Page 70 - Off The Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 2 of 2)

238 44 MORE EXHILARATING SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES

SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES

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ABOVE Invigorating whitewater rafting along the Karnali river in Nepal
RIGHT Dogsleds racing through the snow-covered landscape, Lapland, Finland

RAFTING THE KARNALI, NEPAL Nepal is home to the highest mountains on earth, and DOG SLEDDING, FINLAND Forget Father Christmas – Lapland’s real draw is its
the rivers that run down them are fast, deep, and brimming with whitewater as a result. awesome scenery and tangible sense of remoteness. Winters are long and dark,
The Karnali is Nepal’s longest river, and a multi-day trip along it marries tricky, adrenalin- summers short and magnificent, and the sky seems impossibly vast. The husky dogs
charged early sections with calmer moments toward its end. The route also takes in here are fascinating, charismatic creatures, blending the enthusiasm typical of domestic
some of Nepal’s most dramatic scenery, including jagged mountains, lush jungle, and dogs with otherworldly looks and phenomenal strength and stamina. Enter a tug-of
rare pockets of savanna. The river runs through remote Bardia National Park, offering the war with one and you’ll be yanked off your feet, but taking the reins is a wonderful
chance to see rhinos, wild elephants, and crocodiles. sensation, and speeding through the snow on a sled an achingly beautiful experience.

SPHEREING, ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND People had tried rolling around in giant balls SEA KAYAKING, PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND, ALASKA You may have paddled down
before of course – and hamsters have been doing it for years – but the sulphurous, rivers or lakes, but kayaking on the sea really is something else. The ocean seems to
activity-mad town of Rotorua is where sphereing (or “zorbing,” as the locals call it) really breathe beneath you, its vast expanse making you feel at once utterly insignificant and
took off. Participants clamber into giant cushioned balls, wobble their way through a connected to something very big indeed. And if it’s scale you want, this southern dent in
starting gate, and then careen down a 656-ft (200-m) hill or zig-zag course, spinning Alaska’s great bulk is the place to be. Its calm waters mean even beginners can paddle
head over heels in a breathless and completely undignified rush. A “wet” ride adds soapy past icebergs, watch glaciers calve, and spot whales and sea otters; experts can range far
water to the equation, for the full spin-cycle experience. and wide, packing gear into canoe bags and camping on remote stretches of the coast.

PLANICA SKI JUMP, SLOVENIA FISHING, DENMARK Denmark’s KLOOFING, SOUTH AFRICA While
Skiing is Slovenia’s national sport, and complex coastline is dotted with islands, most of the world calls it canyoning,
more records have been set at these fjords, and beaches. Nowhere in the South Africans have their own word for
jumps than anywhere else in the world. country is more than 33 miles (53 km) the practice of throwing oneself off cliffs
It’s unlikely you’ll fancy braving any of from the sea, and sea-fishing trips to into pools, sliding down rivers, and
them yourself (the drops look utterly catch cod, mackerel, sea trout, and eel scrambling up wet rocks. There are
intimidating) but the annual World Cup are justifiably popular. Permits are easy bigger drops elsewhere, but Cape Town’s
event, held in late March, attracts hordes to obtain and well-stocked rivers and Table Mountain National Park offers the
of spectators – there for the party and lakes inland ensure that there’s plenty finest collection of kloofs (ravines) so
the sight of the daring athletes. to keep anglers happy too. close to a major city.

WRESTLING, MEXICO CITY Faster, BUSHWALKING THE OVERLAND SKI-JORING, SWITZERLAND If simply
more dexterous and more reliant on TRACK, AUSTRALIA There are some going with the slope’s flow in one of
aerial stunts than their American cousins, stellar alternatives, but the king of Switzerland’s many ski resorts is getting
Mexico’s wrestlers would create a Australia’s bushwalking destinations is in a little boring, you may want to consider
spectacle even without the culture that laid-back Tasmania. The Overland Track ski-joring, in which horses drag skiers
has grown up around them. In lucha libre takes five to six days, and you’ll have to along the flat in a shower of snow.
(free fighting) most competitors don carry enough food to see you through. Regular spectator races will give you
masks and adopt fake identities: some Tramping past shimmering tarns and an idea of what’s involved – in St. Moritz
are técnicos (the skilful good guys), others grand peaks you may see wombats, you can even watch experts whizzing
rudos (the bullyboys and cheats). Tasmanian devils, and even platypuses. along behind galloping reindeer.

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