 |
| Take 5 August 2014 Edition click on the picture to be taken to Take 5 magazine, the article begins on pg. 22 |
Welcome all Take 5 visitors to our web blog.
If you are here it’s likely because you were reading the article
prepared by Take 5 magazine August Edition titled “Adrenalin Rush”. It will be
a series that Marina Sacht, an adventurer herself, is hosting. We are just the
first of many.
Since space is constricted in Take 5 we have copied the questions and
answers below here for your reading. One key piece of information is that we live in Ladysmith, BC, and very proud of the community we live in. The Transfer Beach amphitheater that the front page photo was taken at is one of the true gems and plays host to many summer activities, just like the 121BC amphitheater photo featured in the Take 5 article.
If you are here to check out our blog as a result of the article please
feel free to surf. The blog is organized based on dates, so the 2011 epic trip
will be under the 2011 heading on the right hand column on the page, and so
forth. It started in late April through September of that year. In short it was
amazing and was once in a lifetime.
Our adventure travel without motorcycles can be navigated to at the top
of the right hand column on the home page of the blog.
A 4:20 min. Youtube video featuring some 80 of our favorite pics from
our 2011 trip can be accessed here.There are many more favorites now, but I have not created a video
encompassing them yet. They are embedded in the blog pages for the different trips.
So please enjoy! If you have any questions please feel free to post them as comments at the bottom of the blog and we will respond as soon as possible to them.
Take 5 Q&A
What do you define as an “adventure?”
I think the textbook definition of adventure is well known as “an
unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity”. We’d like
to be clear though that anything out of the ordinary would fall into that
generalized definition. Adventure for us is much more demanding and includes a
commitment to learn as much as we can and there is an element of risk that
cannot be predicted and completely managed.
For us, adventure travel will take us outside our comfort
zone, requires our skills and ability to self direct, and use self reliance to
navigate the unknown whether it is our sailboat, motorcycle, bicycle or RV;
whether it is in a foreign country, interacting in a foreign culture, understanding
the language, or finding accommodation, and discovering the local foods and
music. Adventure travel cannot be such if delivered on a tour, since the
element of the unknown and uncontrolled factors are being managed by a tour
director. That’s just travel!
What is the greatest adventure you have participated in?
Without a doubt our 5 month motorcycle trip to North Africa,
Europe, eastern Europe, east of eastern Europe, and Turkey in 2011 is our
largest single adventure that took us to 3 continents, 22,500 kms, 150 days, 18
countries, and over 180 World Heritage Sites on our own motorcycle which we
shipped to Europe for the sole purpose. Achieving the satisfaction of seeing so
many amazing places and being completely self-reliant, providing oil changes
and service to our motorcycle on a schedule, coordinating ferry schedules,
accommodation, seeking out authentic ethnic food experiences, swimming on the
same beaches as the locals, are all part of it. You don’t accomplish that kind
of travel or develop those skills and abilities overnight. It’s a building
block process that allows you to learn from earlier travel lessons and develop
the confidence to stretch yourself more.
Why is adventure important to you?
It allows us to learn and grow. Life is backwards sometimes,
the skills and knowledge we have learned from adventure travel now, would have
allowed us to advance our knowledge within a formal learning environment when
we were in school. Between Sandra and I
we have learned so much in each foreign setting we have travelled in, that we
just want to encourage others to travel the world and learn.
What is your favorite adventurous activity to do in the Central
Vancouver Island area?
Sailing is something that actually brought us to Ladysmith. We used to haul our sailboat out to the Gulf Islands when our kids
were small and gunk hole the islands for 3-4 weeks each year. Not many people
from the prairies ever did that.
In 2009 we stretched ourselves by taking our trailerable
sailboat up to the Broughton Archipelago and spent a month sailing down through
the Discovery islands. We were fortunate enough to anchor off Alert Bay, BC.
and be invited into the Longhouse of the 'Namgis peoples, for their Salmon
Prince and Princess celebration in June. Experiencing First Nations traditional
celebrations is no doubt a cultural adventure that everyone should pursue if
you live here on Vancouver Island. Explore the backcountry here.
Have your adventurous lifestyle been an asset or detriment to your
personal/business relationships and how?
Our adventure travel has been extremely
beneficial to us. When I was a Corporate security advisor of an Energy company
the knowledge that I had from foreign travel allowed me to understand and make
sound risk assessments for our business executives who would travel to other
countries, and since retiring we have met many people, most much younger than
us, that we have become real friends with. The photo of us in the Sahara desert
was taken by an Italian husband and wife who were riding their motorcycles
along with another couple. A minor motorcycle crash by one of them in the sand
at that time allowed us to meet. Now
several years later they have a 1 yr. old son who we have travelled to Venice
to see and continue to be part of their lives. It keeps us young by staying
active in this fashion.
If someone was looking to add some zest to their lives what would you
suggest?
That is such an individual choice. But if you want to learn
to research adventure travel whether Two wheels or overland vehicle ( 4WD) then
websites like Horizons Unlimited are great places to start. Rick Steves is an
excellent resource for what he terms “Backdoor travel”. This is finding unique
places that aren’t well known and enjoying them before they are overrun by
tourism. Our latest trip in southern Italy allowed us to explore areas that
only Europeans were travelling in when we were there. Many people were in
disbelief when they saw the Canadian flag on our adventure motorcycle.
What do you future plans include?
Your right we aren’t done yet by any means. A friend, who we
met when we “paid it forward” back in 2004, he was travelling to North America
from Germany and we made him welcome in our home, has many times over repaid
the favor. He would like us to travel to his hometown in northern Germany, and
we plan to continue on to Scandinavia, and the Baltic coast and countries.
In addition, we really enjoyed our time in Southeast Asia
particularly Cambodia and Hong Kong this past winter, so we have set new goals
to see the Great Wall of China, Beijing and the Terracotta warriors. Our
children and grandchildren are following in our footsteps of adventure travel/living
and we will continue to visit them wherever they move and live around the
world. Of course, we will find the adventure component to this travel, like we
did in Cambodia by taking a bicycle trip of the Angkor Watt temples, and
renting and driving all of Malaysia by ourselves, an experience not for the
faint of heart.
