ACTIVE Adventures Blog

Adventure Tour with a Toddler... No Problemo

2012-01-25T21:32:16Z

My daughter, Elina, was only a couple of weeks old when my wife, Olga, and I moved from Shanghai to New Zealand for my role as Operations Manager for Active South America. We had previously travelled all over the world and looked forward to sharing some adventures as a family. In 2010, we decided it was time to 'field test' a couple of our Active South America trips - ok, take a holiday - with Elina, who was then 18 months old.

]]> Capybara family trip in Peru (which is a special trip catering just to families that goes to all the same places as our popular Jaguar tour, but is lighter on the trekking) and the Tapir tour in Ecuador. I will try to give you a sense of how it is to travel with a very young toddler.

1) Are my kids old enough for a hiking tour in South America?
This is a very common question amongst parents who enjoy travelling. Many of our clients have brought their children, and the kids usually react really well to the new environment.
As for the exact age, well, as with nearly everything relating to children, the answer is: it depends! It depends on the child, on the expectations of the parent, and on the type of adventure activities on the particular trip you're considering. We don't have a formal minimum age for our South America trips, but we recommend a minimum age of around 14 for all trips except the Capybara family trip. This is so your child will be able to take part in extensive trekking and the full range of activities on your adventure tour.

2) Flights
Many people seem to fear flying with children, but we found it was actually pretty easy. Small children tend to sleep a lot on the plane, and the upside is that you get your meals earlier than everyone else.
Ideally, try to find flights that leave in the evening. That way you and the kids can sleep for a great deal of the way. Stopovers are a matter of personal choice. Olga and I prefer to keep them short, because it's much easier to look after your child on the plane than in an airport - but you can also use a long stopover to your advantage, because an energetic child can quickly tire him or herself out in a big airport, and they'll be exhausted and ready to sleep again on the next flight.
Although in general we found flying with Elina to be pretty easy, my one caveat is that jet lag is more of an issue. Adults can drink coffee, do whatever to stay awake, and of course we know what's going on. It's probably fair to say that children are more affected by jetlag than adults. It can take a few days for your child to get into the new time zone. Anyway, North Americans flying down to South America will find this jet lag thing 'a piece of cake'!.

3) Nappies / Diapers
We are very lucky because Elina was completely toilet-trained at the time, otherwise, you have to be careful with baby skin under the nappy in warm and humid weather, such as in the jungle (bring plenty of nappy rash ointment).

4) Meals
Meals are another point where parents tend to over worry. Actually, we pride ourselves in our ability to cater for any kind of diet on our Active tours. If we can keep a gluten-free vegan happy with meals prepared out in the New Zealand wilderness or while hiking the Inca Trail in Peru, for sure kids' meals are easy to manage. Indeed, our trip leaders always have snacks with them, and they are even more careful when there are kids on the group. Elina has always eaten basically the same as us, so it was very easy with her. Restaurants in Peru are excellent. There is a wide range of choices and you can always stick with a bowl of rice when in doubt. Elina even tried and loved guinea pig meat!

5) Activities
We brought a backpack-style child carrier and found you can enjoy almost any kind of activity with a toddler on your side - or most precisely, on your back.
The only activities that we wouldn't recommend for young kids are:

- Multi-day hikes
If the weather is nice and you have plenty of time, you can have your toddler up and down from your backpack so that she can get a short walk from time to time to enjoy the trip and keep warm by moving. But that is very time consuming and not practical on a long group hike.

- Water activities
For rafting or kayaking, you really don't want to have a toddler with you on the water. So, someone in the family has to be prepared to skip the activity and stay on land. Alternatively, depending on the age and confidence of the baby with other people, the baby can stay back with the crew, giving a chance for both parents to fully enjoy all the activities.

The Capybara family tour in Peru
The Capybara can easily cater for all ages - from one to ninety-nine! - and is perfect for a multi-generational adventure if the grandparents want to join too. The tour starts in Lima and on the second day you fly into the Amazon rainforest to a very nice lodge in Madre de Dios region, close to Puerto Maldonado. It is a short flight, and after a thirty-minute bus ride, you hop aboard a motorized canoe that kids will love! The activities in the rainforest on this trip are especially designed for the whole family. The weather is warm, you don't get direct sunlight because of the forest canopy, so the conditions are ideal for your kids to enjoy.

After the jungle, we spend some days along the Sacred Valley, close to Cusco. This includes short walks and interesting visits to Ollantaytambo, salt mines and Aguas Calientes, from where we get into Machu Picchu. All very enjoyable to do with a wee one, but you have to make sure you protect them from the sun.

The last part of the trip takes in Lake Titicaca, where we do short hikes on the lake islands. This part of the trip is very interesting for kids, because we do a homestay with a local family, and they can interact with children from the hosting family and sometimes even attend a local party. That was Elina's favorite part, and her mother's favorite photography spot, with Elina playing with the local kids.

The Tapir tour in Ecuador
From Peru, we moved on to Ecuador to enjoy the Tapir trip. It has day walks in the Highlands, stays in nice family 'haciendas', and impressive day walks in the Ecuadorian jungle. Although this trip isn't a specialized family tour, it was enjoyed by everyone, old and young alike.

What we found
Elina was so happy during and after these trips! We think it is important for young kids to be exposed to different environments and people. Otherwise, it can be very boring for them to stay at home doing the same routine. Basically the same philosophy goes for adults!

You don't have to wait until your kids grow up to enjoy an active vacation together. One of the adults may have to skip some activities (we only skipped the water-based ones - kayaking and rafting) but you can get your well-deserved holiday and the kids will enjoy themselves, add real novelty to their routine, and expand their horizons from the very start of their lives.

Olga and I are expecting our second child this year, so we'll soon find out what it's like travelling with two young children!

Hiking New Zealand the Kiwi Way - 5 Tips to Help You Blend in

2011-12-05T21:41:42Z

There's a saying in New Zealand: Given a bit of number 8 wire, a Kiwi bloke can turn their hand to anything. Well, as a Kiwi bloke, I'd like to think it's true, and nowhere is our resourcefulness more appreciated than in the outdoors.

