But life isn’t going to come and get you. To savour the richness of adventure, you have to track it down and seize it by the shoulders.<\/p>\n
To inspire you, we’ve pulled together motivational quotes from some of the world’s most intrepid travellers.<\/p>\n
From\u00a0Wasfia Nazreen, the first Bangladeshi to climb the Seven Summits, to\u00a0Levison Wood<\/a>, the first person to walk the length of the Nile, these explorers would have got nowhere without that first and crucial step into the unknown.<\/p>\n Soak up their wisdom on the power of travel, and make 2018 the year when you do something extraordinary:<\/p>\n On the kindness of strangers<\/strong><\/p>\n “You learn to talk to people. You learn that people are generally kind-hearted and will often go massively out of their way to take you somewhere.\u00a0You\u2019ll meet some fascinating characters. I have been picked up by mujahideen fighters, photographers, artists, priests, smugglers; the entire spectrum of humanity. There are risks, obviously, but probably no more than getting in a taxi. Oh, and you\u2019ll learn patience.”<\/p>\n – Levison Wood<\/a>, the first person to walk the length of the Nile<\/p>\n On the joy of the wilderness<\/strong><\/p>\n “I remember the first time my senses clicked and reacted to the wilderness. We were in the delta and went for a short walk around camp. We set facing an open area with hundreds of animals around. Birds, buffalos, elephants, giraffes, wildebeest, hundreds around everywhere. I closed my eyes when something clicked: I could hear everything at the same time yet be able to distinguish each sound…\u00a0I felt alive for the first time and I realised I loved all of it.”<\/p>\n – Conservationist\u00a0Adjany Costa<\/a>, who works with the Ministry of Environment in Angola<\/p>\n On stretching yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n “There is a very blurry line between the things we can’t do and the things that we can. Maybe people, maybe the world writes things off as impossible a little too quickly, when they really aren’t – when they just haven’t reached out and figured out how to utilize their resources to the fullest degree or created those pioneering systems in their lives. I think that it is everyone’s obligation they owe to themselves and to their lives to figure out their own way up their own mountain.”<\/p>\n –\u00a0Erik Weihenmayer<\/a>, the first and only blind person to conquer the Seven Summits<\/p>\n On embracing the unknown<\/strong><\/p>\n “To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world. You are surrounded by adventure. You have no idea of what is in store for you, but you will, if you are wise and know the art of travel, let yourself go on the stream of the unknown and accept whatever comes in the spirit in which the gods may offer it.”<\/p>\n – Ethnographer\u00a0Freya Stark<\/a>, who defied gender expectations to travel extensively across the Middle East from the 1930s onwards<\/p>\n On the delight of the unexpected<\/strong><\/p>\n “The world is larger than our notions of it, and the only folly is to think you know someone or somewhere, can anticipate its movements or have travelled beyond surprise. The beauty of travel, as of love or terror, is that it regularly turns all your ideas on your head and reminds you that you really know nothing at all.<\/p>\n – Travel writer Pico Iyer<\/a>, the author of 12 books including\u00a0The Art of Stillness<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Man Within My Head<\/em><\/p>\n On listening to your gut<\/strong><\/p>\n “Don’t over think anything – it’s so easy to talk yourself out of something.\u00a0Before I left to paddle board the length of England I had done very little paddling. I borrowed a board and paddle from my club and bought a small tent.\u00a0I planned my route on Ordnance Survey’s app and off I went. If I had dwelled on that for long I would have found a million excuses not to do it.”<\/p>\n – Adventure athlete and environmental campaigner\u00a0Lizzie Carr<\/a>, the first person to to paddleboard the length of England via its connected waterways<\/p>\n On connecting with people<\/strong><\/p>\n “We need to create a sense of connectedness…\u00a0\u00a0As we\u2019ve digitized our planet and created these weapons of mass distribution we\u2019ve somehow created this sense of detachment, almost jealousy. People feel inept, empathy is going and I think is tarnished a little bit. So the idea of getting into nature, the idea of connecting over stories and sitting around a campfire or having time to sit and have drinks versus slam them is a cool thing.”<\/p>\n – Eco-explorer David de Rothschild<\/a>, who has motorbiked through the mountains of Mongolia and paddled down Brazil\u2019s Xingu River to raise awareness of environmental destruction<\/p>\n On living big<\/strong><\/p>\n “[Sometimes if] you live an idealistic life, you tend to box yourself in this small world. We just have to trust there\u2019s such a bigger world out there. If we respect our intuition, and work honestly and with patience, everything will be taken care of…\u00a0None of us knows when we\u2019re going to exit this planet. We just have to trust our intuition and not waste it living someone else\u2019s life.”<\/p>\n – Activist and climber Wasfia Nazreen<\/a>,\u00a0the first Bangladeshi to climb the Seven Summits<\/p>\n On building self-awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n “You do find out about yourself, about your strength and stamina…\u00a0\u00a0perhaps it is a form of escape. I am restless. I don’t mind leaving this comfortable, static life. I could live a year on my own in a remote village.”<\/p>\n – Michael Palin<\/a>, travel writer and adventurer<\/p>\n On the power of action<\/strong><\/p>\n “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.”<\/p>\n – Aviator Amelia Earhart<\/a>, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic<\/p>\n On facing down adversity<\/strong><\/p>\n “Discomfort, pain, and anxiety are probably the very core of a good trip. If you have an easy time of it, you\u2019re having a vacation. If you\u2019re really suffering, then you\u2019re travelling.”<\/p>\n – Paul Theroux<\/a>, travel writer and novelist<\/p>\n On creating opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n “I want people to be inspired to live a life that\u2019s their own, but also to know that the world is an incredible place with so much opportunity. We don\u2019t have to pigeonhole ourselves but we should all be free to dream.”<\/p>\n – Marine biologist Dr.\u00a0Asha de Vos<\/a>, who helped to launch\u00a0Sri Lanka\u2019s first marine conservation research and education organisation<\/p>\n “I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.”<\/p>\n – Bill Bryson<\/a>, best-selling travel writer<\/p>\n On courage and stamina<\/strong><\/p>\n “The mountains of your life are out there. You are climbing them right now. No matter how fast\/slow you go, you will reach your destination as long as you move. Everything is possible now”<\/p>\n – Arunima Sinha<\/a>, the world’s first female amputee to climb Mount Everest<\/p>\n Where will your next adventure be?<\/strong><\/p>\n Discover the magnificent wildlife of Costa Rica<\/a><\/p>\n Hike through dramatic glaciers in Norway<\/a><\/p>\n Cycle your way to ancient ruins in Sri Lanka<\/a><\/p>\n Get up close and personal with the seals of South Africa<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Levison-Wood.jpg\")
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<\/p>\nOn breaking comfort zones<\/h3>\n
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