Living among the remnants of war

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Title – Living among the remnants of war
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 13th June 2008

Mention the Laos war and most people will look at you blankly, mention just the word Vietnam and people will list film after film and song after song at you; many will even now give you their opinion on the conflict there and the US involvement in that country. That makes the following statement so unbelievable:

‘Laos is the most bombed country on earth. The US dropped 2.4 million tonnes of bombs on it during the Vietnam war – more than the allies dropped on Germany and Japan combined in World War II’

In this relatively ‘small’ country with no significant infrastructure and covered in jungle they ‘inadvertently’ got involved in a war and yet never received the focus given to their neighbour whose name will be a by-word for a war for many years to come. The Laotians have been paying the price ever since, as unexploded munitions still litter the country and regularly result in serious injury and death to the Laotians.

Sadly the readily available source of metal that the systematic bombing campaign left behind has been far too tempting to leave untouched and as in so many parts of the world the locals have seen this ‘bonanza’ and exploited it. This does provide the most wonderful images for visitors and gets cameras clicking wildly; but the darker side it causes injury and death that massively outweighs the benefit.

Unfortunately visitors to Laos can through ignorance unwittingly add to the existing problems. Souvenirs made from this scrap metal can be bought in local markets and shops and tourist think they make a good talking point once back home. The sad fact is that perpetuating this trade means that locals will seek out the scrap to make into these souvenirs placing them in further danger. We would certainly recommend that you buy local goods to take back with you, but think about the consequences of what you buy. Avoid those items that cause harm to the local population, local environment and steer well clear of items made from animals or plant that may be prohibited when you return home or travel on to your next destination.

Whatever you do, if you are travelling in Laos don’t pick up, touch or attempt to take home any of this type of ‘scrap’; stories of tourists boarding planes with souvenirs that turned out to contain unexploded munitions are not unheard of in Laos. You don’t need to be an expert to figure out what the consequences are of attempting to take such items onto a flight…

Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop examines aspects of personal safety, Travel Safety and Ethical and Responsible Travel giving you the perfect head start when you are planning your gap year or career break to any part of the world.

Please visit our website at http://www.safegapyear.com/ or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

Tackling Cambodia’s landmine legacy

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Title – Tackling Cambodia’s landmine legacy
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 11th June 2008

Cambodian landmine clearance projects are undoubtedly a great success and a credit to all those people who have over the years risked their lives and often paid with their lives in order to clear the estimated 5 to 6 million landmines that were laid in that country. This figure is almost incomprehensible when you take the time to think about it and then consider the excruciatingly slow process involved in landmine clearance. That it takes the average soldier just minutes to plant a landmine and takes a trained expert such a long time to firstly discover the mine and then clear it, does lead many to believe that countries like Cambodia may never truly be clear of them and clear of the horrific injuries they now cause the innocent civilians who come across them inadvertently.

The life shattering effects of the landmine are clear to see in every corner of Cambodia, a country that suffers the highest percentage of amputees of anywhere in the world. The situation is compounded in Cambodia not only because many people are effectively self sufficient and grow their own food or work in agriculture, but also that being one of the world’s poorest countries there is a lack of state aid for those no longer able to work. Add to this the effect that the 1 to 3 million people who were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970’s and the hole that this left in a population, the effect it had on nearly every family in Cambodia and it is not difficult to see why Cambodia lags behind some of its close neighbours in terms of the remarkable development that has occurred in South East Asia.

What is wonderful despite these three or four decades of trauma for Cambodia, is the Cambodian people themselves. It is such an open society, there is such honesty about their history, they parade it openly for the world to see and talk about it freely. They genuinely believe that this approach will stop it ever happening to them again. The overwhelming feeling you get from Cambodians is a feeling of being welcomed to their country and to their culture. You should not underestimate the positive contribution that tourism has on that country and country that in relative terms is still very new to tourism.

Landmines undoubtedly pose a danger to visitors to Cambodia, but it is relative. Mine clearance has been concentrated on areas of high population and on areas that attract large numbers of visitors, the real dangers lie in more rural areas and in the forests. But the risk remains and will remain for decades to come. Take sensible measures and listen to local advice. As travellers get more adventurous and as more remote and beautiful parts of Cambodia open up to tourism, the risk will undoubtedly rise.

Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop examines your destinations and the risks you will face during your gap year, career break or while travelling independently. We provide you with the tools to assess the risks enabling you to make informed decisions as you travel. Cambodia will remain heavily mined for years to come, but sticking to well used paths, regularly frequented areas and heeding local advice will allow you to experience all that this beautiful country and it fascinating ancient cultures has to offer in relative safety. Understanding the effect landmines and the Khmer Rouge still has on the people of Cambodia allows you to better understand the country and your hosts and will give you an insight that you simply will not get from a seat on tour bus round the temples of Angkor Wat.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

Five divers rescued from remote beach after two days adrift

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Title – Five divers rescued from remote beach after two days adrift
Source – The Independent on Sunday
Date – 8th June 2008

That this story turned out to have a happy ending is quite amazing and don’t be surprised to see a newspaper or book deal come out of it for those who survived. What will be interesting is if there is any kind of substantial investigation in what went wrong in the first place.

I am not suggesting that this was anything but an accident with a happy ending or that anyone was culpable of neglect, but what is important is that others following on and diving in any part of the world don’t become complacent and think that happy endings are the norm. Even without all the facts being available, it does seem that these people have been very lucky indeed.

So from what we know already this group took part in a drift dive in an areas with strong currents. This in itself is a fairly usual approach for experienced divers. Drift diving is effectively dropping into the water at one point and then going with the current and at the end of your dive surfacing at a different location. One way for the boat to meet you when you surface is to end your dive at a predetermined location, this can be a difficult strategy, especially if there is a very strong current or you see something under water that takes you off the predetermined route. The second way of the boat finding you is for the skipper to follow the bubbles on the surface so they stay with you until you surface. This second technique relies heavily on the experience of the boat captain and on the conditions. It seems in this case that the conditions were unusually rough, this would make it difficult or almost impossible for even the most experienced captains to follow the bubbles.

If currents are exceptionally strong they can take you literally miles away from your starting position. Experienced divers will also take down a ‘safety sausage’, in effect a large (usually orange) fabric tube that can be inflated to about 2m to signal the location of the divers, but these can be difficult to see if there are high waves and great distance between the divers and the boat.

So why do I raise these questions? As an experienced dive master and having dived all over the world and spent a short time working in the dive industry, I am all to aware of the difference in standards within the industry from one dive school to the next. I have no experience of this particular dive operation or their standards, but I have come across criminally negligent as well as excellent dive centres in my time and have dived with both. I have drift dived with excessively strong currents, in very rough conditions and on challenging deep dives. I have dived with hired equipment that failed and with instructors and dive masters that should not be allowed to dive; let alone lead groups diving. On one occasion while diving in Chuck Lagoon in Micronesia with a local dive operation, the skipper of the tin-can boat we were in even threw the anchor out without securing it to the boat first and this before a very challenging 50m+ dive…

The key is to remember that standards vary enormously, so choose your dive operation carefully and if you are unhappy at any point don’t feel that you can’t say no, decide not to dive or end a dive half way through. Diving is a relatively safe activity if you follow basic safety rules. But it can be dangerous or even deadly and this is usually the fault of the people diving, poor decision making and / or greed by dive operators who should know better.

Always check out the dive operation before you book; look at the equipment they hire out to see how new and maintained it is; talk to the people running the dive operation and avoid the brash and arrogant centres; talk to people who have dived already and see what their impression were; check out the sea conditions, how rough it is, the level of visibility and the strength of currents; do not be tempted to dive outside of your comfort zone, outside of your experience and outside of your qualification restrictions; and most importantly trust your instincts. Remember the Dive Master / Dive Instructor is not responsible for your safety, only you are.

Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop examines the benefits of dynamic risk assessment in the choices you make that affect you ability to travel safely.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

Two held in The Gambia on gay charges

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Title – Two held in The Gambia on gay charges
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 3rd June 2008

Understanding and accepting local cultures, local laws and local tradition is very different to agreeing with them. Clearly beheading people because of their sexual orientation is an abhorrent stance for anyone to take, let alone the President of a country. It is simply not a point of view that we would accept in the UK.

However travellers have to accept that if they travel to The Gambia that is the reality they face in that country at this time. The views expressed by the president and the laws in that country means that homosexuals face severe sanction. As much as people feel this to be fundamentally unjust, you have to accept that when you visit another country you have to follow the current laws of that country, to live by them and to ‘respect’ them.

If you disagree with the laws of another country the way to voice your opinion is to write, demonstrate and lobby their embassy in the UK and join international pressure groups. Going to that country and thinking that your status as a foreigner will provide you with some form of protection, is asking for trouble. If anything being a foreigner in many such countries will mean you are more heavily scrutinised.

This is an extreme example, but there are many cultural and legal sensitivities in other countries that we may not agree with, but we must always observe. If you can’t observe them or don’t want to, then stay at home, or travel somewhere you can abide by local laws. Too many people apply their normal principles from the UK at their destination and in many destinations our way of life, our values and our cultures are as alien to our hosts, as this law in The Gambia is to us.

