We’re near that time folks, where old man 2011 gets old and gray and eventually croaks. And in his place, 2012, and the promise of another exciting year to cross stuff off your bucket list and venture forth across the globe. Yup, you know where I’m goin’ with this…Wondering where to travel? Cue the crazy cats at Off Track Planet, it’s their list of the Top Backpacking Destinations for 2012!

Partying, adventure, sweet foods, name your pleasure, there’s a little something for everyone on this list. True to form, Off Track Planet gets off that beaten path, mostly, with a list of places that most of us have only heard in passing…Cricova, Moldova, anyone? Just the same, some great ideas here for backpackers and like-minded adventurers to trek across this crazy old planet and do it up in style next year. My money’s on Croatia. Hurry up, it won’t be a secret much longer. And you know what the Mayans say…everything shuts down on December 12, 2012! Yikes, I better hurry up and drive a Ferrari while I still can…

Think of surfing and the obvious names pop up: Hawaii, Jeffery’s Bay and California. And there are plenty of other popular surfing destinations, but sometimes there’s ridiculous surf in other places that don’t register in the collective surfing conscious. As with any form of adventure travel, in the surfing world it pays to get off the beaten track. Check out six surf destinations you’d never think of at gadling.com

The promise of another year and the opportunities to do awesome things.  Like backpacking, the best way to see the world and meet the people that call it home.  Forget hotels with concierge service and heated pools.  Grab your backpack, your money belt and an open mind.  Then check out Off Track Planet’s Top 10 Backpacking Travel Destinations For 2011, and get your ass out there and enjoy life!

Old man 2010 is nearing the end of his lifespan, and with that comes the promise of a new year.  Granted we still have a month called December to get through first.  I don’t know about you, but I need a vacation already.  Here are some ideas: Five Fun Things to Do in Dangerous Places (Part 1), courtesy of our off-track friends at Off Track Planet.  Skydiving in Iraq anyone?  Sign me up!

Just got back from Oahu, where I went shark diving off the north shore.  This was a totally different  experience than diving off a tuna boat with great whites for five days.  The operation was Hawaii Shark Encounters, based in Haleiwa…home of some of the most monster waves on the planet.  In fact, I had originally booked my shark dive on Monday, January 11th, but had to postpone it until Friday that week because of a ridiculous swell on the north shore…as in forty foot waves, truly a surfer’s wet dream!  But I digress.  We went out on the Friday, about three miles off shore to an awaiting cage, where several sandbar and a seven foot galapagos shark awaited us.  We were in the cage for about twenty minutes.  The sharks were pretty curious about us, swimming up to the cage and circling about two feet from us.  In total I’d say about ten sharks showed up.  A fun morning for sure.  Our divemaster, Cole, says that they regularly see tiger sharks in September and October, and that they’re so common at that time that they pretty much guarantee a sighting.  He also said that despite their scary reputation they’re really afraid of humans, and that they’ll immediately swim away if approached by a diver.  Considering people kill 100 million sharks annually, compared to fifteen humans killed by sharks each year, I’d have to agree that sharks have a lot more reason to fear us  than we do them.  If I can accomplish one thing from this blog, I want to clarify that sharks are so important to the survival of our oceans, and that responsible shark tourism brings people together with these amazing creatures.

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Aside from being kidnapped in Cambodia and chased by an Elk in Banff (ps don’t pet then during mating season), this was my first true adventure travel experience.  I went cage diving with great white sharks at Guadalupe Island in October 2007 for five days with Shark Diver, a San Diego-based company that gives divers with enough cajones the chance to dive with Jaws and his buddies.  Truth be told, the sharks were nothing like Jaws.  Most of them were pretty mellow.  They’d usually pop by the cages shortly after we put them in the water and made sporadic appearances throughout the day.  They’re very intelligent creatures – nothing at all like you’d expect after watching Jaws and the shark porn portrayed on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week in 2009.  Great white sharks are magnificent creatures that are vital to the health of our oceans.  Unfortunately, their less-than-cuddly image has made them a target for killing, as with most other shark species.  Patric Douglas, Luke Tipple and their collaborators at Shark Diver have done an admirable job of raising these issues in the media.  They also offer what is truly a once in a lifetime experience to dive with these amazing creatures

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