can pinpoint everything from politically incorrect tree shapes to finding oddly shaped birthmarks on sunbathers. Well, maybe not quite. However, most of us think that we know the answer to the question of life, the Universe and everything, or at least act like there isn’t much to it.
I don’t think that is true. I also don’t think that the answer is as simple as 42. And I have a hunch that these following eight people agree with me.
They managed outstanding human accomplishments that push the boundaries of our conceptions about what we are capable of and give a hint on how the meaning of life can be pimped up a little.
Bored of your usual jogging route?
Katharine and David Lowrie can’t complain, as they have just completed to jog through the entire length of South America.
The 5000 Mile Project – Running the entire length of South America. Copyright© 2013 David Lowrie
They set out on 28th July of 2012 to run the 5000 miles from the southern tip of the continent to the Caribbean Sea in Venezuela. Why? Find that out in our upcoming feature article and interview with the couple.
They ran from Cabo Froward in Chile through the largest rain forest and the longest mountain range to Carúpano in Venezuela. It took them 14 months, 27 days, 11 hours and 27 minutes. This amazing amount of effort serves to protect the wildlife and nature of the continent and the world, raise awareness and inspire people to become active themselves.
Two trailers attached to their waists carry all their supplies through the continent. Copyright© 2013 David Lowrie
They maintained an extensive blog and website during the project, where enthusiasts can find out every detail about their experiences and equipment, running techniques and tips for extreme conditions. What I find particularly refreshing is the environmental and economical awareness for the regions they ran through. With the language kept pragmatic and informative, it and makes for a good read.
Not even adverse conditions of all extremes could stop the couple.
Copyright© 2013 David Lowrie
They return to the UK this week and continue to promote their cause in planned talks, campaigning and, of course, fundraising runs!
Entertaining kids has never been this hard
Staying in the vicinity of the Amazon, here is another record-breaking adventure.
Helen proudly showing off her scrapes and scratches from the immense effort.
Copyright© 2010 BBC
Former Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton kayaked 2,010 mile along the entire length of the Amazon River (geography-ditcher’s update: the longest river on earth), setting the Guiness World Record for the longest solo kayak journey and the longest distance kayaked in 24 hours by a woman. The challenge started on 20th January in Nauta, Peru and ended 39 days later, on 28th of February in Almeirim, Brazil.
Triumph as Helen marks the first 1000 miles behind her. 1000 more to go!
Copyright© 2010 BBC
Piranhas were surely doing a double take on the young presenter fighting her way downstream, who may have seemed a little out-of-place. But behold, my dear carnivorous fishies, she is not to be underestimated! Although cute as a button, this woman is one tough cookie. A force to recon with – that is, if you are a sporting challenge – she tackles the most extreme conditions to raise money for Sport Relief: she is the second woman ever to finish the gruelling Namibian Ultra Marathon (126km) through the Namib Desert in 2009, and her most recent world record was set in 2012, when she was the first person to cycle to the South Pole!
Helen marks another record with the polar bicycle at the South Pole.
Copyright© 2012 BBC
We could dedicate this entire article with her crazy achievements, but…we don’t. You can read about her here though.
Rough around the edges…and everywhere else, too
For those of you that find the Amazon a bit too tranquil for setting your world records, here are two men that like paddling rough.
Keirron kayaking along the archipelago of the Aleutians.
Copyright© 2012 Adventurous Experiences
But first, may I introduce: The Aleutians. A bit of an outsider among Pacific archipelagos, they tend to be ignored by the usual Pacific island tourists searching for sandy beaches, paradise on earth, and so forth. But the Aleutians can be a paradise, too – if you are an albatross, for example. Or a kayak enthusiast. Let’s focus on the latter.
The most adverse weather couldn’t keep the pair from kayaking a record.
Copyright© 2012 Adventurous Experiences
In fact, the Aleutians actually lie in one of the roughest places on earth: The Bering Sea. The stretch of islands that connect Alaska to Russia is known for its cold, snowy and windy conditions – the perfect place to go for a paddle, you think? So do Keirron Tastagh and George Shaw, the un-supported duo that set a new record in sea kayaking, completing the furthest paddle West from Dutch Harbor on Unalaska to Herbert Island. Their expedition, where they also documented the wildlife population, ended successfully in June 2012. Their blog offers impressive pictures of this extreme and remote corner of the earth:
Just keep rolling…
Please sit down, because what I have to tell you might be a bit of a shock at first…Now, I don’t know how to put it, but here it goes: Despite the rich tradition of exploring and charting in British history, someone seemed to have neglected to secure the exclusive rights to that particular pass-time. I have found adventurers and explorers from other countries, and not even their ancestors were from Britain!
I know! Why have we never heard of them in articles such as the Guardian’s post on travel challenges? Where do these people come from and what are they thinking? These days, everyone can just go out and travel the earth to their liking? Preposterous.
Well, lets see what the Germans were up to: Maximilian Semsch, a young adventurer from my hometown Munich, decided to get out of town and enjoy the scenery a little – so he cycled around and ended up in Singapore.
With only six punctures, Maximilian Semsch made it to Singapur on this trekking bike. Copyright© 2009 Maximilian Semsch
I admit, it took a bit longer, especially since he recorded it all on crisp HD. His venture over 13,500 km took him seven months overall with an extra year of planning and preparation, plus several months of aftershock, in which he edited his film “What a Trip”, published in 2009.
Fixing a puncture in the parching sun of the Australian Outback.
Copyright© 2013 Maximilian Semsch
Maxi just finished his most recent project: circumventing Australia on an E-bike. Both adventures are captured on DVD but are not available in English yet.
The most romantic world circumvention
This is my favourite story of them all. I read their book a few years ago and was hooked immediately. It also made me get a motorcycle. Kids are so impressionable.
Patagonia proved too windy for their motorcycles – but perfect for inland sailing. Copyright© 2001 Claudia Metz and Klaus Schubert
It’s 1981 and the world is different – people discover that there are more shades than brown and mustard, namely pastel and neon colours – and there is a clear crack through the map of Europe that divides Germany.
A young couple, Claudia (20) and Klaus (23) start their fully packed Yamaha Enduro bikes for a nine-month trip to Japan. That was the plan. But life got in the way, as it always does, and they returned 16 years later, in 1997, to a Europe that changed beyond recognition. In between lies the entire world, every continent, every religion and every kind of landscape. On their trip, they converted their motorcycles into the most amazing vehicles: sail-perpetuated land cruisers in windy Patagonia, a boat in South-East Asia and a river raft in the Amazon. Most amazingly, they returned to their home city Cologne on that exact river raft on the Rhine.
They returned to Germany start a family, now they live in Patagonia where they keep and open door for any globetrotting adventurer.
Their book and website in only available in German, but the images are awe-inspiring nonetheless.
The right equipment can get you to the end of the world.
So, have you got your hiking boots on, equipment packed, job quit? These once-in-a-lifetime adventures are not going to happen by themselves!