Hiking, canoeing, biking, and other classic outdoor activities will always have their place, but for true adventure addicts, the new and the extreme have an undeniable lure. New adventure sports are constantly being dreamed up as athletes modify or combine classic sports. Other wackier sports emerge straight from the imagination. Here's a look at some of the world's more recent extreme adventure sports, and where you can go to try them out for yourself.
Zorbing
Whether it's being the first person to summit Mt. Everest (Sir Edmund Hillary, 1953) or inventing commercial bungee jumping (A.J. Hackett, 1988), New Zealanders are true adventure pioneers. Kiwis are also behind one of the oddest extreme sports out there—Zorbing. Essentially, Zorbing entails getting strapped into a giant rubber ball and then rolling downhill at speeds of up to 30 mph. No special skills are required and it's quite safe. Zorb Limited even boasts that of the 100,000 or so people who've tried the sport, no one has ever puked inside the ball.
Luckily for us Americans, you no longer have to fly to the other side of the planet to go Zorbing. The first-ever U.S. Zorb center is due to open in a few weeks just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Prices are still TBD, but rates at the New Zealand location start at $45 NZD per person (about $35 USD; check XE.com for the current conversion rate). Go to the Zorb website for more details.
(Photo: Zorb Limited)
