James Sheldon asked:


Traveling to Fiji may very well be an adventure in and of itself, but not until you reach the tropical paradise will you realize what Fiji adventure is truly all about. Perhaps that is the mysterious allure of the exotic Fiji Islands. They are a place that is perfect for rest and relaxation, as well as being a place to find some of the world’s greatest adventures. Whether you love to play underwater as an honorary fish, surf with the dolphins or explore Fiji’s tropical and mountainous interior terrain, there’s something for every adventurous heart, even if you only feel like watching the surfers from your comfortable spot on the beach.

Fiji Adventure Travel

One of the best ways to enjoy true Fiji adventure travel is by finding a location that offers a little bit of it all. If you can find a location, then you need to find an outlet that offers access to help unleash your potential. One of the best adventure stays in all of Fiji can do just that, while allowing you to rest and relax like royalty when you retire for the day. That location: The Koro Sun Resort.

The Koro Sun Resort And Fiji Adventure

For starters, to enjoy a Fiji adventure, you want to get away from the crowds and the stream of people that are moving in one direction toward an activity on a particular beach. There’s no adventure in it — there’s no feeling of discovery. At the Koro Sun, problem number one is solved, because you’ll feel free from the crowds on their beautiful resort grounds located on the southern shore of Vanua Levu.

Nestled into nearly 100 acres of rainforest, you’ll quickly discover how perfect this area is for adventure. Whether you would want to explore the rainforest in search of tropical wildlife, or in search for waterfalls, you’ll find exactly what you’re hoping for. The beach gives way to perfect snorkeling opportunities, and as a guest of the Koro Sun, you can take advantage of a kayak in order to get to some more impressive depths, where the underwater world truly comes alive.

The Koro Sun also offers opportunity to catch a few waves, catch a few fish, enjoy some hiking, biking, tennis, golf, volleyball or experience the best scuba diving in Fiji.

Koro Sun Accommodations — Fiji Adventure Travel

The Koro Sun Resort offers so much access to so many activities, that a stay here is completely appropriate. When you consider what your accommodations include in the world of adventure, as well as the enjoyment three all-inclusive gourmet meals daily, you really can’t find a better way to find yourself neck deep in Fiji adventure or Fijian culture.

Choose from any number of Bure style accommodations, offering privacy, romance or even the space to host or vacation with friends and family. You can choose from two-bedroom deluxe Bures, or three-bedroom Koro Sun Villas, which take the living adventure, to another level.

If Fiji adventure travel is your goal, consider the Koro Sun Resort to be your luxurious base camp at which to start!

Cary Ordway asked:


ational Park is known for its tall trees, but visitors will be surprised to find one of the best caves they will ever want to explore.

Oh the giant Sequoia trees are impressive, all right. Who would not marvel at trees that weigh 2.7 million pounds, that are more than 2,000 years old and have branches seven feet in diameter?

More about those later, but along the way to see the trees we stopped in at the Foothills Visitor Center just after we entered Sequoia National Park. There was a line at the counter so we figured something was worth waiting for, so we nudged a little closer to see just what all the fuss was about. The visitors in line were signing up for the Crystal Cave, a guided tour that cost $10 for each adult, less for kids, and that was still another several miles’ drive into the park. OK, we told the ticket-seller, we’re game.

Next came a long, windy drive — first up into the park, and then down several miles into a canyon to a parking area. From there, we still had a half-mile walk down a steep trail until it seemed we were almost down to the rushing river below. And then there it was: the entrance to Crystal Cave, mother of all Sequoia caves, or at least the one the public is most invited to explore.

Now this is not just any cave. The entrance is maybe just a little smaller than a railroad tunnel and no one is allowed in without a park escort. The guide will take groups of 70 persons or fewer into the cave and through the maze of many adjacent caves and chambers until, quite honestly, we probably never could have found our own way out. I guess this is why, when a little boy had to go to the bathroom, he was escorted back to the entrance by a second tour guide.

Aside from the spookiness that naturally comes from burrowing so far into the earth and its dark inner chambers, the real pay-off on this tour is the natural beauty. All along the way, from “room” to room, we saw gorgeous stalactites and “curtains,” as well as ornate marble and all kinds of crystal formations that made this look like some sort of Hollywood movie set. Fortunately, there are paved, lighted pathways that we followed – our guide never far away – and the rooms had just enough illumination to showcase the formations and their brilliance.

On this hot summer day, the 48-degree temperature of the caves was refreshing. Our 45-minute tour was fascinating every step of the way, and climaxed when our tour guide turned off the lights to show us what total darkness was all about: nothing but black and not a thing visible, even an inch in front of your face. Our guide told us there have been times when the power generator has failed so, at this point, we were just about ready to return to the entrance. While many of the rooms are huge, this tour definitely is not for the claustrophobic.

