THRILLSEEKER ATTRACTIONS
Test your limits with adrenaline-fueled activities around the world.
“When I say get down, pull in your oars and crouch down in the middle of the raft,” our guide, Henri, shouted. “And if you do flip out, don’t panic. Just float and we will get you.”
The words resonated as we hit Overtime, the first Class V rapid along this 12-mile stretch of the Ugandan White Nile.
“Get down!” Henri screamed.
The current spun and twisted our raft like an agitator, tossing us side to side. As we hit the bottom of the rapid the force propelled me out into a warm, calm pool of fresh water. “Don’t panic,” I reminded myself. I found the edge of the raft and Henri pulled me back in.
The second spill was more terrifying. We portaged around the top of a Class VI rapid, Itanda Falls, but did attempt the bottom third, known as the Bad Place. This time I flew out and ended up under the raft. I panicked. My flailing hands finally found the edge of the raft as my endorphins kicked in.
Years later, the adventure stands out as one of my lifetime travel highlights. Today, companies like White Nile Rafting offer options for Class V daytrips or multiday excursions.
Whitewater rafting draws thrillseekers to other river hot spots like the Zambezi River in Zambia, below Victoria Falls, where rapids sport descriptive names like Commercial Suicide and Gnashing Jaws of Death. In the United States, multiday rafting trips along the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon remain a bucket-list item, led by companies like Arizona’s Wilderness River Adventures.
Other aquatic thrills include swimming with dangerous critters. In Australia, humans are the ones caged for close encounters with crocodiles at Crocosaurus Cove in Darwin City. Divers are secured in the Cage of Death and can watch crocodiles feeding for a 15-minute controlled encounter.
Cage divers can also go nose to nose with great white sharks thanks to Incredible Adventures, which organizes multiday trips to Mexico’s Isla Guadalupe, known for its population of great whites. Trips leave from Ensenada. The company also offers caged shark dives at the Farallon Islands, roughly 30 miles offshore from San Francisco, home of some of the world’s biggest white sharks. Sharks the size of cars migrate seasonally to the islands to feed on the local seal population. Certified naturalists provide an overview of the wildlife present within the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. No dive experience is required.
Sharks are part of the exhilarating experience at Aquaventure water park at Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas. On Leap of Faith, guests drop down full speed from the top of a replica Maya temple through a clear tunnel surrounded by a lagoon full of live sharks and other marine life.
“From a 200-foot body slide (The Abyss) that plunges guests through waterfalls and into our secret cenote to our incredible underwater tunnels that allow guests to view thousands of marine life at Atlantis, there is excitement at every turn,” said Michelle Liu, senior vice president, Marine Water Park and Operations, Atlantis Paradise Island.
Disney gets in on the thrills with its Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach water park, located at Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resort. The water slide tumbles 12 stories almost straight down, shooting through a dark tunnel and into whitewater after a 360-foot-long, high-speed drop.
FOR THE INTREPID, Switzerland is a skydiving mecca, including Skydive Lauterbrunnen, where the fearless ride up to 14,000 feet in a helicopter to free-fall with views of Jungfrau, Eiger and other glaciers, or from Interlaken for a ride over the Swiss Alps.
On Hawai’i’s North Shore, tandem skydiving with Skydive Hawaii provides a safe option for first-timers. Jumpers descend at about 120 mph with their guides overlooking the Pacific.
For those who prefer a bit more security, the AJ Hackett Macau Tower Bungy Jump ranks as the world’s highest, letting jumpers pitch off the tower from 764 feet above ground. There is a six-second free fall before the bungee cord rebounds less than 100 feet from the ground.
“Jumping from a building is quite extreme at the best of times, and here in Macau being the highest in the world, the free fall experience is intense,” said Adam Lichtenstein, regional manager, AJ Hackett International, and general manager, AJ Hackett Macau Tower.
Less extreme, Skyjump offers a tethered, 17-second descent from the same height to the ground. “Skyjump, while the same in the sense that you are still jumping from the top of the Macau Tower, is a controlled descent, a system often used by stuntmen in action films,” Lichtenstein said.
Zip lines also offer the thrills of aerial flight without the free fall.
One of the most iconic settings — and the highest zip line in the United
States — is the Cloudscraper over Royal Gorge at Royal Gorge Bridge & Park in Cañon City, Colorado.
“As the highest zip line in America, the Cloudscraper is unlike any other zip line visitors might experience,” said Dona Basha, sales and marketing manager at the park. “You truly feel like you’re taking flight, soaring above the clouds.”
Adrenaline junkies can also try The Ziprider at Alaska’s Icy Strait Point in Hoonah, which includes six zip lines, each more than 5,330 feet long and dropping 1,330 feet. While zipping, there are possible sightings of coastal brown bears and whales.
Less extreme but equally terrifying for anyone with a fear of heights is the Sydney Harbour Bridge walk with Bridgeclimb Sydney. The 440-foot-high bridge links the northern and southern shores of the iconic Sydney Harbour.
New Zealand’s version stretches along the Auckland Harbour Bridge, offering custom walkways and 360-degree views of the city. Bridge bungy jumps are also an option. In the United States, Bridge Walk offers guided tours of the New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville, West Virginia, spanning more than 3,000 feet, along a catwalk 25 feet beneath the bridge deck.
Toronto’s CN Tower touts its Edgewalk Experience as the world’s highest, hands-free external walk on a building. Those brave enough to dare can “walk” along a five-foot-wide ledge that circles the top of the tower, some 1,168 feet above the ground.
ON TERRA FIRMA, winter sports aficionados can swoosh down a former Olympic bobsled track at Utah’s Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games Sliding Track. The Winter Bobsled Experience sets up passengers with a professional bobsled pilot for a lightning-speed ride.
Utah is also a mountain biking haven with thrill rides in Moab like Porcupine Rim and Slickrock. Moab Adventure Center offers biking guides. Farther north, British Columbia boasts more than 90 trails at Whistler Mountain Bike Park, with many rated as advanced or expert only, including The
Peak alpine zone, with a 5,000-vertical-foot descent to the valley.
Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi beckons speed freaks with Formula Rossa, the fastest roller coaster in the world. The ride can accelerate from zero to about 150 mph in less than five seconds. The world’s tallest roller coaster, Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, accelerates to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds and adds the thrill of a 418-foot drop. Both roller coaster records will be broken when Falcon’s Flight, slated to be the longest, tallest and fastest in the world, debuts in Saudi Arabia at Six Flags Qiddiya, scheduled for 2023.
Drivers can put their own pedal to the metal at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an Indycar experience. Indycar Drive lets visitors rev it up to 130 mph on the track, or Indycar Ride offers white-knuckle laps with a professional at up to 180 mph.
At the BMW Performance Center in Thermal, California, near Palm Springs, drivers can try various car models along a track while navigating cones and tight corners. As a passenger, they can experience a hot lap with a driver speeding and drifting sideways on fast corners. “Hot laps leave everyone smiling, laughing and sometimes screaming … all good screams,” said Matt Misko, operations manager, BMW Performance Center West at The Thermal Club.
On the three tracks at the adjacent Thermal Club, drivers can try the M Track Drive experience at faster speeds or sit with a professional driver hurtling some 140 mph along the Thermal South Palm track, where screams are mandatory.