If you were to ask around, I think you would find that for anyone with a bit of travel under their belt, the CRAZIEST thing they’ve ever experienced probably didn’t occur in their own backyard. Travel just seems to makes us do/ see/ experience so many insane and extraordinary things that wouldn’t happen in our day to day lives. I LOVE a good crazy travel story, so I thought who better to ask then the professionals… That’s right, I’ve got seven of my favorite travel bloggers to reveal exclusively with you their craziest travel moment!
Ariel from Cult of Lee:
After diving in the Great Barrier Reef all day, I was keen to go on another adventure. There isn’t much to do in Cairns at night, but one of the instructors on the boat did mention a crocodile farm close by, and who am I to pass up an animal experience near me? So at around 10pm, we set out to find this farm, chicken wire frames in tow. We pulled up to a dark swampy area, noticing a single wooden “Danger” sign adorned with a hastily painted skull and bones. Naturally, we climbed over the fence and proceeded to search for crocs with a single flashlight. In the midst of the rain, we caught glimpses of glittering eyes in the grass. Five.. Ten.. Twenty.. Fifty. Suddenly, a monstrous growl – the most prehistoric sound I had ever heard in my life – erupted the silence and a 20 foot monolith rushed towards us. The only thing that separated us from these dinosaurs was a single chicken wire fence. So, we flung the raw meat over the fence and proceeded to play Tug-Of-War with the giant crocodile. He won. The others were hungry, and many more big dark crocodile shapes started approaching. There must’ve been hundreds. That was when our flashlight ran out of battery and we agreed that it would probably be a good time to leave.
www.cultoflee.com | Instagram: @cultoflee
Phoebe from Little Grey Box:
In Morocco, on our way out to the Sahara desert, our guide stopped to buy scarves from a roadside vendor. He wrapped them around our heads to create turbans then told us to jump on the roof of the 4WD. We clung to the roof, sitting on top of 2 spare tyres and netting, while he whizzed along a completely deserted road at well over 100km/h. It was really dangerous and the craziest thing I’ve experienced while travelling, but it was one of those moments you just have to give in to. I felt wild and free. Moments like those are why I travel.
www.littlegreybox.net | Instagram: @littlegreybox_phoebe
Kelly from Where in the World KP:
After a long day at sea, my friends and I finally made it Mykonos, Greece. We pulled into port around midnight, and had private busses to take us to the crew’s favourite club. We rolled up to the club and danced all night until the break of dawn… Literally. My old friends and I walked down the promenade at dawn hand in hand laughing and watching the sunrise. We snuck in a few hours of sleep, and went to the beach where the rowdiness continued. At one point, we realized we had little time to get back to our ship, and definitely couldn’t waste anytime finding a taxi. Luckily for us, we quite literally stumbled upon the perfect amount of guys with the perfect amount of ATVs to drive my entire group of friends back. We sped down the small roads of Mykonos, flying by the locals, screaming at the top of our lungs. In the knick of time, we made it back on the ship, out of breath and laughing hysterically. And the party continued…
www.whereintheworldkp.com | @whereintheworldkp
Ashlea from A Globe Well Travelled
I stepped back in time. Well, as close as you can get to stepping back in time. Sitting in a thankfully heated mini bus with seven other people, I entered the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Ukraine was blanketed in a mid-December snow which made our abandoned surroundings look ever so creepy. The once thriving townships of Chernobyl and Prypyat had been completely evacuated and were unfit for residents to return, so signs that we were still in 1986 surrounded us. Propaganda from the soviet era May Day parade was piled in in a window we passed, and the hammer and sickle symbol was plastered over everything from building facades to street signs. The half completed exercise books and children’s dolls left in now empty schools had a confronting but fascinating pull that only comes with visiting a dark tourism site. It was an experience I’ll never forget, and will likely never see again. You can see more eerie winter photos from my trip to Chernobyl here.
www.aglobewelltravelled.com | Instagram: @aglobewelltravelled
Bec from The World As Bec Sees It
Of all the crazy things you can sign up for and get yourself caught up with while travelling the world, this one by far was the craziest for me… The time when I Bungy Jumped off the Victoria Falls Bridge in Livingstone, Zambia, with the thundering Victoria Falls behind me. After bungy jumping for the first time in New Zealand in 2010, I thought that I probably wouldn’t need to bungy jump again in this lifetime (I know for certain my mother didn’t mind if I never jumped again!). After arriving at the Victoria Falls bridge, and learning that I was standing on the border of two amazing African countries (Zimbabwe and Zambia), with one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World as my backdrop, I simply could not resist jumping again, and it was incredible. Let’s just say, my adrenalin and my sense of adventure won over, as it does every time. There are and will always be crazy adventures and experiences in life, especially while travelling the world, and why not let it be you to say yes without hesitation, take the risk and enjoy the ride?
www.theworldasbecseesit.com | Instagram: @theworldasbecseesit
Kelly Ross from Endlessly Exploring
I would have to say that my last minute decision to bike down the Death Road in Bolivia has to be one of the most adventurous things I’ve done while travelling. And with a name like that…you’d have to think I was pretty crazy, right?! Dressed head to toe in bright protective clothing and with my heart pounding out of my chest; I successfully made my way down the 54km harsh gravel road. The surrounding scenery of the misty rainforest and the dazzling snow-toped mountains in the distance were absolutely breathtaking, as were the dramatically steep cliff drops next to me. I may have been absolutely terrified the entire time but I did survive the most dangerous road in the world and it has to be one of the craziest things I’ve ever done!
www.endlesslyexploring.com | Instagram: @endlessexploring
Rachel from Department of Wandering
The craziest travel experience I have ever had has got to be embarking on a 15-day trek through the Himalayas in the middle of winter! Trekking through the Himalayas had always been on the bucket list and after spending a month in India, my boyfriend and I thought it would be a pretty spectacular way to end our trip. From Kathmandu we flew into Pokhara and the Annapurna region where the trek began. For 15 days we trekked through the most awe-inspiring alpine scenery, but I very quickly realised that I may have been slightly unprepared both physically and mentally for such a feat! We camped in tents in the snow, battled altitude sickness, were re-routed because of a blizzard and tried to stay warm in temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius. I’ll always be proud of myself for embarking on such a huge adventure as this and standing on the ‘roof of the world’!
Instagram: Rachel Bale
As for my craziest travel experience? Ah, I think I’ll have to leave you in suspense and save that one for another day…
N x
Do you have a crazy travel experience you are DYING to share? Comment below or tweet me (@polkadotpp)!