After the tour it was a fairly steep hike back up to parking lot (something to keep in mind if you’re bringing along Great Grandpa or anyone physically not able to climb the grade). But what an experience – well worth the price of admission and clearly the highlight of our visit to the park.

Sequoia is the second oldest park in the national park system – only Yellowstone predates it. Most people come to see the Sequoia trees, which appear in several groves scattered throughout the park. The trees grow to a height in excess of 300 feet, second in height only to the Redwood trees of Northern California, but considerably larger in girth.

With a little research you learn that the Sequoia tree gets so large because it grows throughout its life and it’s virtually impervious to disease. They only topple because of natural disasters, which explains how it’s possible to have a tree like the General Sherman tree – a park highlight and said to be the oldest living thing in the world. The General Sherman tree is 36 feet in diameter at its base and you could put a 15-story building under its first branch.

The Sequoias are only at certain elevations in the park – generally between 5,000 and 7,000 feet. There are 75 groves in the park with most of the pictures taken in the “Giant Forest” at about 6,500 feet. The world’s oldest trees are found here and, believe it or not, there are almost 11,000 trees in five square miles.

We noticed on our swing through the park that there are numerous walks and hikes through the trees – a really spectacular opportunity to get up close and personal with these giant treasures. In addition to the Sequoias, there are Ponderosa pine, sugar pine, red fir and foxtail pine, all growing to greater than normal size because of the area’s climate. If you like the Great Outdoors, there is no better place to marvel at Nature’s beauty.

There are also numerous places to stop and enjoy the views from the park. The roads through Sequoia take you high into the Sierra Nevada range and, on a clear day, the views of nearby mountains, or even down into the San Joaquin Valley, are spectacular. The view from Moro Rock is said to be one of the best.

If you want to make a weekend of it, there are several places in the park, and at the edge of the park where you can spend the evening. There are eight lodging facilities in Sequoia and Kings Canyon parks, as well as several more in the nearby areas of Three Rivers and Lemon Cove.

Several campgrounds in the park offer spaces for RV camping, although some are more primitive and allow only tents. If you’re bringing an RV, travel on the park roadways can be a little harrowing at times because roads are steep and narrow in some spots. Leaving Sequoia Park, there is a long downgrade and you’ll want to be sure to downshift rather than ride your brakes – the locals told us that vehicles of all sizes come down out of the park with brakes smoking due to overuse.

But whether it’s trees or caves you’re after, the long, windy road to Sequoia National Park is worth it. After all, some of these trees have been waiting for you since before the time of Christ.

AT A GLANCE

WHERE: Sequoia National Park is located in the central Sierra Nevada mountain range. One of the best ways to reach the park is by way of Highway 198, which heads east from Visalia. Highway 198 turns into the Generals Highway, the primary road through the park. The north entrance can be reached from Fresno by taking Highway 180 east.

WHAT: Sequoia National Park is famous for some of the largest trees in the world and some of the highest mountains in the U.S. The park also contains more than 100 marble solution caves, including the Crystal Cave, which is shown to visitors in tour groups of 70 people or fewer.

WHEN: Summer is the best time to avoid hazardous driving, as there can be snow in the park up until June. The Crystal Cave tours are offered from May 8 through November 14, weather permitting. No buses, trailers or vehicles over 22 feet long are permitted on the Crystal Cave road, and you’ll need to allow 90 minutes from the time you purchase your tickets to get to the cave site.

WHY: Sequoia National Park is one of California’s natural treasures.

HOW: For more information on Sequoia National Park, phone (559) 565-3341. For several lodging options, call 866-875-8456. One lodging choice that has been recommended to us is the Plantation Bed and Breakfast Inn in Lemon Cove. This inn has a Gone with the Wind theme, with various rooms named after characters in the film and decorations to match. It’s located a short drive from the park’s southern entrance. Phone 800-240-1466.

SMALL AUTOMATIC GOLD PANNING MACHINE DESIGNED FOR RECREATIONAL PROSPECTORS AND ROCK HOUNDS

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Joe Goertz asked:


Travelling feeds the wandering soul, but it also feeds the corporate soul. Even the most top executives no longer travel solely for business purposes anymore. Leisure travel has become a preferred method for stressed-out businesspeople to unwind in their downtime. In today’s modern world, active executives take advantage of their vacation time by treating themselves to some well-deserved leisure travel. With this evolution of travel, the idea of what travel entails has changed as well. People are no longer satisfied to visit the same tourist traps, but instead want to explore their world through adventure travel. In the field of adventure travel, bigger is definitely better.

The concept of adventure travel is not entirely new. For as long as standard tourist spots have existed, there have been travelers that have gone out of their way to avoid them. Those travelers became the first adventure travelers. As the world of adventure travel progressed, more people became interested in traveling the road less taken. More travelers are curious about the world beyond the glossy travel brochures, and adventure travel has risen in popularity to become a world premier method of travel.

