once during an expedition
Answers
Explanation:
Everything You Need to Know Before You Go on an Expedition
Can anyone go on an expedition?
The short answer is Yes. Recent developments such as cheaper air travel and safer equipment now mean that people like you and I can go out and explore the Earth for ourselves – not just read about adventures in our bedrooms! Expeditions increasingly cater for disabled travellers too – see our section on inclusive expeditions for more on this.
Your expedition needn’t be a huge affair – start on a small one close to home if you want. The great thing about your expedition is that it is a personal odyssey. You can work within your own limits and fears and challenge yourself on your own terms. Just how you achieve this is limited only by your imagination. You will quickly gain confidence and in the future may want to test those boundaries you once thought you had with more challenging adventures.
So, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!
But hang on a second… before you sling your new backpack over your shoulders and head off into the sunset it should be remembered that this boom in adventure travel has not been achieved without loss. Unfortunately, what we do when we travel can have large negative consequences. For example, the jumbo jet you hop on to Nepal is going to spew out millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases – and what is more, it will affect the poorest in society. Once you arrive in Kathmandu and hand your gear over to a local porter to carry to Everest Base Camp are you sure he or she is being treated fairly and being given a good wage? Our impacts are not just environmental – they can be social too. Exploitation of local people is a real problem in developing countries where natural beauty attracts Western wealth.
That is not to say don’t go… just think carefully before you try to navigate the fragile ecosystems of the Amazon in a 300 horsepower speedboat. Travel responsibly – just because we can travel easily does not mean we have the right to.
The gapyear.com expedition section is for the whole spectrum of gappers out there who want to go on an expedition. Whether this is your first time and you are fretting over which equipment to buy or you have done an expedition before and you are looking for some new ideas.
Whatever your dream, I hope its contents inspire you to discover more about yourself and the world in which you live.