Ever wanted super powers? Get one step closer by delving into the legend of the ninja in Japan. Your first stop is Kyoto, where you’ll learn to use a bow and arrow in an archery class. Next, you’ll study the ancient art of kenbu (sword dancing). In your downtime, explore the city’s temples or visit a tearoom for a warm cup of matcha. Board a shinkansen (bullet train) and zoom to Tokyo where you’ll undertake the ultimate ninja experience: a training session at a dojo with a karate master. Here, your sensei will guide you through various movements and techniques (and hopefully leave you in one piece). After your lesson wander Tokyo’s crowded streets, cutesy toy shops and tiny sushi bars. You might not become Superman, but being a fully fledged ninja will look pretty cool on your resumé.
Experience the sensation of whooshing down an Olympic ski slope without the risk of breaking your neck at the Kollensvevet zip-line, propped on top of Oslo’s Holmenkollen jumping tower.
The first ski competition here took place in 1892 and since then the structure has undergone 14 transformations to morph into the architectural curiosity it is today. Stand atop 100 tonnes of steel and take in the expansive views of Norway’s capital, then plummet 107 metres over a swift 361-metre distance. If that isn’t enough to get your heart pumping, boost the adrenaline factor by riding upside down.
Catch world-class waves without the crowds in a Polynesian paradise. Despite being the largest island in Samoa, Savai’i and it’s impressive breaks are still something of a secret. At Aganoa Lodge you’ll have exclusive access to a beach sheltered by a barrier reef. High tide brings Little Left, the only beginner’s wave on the island, which breaks on the edge of the lagoon. For something more challenging, just ask the lodge’s experienced guides. They’ve got the drop on the island’s other breaks – there are right- and left-handers pumping at between two and 14 feet – and can usually get you there within 30 minutes (the furthest is an hour’s drive). When you’re not paddling out, go hiking to waterfalls, pull on a snorkel or try your luck catching dinner. In the evening, retreat to the deck for a cold one as the sun goes down.
Introducing the Crazy Rider Xtreme, hailing from the next gen of zip-lines. Located in Ourimbah State Forest at TreeTops Adventure Park, a one-hour drive from Sydney, this ride combines the thrills of a roller-coaster with the flying sensation of a zip-line. Creating the structure wasn’t an easy feat – 2000 hours were spent on development and the ride took a staggering 5000 hours to build – but, by gosh, it was worth it.
At one-kilometre long, the Crazy Rider Xtreme is among the longest zip-lines in the world and during your five-minute ride you’ll zigzag your way through the trees, conquering 40 twists and turns and three 360-degree loops. If that isn’t enough, they’ve also thrown in a 540-degree whorl. Not sure your stomach is up to the extremity of Xtreme? Try the Crazy Rider Pioneer, a six-storey-high, 90-second ride with 10 twists along the way.
It may be one of the most uninhabitable places on the planet. Following the publication of John Henry Marsh’s 1944 book on the shipwreck of the Dunedin Star, it’s been called the Skeleton Coast, but the Bushmen of Namibia refer to this part of the world as the land God made in anger.
Moody, isolated and strangely beautiful, the 500-kilometre-long Skeleton Coast National Park stretches along the Atlantic Coast from Kunene River in the north to the Ugab River in the south, showcasing plains, mountains and shifting dunes.
Explore this remote coast on a nine-day 4WD excursion with Karibu Safaris. Departing Windhoek, you’ll walk to hidden waterfalls, go wild camping on beaches, visit wrecks and old mines, and keep eyes peeled for desert elephants, herds of oryx and springboks, brown hyenas, black rhinos, fur seals and rare desert lions.
Mention Palm Springs and most people think of swimming pools and the city’s proximity to music festival behemoth, Coachella. But there’s lots more to do out here than soak up the rays in an itty-bitty bikini or rave out in the desert.
An excellent way to burn a few hours is to rent an ATV and tear up some of the mountainous sand dunes that loom just outside the city (it’s on private land, so you don’t even need a license). These four-wheelers are fun, fast and just about anyone can do it.
Normally, looking through a kaleidoscope is like dabbling with LSD. Now imagine just how trippy it would be to stand inside one of these playgrounds of light and mirrors. Located at the exquisite Emerson Resort & Spa in Mount Tremper, New York, just a couple of hours outside of NYC, is the world’s largest kaleidoscope.
In a space that’s 17 metres high and about 12 metres across, visitors can feel the immersion in a multimedia show with moving images and a thumping soundtrack. Built in the silo of an old farm, it’s big enough for you to plaster yourself across the floor and lose yourself in the experience.
Let the powers of the wild Atlantic Ocean soothe your muscles with this special treatment at Voya Seaweed Baths in the picturesque town of Strandhill, Ireland. Located along the Wild Atlantic Way, Voya uses specially harvested local seaweed to create a tension melting treatment that is simply one of a kind.
Before you sink into a bath of hand-plucked plants in the name of improved circulation and plump, pert skin, you’ll experience a steaming treatment to open up your pores. Then lay back and let the spa work its magic.
If you’re bored with all those galleries that make you realise your creativity left you long ago, the Museum of Bad Art makes for a refreshing change. Displaying portraits that wouldn’t make your fridge door even if your progeny brought them home from kindergarten, the MOBA is exactly what it says on the tin.
Currently using the basement of the revamped 1920s Somerville Theatre as its exhibition space, this gallery shows crowd-pleasing masterpieces such as The Terrapin Pyramid and Mana Lisa.
They even go on tour, mostly around the US of A, but also overseas. For all of those tired of modernist museums full of toilets and blank canvases, MOBA is a breath of fresh air. And for those far away, the website is definitely worth browsing.
Ever wanted to inspect a three-metre-long human colon? How about the remnants of a woman whose corpse turned into adipocere, a substance that to the untrained eye looks like a melted bar of soap? If you’re feeling that dark curiosity within you stir then make sure you leave a few hours to visit the Mütter Museum next time you’re in Philly.
Originally created in 1858 for the sole purpose of research and education, the collection of odd medical specimens is now open to the public. Wander through and experience freaky abnormalities and mutations you would have never thought possible. It’s a must-see for anyone interested in the anatomically bizarre.
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