As part of our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop we examine Cultural Awareness and the effect culture shock has on travel, we discuss your approach to the different cultures you will encounter and how to behave at your destination in order not to fall foul of local authorities.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

US to tighten visa restrictions

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Title – US to tighten visa restrictions
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 3rd June 2008

It is always important when preparing to travel that you don’t assume nothing has changed. In a post ‘9/11’ world, governments across the world are looking for new ways to secure their borders and we can expect further restrictions and security measures to come and go in the months and years to come.

This new change in the US entry requirements does not add a layer of bureaucracy it just means people from the UK (and other visa waiver qualifying countries) will need to be more organised in completing an existing layer.

As we understand it what is effectively happening is that where previously half way through a flight to the USA the airline staff would walk down the aisle handing out ‘immigration cards’, you will now have to fill these details in online before you fly.

The key here is in the planning, forget to do it and you are likely to face sanction, be prevented from boarding your flight or deported on arrival. Although there is a ‘provision for last-minute travel’ this is likely to come with a caveat that you have good reason for late travel and not simply that you forgot. You must fill in the form online at least 3 days before you travel and it will be effective for 2 years; our advice is to fill it in as soon as you know you are going to travel, you can then tick it off your list of preparations.

Customs and immigration can present hurdles to any trip, but there is no point in arguing with them. They are notorious at following the rules to the letter and the rules can be quite strict. Answer all and any questions as honestly as you can and in most cases they will be reasonable, if ever you are unsure then always err on the side of caution. For example, going from Asia to Australia (where quarantine laws are very strict in order to protect their fragile ecosystem) many travellers will have bought souvenirs that will need to be declared. Declare them, even if you are unsure. Quarantine officers will happily examine your article and tell you if it can be taken into the country and sometimes items that might otherwise be refused will be treated for you to remove any concerns they may have. Do it the other way round and not declare it when you are unsure and when they find the offending article (as they inevitably will), be prepared for a fine, the loss of your item and potentially more serious consequences including in the worst cases deportation and / or conviction.

Be sensible when you are going through borders, joking when it comes to the question asking ‘are a terrorist’ or joking that your water bottle contains something other than water, will only end up in long delays, missed flights and arrests. There is always a time and a place; customs, immigration and quarantine are a time and place to be very honest, very serious and very open.

During our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop we examine all aspects of travel planning including visa requirements for your destination(s).

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

German tabloid mocks UK tourists

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Title – German tabloid mocks UK tourists
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 3rd June 2008

No doubt some people will take great offence at the article in ‘Bild’ and how will they respond, well it’s simple they will resort to all the old German clichés. The odd thing is that they will be wholly unaware that they are doing exactly what they are complaining about. How many times have our tabloid press stepped well over the line when describing our European neighbours, especially when it comes to Football; how many of the songs sung on the terraces at internationals are derogatory of our opponents. Possibly we should for once listen to our own sayings, ‘if you can dish it out then you also have to be able to take it’ or ‘what goes around comes around’.

The sad fact is there is some truth in what the Germans are mocking us for here, how strange has our country got that someone can win damages from a court, because they were surrounded by ‘foreigners’ when they went abroad? But then should we be that surprised by it; go to many of the most popular southern European resorts and you will find more ‘British’ pubs advertising ‘authentic British grub’ and selling the uniquely ‘British Pint’ then any local dishes or delicacies.

But there is a more serious point we should take from this story and that is the image the British have in other countries round the world. As travellers we have two responsibilities, firstly to understand and accept the current view people have of us and deal with the consequences and secondly we have to try and change that view by our actions.

Britain has undoubtedly lost some of its gloss in the eyes of rest of the world, once held up as a bastion of democracy, progress and politeness, the more modern view of Britain revolves around our actions in Iraq, our unquestioning loyalty to the USA, the sporting failures of our national teams, the associated hooliganism and the behaviour and arrogance of many of our tourists when abroad. We have to realise that all the good things that come out of the UK may not be reported on across the world, but the killing by police of and innocent Brazilian on our tube system, the compliance of our government in rendition flights are. In exactly the same way we view other countries through the media we are characterised by the negative aspects of our country. If we think of Syria, we naturally think of terrorism, extremism, middle east conflict, yet if you visit Syria, you will be treated as an honoured guest, the very friendly people will welcome you and treat you with respect; hardly the image most of us have of that country.

