Do You Have the Bottle for an Adventure Holiday?

More and more people are looking for something different in a holiday.  They are not so keen to go to caravan sites or holiday parks unless the site or park is offering something that presents more of a challenge.

The dictionary definition of adventure is an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks; certainly if someone goes on an adventure holiday in the United Kingdom the risks will be far from unknown as each activity will have suffered the interference of Health and Safety Regulations.  Despite the tone this is a good thing because it is widely accepted that surviving an adventure holiday is paramount in the participants mind.

Whether you are a water, sky or land enthusiast there is an adventure holiday for you and plenty of qualified companies advertising on the internet; how did people get by before the good old internet.  You can select from adult only adventure holidays, family adventure holidays and even adventure holidays where you can pack the children off too.

There are many different types of activities available, including:

Canoeing

Kayaking

Climbing & Abseiling

Gorge Walking

Bushcraft & Survival

White Water Rafting

Biking

Walking

This is not a definitive list and many other adventures can be had.

For the children only holidays there may be age or size restrictions for some activities so it is better to double check before booking.  The children live in holiday park style accommodation and are supplied with all equipment needed for the activity they are taking part in.

Taking an adventure holiday abroad can really open up the horizons and a whole new type of adventure can be found.  Just because a holiday is taken abroad does not mean the attention to safety is dispensed with; yes there is a certain amount of risk involved otherwise it would not be much of an adventure but no company or organisation would risk a serious injury or worse.

Some of the activities found abroad will be very similar to the ones found in the UK but tend to be a more extreme version of it.

If you are ready for a real challenge why not consider:

A trek through the High Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Cycle 350km from Havana to Trinidad, Cuba

Canoeing down the Zambezi River

Climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

When booking any of these adventure holidays the package normally includes equipment, accommodation and full board as the centres can be fairly remote and may very well be a distance from other amenities; however some of the international adventures may require the adventurer to supply their own equipment.

Is it Safe for Teenagers to Volunteer in Africa?

When people leave high school, they will often spend a year travelling before they go to college or university.  Many of these students will travel the world but others will choose to spend their time volunteering instead.  There are many parents who would welcome this opportunity for their child and will help with the cost of such a trip but they would understandably be worried about how safe it is for their child to volunteer in Africa for example.  

So how safe is it?
Choose the Right OrganisationThe answer to this question will depend on the organisation they are travelling with.  It is important to do a lot of research about being a volunteer in Africa before signing up for any of these programs.  If your child is heading off to volunteer then you as a parent are going to want to make sure that they will be accompanied no matter where they are going and that they are going to be safe.  The last thing you would want would be for your child to have to make his or her way around Africa on their own in order to get to their volunteer placement.
If you want to be sure of your teenager's safety while they are working as a volunteer in Africa, then it is vital that you choose a volunteer organisation with a good reputation.

A teen volunteer should never be left to make their way anywhere on their own and should always be collected from the airport when they arrive.  Make sure this is the case before you allow your child to travel.  If you want further reassurance then speak to someone on the program as they will be only too happy to help.  If you get no joy from them, then you might want to look at a different organisation.

Working with Wild AnimalsThere is obviously going to be a certain amount of risk involved to anyone who decides to work with wild animals while volunteering in Africa.  However, this would not be because it was a teenager working there or because the area is not safe.  It would have more to do with the fact that working with these kinds of animals poses a risk no matter who you are or where you are in the world.

Unsafe AreasThere are certain places in Africa where it would be considered less safe to travel for example.  However, these organisations are aware of the areas that are safe and those which aren't.  Your teenage son or daughter would never be taken to unsafe areas while working as a volunteer in Africa.  All in all, if you choose the right organisation, volunteering in Africa is considered to be pretty safe for teenagers.

Visiting Ancient Sites Brimming with History in Cyprus

Maa-Palaeokastro (also known as just Maa) is an ancient settlement on the western coast of the island of Cyprus. Located close to Coral Bay, it is a key site that has built much greater historical understanding of the end of the Late Bronze Age in Cyprus. If you would like to pay Maa a visit, explore options for car hire Paphos Airport is a great place to do this. The modern town of Paphos is 10 kilometres from Maa so a car is essential for mobility in Cyprus especially because the island has no public transportation.

Back to Maa, the area was settled around 1200 before common dating by the Mycenaean Greeks who arrived at that time. The unique geography of the island with its natural harbours, sheltered bays and clear views of intruders arriving by land or by sea, made the island particularly attractive for the new arrivals. They built significant fortifications to increase their security even further. The Mycenaean Greeks built one wall to block the whole width of the narrowest part of the island's peninsula and, thus, provide a barrier for intruders on foot or horseback. They also built a second wall to offer protection from any force that sought to attack from to sea.

They did not, however, plan to have to protect the site from visitors approaching in automobiles. There are so many options for car hire, Paphos Airport would surely have worried the Mycenaean’s due to its sheer ability to so easily transport visitors to their very doorstep. There true threat of destruction came at the end of the Bronze Age when much of the site was destroyed by intruders that came by sea. This is an important site to include on any itinerary and the ancient history and skill that it took to build the structure is palpable when you visit.