To learn how to define adventure travel and how to become an adventure traveler, you have to learn more about extreme sports. Some people, no longer satisfied with the typical sports like football, baseball or soccer, decided to look for excitement in more extreme activities such as base jumping and wakeboarding, thereby creating the field of extreme sports. As more people got involved in extreme sports, they would travel to meet up with one another and adventure travel got associated with their extreme lifestyle. These extreme sports enthusiasts incorporated their love of their sports into their traveling, and created a type of travel full of thrill and adventure.

Adventure travel certainly does afford adventure enthusiasts the opportunity to intertwine their sports with their traveling. This type of travel gives travelers the same burst of adrenaline that extreme sports can offer, and also gives travelers to see the world from a new perspective. Unfortunately, as with anything that relies on its obscurity to stay fresh and exciting, a rise in popularity spells out the beginning of the end for adventure travel. As adventure travel becomes more popular, the destinations that were once off the beaten path have become tourist attractions. This rise in popularity is best illustrated by the travel agencies that specialize in adventure travel packages for those interested in adventure but not interested in planning the trip themselves.

In addition to the standard travel options that cater to conventional tourists, most travel agencies also offer adventure travel packages for anyone who wants more excitement in their vacation. If you’re looking for a vacation that you’ll never forget, filled with stories you’ll retell for years to come, consider booking your own traveling adventure.

Shawn Lovett asked:


This morning I was reviewing my Internet links and noticed I had several lists of 100 things: 100 best movies as rated by the AFI (American Film Institute); 100 best novels of all time; 100 places to visit before you die.  The number varies from 1 to 1000 or greater; the “thing” to do before you die may be a place to travel, a daredevil event to try such as skydiving, a personal goal such as completing a marathon, or to watch the 100 best movies or read the 100 best novels.  Limits to accomplishing items on these lists include time, money, desire, and that unknown date in the future when you will die.  

Have you ever created a list of 100 things to do before you die for yourself?  If you have, congratulations!  If you have not, it is as simple as pulling out a piece of paper or notebook, numbering from 1 to 100, and filling up the list with anything you can think of.  If you get struck there are plenty of website with ideas for items to add to your list, but it is much more engaging to create the list by yourself on paper.   You may run out of things after 15 items, or you may want to go well past 100.  The bigger you dream, the quicker you will get to 100.   Once you complete the list you will notice that some items will be much easy to accomplish than others (run a marathon is much more feasible than visit the moon).  Becoming a millionaire is achievable but it will most likely take years of commitment, persistence, and some luck.  Becoming a professional athlete will take years of hard work but will also depend on the talents that God provided for you.  

This list can be a great motivator.  When you look at your own list you will find items that take a lot of money (travel to another country), items that take a lot of thought (writing a book), and items that take a lot of time (read the 100 best novels of all time - by the way, there are plenty of lists and the books are all different).  Select one item on the list for starters.  List all the steps you can take starting today that will get you to accomplishing that item on your list.  What if you focused for one hour every single day (seven days a week) until you accomplished that item? How long would it take?  Days?  Weeks?  Years?  Your entire lifetime?  Or never?  What will your list of 100 items look like once you have crossed one item off?  Do you keep the list at 99 or do you add another to bring the item back to 100?  Do you create a separate list for “things I have done in my lifetime” and keep adding to that list?    

Back to the movie topic. A few years ago I decided to print out the AFI list of the 100 best movies with the goal of watching them all.  The number one ranked movie from this list is Citizen Kane (1941), directed by Orson Welles, and the second is Casablanca (1942), directed by Michael Curtiz.  I had already seen several movies from the list growing up to include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Jaws (1975), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and The Sound of Music (1965), so once I marked off every movie I had seen from the list were only about 51 to go.  I quickly found out that the library is a great place to find these movies, and by requesting the movies on-line through the library I would receive an email when the movie was available to pick up.  It is amazing when you finally see some of these movies that you hear the famous lines in their context, and you can forever put the phrase to the movie whenever you hear it.  

Can I cross off my list that I have watched the top 100 movies?  Not yet.  But every time I watch one of these movies I am getting closer to the goal of crossing it off of my list.  I am finding great enjoyment in watching these movies, so the driving force is more to add to my life experience than to cross it off my list.

Getting back to the motivation tricks, there are a great number of things you can do to keep yourself motivated.  Having this list of 100 things to do before you die and having a plan for the small steps you can take each day will allow you variety in what you can focus on when you are completely stuck.  Not every item on your list will be about making money or travel.  Have some relaxing, enjoyable goals as well.  I can watch a movie for relaxation that will get me closer to one of my life-time goals, and enjoy a classic in the process.