It is not all negative, you will find the UK still held in great respect in many countries; there are many countries where although language barriers prevent you from communicating the language of the Premier League will transcend these barriers and start heated debates about which team will win the next seasons competition. I have been to remote parts of the world and frequently meet people who know every player in every team and results dating back years that my knowledge simply can’t compete with, that they view Britain as a wonderful country is because of David Beckham, Micheal Owen and the great Steven Gerrard.

Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop discusses your destinations and what preconceptions local populations might have of the UK and how your behaviour and plans should reflect these to make your travel safer and more enjoyable.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

Isolated tribe spotted in Brazil

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Title – Isolated tribe spotted in Brazil
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 30th May 2008

All too often we hear that travel was not what it was 10 or 20 years ago, that the tourist trail has ruined the adventure and that the world has nothing new for travellers to discover. If ever there was a story to prove people wrong; then this is it.

The world is a very big place and there are very large parts of it which remain completely isolated and untouched by the ‘developed’ world. That in 2008 there are still tribes in the Amazon that remain ‘un-contacted’ is amazing, inspiring and very reassuring. One of the most important things is to ensure that we allow them to stay that way, that we allow them to live their lives in peace and that we protect them and their environment for future generations.

Many travellers visit parts of the world for the wrong reasons. Anyone who has spent any time in a hostel almost anywhere in the world will recognise exactly who I am talking about. You sit down and exchange travel stories with fellow travellers, something that is an essential part of the travel experience and provides you with ideas, warnings, advice and friendships; but there is always the one there (usually on his own for a reason) who tries to upstage you and everyone else in the room. You start talking about a fantastic trip you took 2km up river, they went 10km up river; you talk about a village you visited, they lived in a more remote village for a month; you met a wonderful local person who invited you in for tea and they married the chiefs daughter…. You know who I am talking about.

The thing to remember is that the world is already an amazing place, it is amazing precisely because of what we have been able to create; our modern cities, the pyramids, Angkor Watt, the aeroplane, the variety of cultures that have developed; and it is amazing for what we have not achieved, the un-contacted tribes of the Amazon, the new species we still discover on a regular basis, the vast areas of land and sea that remain unconquered. You can’t fail to be in awe of what the world has to offer, visit the great barrier reef, the Mongolian Steppe, the blue hole of Belize, the Grand Canyon and you’ll be amazed at what you see and you’ll have enough to boast about for many many years to come. If that doesn’t satisfy you, then the problem is probably closer to home.

Those people who are desperately in need of always having the more extreme adventure to boast about, are the ones most at risk of overstepping the mark. That this story has broken should already worry us, that some idiot will try and make contact with this tribe and will try and be the first to meet them, simply to satisfy their ego. Unfortunately these are exactly the type of people who will ruin the last true undiscovered wonders of the world. Those ignorant of cultural sensitivities, uneducated about the impact on their hosts and who don’t care about their environment. Through ignorance or arrogance, often claiming to be environmentally aware, eco-friendly or ‘green’; they are often no better than the loggers, shark-fin fishermen, oil companies and rogue governments, in the damage they can cause.

Ethical and Responsible Travel is not the domain of the hippie any longer; every traveller should consider their impact on the world’s environment and their host community. During our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop we examine how you can create a positive impact, rather than have a negative effect on the communities you visit, we highlight the benefits of responsible travel to you and your hosts.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

A woman drowned while giving birth, her dead child half-born

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Title – A woman drowned while giving birth, her dead child half-born
Source – The Times
Date – 11th May 2008

How appropriate this subject is to a travel safety and cultural awareness blog may be debated by some, but even if there was no link I would still feel compelled to write about it. If even one person reads it and is informed even slightly more than they were before it has been worth it and if even one pound more is donated to the Disasters Emergency Appeal (www.dec.org.uk) then it will be doubly worthwhile.

No one can be ignorant of the scale of the initial disaster in Burma, talk of 100,000 dead from the cyclone alone and many many more sentenced to death through the sheer criminal neglect of the Burmese ‘government’ and the weak response of the UN and other world ‘powers’. It seems no one has either the will or the authority to do anything about it.

The stories that are filtering through are horrific and more and more will trickle out over the next few weeks, months and years. The one which should haunt every one of us, is the very real possibility that if nothing changes and this time next year the predictions of Oxfam who yesterday said the death toll could potentially rise to 1.5 million will become a reality. That is a death toll twice that of the Rwandan genocide and about equivalent to the Khmer Rouge murderous regime of the 1970’s. Put another way it is the equivalent to the death of every man, woman and child in Birmingham and Liverpool combined; and we are talking about a slow death through suffering brought on by starvation, thirst and wholly preventable disease.