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Fake it Till You Make It
If you ever find yourself trekking in New Zealand, use these handy tips to blend in, so as not to spook the native Kiwis (that goes for the birds as well as the locals!):

1.   When you're staying in backcountry huts, take a jar of Vegemite - rather than Marmite or peanut butter - and offer to share it round. You'll get your taste buds round the difference in no time. And bring enough Milo, or mulled wine, to share with fellow hikers - especially if you're prone to snoring!
2.   Be prepared so you don't have to find out how good our Search and Rescue service is. It's just not cool to be rescued for forgetting your map and thermals! You can grab a map at the local Department of Conservation (DOC) office and consider renting an emergency locator beacon. Also, don't hike alone - it's not worth it. Not even us Kiwi blokes go bush alone very often.
3.   Plan for unpredictable maritime weather in these parts - weather reports can be wrong and things can change in an instant. Wear layers of merino wool (it works for the high country sheep!) and make sure you've always got your rain gear and sunscreen handy.
4.   Lose the zip-off pants and wear striped polypros (thermals) under your shorts. Rock that look like a true Kiwi.
5.   Wear waterproof boots and bring spare socks -- river crossings are common and dry socks become the best thing ever after a day tramping with wet feet. Make like a sheep and wear merino wool too. It is still warm when wet.

Kiwi Lingo: How to navigate your first verbal encounters

"Tramping in Nelson Lakes was choice, aye."
Translation: You should have come hiking with me in Nelson Lakes National Park, it was spectacular!

"Mate, we were munted from the drive so did the Tiki tour on the way up."
Translation: We were pretty tired from the drive so we took our time and made lots of stops on the way up to the hut."

"Ridgeline was a piece of piss, eh?"
Translation: Hiking down was easier.

And remember, you'll often have to decipher by context if the conversation is about the people of New Zealand, our native flightless bird or the delicious fruit!
If You Can't Beat Them, Join 'Em!
The best way to hike New Zealand like a Kiwi is to go with one. Active New Zealand's legendary Kiwi guides have taken over 10,000 travellers hiking since 1996.

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe, and the winner is...

2011-10-17T02:15:26Z

We recently ran our first contest on Facebook and to enter the draw, we asked people what they would say to their boss or partner if they won the 8-day New Zealand adventure trip we were giving away. The name we pulled out of the box was John Suggs, a pharmacist from Supulpa, Oklahoma, who is looking forward to getting out of the country for the first time in 5 years and said this on his entry: ]]>
He certainly played it smart, since he got more than 300 entries from it (we asked our Facebook fans to vote for their favourite entry and each vote counted as an extra entry in the draw). If it helps, John, we take up to 14 people on a trip so you could bring an entourage if you can't choose a sidekick.

Luckily it was a random draw and we didn't have to pick based on merit (we learned that the hard way from the first photo competition we ran!). However, it doesn't make it any easier to disappoint anyone.

Such as April Coles, who wrote in her entry:
"I'd convince my husband Nick to let me go by taking him with me! This trip would be our honeymoon, since we were unable to take one. Just like Active New Zealand trips, we have lived off-the-beaten-path. My husband took part in a live-donor liver transplant to save his mother's life. Talk about a trek. His big scar is his badge of honor and I couldn't be more proud of his sacrifice. Though things have been tough - our first time visiting each other was spent in hospital - we've learned that you get the best views of life when willing to climb the highest mountains. We don't want to live average. We welcome challenge & don't run from pushing ourselves to the limit - and beyond. Winning this trip, to the most remarkable place on earth, would be an extraordinary adventure we would never forget!"

She didn't win the trip this time unfortunately but she and Nick would fit right in. People often say one of the highlights of travelling with us is the interesting people they meet on our trips, and reading the entries as they poured in reminded me of the calibre of people we do get on our trips.

Funny thing is, putting together vacations for people is a seemingly ordinary job. Yet, when it's done right, there are few things more rewarding than being a catalyst for positive change and touching people's lives so profoundly. You only have to read a few reviews to see that people who travel with us remember those few days forever, and many count those as some of the best days of their lives. Hopefully it'll be one of those experiences for John Suggs, and all the other people who are coming down to New Zealand with us this summer.

So even if I only played a tiny part in that experience, I guess it's worth dragging myself to the office when there's fresh powder on the mountain or the sun is shining and the lake is flat...

New Zealand Travel Advisory

2011-10-04T20:26:07Z

How's your 2011 going? I hope it's going better than ours. Half way through our winter, we realised that we're just bored.

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So we thought that before our boring summer sunshine comes along to provide us with dull days of only 17 hours of daylight, we'd supply you with a bit of a warning about coming to New Zealand. Cos New Zealand? It's boring.

Here's why: New Zealand Travel Advisory.

Ange's Tour de France: Stage 2

2011-09-07T23:00:01Z

The past few weeks have slipped away quickly. My alarm clock still goes off at some (previously) unimaginable hour most mornings. The instructor still screams at us to go "harder/faster etc.", except now that instructor happens to be my boyfriend. Much to my horror, he recently decided to come out of "retirement" to start teaching spin classes again.]]>
I'm pretty sure he'll be thinking similar thoughts throughout our trip. Well, I probably won't be able to avoid eye contact for the entire trip. There have been a lot of things going through my mind in the last few weeks too... Do I have everything I need? Am I going to be fit enough for those 'upgradeable climbs'? Is my butt going to survive 6 weeks in the saddle??

Other than the spin classes, I have also been trying to get some miles under my wheels outside. Unfortunately for me - but not for the ski bunnies - we have just had the biggest snow fall in over 50 years. This really hasn't helped my fitness, as riding on snow/ice while my fingers and toes turn into popsicles isn't my idea of a fun ride. Even visualizing cycling through those little French cobblestone roads with my front panniers filled with baguettes and a bottle of wine hasn't really worked to get me out there on my bike more.

Right, so where are we at with our cycle tour itinerary? Well... we do have a start place! After much discussion, we decided to start in Burgundy, the wine capital of France. This region is not only famous for its incredible wine, but also for its medieval history and castles, so I'm pretty happy about this. Besides bike touring surrounded by interesting scenery, my other favourite pastime is sipping a glass or two of vino. But other than starting in Burgundy and a few places that are on both our must-see lists - Corsica, Provence, Nice and of course those famous 'upgradeable' climbs - our itinerary is still a little blurry for my liking.

So I've been struggling to work out the train systems in France, as I'd heard only certain trains would take our bikes and we wouldn't get far out of Burgundy if we just rode. After searching and more searching online, I finally conceded defeat and we popped in to see our local travel agent, who found a train, booked it, and sent us on our way in less than 5 minutes flat.

