mud walking

No Surprise: Dutch are Most Adventurous

Published April 27, 2017 | By Clark Norton

Dutch tulips: better than cave biking. Photo by Rachel Kramer on flickr.

According to a recent survey of 40 countries around the globe conducted by motor home rental site SHAREaCAMPER, the Netherlands has the most adventurous people per capita, followed by Australia and Sweden.

The survey tabulated the number of online searches in each country for such adventurous activities as skydiving, bungee jumping, hiking, rock climbing, skiing, surfing, BMXing, and caravanning — the latter being what Australians (where SHAREaCAMPER is partially based) call traveling in RVs, campers, or motor homes.

Strictly in terms of sheer numbers of total searches, the United States placed first, but of course has a much higher population than the other countries. The U.S. finished ninth in the per capita rankings.

While the Netherlands was outdone in skiing by Norway and Australia in surfing (no surprises there), Switzerland in… Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure travel, Baby boomer travel, cycling, Europe, RVs, Sports | Tagged adventure sports, adventure travel, cave biking, cave cycling, cycling in the Netherlands, Dutch cycling, Dutch mud walking, Holland, mud walking, The Netherlands | 1 Comment

7 Travel Adventures I’ll Never Do Again

Published May 4, 2015 | By Clark Norton

Camel riding is fine until you turn numb and get dust in your mouth. Photo by upyernoz on flickr.

I never like to say “never” when it comes to travel experiences, especially adventurous ones, but there are certain ones I don’t care to repeat.

I’d glad I did them — but “did” is the operative word (as in the past tense). I’ll do just about anything once, with the possible exception of bungee jumping. I’m still working up to that one, and admire anyone who’s done it — although I’d feel pretty stupid if that’s the way I kicked the bucket, list or no.

Here’s my “honor roll” of once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime-is-enough-thanks travel experiences:

* Camel riding. It seems the height of romanticism — crossing the Sahara or the Arabian sands on a camel. Lawrence of Arabia, Omar Sharif, flowing robes, Bedouins and all that. My first camel ride, in Tunisia,… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, Countries, Sports | Tagged Camel riding, cave biking, dogsled driving, dogsledding, Finland, glacier walking, Hitchhiking, mud walking, sauna., Tan-Zam Railway, Zambia | 2 Comments

According to government and private surveys:

Leading-edge baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) and seniors account for four out of every five dollars spent on luxury travel today.
Roughly half the consumer spending money in the U.S.--more than $2 trillion--is in the hands of leading-edge baby boomers and seniors.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) travel more than any other age group.
When asked what they would most like to spend their money on, baby boomers answered “travel” more than any other category, including improving their health or finances.