The cyclone that started this was a terrible natural disaster; it was exasperated by the lack of any credible warning by the Burmese government and by the poverty in which they have held Burmese citizens for nearly 50 years. The fact that more than a week later they are still refusing to let in aid to help their own people, is not just mind blowingly disgraceful, it is no better then them taking to the streets as they have done so many times before and shooting innocent people, but on a scale never before witnessed.

There can be no defence for what is happening, if they think the world is interested in invading their country they are wrong, besides we all know we are tied up in so many other conflicts around the world we hardly have troops left to carry out the odd ceremonial duty at home. Organisations like the Red Cross, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Oxfam, Save the Children and so many other have proved their NGO status over and over, saving lives all over the world. There are few in the world who would not cheer at the juntas collapse, but that is for another time, now all that is important is the people, the people dying every day; the people who will die in greater numbers every hour that the Burmese military government procrastinates.

I have on this blog many times before debated the merits of tourism to Burma and have advised against it on the grounds that it supports the military government’s oppression of its own people and that stance has not changed. If any proof were needed that the Burmese people need our support and solidarity against their own regime, then the inaction of their own government when they need them most is the clearest indication yet that the average Burmese life is worth nothing to their generals. Now it is time for the world to stand up and demonstrate that every Burmese life is worth as much to us, as any other life anywhere in the world.

Now more then ever tourists should avoid Burma. Travelling to disaster areas, places a burden on local resources that many can not handle. Burma certainly can’t but they will direct any resources they have away from those who need it in order to take hard currency off tourists, please don’t be a party to such crimes.

If you want to donate to help the people of Burma then please visit www.DEC.org.uk. Your money will make a difference and save lives, it may take much longer than it should but the aid agencies are the only ones who will persist in trying to save the lives of the ordinary Burmese and they need your support.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

Absence of Burma’s notorious strongman provokes speculation of a power struggle

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Title – Absence of Burma’s notorious strongman provokes speculation of a power struggle
Source – The Independent
Date – 10th May 2008

Remember this face and look into this dog’s eyes, for he is on the cusp of being promoted when history remembers him from his place alongside Ceausescu, General Pinochet and Saddam Hussein and being set sat alongside Pol Pot and Idi Amin on the scale of evil.

He is the current leader of the brutal illegal regime that has ruled Burma and oppressed its people for nearly 50 years. He is the one who sanctions everything that happens in that country from using rape as a weapon of war against the minority ethnic groups, to the shooting of Buddhist monks peacefully protesting on the streets of Rangoon.

That the world believes any form of diplomacy is possible with this man or his ‘government’ is beyond belief; this the dog who consults with a blind soothsayer before making any decision; this the dog that brutally kills not only those that oppose him but also their families; this the dog that had his troops break down the door of the sacred Buddhist monasteries and murder, abduct and imprison monks; and this the dog that will not even answer the telephone calls of the UN Secretary General when he offers to help the 2 million Burmese citizens now believed to be at serious risk of dying as a result not of the cyclone, but directly as a result of the inaction of his ‘government’.

That aid workers who saved tens of thousands of lives after the tsunami of 2004 by acting within hours to help those affected are being turned away or refused visas is simply unbelievable. That they are even required visas is a disgrace, but that the visa office is at this time closed for a 3 day for a bank holiday, is literally incomprehensible.

This dog and his propaganda is fooling no one. The UN and the world should warn him explicitly that failure to act will result him personally being held responsible for every avoidable death, Buddhist leaders should remind him of the sacred lives he is directly responsible for killing and we should go after him and bring him to justice before natural justice gets to him.

The Burmese are devoutly Buddhist; they already widely believe that the cyclone happened because of the raids on Buddhist monasteries in 2007 by the military and the killing of monks. The generals claim to worship within the same religion, but everyone inside and outside Burma know they worship but themselves. Not only are they not Buddhist they are the polar opposite of everything that the Buddhist religion stands for.

There is a time bomb ticking for the people of southern Burma and one ‘man’ has the power to stop it, yet that dog we know is evil, that dog we know has never lost one hour of sleep worrying about anything but his own power, that dog has already killed so many that a hundred more means nothing; that a thousand more means nothing; that ten thousand more means nothing; and most worrying that a million more means nothing.

It may be an odd blog to include, after all surely everyone now knows tourism in Burma is wrong and they should stay away until this dog and his puppies are gone for good. I make no apology for including it, it is a subject that is important for people to read about and the National League for Democracy flag flies proudly outside our offices every day, we can only hope that the NLD are one day allowed to take the power they rightly won at elections in 1990. It seems that this is more urgent than ever now, as I don’t know who else will allow the world to help the Burmese people.
Please visit http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

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.
Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.