Despite the fact I organize hiking and cycling tours for Active New Zealand, I've never really considered taking one myself. But there happened to be a brochure on cycling in France among the colourful array of brochures for organized tours at the travel agents so I grabbed it and had a quick flick through. The photos looked amazing and for what the trip offered, not a bad price. The idea of having someone meeting me at the airport, popping my bike in a van and driving me off to one amazing place after another with great food and accommodations sorted so we could just ride and relax for 6 weeks was, let's just say, pretty appealing at this stage! Hmm... I'm starting to get a new appreciation for why clients on our cycling trips are so grateful.

Don't get me wrong, certainly bike touring independently could be challenging at times (in all sorts of ways I don't know yet) and I'm not saying that it isn't going to be fun, but if we manage to survive this one, I'm guessing an organized cycle tour will be high on the list for our next overseas adventure.

Now the countdown is nearly over. The bikes are ready to be dismantled and put into their bags for our journey and our list of what we will need to take is steadily being ticked off. Knowing that in a few days time we'll be on our way to Paris is pretty awesome to say the least. So until my next blog upon return, au revoir!

First Wow Moment in Peru

2011-08-02T22:40:56Z

Suzanne and I were two of 12 strangers sat round a table in Cuzco. The awkwardness of catching someone's eye during nervous stares was the only thing keeping my mind from dwelling on the lack of oxygen being delivered to my brain. Sally, our guide, introduced herself and instructed the other 11 to do the same. Excellent, I thought, as one of my favorite things to do in my spare time is group introductions!! I can never remember the names of anyone who introduces themselves before me because I am always concentrating so hard on not forgetting my own.

]]> In my mind it's just "Darren Darren Darren Darren Darren," then when it comes to my turn..."I'm Darren." Then I can never remember the names of anyone who introduces themselves after me either because now I'm thinking, "Get in, I AM Darren, totally f*cking nailed that one!!" So we go round the table: Carol, Richard, Matthew, Natalie, Pablo, Hernan, Lacey, Doug and Sue, or something like that. Still strangers.

A brief rundown of the next 14 days follows from Sally, along with some advice on how to stop our eyes from bulging out of our heads due to the altitude. 10,000 feet has a way of sapping energy and appetite that I have never experienced before, and although I knew it was coming, I was still underprepared. And so began our adventure around Peru.

In the next two weeks, we would experience Machu Picchu, the Amazon rainforest and Lake Titicaca... or at least that is how I used to describe the 14-day hiking trip in Peru, but that was all about to change.

12 strangers, for now.

Before heading out on our first jolly, Sally brings up the issue of the World Cup Final, which was being played that day. The room had three new smiles: Hernan's, Pablo's and my own. The football mad Mexican father and son, plus Suzanne and I, waive our rights to the Cuzco markets, which we could forage through the following Saturday, and head out to watch football's showpiece, agreeing to meet up with the group in the Square at 3:15 for our hike to the Sacsayhuaman Fortress. I figured we would have enough time to watch the World Cup be lifted, unless of course, extra time was needed to determine a winner.

As we meet up with the rest of our group in the bustling centre of Cuzco, we could hear the oo's and ah's from the packed bars around the square still watching the game in overtime. Young Pablo's frustration was visible, and I think Hernan was trying to hide his.

We begin our uphill hike to the crown above Cuzco, the ancient Sacsayhuaman Fortress. Within meters, we were all struggling a little; heavy breathing and frequent stops were par for the course. Hernan, determined not to miss the action, sticks his head around every door that has echoes of an excited Spanish commentator to keep tabs on the score. Still 0-0, he reports as the buildings and houses became even more sparse on our way out of town.

As we ascend the thin cobbled streets, the buildings have so far prevented views of the town below. We turn into a churchyard and for the first time are allowed to peer from on high. The afternoon sun lights up the terracotta roofs of the ancient Incan capital. Thoughts of Tuscany enter my mind. The view would have been breath taking, had I had any to take. We forge on and up.

The group now stretches out a little, with Sally in the lead along with the energetic youngsters, Mum and Dad in tow, while Hernan, Suzanne and I lag behind. As the three of us slow coaches approach the last, isolated house before entering the fortress, we hear an excited Spanish voice crackle from a distant TV set. Hernan's eyebrows rise, "There can only be two minutes left!"

It was here, crouched in the doorway of a packed Peruvians family's hut, that I would watch Andres Iniesta fire the last-minute goal that would deliver the World Cup to Spain -- ironically, the conquerors of the native Incas so many years before. Suzanne gleefully rattles off photo after photo of me and my new Mexican friend huddled in the doorway. She was more excited by this than the event.

It's not like I needed a photo reminder. I instantly knew I would tell the story of how I watched the 2010 World Cup final many, many times. Probably embellishing it to include a beer with the locals (although that was not to be as we forged on to the top). This Active South America trip had produced its first "wow" moment, and within 3 hours of arriving... impressive.

Ange's Tour de France: Stage 1

2011-07-27T02:23:49Z

The countdown begins... 38 sleeps to go until the rubber is going to meet the road! That was what I reminded myself when the now familiar sound of my alarm went off again this morning at 5.15am, off to the gym once more for my weekly spin classes.

]]> Merida Crossway touring bike.

A few months ago I decided it was time for an overseas holiday and being a devoted Active staffer and since my favorite pastime is riding my bike, I thought it would be a good idea to do a cycling vacation.

So my flights are booked and I'm clocking up the miles on my bike. As it happens, I'm part of the operations team at Active Adventures so sorting out trip logistics - working out the best places for our trips to visit - is what I do for a living. It's not a hard job in New Zealand, where I'm based, because it's an amazing country and every corner you turn there is more amazing scenery to knock your socks off. But there's still a lot to factor in, as I found out first hand when we created our first South Island cycling tour - gradients, distances, accommodation, climate, places to eat, etc - to make each trip run smoothly. Admittedly there was a bit of trial (or rather quite a bit of "trail") and error before we could consistently ensure lots of happy clients on that cycling tour, and that's with an experienced bunch of guides and me in the office working hard behind the scenes.

Well, aside from not having the luxury of that kind of support on my first big overseas biking holiday, I have just one small dilemma. It turns out my boyfriend, who will be joining me, doesn't believe in an itinerary! The thought of jumping off a plane in Paris with no idea of which way to go is a little daunting, not to mention the following 6 weeks, so let's just say we are still negotiating on this one!

