Family blames daughter’s death on the pursuit of most extreme sports

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Title – Family blames daughter’s death on the pursuit of most extreme sportsSource – The Independent
Date – 1st May 2008

In our ultra competitive world, everyone strives to outdo each other. Travellers were once seen as adventurous simply by travelling to New Zealand, now this seems little more than an expensive extravagance. Those seeking a more extreme experience visit countries where the political situation is not stable or which are so remote that if you get lost you stay lost. The problem is that many people take these extra risks simply for the bragging rights.

The same is true of the activities people undertake when they arrive in these countries, we seem to leave all our inhibitions and instincts at home and take risks that are simply not justified. When at home we are partially protected by health and safety laws that sometimes seem oppressive; but mostly we are protected by our own instincts learned from our parents, friends and peers and from the laws of our country and our society. New Zealand is not a particularly dangerous country and the controls on activities offered to backpackers is generally well controlled. But it is a country of adrenaline junkies and adrenaline junkies are always looking for the next fix and that fix has to be better than the last one.

Adrenaline is our body’s natural reaction to fear amongst other things. It is not something we can stop, but it is something we can control to a degree by our actions. Adrenaline is released into our bodies as a defence mechanism that evolution graced us with. That in itself should be enough of a warning to us, if the adrenaline is pumping then something is not right and instinct is telling you to take extra care while your body prepares itself naturally for the impact of the danger.

But with control comes complacency, the more we get used to adrenaline rushes, the more of a rush we need and the greater the risk we are willing to take.

Now I am not suggesting we avoid these activities. It has long been a rite of passage that backpackers to Australia and New Zealand consider a sky dive or a bungee jump and hundreds of thousands undertake these activities without incident every year, but as the market grows and more and more people travel, so does the demand for varied and more ‘exciting’ experiences. Even I had not heard of river boarding until I read this tragic article.

This should be a wake-up call to all travellers and we must learn from these cases. If an operator asks you to sign a disclaimer, it means two things; firstly it is dangerous or very dangerous and an accident can easily result in death; secondly they probably can’t get comprehensive insurance, if they can’t get any do you really think your travel insurance will cover you? Why is this important? Well put simply if you do have an accident and are lucky enough to survive, without insurance you will be faced with medical expenses that could mount into the tens of thousands.

Be sensible where you choose to do these activities, much as they may be dangerous I would much rather river-board in New Zealand than some parts of South East Asia. If I do choose to take part in an activity which is potentially very dangerous I want to know there is some regulation that makes health & safety a priority and that if something does go wrong emergency medical help is of the best standards and will be administered even if I don’t have my credit card on me (the bill can be paid later, unlike some countries where the ambulance will not even stop unless a credit card is presented first). Just think before you undertake these activities, check out the conditions for yourself and if your gut feeling tells you something is not right listen to your gut; don’t feel you have to compete with others, it is a much greater sign of courage and self confidence to say no than it is to say yes sometimes.

Many ‘adventure sports’ are fantastic fun and although they can not be classed as entirely safe, not many activities can. Every time we cross the road we take a risk, but we mitigate that risk by looking BOTH ways. Queenstown New Zealand lives on it’s reputation as the adventure sports capital of the world, you can guarantee they will do all they can to make sure these activities are as safe as they can ever be. That is no consolation to the families affected by this tragic accident, but adventure rarely comes without risk, otherwise it would probably not be adventure. As long as people have a spirit and a zest for life that Emily obviously did, people will work hard to seek out adventure and live life to the full.
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