Results of our 2010 Adventure Pioneer competition

2nd June 2010

YOU + UP TO 3 FRIENDS + THE WORLD + EXODUS = Adventure Pioneers

We are pleased to announce that an active 2-week itinerary from Rachel Bennett to Bali, Sumatra and Java has won our Adventure Pioneers competition this year.

We are now working on getting this itinerary up and running for departures in early 2011 so watch this space. As a worthy winner Rachel and up to 3 friends will go out and experience this amazing trip first hand. Congratulations Rachel (and friends!)

It was an extremely tough call, with short listed entries ranging from discovering Alaska, a Canadian wilderness canoe expedition, exploring Northern Brazil or Guatemala in the Americas, to cycling through Egypt, uncovering Eritrea or trekking the ‘Rim of Africa’, and travelling the Ganges from the Himalaya to the delta or delving into the many natural and cultural highlights of Indonesia.

Each entry ticked many of the boxes we were looking for in terms of originality, product appeal, feasibility and responsibility but in the end Rachel Bennett’s two-week itinerary to Indonesia stood out.

Thank you again for the incredible amount of time and effort many of you put into piecing together these exceptional itineraries.

 A few words from last year's winner

Adventure Pioneers 2009 Winner - Istanbul to Tehran (Trip Code: ATP)

By Nicola Watson
I read an article about the Trans Asia Express and immediately wanted to take the rail journey from Istanbul to Tehran.
Exodus already ran a trip to the main sites in Iran but going there slowly by rail and absorbing the landscape close up seemed the perfect way to travel. Fortunately the judges of the Adventure Pioneers competition thought the same!

The Trans Asia Express leaves Istanbul at nearly midnight and is clean and comfortable. The dining car was a delight and the food was beautifully cooked and presented. The Iranians were in relaxed mood. They were keen to chat and we did our best to communicate with the aid of the phrase book.

We arrived at the ferry terminal on Lake Van at about 6.00pm on our third evening and set off about an hour later. The large Iranian who runs the catering side sold vast quantities of olive oil and chocolate through the serving hatch. Then, giving in to loud clapping and demands from the passengers, he put on some Persian music and the dancing began. The dancing ebbed and flowed, sometimes in the cabin and sometimes on deck. On deck, people drew white, plastic chairs into tight circles and talked earnestly, then laughter would break out and hapless victims (yes, reader, I was one of them) were dragged into the middle of cheering Iranians to dance.

Did the trip live up to expectations? Absolutely. Should you think about going? Absolutely.