Saying that, he has told me that we are going to climb the famous mountains that the riders on the Tour de France climb, such as Col Du Tourmalet & L'Alpe d'Huez. That's a start, but I am a little worried. While fixated on the Tour de France this year, did I hear the cycling commentators mention that these climbs are so hard they are ungradeable!? Best I crank up that dial on my spin bike a bit more tomorrow morning.

And by the way, what an amazing ride by Cadel Evans! Who would have thought an Aussie would take out the toughest bike race in the world!

So the countdown continues... we still have a lot of work to do and first on (my) list is deciding which way to start pedaling! Hopefully in a couple of weeks we'll have nailed down the itinerary so stay tuned - I might need some help!

Hiking New Zealand: D.I.Y. or Small Group Trip?

2011-07-22T01:30:08Z

Let's say you've had your eye on one of our New Zealand trips for a while but you aren't sure if it would be worth it to come with us or do the same thing on your own to save a few bucks. First of all, let's talk about what you get when you sign up for an all-inclusive small group guided adventure vs. copying the same itinerary but doing it on your own in a rental car (D.I.Y).

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	Guided Trip with Active	D.I.Y.
How you'll get around:	Enjoying the views through the big windows of a comfy bus while someone else does the driving and you can chat with like-minded travellers on your trip.	Tackling the roads on your own in a rental car (we drive on the left side in New Zealand by the way) but having the freedom to stop whenever and wherever you like.
What you'll eat:	Healthy, wholesome meals that are home-cooked or at local restaurants with plenty of choice, even for vegetarians and those with food allergies. The meals are always on time and you'll never go hungry!	Grocery shopping on vacation, planning your own meals, cooking on a camp stove and trying to keep your food fresh on the road. Or bring a book and your credit card and eat out every meal. But indulge in all the junk food you like, no one is watching!
Where you'll sleep:	Cosy lodges, incredible views - just walk in after an invigorating day outdoors and relax.	Spend the time researching options online, taking a guess on what is good, hoping you don't show up and find they've lost your reservation. Missing out on places where Active has exclusive use or having to splurge because everything that's reasonably priced has been booked months in advance.
What you'll be doing:	Organised and guided activities suitable for anyone who is reasonably active, no outdoors experience required. Enjoy local stories, lessons on flora and fauna (if you want them!), pushing your limits and getting to unknown places safely with the help of experienced local guides.	Spending time booking day tours online, planning hiking routes yourself, organising logistics and carrying your own safety gear (all your gear for that matter), navigating trails on your own.
How much planning you have to do:	Just show up with everything on the gear list and be ready to have an amazing time! We'll handle all the logistics before and during your trip.	You're in charge, which gives you lots of freedom and just as much responsibility.

So if the benefits of travelling with a guide within a small group are obvious or you don't have enough outdoors experience to go it alone, read no further and give us a call. Or if you're on a shoe-string budget and are coming to New Zealand mostly to sample the local nightlife and backpacker travel circuit, then feel free to hit the "back" button now.

If you're wondering just how much more we're talking... keep reading.

We were curious too so we pulled out the calculator, made a few calls and here's what we found. Of course it's a bit like measuring a piece of string with all the options there are, so we'll keep it semi-simple. Let's compare our most popular New Zealand trip, the 14-day Rimu, which takes you and up to 14 other like-minded travellers hiking, kayaking and cycling around the South Island on a multi-sport adventure led by two experienced guides. Compare that to what it would cost to replicate the itinerary on your own with a rental car.

14-day Rimu Trip in New Zealand with Active Adventures

All Inclusive Trip Cost: $4,705 (including tax)

Food on your free day in Queenstown: $95 (ish, depending on what you fancy eating in the adventure capital of the world!)

ACTIVE TOTAL - *$4,800 USD

VS.

D.I.Y. 14-days on the South Island on your own

Transportation: $1,721 (rental car, fuel & GPS system for NZ)

Food: $840 ($60 a day; no home cooked meals)

Accommodations: $1,100 (in similar places to the Rimu trip)

Activity and tours: $250 (3 guided day trips)

DIY TOTAL - *$3,911 USD

*Does not include the international RT flight or the hotel nights before or after the trip, or any optional extras like gifts and souvenirs.

D.I.Y. Transportation - $1,721 USD

We worked this one out by assuming you pick up and drop off a mid-sized car (so you have enough space for all the gear you'll need) at Christchurch airport. You'd probably rent it for 13 days at about US$64/day and we added the cost of one of those GPS navigation things, because while we don't have too many roads on the South Island, it's always good not to have to worry about reading a map while you're driving! You may opt to get some insurance for the vehicle as well but with all the different options that opens up a whole new can of worms for us so we'll leave it out here. Always worth it though in case you reverse into a fencepost whilst enjoying the view...or something! Anyhow, once you have been introduced to your rental car by your friendly rental-car-guy/gal-with-the-cute-kiwi-accent, remember not to head straight for the passenger side door (oops)- (we're not in Kansas anymore) - jump in, navigate the round-a-bouts (give way to the right!) to escape from the clutches of the airport, stay on the LEFT, turn the indicator on (argh, why are the windshield wipers going crazy instead!!?) and you're away! Hopefully you're not sweating too much by now.

Gas-wise (called petrol here) you'll probably need to fill up about 7 times in 2 weeks at about $80/tank. (yea, the price of fuel down here is quite outrageous and you can chew up a lot going up and down the hills) Don't wait until the red light goes on though, gas stations can be few and far between in the South. So there you have it, your own transportation.

ACTIVE transportation - all included

On the flipside, if you choose the group option, the start to your vacation would look a bit different. Even if your flight was delayed and you forgot the Xanax, you didn't get much sleep on the flight and you staggered off the plane after 11 hours of flying with bags under your eyes, there's no worries - you can stagger out of the luggage hall and into the arms of your friendly Kiwi guide (well, almost, they'll be there waiting with a sign with your name on it anyway. Maybe save the hugs until the end of the trip...) and into the awaiting bus. Which has a name. And a whole bunch of people in it to chat to, or you can just opt to enjoy the sights and sounds of your new surroundings and your guide will take you to your first port of call.

