Tips for Leading an Adventurous Life

When: January 17, 2010

Where: Budapest-Bamako

After the country’s only commercial jet crashed, Hungarian born internet entrepreneur Andrew G. Szabo found himself stuck in the Guinean capital, Conakry, on a hot August morning.  It’s not the most pleasant of places to be stranded, not even by African standards. He had to make his way to Mali’s capital Bamako some 1200 miles away.  So, he found a half decent Suzuki Samurai with a local driver and embarked on a life changing journey across the African bush. Read More →

When: April, 17th – May 9th, 2009 (23-days)

Where: All around the world (exact locations are a secret)

The Global Scavenger Hunt is  an annual around-the-world travel adventure competition, a true cultural immersion that will take twenty-five teams of two on a journey to some of the worlds most exotic locations.

Upon arrival at the event’s secret locations the teams will participate in Mini-Rallies that will have them solving riddles, following cryptic clues, answering travel trivia questions and looking for physical hints to discover unique items.

It’s a lot like “The Amazing Race” reality show – the big difference is that you don’t need to be a gay astronaut or a team of twin bikini models to enter. Anyone who can cough up the $9,900 (per person) entry fee can participate. Read More →

What is a Jeep Jamboree?

Jeep Jamborees are off-road adventure weekends that bring together the outdoors, down to earth people, and their Jeep 4×4s.

Catering to every level of off-road expertise, these popular off-road events have been going on for more than 50 years, and have grown into more than 30 annual outings that take place in some of the most scenic off-road locations in the country – from California to New Jersey and just about every state in between.

There’s just one catch – you must have a Jeep to participate. The Jamborees are only open to Jeep vehicles with a 4-LO transfer case — that includes everything from showroom stock all the way up to highly modified rigs. Read More →

It’s that time again! The 41st annual Baja 1000 is coming up in less than two weeks – Nov. 19-23 to be exact.

Over 350 teams are expected to participate in 28 Pro and 7 Sportsman classes for cars, trucks, motorcycles and ATVs.  Entries so far have come from the USA, Mexico, Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and Switzerland.

This years race begins and ends in Ensenada.The race course will follow a loop around the state of Baja California. While the fastest finishers are expected to complete the course in approximately 14 hours, all vehicles will have a 31-hour time limit to become official finishers in the legendary adventure. Read More →

Where: London to Cameroon

When: The inaugural Africa Rally started on July 18th 2008. Dates for the 2009 event haven’t been announced yet.

Deepest, Darkest Africa

First The Adventurists brought you The Mongol Rally, an epic journey traversing a 10,000 mile gauntlet of deserts, mountains and bandits in Central Asia. Next was The Rickshaw Run wherein an international cast of adventure starved lunatics forced three wheeled clown cars across the Indian sub-continent.

In their third offering, the good people at The Adventurists set a course for deepest, darkest Africa. Read More →

When: January 3-18, 2009

Where: Starts and ends in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Every January since 1979 the world’s best off-road drivers have gathered in France for the start of the most grueling off road endurance race known to man.

Driving vehicles straight out of a Speed Racer cartoon, the cast of international adventurers set off on an epic journey covering nearly 6,000 miles of the most grueling, gut pounding, neck wrenching, character testing terrain on Earth.

Dakar is often referred to as The World’s Toughest Off-Road Race - and for good reason. Over the period of 16 days competitors will run 15 stages – speeding thru rugged desert landscapes where temperatures routinely reach 130 degrees, both man and machine take an incredible beating; only half the participants can expect to finish the race due to equipment failure, injury or death. Read More →

When: Once a year in the Fall. The 2008 race will be held November 20-23.

Where: Baja, Mexico

The granddaddy of all desert races, the legendary Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 is North America’s best known off road race attracting adventurers from around the world. Only half of the racers will finish this incredible test of endurance where mechanical failures and vehicle flip-overs are all part of the ride.

Held every November in the treacherous and unforgiving Baja California Peninsula, this infamous race pits man and machine against the rugged terrain of the barren Mexican desert. Read More →

When: Once a year in July – The 2009 Rally starts July 18th.

Where: London to Mongolia via ???

The Mongol Rally is not as much a race as it is a framework for guaranteed Adventure. There are no prizes, no time limits, no support crews, no set courses and hardly any rules.

So what’s the point? The mad adventure geniuses at the Adventurists (the event’s organizers) sum up the Rally’s philosophy quite eloquently…

The world is just a little bit too safe. Gone are the days where the edge of the map called you forth to discover what lay beyond – satellite maps and GPS have it laid out before you leave the armchair. What if you want things to go wrong? What if you want a bit of unknown in a world full of health and safety measures? What if the words “adventure travel” conjure images of old ladies on a guided tour to Everest base camp with all the danger and real adventure neatly removed? What you need is the Mongol Rally.

The Journey

The Mongol Rally begins in London and finishes in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar around three weeks and a whole heap of adventure later. The rally is not about reaching the end, its about the fun you’ll have trying.

During the rally you’ll drive nearly 10,000 miles through a plethora of countries most people have never heard of.

The philosophy of the race is that “If nothing goes wrong, then everything has gone wrong.”

And to make sure that things actually do go wrong, the organizers have imposed some strict, and kinda comical limits on the type of vehicles that can participate. Read More →

When: Every 2 years – 2008/09 Challenge Finals to be held sometime in Mid 2009

Where: Various countries around the world – 2009 will be mostly Asia

The Land Rover G4 Challenge is a grueling, global adventure competition that takes place biannually in some of the world’s most spectacular urban and wilderness locations.

The event combines off-road driving with outdoor activities such as mountain biking, kayaking, climbing, orienteering and rappelling. Participants compete in tests of physical fitness, initiative, strategic thinking and technical driving skills.

Unlike The Baja 1000 or the Dakar Rally this event is not about driving faster than your opponent. Driving skills involve tests such as river crossings, boulder climbs and 4×4 obstacle courses.

A Quick History

The inaugural 2004/05 Land Rover G4 Challenge began in New York City with a novel, four-wheel drive course set up on a six-block stretch of Broadway. It then spent a week traversing snowy New England with the competitors using a variety of adventure skills to accumulate points at various remote locations.

From there the event crossed the ocean to South Africa where, over five days, the competitors drove from Cape Town to the southern most tip of the African continent. Read More →

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