Many people dream of going on big adventures; only a few ever do it. For this article, I found 13 individuals, couples and families who had the guts to embark on epic adventures. You may envy them, or you may think they’re crazy. But I guarantee that their stories will inspire you.

Karl Bushby: Walking around the world

Karl Bushby is attempting to break world records by walking around the world. He set off from South America in 1998, walked north to Alaska and walked across the frozen Bering Straits (the first man to do so) into Russia. That alone took 8 years, and Karl has been delayed in Russia with visa problems for the last two years. Ultimately, his aim is to end up in London. By that time, he expects to have been walking for 14 years, with over 36,000 miles covered. Visit his website: Goliath Expedition.

Manon Ossevoort: Traveling by tractor from the Netherlands to South Africa and onto the South Pole

Manon Ossevoort’s tractor in Egypt.

Manon Ossevoort is a theatre maker and actor from the Netherlands who is travelling from the Netherlands to South Africa by tractor. Along the way, she is collecting the dreams of people she meets (on pieces of paper). From South Africa, she will travel by boat to Antarctica, where she will continue on foot or by tractor to the South Pole. Here, she plans to build a snowman and place the pieces of paper containing people’s dreams in the belly of the snowman. She is also raising money for War Child. Visit her website here.

Becky Sampson: Travelling by horse from London to Tokyo.

From London to Tokyo, by horse. Becky Sampson and her piebald pony, Bertie’s Quest, are setting out on a 15,000 kilometre, four-year quest through Western and Eastern Europe, Central Asia, China and Japan. Becky is aiming to raise £15,000 for SOS Children, an organization that works to provide safe places for orphan children to live and grow. Her journey is slated to begin in February 2009. Visit here website: Expedition Equus.

Ted Simon: Motorcycled around the world, twice

Back in 1977, Ted Simon set off on a 4-year motorcycle journey through Africa, the Americas, New Zealand, Australia and across Asia into Europe. He covered 78,000 miles on a 500cc Trumph. 25 years later, at the age of 70, he did it all again. He’s written books about both his journeys, which you can order from his website, Jupitalia.

Fire at Torres de Paine, Chile. Photo by Marlis Seelos.

Kinga Freespirit: Hitchhiked around the world

In 1998, Kinga Choszcz and her husband Chopin set off with $600USD and hitchhiked around the world for five years. Their amazing journey took them through the Americas, New Zealand, Australia, Asia and Russia before culminating in Europe. She wrote a book about the experience called Led By Destiny. In 2005, Kinga again set out, this time to Africa. Sadly, she died from malaria in Ghana in 2006. Read about her earlier adventures on her GeoCities website, or her more recent ones here.

Christoph Rehage: Walking from China to Germany

Christoph Rehage is walking from China to Germany, a journey that will take at least two years. After almost a year, he’s still making his way through China. He writes about his trip on his website, The Longest Way.

Frank Muldowney: Pushed an empty wheelchair across Australia

Frank Muldowney with Harvey

Frank Muldowney pushed a wheelchair containing his invisible friend “Harvey” from Perth to Sydney, a 4,000 mile journey undertaken to achieve world peace. Visit his website: Believing in Harvey.

Tim Cope: Travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary

Tim Cope followed in the footsteps of Ghengis Khan and travelled 10,000 kilometres by horse from Mongolia to Hungary. The journey took him over three years. Visit his website: Tim Cope Journeys.

Colin and Julie Angus: Completed the first human-powered cirumnavigation of the globe

In 2004, Colin Angus, his fiancée Julie Wafaei and someone else (the website doesn’t say who) took off from Vancouver and began a two-year cycling, skiing, canooing, hiking and rowing trip that became the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe. They’ve done other similar adventures, which you can read about on their website: Angus Adventures.

Rory Stewart: Walked across Afghanistan in 2002

Rory Stewart may not have covered as much distance as some of the other people mentioned here, but consider where he was walking and when. He wrote a book about his adventure called The Places in Between, which you can order from his website: Rory Stewart Books.

The Vogels: Cycling from Alaska to Argentina

The Vogels are a family of four (mom, dad and ten-year old twin boys) cycling the full length of the American continent over 2 and 1/2 years. Read about their adventures on their website: Family on Bikes.

The World by Road: Driving from New Zealand to New York

OK, so they’re not driving all of that, but The World By Road expedition crew are on one very big road trip. So far, they’ve driven through Australia, Asia, Russia, Europe (including far north Scandinavia), Africa and South America. After over 50,000 miles and a year and eight months, they’re on the home stretch. Check out their website: The World By Road.

Amy and Wim: Cycled from Belgium to China for their honeymoon

Now isn’t that romantic? After tying the knot, Amy and Wim rode from Belgium to China, covering almost 11,000 kilometres. Read about their journey on their blog: Amy and Wim.

© Eric Daams for TravelBlogs, 2008. | 13 Epic and Slightly Crazy Travel Adventures | 9 comments |
Post categories: Round-Up
Post tags: adventure travel, Becky Sampson, Christoph Rehage, Colin Angus, cycling, danger travel, epic adventures, Frank Muldowney, hiking, hitchhiking, horse travel, Julie Angus, Karl Bushby, Kinga Freespirit, long-distance walking, Manon Ossevoort, motorcycle travel, overland travel, road trip, Rory Stewart, Round the world, sailing, sea travel, Ted Simon, Tim Cope, Vogels