My 25 biggest adrenaline hits (and how you can do them too)
I'm an adrenaline junkie, and I'll happily admit it. Jumping out of planes, off bridges and down volcanoes, swimming on the edge of waterfalls and diving in with great whites. These are my 25 biggest adrenaline hits, ranked.
For each one: the numbers, when to go and how to book it.
25 of 25 ticked off
- Qualifying as a skydiver ✓
- The Devil's Pool ✓
- The Nevis Bungy and Swing ✓
- The Bloukrans Bridge bungee ✓
- Cycling the Death Road ✓
- Erta Ale at night ✓
- Shark cage diving ✓
- Skydiving over Iguazú ✓
- Volcano boarding ✓
- A polar plunge ✓
- A beach skydive ✓
- Hang gliding over Rio ✓
- Canyoning in Mérida ✓
- Walking up to lava on Pacaya ✓
- The ZipRider at Icy Strait Point ✓
- Paragliding in Mérida ✓
- White-water rafting in Chile ✓
- A helicopter into the Grand Canyon ✓
- A balloon over Cappadocia ✓
- Climbing the Holmenkollen ski jump ✓
- Sandboarding in Wadi Rum ✓
- A Spartan Beast in Andorra ✓
- Flat out on the Autobahn ✓
- Climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge ✓
- Summit night on Kilimanjaro ✓
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1 Qualifying as a skydiver
Seville, Spain✓ Been: June 2019
Tandem skydives are brilliant, but jumping out of the plane on your own, with nobody strapped to your back, is something else.
- The numbers
- An AFF (Accelerated Freefall) course, from your first jump to jumping solo
- When to go
- Year round in southern Spain, which is why so many people learn there.
- How to do it
- Book an AFF course with a drop zone. Allow about a week so the weather doesn't beat you.
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2 The Devil's Pool
Livingstone Island, Zambia✓ Been: July 2019
You lean out over the edge of Victoria Falls while a guide holds your ankles.
- The numbers
- A rock pool right on the lip of a 108-metre drop
- When to go
- Roughly mid-August to January, when the Zambezi is low enough.
- How to do it
- Book a Livingstone Island tour from Livingstone; a guide takes you across to the pool.
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3 The Nevis Bungy and Swing
Queenstown, New Zealand✓ Been: March 2010
New Zealand's highest bungee, and the swing next door is just as bad for your nerves.
- The numbers
- A 134-metre bungee from a cable car over the Nevis River
- When to go
- Year round.
- How to do it
- Book with AJ Hackett in Queenstown; a bus takes you out to the canyon.
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4 The Bloukrans Bridge bungee
Garden Route, South Africa✓ Been: August 2017
One of the highest bridge bungees in the world. The walk out under the bridge deck is half the fear.
- The numbers
- A 216-metre jump from under a road bridge
- When to go
- Year round.
- How to do it
- On the N2 between Plettenberg Bay and Storms River. Easy to add to a Garden Route road trip.
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5 Cycling the Death Road
Yungas, Bolivia✓ Been: December 2015
A narrow gravel road along cliffs above the jungle. Some companies add a zip line at the end.
- The numbers
- About 60 km downhill, dropping over 3,000 metres
- When to go
- May to October, the dry season.
- How to do it
- A day trip from La Paz with a bike company. Pay for a good one with decent bikes and brakes.
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6 Erta Ale at night
Danakil Depression, Ethiopia✓ Been: October 2019
Walking up an active volcano in the dark, in one of the hottest places on earth.
- The numbers
- A night hike across the lava fields to a volcano that's had a lava lake
- When to go
- November to February.
- How to do it
- Only on an organised Danakil tour from Mekele. Check your government's travel advice for the Afar region.
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Photo: Sharkcrew, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 7 Shark cage diving
Gansbaai, South Africa✓ Been: August 2017
Being lowered into the sea with great whites circling the boat.
- The numbers
- Great white sharks, a few bars away
- When to go
- May to September.
- How to do it
- Boats go out from Gansbaai, about two hours from Cape Town. Sightings there have dropped since orcas arrived, so Mossel Bay is often the better bet now.
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8 Skydiving over Iguazú
Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil✓ Been: January 2016
Freefall with one of the biggest waterfalls in the world on the horizon.
- The numbers
- A tandem skydive with the falls below you
- When to go
- Year round, weather permitting.
- How to do it
- Book a tandem jump from Foz do Iguaçu airport.
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Photo: NicaPlease, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 9 Volcano boarding
Cerro Negro, Nicaragua✓ Been: January 2020
The only place in the world you can board down an active volcano.
- The numbers
- A 728-metre volcano, boarded down on black gravel
- When to go
- November to April.
- How to do it
- A tour from León. You hike up with your board and slide down sitting on it.
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10 A polar plunge
Deception Island, Antarctica✓ Been: December 2024
Swimming in Antarctica. Your body tells you it's a bad idea in about half a second.
- The numbers
- Into the Southern Ocean, a degree or two above freezing
- When to go
- November to March, on an Antarctic cruise.
- How to do it
- Most expedition cruises offer one. Get in, get out, get a hot drink.
