7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Adventure travel for everyone, June 11, 2008
This review is from: Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean: A Guide to Fifty Extraordinary Adventures for the Seasoned Traveler (Paperback)
As someone outside the target demographic of this book, and also one who tries to avoid traveling as part of a tour group, I approached this book with a certain amount of skepticism. The book bills itself as being tailored to the "seasoned" traveler, which to my ear sounded like it was for "old farts." While it certainly would be a great book for old farts looking for travel destinations, it's also a great resource for people of any age who are looking for adventure travel, but who can also enjoy an exotic location on its own merits without the addition of a mindless adrenaline rush.
The book consists of several parts: first is the introduction where the coauthors discuss the logistics of adventure travel in the form of "What to do" and "What to bring." Don Mankin handles the first topic and Shannon Stowell handles the second. The tips contained here, e.g., "Get in shape," "Buy trip insurance," and "Bring good footwear" are not revolutionary, but certainly helpful. The specific clothing and footwear recommendations in Stowell's chapter are especially useful.
The next 26 chapters each cover a different adventure travel experience, and are grouped by continent. About half the chapters are written by Mankin, while Stowell contributes two of his own, and the rest are rounded out by other contributors recruited by the authors. It's a shame that Stowell only wrote two chapters as his writing style is very lively and seems to capture the adventure aspect of the trip very well. The form followed in each chapter is a full description of the trip including some of the hardships as well as the beauty and adventure. The end of each chapter covers four topics: "Why Go," "Special Issues and Challenges," "Variations and Options," and "Resources and Information." Within the final topic are two subtopics, "How to do it" and "Where to Stay." This gives the reader plenty of information to make a decision as to the feasibility of the trip from the standpoint of health/physical fitness, level of accommodations that can be expected, and financial burden, as most of the trips list the prices that can be expected in either 2007 or 2008 dollars. There's also contact information for tour operators and others who can help with the planning of the trip.
At the end of these 26 chapters are 26 more trips that are listed in a couple of paragraphs each. These trips were not experienced directly by any of the authors, but rather were gleaned from a survey of adventure travel tour operators who were asked to recommend tours that would be good for the, ahem, "seasoned" adventure traveler. Once again these tours are grouped by continent and all areas of the globe are covered.
The final chapter is titled "What's next in adventure travel" and covers topics such as sustainable adventure travel, and also volunteer adventure tourism, or "voluntourism." This is something that has apparently been catching on lately, and in this chapter they lay out some questions that anyone considering this approach should ask of themselves and of any tour operators with whom they might book a trip.
Overall, the book was very good, especially in the way it captured my imagination and transported me to the location being described. As someone who diligently seeks to avoid crowds, I was pleased that most of the trips also had the same goal in mind, even though they were generally within arm's reach of civilization. The diversity of the trips both in terms of subject and location provides something for everyone. My favorites were the trek to the mountain gorillas in Uganda where Katherine Braun Mankin had a couple gorillas pass by within two feet as she sat trembling with excitement, the walking safari in Zambia where Dennis Hicks and Stephanie Waxman got out of their vehicle and walked through the bush for a total immersion experience in the wilds of Africa, and the trip by coathor Stowell to the Dong village in Guizhou, China where the whole town came out to sing for them when they arrived.
This is not a book you'll want to carry with you on your travels, since it doesn't give step-by-step directions as you go, but it's definitely a book you'll want to read from cover to cover if you're planning a trip somewhere and you'd like ideas on where to go and, almost as important, how to go. Highly recommended.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great book of adventure travel trips!, May 30, 2008
This review is from: Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean: A Guide to Fifty Extraordinary Adventures for the Seasoned Traveler (Paperback)
Note: Review of an Early Release Version.
They should put a warning label on this book: "Caution! Reading more than two chapters of this book at one sitting may cause you to quit your job to do more adventure traveling before it's too late!" I read "Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean" slowly -
partly to savor the descriptions of the adventure travel and partly because I found myself daydreaming about planning more and longer trips after I had read a chapter or two.
"Hulahula" is a "must read" book for seasoned (that is, experienced, older) travelers who are looking for new places to explore that are off the beaten track. The Hulahula is not a Hawaiian dance but a river in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and you get a first person account of what it is like to raft down it. The book also takes you "up close and personal" on encounters with mountain gorillas in Uganda, and you learn how one of the authors broke down in tears and proposed to his then-girlfriend at Machu Picchu, what it feels like to take a walking safari in Zambia and lots more.
The trips are described in first person narratives that give you a far better idea of what to expect than the standard guidebooks provide - if they cover the trips at all. You also get helpful hints about issues that those of us who are no longer twenty-somethings care about: what kind of shape you should be in to keep up with the others in your group, the toilet facilities, and whether the beds or camping spots will be friendly to people with bad backs. The book also includes useful information on the travel companies that specialize in each trip, possible variations on the trips and prices. My advice: read the book and then get going! Time's a-wasting!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gateway into rediscovering personal adventure, May 20, 2008
This review is from: Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean: A Guide to Fifty Extraordinary Adventures for the Seasoned Traveler (Paperback)
In Riding the Hulahula, Mankin and Stowell have managed to tap into the Zeitgeist of an entire generation. The ideas of adventure and personal transformation were like mothers milk for the baby boomers in the 60s and 70s. In this terrific book, the authors show how we all can rediscover the sense of adventure of our early years - and not break our necks in the process! Riding the Hulahula provides a gateway into adventure that will inspire and guide readers to both explore the remote corners of the globe and transform their lives in the process. I loved reading this book and heartily recommend it for anyone with either a yen for travel or a fascination with how adventure can transform your mind/life.
Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D. author of Bodymind, Age Wave and The Power Years: A User's Guide to the Rest of Your Life.
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