D.I.Y. Food - $840

Now let's look at food - a bit tricky in some ways as it can vary so much depending on the value you place on what you eat, but let's say you spend $60USD/day on sustenance for 14 days. A soy latte will cost you about $5 NZ a pop and a glass of wine about $10 to give you some idea (starting with the important things of course!) - an evening meal would be between $18 - $30 on average per person. You can always cook for yourself, but you'd need to get yourself a chilli bin or something to keep your groceries fresh as you travel round and keep in mind that accommodation with cooking facilities can be a bit more expensive. It might be nicer to eat out though so you don't have to cook and clean up after hiking all day (yawn). Plus, you need to find out what these Kiwi folk eat - it's all part of the fun. And even though the meat pies and muffins might be cheap...you'll have to do a whole heap of hiking to stop from piling on the pounds!

With ACTIVE - $95ish on your free day

On an ACTIVE trip, your meals are all included apart from on your free days in Queenstown where a breakfast and a couple of lunches and dinners need to be accounted for. Most people like to try the local restaurants (from legendary Fergburger to swanky Botswana Butchery - there's something for everyone) and you should have enough change to buy a couple of drinks for your guide if the mood grabs you. ? When you're on your trip, a hearty breakfast will be laid out beautifully for you each morning, you'll enjoy most of your lunches picnic style on the trail (with a plan B up our sleeves for wet weather days) and the bus is always stocked with snacks for the road. Dinners are warm and friendly affairs gathered around a big table, either where we're staying or at a local restaurant where you can order what you like. You'll enjoy all our Kiwi favourites - healthy, wholesome and hearty.

DIY Accommodation costs - $1105

When it comes to your accommodation, we worked out the figure based on standard rates for a single occupancy room at similar lodges and hotels we stay in on the Rimu trip. It's worth remembering that the South Island of NZ is not very populated so we don't have many big cities or towns with choices of chain hotels. In the high season particularly you'll need to book ahead for rooms in the more popular spots, and choose wisely outside the main centres as things can be a bit hit or miss - a few people have jumped on the band wagon of providing 'tourist accommodation' without much foresight. That said, there are many lovely places and you'll find most of them listed online, although some places haven't quite got up to speed with that yet (they say New Zealand is 50 years behind the rest of the world in some ways!!).

The National Park DOC huts have a booking system and also get booked up fairly quickly in the high season, so you'll need to plan your hiking routes and dates before you come to secure your beds in most cases. You'll also need a plan B in case the weather does something dramatic as it often does! This all takes a bit of time and effort before your trip, so if it's something you have the time and inclination to do, then enjoy it - planning a trip can be fun!

ACTIVE - Accommodation included for 13 nights

We've spent years (16 now!) searching out and settling into the places we stay, and we know them and their owners well by now. We book rooms well in advance (sometimes 2 years ahead!) and everything is organised behind the scenes so you just show up and settle into your room. If you're travelling by yourself, you'll be paired up with someone to share a room with for no extra charge (we don't force people to pay a supplement if they're travelling alone), or sometimes you might score your own room. Any way you cut it, it's easy peasy, comfy and hassle-free.

D.I.Y. Activity and Day Tour costs - $250

We've based this bit on booking a few day tours (say, snorkelling with seals, kayaking in Okarito and sea kayaking in Milford Sound) and mostly doing the hiking on your own. You'll have the freedom to go as far as you like along the trail, make your own calls on the weather, and feel the excitement of the adventure as you head off into the wilderness.

ACTIVE - Multi-sports all included and guided - hiking, kayaking and biking

Now while that stuff up there sounds good in theory, what about having someone else make sure you've chosen a good track for the weather, to share the load and make your pack a bit lighter, someone who knows the place and most importantly, someone to push you on just that little bit further to make it to the top of the ridge, or to the hut at the end of the day, or to provide you with an emergency chocolate supply. Of course, if you have a big, burly, bronzed, outdoorsy, mountaineering type for a partner then good for you - you might not need us. But will they cook for you after they carry your pack to the top?? ?

Bottom Line:

So for a 2-week trip it's about 900 bucks more to join us for a guided experience than it is to do it yourself. You could make that a thousand bucks if you cut a few more corners (instant noodles, shared dorm rooms, etc.) but this is a vacation, right? That said, you might just find that what we do is something you value and would give you the best experience on your travels. We'll leave the decision with you!

Trying to Get to the Top in One Step

2011-07-10T04:12:25Z

OK - a bit about me first, so you can flesh out the image in your mind's eye. My name's Matt, and I work with this jolly band of folk here at Active Adventures. I'm in my early thirties, and as one of my friends so helpfully put it, I'm no stranger to the Colonel's bargain bucket.

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Of course, it never used to be this way. In my BC (Before Car) days when the only pedals I knew were attached to my mountain bike, and my idea of late-night dining was heading to a restaurant at 7 in the evening, I was a very sprightly (albeit slightly pasty looking) 150lbs. But I digress...

Despite typically working on the South America side of matters, I thought it would be a great experience to see how things are done on our New Zealand trips. So, in high spirits I signed up to join a dozen or so travelers from all over the globe, all wanting to get into the fresh New Zealand air for two weeks of hiking, mountain biking and kayaking. Under the leadership of our guides Megan and Lauren, we arrived at start of the hike in Nelson Lakes National Park, with Lauren so kindly laying on a "nice surprise" for "the office junior". This didn't look good.

See, New Zealand has these awesome backcountry huts, set in the heart of the wilderness. Quite spartan in design, they typically don't have electricity, but do have running water, and in many cases, mains gas. All you need to keep you fed and watered for a few days of awesome hiking, especially with Megan taking care of culinary matters. What is required though is a little bit of muscle to get it to the huts in the first instance. Now, it's only fair that if you travel thousands of miles across a vast ocean, the last thing you want to do is to have to carry a load of gear up a hill. We get that, so it's usually down to the guides to carry the lion's share. But ever since we left Christchurch, Lauren and Megan had been really nice to me. Don't get me wrong, they're always nice. But you know when friends want something from you, and they turn up the charm to 11? I knew there was a reason for it. And so it came to pass when they gave me the extra gear I needed to fit in my pack. After I packed it, I tried to pick it up. It felt heavy enough to make a sherpa wince. Well, that's how it felt to me since I am notorious for packing light...

So we head off, with the food and accoutrements for three days hiking. And we have 1000 metres of climb ahead of us. Although I often reassure clients that only about one percent of them think they are fit enough to join one of our trips yet everyone seems to manage just fine, I quickly realised that I'd been lying to myself all along. This was tough. (I was cursing!) Of course, had I had that reasonable level of fitness in the first place, I wouldn't be in this sweat-soaked pickle.