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11 A beach skydive
Wollongong, Australia✓ Been: December 2013
Freefall over the coast, then landing on the sand.
- The numbers
- A tandem skydive landing on the beach
- When to go
- Year round.
- How to do it
- About an hour and a half south of Sydney; operators run transfers from the city.
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12 Hang gliding over Rio
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil✓ Been: February 2016
Running off a ramp in the rainforest and floating over Rio to land on the beach.
- The numbers
- A tandem flight from Pedra Bonita down to São Conrado beach
- When to go
- Any clear day. It's cancelled when the wind's wrong.
- How to do it
- Book a tandem flight; they pick you up from your hotel.
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13 Canyoning in Mérida
Mérida, Venezuela✓ Been: March 2016
Abseiling down waterfalls and sliding down natural rock chutes into pools.
- The numbers
- Abseils, jumps and natural slides down waterfalls
- When to go
- December to April, the dry season.
- How to do it
- With a local guide from Mérida. Check your government's travel advice for Venezuela first.
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14 Walking up to lava on Pacaya
Near Antigua, Guatemala✓ Been: November 2009 and January 2020
When it's flowing, you get close enough to feel the heat coming off the lava.
- The numbers
- An active volcano, 2,552 metres
- When to go
- November to April.
- How to do it
- A guided half-day trip from Antigua.
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Photo: Enrico Blasutto, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 15 The ZipRider at Icy Strait Point
Hoonah, Alaska, USA✓ Been: August 2014
Six people side by side, dropping down a mountain to the sea.
- The numbers
- One of the biggest zip lines in the world, over the Alaskan rainforest
- When to go
- May to September, the cruise season.
- How to do it
- Most people do it as a shore excursion from an Alaska cruise.
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Photo: Another one of my pictures: This photograph was taken by Medium69 (William Croch, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 16 Paragliding in Mérida
Mérida, Venezuela✓ Been: March 2016
Running off a mountainside and riding the thermals over the valley.
- The numbers
- A tandem flight over the Andes
- When to go
- December to April.
- How to do it
- With a local operator in Mérida. Check your government's travel advice first.
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Photo: Marco Antonio Correa Flores, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 17 White-water rafting in Chile
Near Pucón, Chile✓ Been: December 2015
Cold water, big rapids and a volcano on the skyline.
- The numbers
- Rapids on the rivers below Villarrica
- When to go
- December to March.
- How to do it
- Half-day trips from Pucón.
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18 A helicopter into the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA✓ Been: November 2010
Flying low over the rim as the canyon drops away beneath you.
- The numbers
- Over the Strip and the desert, then down into the canyon
- When to go
- March to May, or September to November.
- How to do it
- Day trips run from Las Vegas.
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Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 19 A balloon over Cappadocia
Göreme, Turkey✓ Been: April 2015
Drifting over the fairy chimneys at sunrise with the sky full of balloons.
- The numbers
- Sunrise among a hundred other balloons
- When to go
- April to June, or September to October. Flights are often cancelled for wind, so build in spare mornings.
- How to do it
- Book a sunrise flight in Göreme; pick-ups are before dawn.
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Photo: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 20 Climbing the Holmenkollen ski jump
Oslo, Norway✓ Been: September 2015
Running up a ski jump is exactly as hard as it sounds.
- The numbers
- An obstacle race that sends you up one of the world's most famous ski jumps
- When to go
- The Toughest series runs in late summer and autumn.
- How to do it
- Enter a Toughest race; Oslo's course uses the ski jump.
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21 Sandboarding in Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum, Jordan✓ Been: January 2010
Red dunes, sandstone cliffs and a camp under the stars.
- The numbers
- Red sand dunes in the desert
- When to go
- March to May, or September to November.
- How to do it
- Book a jeep tour and a night in a desert camp.
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Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Marianique Santos, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons 22 A Spartan Beast in Andorra
Andorra✓ Been: September 2017
Obstacles, climbs and a mountain course in the Pyrenees.
- The numbers
- A mountain obstacle race of 21 km and more
- When to go
- Usually in late spring or September.
- How to do it
- Enter on the Spartan website; fly to Barcelona or Toulouse and drive up.
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Photo: Isiwal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 23 Flat out on the Autobahn
Germany✓ Been: 2008
Legal top speed, on a public road.
- The numbers
- Stretches with no speed limit
- When to go
- Any time, but a dry day.
- How to do it
- Hire a car in Germany and find a derestricted stretch. Keep right except to overtake.
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Photo: JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 24 Climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney, Australia✓ Been: March 2008
Walking over the top of the arch with the Opera House below you.
- The numbers
- 134 metres above the harbour
- When to go
- Year round. Twilight climbs are the best.
- How to do it
- Book a BridgeClimb in advance; it takes about three hours.
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Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 25 Summit night on Kilimanjaro
Tanzania✓ Been: October 2008
Climbing through the night by head torch to stand on the roof of Africa at sunrise.
- The numbers
- 5,895 metres, starting the final climb around midnight
- When to go
- January to March, or June to October.
- How to do it
- With a licensed operator; take a longer route to give yourself the best chance.
Pick the one that scares you most and book it. Then tell me what I should try next.
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