“The 5 most Dangerous Holiday Activities”
For most people, going on holiday is a time of rest, relaxation and release. But to others it can be
a time of pure thrill-seeking where the itinerary is packed with activities that spice up their
holiday experience with a healthy dash of adrenaline and a liberal dose of exhilaration.
If you’re happiest bungee jumping off a gorge or diving with sharks, then read on to discover five
of the most dangerous holiday activities you can engage in.
Bull Running
Viewed as the ultimate display of courage or idiocy depending on who you talk to, the San Fermin
festival in Pamplona, Spain, is centuries old and attracts men from all over the world. This is an
extreme event and a long-standing favourite of adrenaline junkies the world over. For nine days, it
involves the Running of the Bulls where bulls are let loose to run through the town for half a mile
and members of the public run in front of them, dressed in white with red handkerchiefs tied to
their necks.
Diving with Sharks
If horny cows still don’t cut it for you, then there’s always getting ‘up, close and personal’ with
a shark off the Western Cape of South Africa. Cage diving with sharks involves boating out to an
area where sharks are known to feed and then ‘chumming the water’ which means spilling fish guts and shark bait into the water to attract the beasts before climbing inside a steel cage and being
lowered into the churning water. Although not ‘foolproof’, cage diving is safe. Be warned, however,
that sharks can get stuck in the viewing window and burst a cage open as if it were made of twigs.
You’ve been warned.
BASE Jumping
This kind of jump means parachuting from fixed objects such as buildings, bridges and mountains
instead of planes. The thrill of this kind of activity comes from the fact that jumps are achieved
at much lower altitudes than on a normal parachute jump, so you’re only a few seconds from the
ground and the risk of injury is higher (so there’s a need for rapid parachute deployment and no
space for error).
Tombstoning
Finding a cliff above some water and jumping into it – that’s really all tombstoning is. Tombstoning
can be extremely dangerous because of changes in tides and hidden rocks, so what may look like deep water could be lethal. It’s essential that you research tombstoning in detail and scope out the area from where you intend to jump.
Wingsuit Flying
If parachuting ceases to thrill and amaze you, perhaps soaring through the air in a wingsuit might
do the trick. Only experienced skydivers with over 200 jumps can progress on to wingsuiting.
This activity involves donning a winged jumpsuit that allows you to glide through the air. This is
definitely not recommended for the faint hearted. And make sure you look up some heavy-duty Holiday Accident Compensation!