As everyone else danced up the hill, with their packs looking less and less weighty as they disappeared into the distance, I was reminded of the figure of my "youth", cutting swathes on the squash court, biking through forests (similar to the one I was now hiking through) with rarely a bead of sweat on my teenage brow. And now? I was bathing in the stuff, as the backpack pressed firmly and relentlessly into my back.

I put my head down, and remembered what I'd been told as a child by my uncle. "Stop trying to get to the top in one step! Small steps, one foot in front of the other!" Muttering under my breath about what an idiot he turned out to be - needlessly really as no one was around - I started to follow his advice, and it worked. It continued to be a humbling experience, with the hill getting steeper, my back getting damper. I was giving off so much vapour I was wondering if a rain cloud would form above my head. My morale was saved by not being the backmarker - Lauren had stuff to sort out with the vehicle, so pride was saved too!

When I got to the peak of the hill, I was greeted by Steve, Karen and Lisa - a cameraman, a chocolatier and a lawyer respectively. Surely, a great start to a joke? Anywho, with reassuring words from them, plus an opportunity to put the pack down for a minute and rehydrate (sooooooo important!), my spirits were lifted. And what about the view!!!!!! It made everything worth it, as is always the case. For my money, you just don't get the same sense of wowness from say, an aeroplane window as you do from hiking up a hill under your own steam. It's just in a class of its own.

After a good fifteen minutes taking in the view, I decided to soldier on. With gentle undulations to the hut, and the company and conversation of Karen the chocolatier (who introduced me to the phrase "shut UP!") it was an utterly pleasurable experience. I'd conquered the hill, conquered my defeatist attitude to hiking with a 50lb pack, and taken in some of the most breathtaking scenery to date.

And the folks with the "less weighty" packs? I spoke too soon. Turns out they know how to have a good time - they were carrying bottles of wine!!!

Group Trips Don't ALL Suck

2011-07-03T22:16:10Z

I went on a European tour with my mother when I was in high school and in two weeks we glimpsed the major tourist attractions of seven European countries through the impenetrable window of a tour bus. "Oh, there's the Eiffel Tower, can we go around the roundabout again?" my mother asked, not quick enough on the draw with her camera. Too late, the bus driver was already onto the next item on his list, a drive by of the Moulin Rouge.

I vowed to never again follow a ridiculous schedule for a schedule's sake - especially on vacation.

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So although technically I've "seen" most of Europe, I decided I'd never willingly participate in another buffet bus tour. And I'm not just talking about the way my food was served up, day after palate-numbing day. I mean a packaged tour that feels like the buffet version of travel, where you spend a lot of time shuffling along single file, force down far too much in too little time in order to get your money's worth, and then stagger away, stuffed but somehow unsatisfied. There must be a better way.

So after graduation, before my friend and I started our first jobs, we hit the road with a Lonely Planet guidebook tucked into our backpacks, in search of adventure in Central America. I thought, great we'll do this ourselves, see what we want, when we want, get off the beaten track, eat with the locals, yadda yadda.

But what we discovered was the freedom of travelling independently comes at a price too - mostly a lot of time spent waiting around, especially the further off-the-beaten track you travel. For example, it turns out domestic flights in a non-first-world country can be at the whim/mercy of the flight crew and whether they feel like turning on the engines for a couple of passengers, or not. Same goes for bus drivers. Our precious vacation time was whittled away waiting for some sort - any sort - of transportation out of remote towns where we got stuck for hours and sometimes days. And that's just the start or perhaps the end. The days went flying by and we were not on the glamorous adventurers, I-don't-do-group-travel trip I had dreamt about. In fact, we missed out on a lot of activities we had picked in the guidebook because we either didn't meet minimum numbers or it was booked out months in advance. Don't get me wrong, batting eyelashes in tandem can achieve a lot, as long as you have the time to wait for the right person on whom to unleash your charm.

So a few years and several D.I.Y. trips later, when a friend, who had just started an adventure travel company in New Zealand, invited me on one of his hiking trips, I was pretty skeptical. Sharing a bus with 14 strangers and hiking up mountains, kayaking a fjord, mountain biking... hmmm, really? And a bit nervous . But I agreed, cranked up the dial on the Stairmaster and just hoped I wouldn't make a complete fool of myself.

Turns out 2 weeks hiking New Zealand with Active New Zealand changed my life, which let's face it, is a bit more than anyone can reasonably expect from a vacation. Finding myself cast as the heroine of an action blockbuster shot on location and doing all my own stunts - I was suddenly invincible. If I could, with the help of my new but unlikely friends (including a couple from the military, honeymooners from Kansas on their first trip abroad, a leading paediatric specialist and a recent divorcee), conquer my fears and just keep putting one foot in front of the other until it was lunch time, then dinner time, then bed time and wake up early to do it all again - quite happily I might add - what else could I achieve with this newfound confidence I asked myself?

The time passed too quickly as we told stories and laughed until our sides hurt. At any point when I just wanted to sit down and give up, my guide would appear to tell me a joke and keep me going. The next day, when I was feeling stronger, I would be the one giving someone else a pep talk.

Near the end of trip, grinding to the top of Mueller Ridge through low cloud, my legs screaming and convinced someone had filled my day pack with boulders that morning, somehow I dragged myself to the top. Standing at the top of Mueller Ridge, with the mountains poking up above the clouds, grinning like a fool, I could finally see how far I'd come. I didn't want to go back to the life I realized I had been tolerating for years. This was the first of many adventures ahead, I'd make sure of it.

So I went home, said goodbye to my old life and the old me, and begged my friend Andrew for a job on the other side of the world. A couple of months later, I was in Queenstown, New Zealand, helping to build Active New Zealand. Ten years later, I'm still down here at Active enjoying the outdoors and showing other people that small group trips are actually not too bad ;)

You Can't Take Time Off Now. Period.

2011-06-28T02:43:41Z

You know, and so does everyone else, there is no way to keep your precious job (wow, you still have one?) without being a butt in your seat, on time every day, head down, nose firmly to the grind stone, all the while staying under - or better yet well above - management's radar. And by no means should you ask for anything like a day off, let alone a week or more. And vacation, huh, what a joke. I mean, geesh, there's 10% unemployment rate in the U.S. and your work must dominate if you are to survive.

