Tour operator Abercrombie & Kent offers expedition trips in A&K's Extreme Adventures brochure.
Adventure Vacation packages are ranked as mild, moderate, demanding or severe, based on altitude, temperature, fitness requirements, latitude, longitude and accommodations. Each adventure holiday includes expertly planned itineraries, support from experienced guides and the option of renting gear, such as cold weather clothing for Arctic and Antarctic adventures.
Participants don't have to get insurance quotes for medical evacuation insurance. Extreme Adventures trips include $300,000 of insurance coverage for emergency evacuation during expeditions.
Alaska Adventure Trips
Adventure vacations range from A to Z. Untamed Alaska, rated demanding, is a camping, paddling and hiking trip in The Arctic National Refuge. Participants may see grizzly bears, the Porcupine herd of caribou and other wildlife.
Traces of Lost Civilizations is very different from standard Egypt escorted tours. Participants travel by camel and 4x4 vehicles toward the Great Sand Sea and Uwienat, the highest mountain in the Western desert.
Travelers visit Wadi Sora, Picture Valley and Wadi Furag to see cave paintings. Other highlights of this Egypt tour package are the Baharia Oasis, where 10,000 mummies were discovered, and the rock paintings at Kurkur Talh, which are 18,000 years old.
On the A&K adventure package to Jordan, Following the Steps of Lawrence of Arabia, participants travel by camel caravan and 4x4 vehicles from Wadi Rum to Aqaba Fortress, Petra, the Dana Nature Reserve and the Dead Sea.
African Safaris
Safaris in Botswana are combined with Zambia safaris in the Rivers and Horse Trails tour. Participants paddle the Zambezi River, home to hippos and crocodiles, ride horses through Okavango waters and elephants through Zambian forests.
A Tanzania Africa safari, called The Selous on Foot, offers foot safaris in Selous Game Reserve (the largest protected wilderness in Africa), game viewing and fishing for tiger fish, which are related to piranhas.
A safari in Kenya includes horseback riding, hiking, camping, game drives, a flight in a vintage biplane and mountain biking down Mount Kenya, which is 10,000 feet high.
In Uganda, Abercrombie & Kent has an adventure trip into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to observe the silverback gorilla. Only 700 mountain gorillas live in the wild today. Travelers looking for wilderness safaris, rated at the mild level, can add the South Africa luxury safari extension at Singita Private Game Reserve.
New Zealand Adventure Vacation
Three outdoor adventure tours focus on mountain trekking. On the New Zealand Adrenalin Adventure trip, participants hike the 10-mile Tongariro Crossing, go whitewater rafting on the Motu River and bungee jumping from The Ledge in Queenstown.
Other extreme adventure packages are the climb to Everest Base Camp from Lukla, Nepal, and the ascent of Kilimanjaro. The route to the highest summit in Africa (Kilimanjaro is 19,343 feet high) is along the Lemosho Glades and Western Breach, which is rich in wildlife.
South Pole Travel
A&K Extreme Adventures go to the ends of the earth. An Antarctic flight brings travelers to Patriot Hills, with skis, towing sleds and GPS units. The 69-mile trek to the South Pole begins at 89 degrees South latitude, the point where Shackleton turned back. Participants camp along the route and visit the Amundsen-South Pole Research Station.
Unlike Antarctica cruises, A&K's An Audience with Emperors Antarctic tour begins with flights to Patriot Hills base camp, which is 2,800 feet above sea level. Two more flights bring travelers to an emperor penguin rookery, with 5,500 breeding pairs and 3,300 chicks. Because the Antarctic camp is walking distance from the colony, and there is 24 hours of daylight, there are numerous opportunities for photography.
A&K offers two adventure holidays in Norway. On the Trail of the Polar Bear brings visitors by snowmobile to a polar bear den to watch the mother emerge with her cubs after hibernation. The last protected natural polar bear habitat, Spitsbergen has a polar bear population of 4,500.
On Abercrombie and Kent's second Norway adventure vacation, participants mush dog sled teams and ride reindeer sleds to Saami teepees (lavvu) for lunch. They overnight in the Saami village of Ovre Soppero, where they enjoy a traditional sauna.
Scuba diving vacation
A&K's Belize Reef, River and Rainforest adventure vacation includes scuba diving at the Elbow at Turneffe, Half Moon Caye and Blue Hole. At Gladden Spit, divers swim with whale sharks. Participants also explore Peccary Hills National Reserve on hikes, kayaks and ATVs.
Lovers of speed will enjoy two South Africa trips. Seeking the Ultimate Thrill includes viewing great white sharks from shark-proof cages near Gaansbaai and driving an A1 racecar.
The Extreme machines tour offers adventure seekers the opportunity to experience G-forces in the cockpit of a fighter jet and the high speed thrill of Grand Prix racing in South Africa.
