As humans we’re always fascinated with people who are off travelling the world and partaking in crazy, wild, and inspiring adventures. What drove them there? Why? Where? How long for? What physical, psychological and interpersonal feelings did they experience?
Time and time again, the extraordinary tales of adventure travel become a great reflection of the incredible people in this world. These are their inspiring stories.
KINGA FREESPIRIT
WHO: Kinga Choszcz, a well-known Polish traveller and travel writer
THE ADVENTURE: Hitchhiked her way around the world for 5 years
WHEN: 1998
WHAT HAPPENED: Kinga met the love of her life and partner in crime, Radoslaw Siuda a.k.a Chopin after her first solitary journey to India and Nepal. They hitchhiked around the world for 5 years, setting off with $600USD to begin with. They made their way to America, NZ, Australia and Russia before ending back in Europe.
In 2006, her destiny led her to her fate. She followed her heart to Africa, which tragically took her life after she contracted cerebral malaria in Ghana. Throughout her experiences, she wrote a book called Led By Destiny which focuses on how one can find open and ready-to-help people anywhere in the world.
JULIANA BUHRING
WHO: A British-German woman and Guinness world record holder
THE ADVENTURE: The first and fastest woman to circumnavigate the globe by bike, riding over 29,000 kilometres in 152 days
WHEN: 2012
WHAT HAPPENED: Juliana only started cycling at the age of 30 in 2011 but by December 2012, she had already set her first Guinness World Record as the fastest woman to cycle from Naples and back, around the globe by bike, clocking over 29,000 kilometres in 152 days! She was also the only woman to participate in the inaugural Transcontinental Race from London to Istanbul in 2013. Literally, redefining girl power.
CHRISTOPH REHAG
WHO: Otherwise known as the weird bearded man and creator of blog, The Longest Way
THE ADVENTURE: Walked for 1 year from China to Germany amassing over 4500 km’s
WHEN: November 9th, 2007
WHAT HAPPENED: Chris lived in Beijing, China to pursue Chinese studies. On his 26th Birthday, he decided to take one of his favourite hobbies – walking, to an extreme level. He walked from China, to his hometown of Germany.
He walked, and walked some more, for over 4500 km’s. Along the way – he grew a big patchy beard. And voila – after an incredible journey he suddenly became an internet sensation with this time-lapse video below.
SARAH MARQUIS
WHO: Swiss explorer and National Geographic traveller of the year
THE ADVENTURE: An extreme solo walker who travels from Siberia to Australia over three years
WHEN: 2010
WHAT HAPPENED: Marquis is no stranger to adventure travel. At 17, she crossed Central Anatolia in Turkey on horseback. Then, inspired by her first big walk between 2002 and 2003 around Australia she set off again on her 38th birthday to become National Geographic traveller of the year for 2015.
Marquis began her journey in the city of Irkutsk, Siberia and walked all the way to Australia. It took her a total of THREE YEARS!
As a solo female traveller on the adventure of a lifetime, she was no stranger to extreme situations. She had moments in rather remote places and had to seek refuge in a culvert under a dirt road to avoid begin harassed by the horsemen in Mongolia. There were also near death experiences, as she spent three days in the Laos jungle with dengue fever, and tied her left foot to a tree so she wouldn’t drown herself in the river.
Nevertheless, Marquis determination and passion to continue walking, led her to Australia to become a living, breathing legend for all. #WhatAWoman
CHRIS DAVENPORT
WHO: Two-time winner of World Extreme Skiing championships and one of the world’s most accomplished big-mountain skiers and mountaineers
THE ADVENTURE: Skied almost every 14,000+ foot mountain in California, all 54 mountains in Colorado and even Mount Everest!
WHEN: 1996 – 2008
WHAT HAPPENED: Chris Davenport’s stellar ski career has put him in the hall of fame, and he’s just about ticked off every major mountain in the world. Early in his career in 1998, he climbed a peak near Everest of 23,400ft (7,132m) and descended down with nearly no high-altitude mountaineering experience. What follows next were two world skiing championships, and just about every big-mountain conquered in California and Colorado, putting him up there as one of North America’s top 25 skiers. Now he spends a lot of his time making ski films and has starred in over 25 movies! How’s that for one hell of an adventure…