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Like many things, including the entrenched U.S. economy, it seems absolute. But wait, there's one problem with that reality, it's really a lie wrapped in an illusion of truth, which makes it a lie . Turns out you're not a machine , you're human and that means, though you may have forgotten it, your spirit needs feeding as much as your mouth. You could probably use some fresh air and exercise, right? Not to mention, when was the last time you were out in nature? And no, Central Park doesn't count.

If you don't already know this sad fact, you don't have to look far to learn the number one killer in America is stress. Stress related illness trumps, and often contributes, to all that other stuff - cancer, car accidents, diabetes - we're supposed to be worried about . Don't trust me, Google it! And apparently, even if you do all the right stuff to prevent heart disease (eat properly, exercise regularly, avoid smoking, yadda yadda yadda), stress can negate it all. I still find that amazing. Turns out you can't bluff your body as easily as you can your boss. And if you're dead, you probably can't work.

And another little, seemingly forgotten, fact... ready? For most of us, time off is still a legal right. Yup, check the fine print on your contract. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 91% of full-time employees in private industry receive some paid vacation. It's so you don't end up rocking under your desk from complete burnout or worse, joining the other good soldiers on the slippery slope to a life of work and no play, resulting in an early death . Think of it as preventative healthcare for the soul. So you simply must take time off regularly. Must!

We here at ACTIVE Adventures are on the phone every day with people who murmur about time off or even dare dream big of a whole vacation in a foreign land with dirt under your boots, sun on your face and fresh air in your lungs. We say to them, and to you: Join us, just do it, it might even be life changing.

And feeding your soul? That's what we're really good at. So you know what Nike would say. I mean, what is it really worth to keep you alive? (BTW there is a difference between living and just existing.) I bet if someone asked you right now if you could pay $3,799 USD plus a flight to suck some clean air into your lungs (aka exercise), get outdoors, feel alive again, and ultimately keep you alive, you'd think it was cheap at twice the price.

!! WARNING: GRATUITOUS ADVERTISEMENT AHEAD !!

Come on just take a look at ACTIVE Adventures trips! Dream! Or at least look at what folks say about having gone with us. Nothing better than adventure travel with like-minded folks in New Zealand, South America or the Himalayas. All great for filling lungs, souls and memory banks.

Go! Plan now for next time you take a vacation. Come with us, or someone else, or just take off by yourself in the car to the mountains or the beach. Or start with putting up a tent in the back yard and staring at the clouds or stars before you take refuge in your sleeping bag. Your soul and spirit needs feeding. It might even make you better at work. Go figure!

Eat My Dust, Kiddo.

2011-06-25T22:54:45Z

Last season Ed called us, a little nervous about joining an Active Adventures trip. He explained, "I run 3 days a week, bike on the other days and just finished a triathlon, but I don't want to hold the group back." "Well, it sounds like we'll be trying to keep up with you!" I assured him. "But... I'm 64, is that too old?"

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But what folks discover, time and time again, is that adventure travel is really about getting out of your rut and trying something new, doing something that maybe scares you a little bit (conquering perceived risks vs. real risks) and accomplishing something tangible, all the while discovering new people and places and seeing the world through new eyes. And there's the added bonus of snapping pictures for show and tell at home afterwards.

So despite Ed's concern and the assumptions about it, adventure travel works for a surprising range of ages -- from those pre-baby boomer era all the way to the new young-old (50 and 60 year olds) and a bit beyond. It's about being keen to give it a go, even if you're not as fit as Ed. Joining an adventure tour makes it simple - you don't have to handle the logistics and there are experienced guides there to keep you happy regardless of your personal pace. No triathlon training required, but there's plenty to challenge you if you have!

The days of sitting around in air conditioned luxury, playing bingo and sipping Bloody Marys or Scotch on the Rocks before you turn it in seem to be gone. That's for the old at heart.

As my martial arts instructor used to say, 80 percent of success is just showing up. If you keep showing up, chances are one day you'll have a black belt. This is the sort of thing you don't even consider when you're a spring chicken, but as you gain age, and by proxy experience, over time the tortoise and the hare parable starts to mean something. The point is, our beyond thirty and forty something clients know how to keep showing up, put in the training to be able to reasonably hike and bike, and stay focused.

I reckon when I'm a granny, I may not have the raw strength of some of the young 'uns, but I plan to cruise past them on the trails based on my mental toughness -- we've certainly seen plenty of our clients do just that! And maybe I'll even pass the guide, who will be young enough to be my grandson, just like Ed will I'm sure.

So yes Ed, at 64, 74, whatever, you're not too old, not at all. In fact, you are an inspiration to all of us. You happily have our permission to pass the young 'uns and say "Hey kiddo - eat my dust!"

Ever go to your local supermarket to ask for a restaurant recommendation?

2011-06-21T11:04:20Z

Imagine the smart ass remarks you'd get, right? "Hey lady, you're surrounded by food, just decide what you want to make for dinner, go around and gather all the ingredients, then go home to cook it (weirdo)," the clerk would be thinking, even if he didn't say it. And if you can't think of anything to cook, he suggests, why don't you poll the other shoppers or wander around copying what someone else puts in their shopping cart?

]]> Trip Advisor every day. Some misguided soul wanders into one of the destination forums to ask the community, made up of independent travellers and hotels and restaurants that cater to them, for recommendations on a travel tour company. Not surprisingly, a bunch of people quickly chime in to point out how you can do the same itinerary independently, and cheaper.

Hey, I get it; I've been so overwhelmed at the supermarket with the seemingly infinite choices and the effort to put it all together that I'd ask the supermarket clerk for a restaurant recommendation on the way out. And he'd probably just say, "Why would you ever go to some overpriced restaurant when you could cook at home for a fraction of the price?"

He has a point, but eating - like travel - isn't always about the cheapest way to get sustenance, I'd retort. I love to cook, but I don't have the time or energy to cook for myself tonight, or I just want to treat myself to a night out with friends. What I'm really in the mood for is the comfort of a limited menu. The chef has put some thought into how to put together the freshest ingredients in some imaginative way, the staff has set the table, the waiter has greeted you and asked you what you'd like to order, and then delivers a delicious meal to your table - and doesn't even make you clean up afterwards.

The last time I went out to eat at a great restaurant with friends I soaked up the atmosphere, traded banter across the table, insisted everyone had a taste of my entree because it had been cooked to perfection, and discovered my new favorite wine that the attentive waiter recommended. But what I and everyone else at the restaurant didn't do, was pull out a calculator and add up how much the ingredients might have cost and then compare it to how much I was charged for it! It never crossed my mind. The only calculations I did that lovely evening was how figure out how much to tip the waiter to adequately show my appreciation.

