What is adventure?

At Another World we’ve pondered the meaning of adventure travel for hours. As we’ve researched and created trips and experiences we’ve discovered that when it comes to travel, ‘adventure’ means a very different thing to each person we speak to.

For some, getting a passport and crossing an international border for the first time is the greatest adventure of all time. For others it’s reaching out physically not just mentally from the safety of their comfort zone. There are the guys and girls who think unless your life is on the edge it’s not really an adventure. And others who say to travel that way isn’t adventurous, it’s mad.

We’re regularly asked “do you do soft adventure, or hard adventure?” by inquisitive journalists. I reply, “you tell me”. It is, to each person, a different thing.

ad·ven·ture | /adˈvenCHər/

Noun: An unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.
Verb: Engage in hazardous and exciting activity, esp. the exploration of unknown territory: “they had adventured into the forest”

What we have realised is that when it comes to adventure travel is that very often achieving at least one of three components: a physical activity, a cultural exchange or interaction and engagement with nature is a good place to start. And that is what we’ve sought to do with the experiences we offer through Another World Adventures.

The ‘degree’ of adventure is highly varied and we leave it to you to decide how far a journey will push your boundaries between a state of fear and flow.

An adventurer we’re big fans of, Alistair Humphreys puts it really nicely by saying that “Adventure is only a state of mind. Adventure is stretching yourself; mentally, physically or culturally. It is about doing what you do not normally do, pushing yourself hard and doing it to the best of your ability.”

And it’s with this in mind that Tori and I will be bringing you more of our own personal adventures be it credit-crunch experiences close to home (inspired by Alistair!) or in places further away …

… here’s our first, we hope of many.

The Grouse Grind | An Alternative Thursday Morning