The cost of the parts was not the sum effect, in fact, the literal sum of the parts had absolutely nothing to do with the effect. What counted was the total experience because that's what I'd be talking about the next day at the office and why I'll be going back the next chance I get.

So let's get back to the store. Within five minutes of your going to the store to ask about a restaurant, a dozen folks who care about the cost of all the parts would have pulled their calculators out and chimed in to tell you it's a rip-off to dine at a fine restaurant. They'd tell you to go home and fix dinner yourself. Have I made my point?

Toiling away in the kitchen by yourself is hardly comparable to eating at a restaurant. Ask those who pay $24.95 to get a Wolfgang Puck burger, I bet ya the ingredients are $5.00 tops! And that woman on Trip Advisor, she should come on one of the many active travel trips there are; in fact come on ours at ACTIVE Adventures!

If you're still following my long winded foodie analogy, bear with me for a bit longer. Travelling on a small group tour with a reputable adventure travel company is like eating at a fine restaurant (not necessarily the priciest by the way). If you're happy to shovel down spaghetti in front of the TV night after night or insist on ordering the same thing at the same old restaurant, then I'm sure you'll have a great time at that beach resort package you book every year from your local travel agent .

But, if you're the type that is into novel experiences--new restaurants, new classes at the gym, new releases of any sort, and you relish doing something, anything, you've never done before and are looking for inspiration rather than escape, you might just become an [adventure travel] junkie like me and all the people at ACTIVE Adventures. But I also like going to restaurants .

Sell Grandma's Gold Ring for an Int'l Airline Ticket. Yup, here's why.

2011-06-18T11:05:16Z

"I was going to take Jake hiking in New Zealand for our vacation but the flights are so expensive. . . grrrrrr," Laura says wistfully, recounting the sad fate of her travel plans.

There's no denying it, whether you hunt on vayama.com, kayak.com, cheapoaire.com or other consolidators for flights, you just can't get around the $1,100 to $1,700 USD price tag for a flight to New Zealand from the West Coast, never mind the East Coast and we're not even in the high season yet. But look, given the high prices, if you squint and think of this over beers while not thinking too much, there are some advantages.

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1).Getting through nasty U.S. security is quicker and less painful with a lot fewer travelers lining up to get frisked these days, due to the fact that if their Grandmas had any rings left, they would have been hocked by now to pay the mortgage. Nevermind TSA would frisk Grandma, without batting an eye, if she cashed in to travel herself. . . hee hee.

2). Grandma would happily sacrifice a bit of bling because Laura will take Jake hiking in New Zealand, a dream he has always had, making him happier than a kid at Christmas and causing him to spontaneously propose marriage. Fast forward. . . then on the honeymoon, after the quick Las Vegas wedding, Laura gets pregnant and Grandma has her first great grandchild. Priceless.

2a). Or with any luck at all, Grandma has dementia and won't remember the ring. Or she will actually have something to do, looking for it for the rest of her days. In fact you can feign innocence and do some proper bonding with Grandma before she leaves this mortal coil and listen to her meandering down memory lane about her long dead husband while you pretend to help her look for that ring.

3). You have a good chance of scoring four middle seats on a transpacific/transatlantic flight airplane so you can sleep the whole way. So it's really four seats for the price of one (with some clever accounting, they're just about paying you to fly!). Plus you don't have to deal with achy legs and DVT .

4). The crew is really nice to you for a change . They still have a job because of you and so might even bring you a working headset without charging $10.99 to watch a movie; give you the extra 7-Up in the can for your drink or bother to find you an extra blanket. First Class service by default - woo hoo!

4a). You may have forgotten but it's an international flight so booze is FREE; even the hard stuff. Party on Plane anyone?!

5). You can attempt to get away with avoiding the $75 luggage charge by bringing on a little-over-the-limit carry on because there's room in the overhead, which also gives you space under your seat for your shoes that come off before you lay across four seats to sleep.

6). You essentially gain a day of travel because you stretched out and slept instead of asking your body to absorb the impact of a 10 to 12-hour haul in the upright position. So now you don't have to pay for a hotel room before you start your trip because you are rested, bright-eyed and bushy tailed to start, and if you take that extra day of expenses off the trip cost, that flight just became even more reasonable.

Voila! Who knew paying more could be so cheap! And Laura and Jake are having a baby.

No "Fits" About Being Fit - for Adventure Travel or Otherwise

2011-06-12T21:24:11Z
I had this idea, as I headed to my fortieth birthday, that I was going to show I was the new thirty at forty and that I would run a marathon -- the real 26-mile kind. And then, with the realization that I had to work out to qualify for the training class, my enthusiasm was dashed in an instant. It would take six weeks to train to train, ugh! .

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So when I faced another event in my life that required huffing and puffing, I was far more sober. I was invited to hike Nepal for a month. This time I didn't declare it, but rather belly-ached to the same friends and family that I may not make it. I mean I can't be the woman who cried thirty too often!

What I discovered, much to my out-of-shape-I-don't-think-I'm-fit-enough-for-this surprise, is I really didn't need to be ready to take on Everest. I could walk up a good flight of stairs and bike to the park with my energetic nieces and nephews. Because guess what? Kayaking or or hiking Nepal or anywhere is not a 26 mile slog in 3 to 5 hours but 26 miles in one, two or even three days, step by step, with stops for breaks, tea with the locals, trail side shopping and lunch. I didn't realize that I could stop or go ahead as I wished depending on my mood of the moment .

We over-achieving-always-proving-ourselves have this notion that "fit" means we have to look like we could don the cover of Fitness Magazine and keep up with Madonna in the gym. But by kind and understanding adventure travel company standards it doesn't mean that.

Fit, by their reasonable standards, which is what you need to be for their wondrous and sometimes exotic group travel adventures, means that you haven't spent every night for weeks eating Lays on the couch and can't make it to the car without huffing and puffing. It means you can get around, walk an incline and keep up with your or others' kids . And so if you're "fit" in ATT you can wander the Himalayas or hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, but if you're less than fit, all you need to do is go a bit slower. And if you want to get fit there is no better, funner , simpler way to get fit.

Okay the end of the hiking Nepal story. . . I was greater than fit when I got home. I lost 26lbs in a month, never felt better and could probably qualify for the "real" marathon training I had originally hoped for. Result! Does that sound good to you?