Uncornered Market: Our You'll Never Forget It Moments

With our You'll Never Forget It campaign in full gear, we're asking our Wanderers in Residence to share their most "YNFI" related moment that experienced with us on a G Adventures tour. First is Dan and Audrey from Uncornered Market.

Dan: Reaching the top of Mount Kilimanjaro after after one final ascent, midnight to dawn. File it under experiences that are made, not bought.

I was exhausted. I was cold. I struggled with the altitude. The mind begins to play tricks. You just have to trick it back. This is the final day, summit day, of the Marangu Route Uhuru Peak, the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the top of Africa.

But on this day, my struggle and my story is only one of five. My wife Audrey, another couple from Britain and a woman from Finland all have struggles of their own.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is a place that forces you to reach deep inside, every step of the way to the top. We all did. And we knew we were never alone.

I have climbed other mountains before, but the rise to Kilimanjaro's glaciers left me pouring all that I had left in the darkness of the ascent so that I could be made whole again at sunrise. The only thing better than my own success was that of everyone in my group, what we'd learned and what we'd shared.

(Related link: Climbing Kilimanjaro: Life Lessons from the Top of Africa)

(Related tours: Tanzania)

Audrey: After two and a half days on the boat, including experiencing the Drake Passage in all its fury (i.e., seasick and constant swaying), I finally stepped off the MS Expedition onto a zodiac to another planet of blue ice and frigid cold.

We were south of the Antarctic circle, blown away by Mother Nature and her harsh beauty. I could have turned back after that first zodiac ride and been happy. It was that incredible.

(Related links: Honest Antarctica: Gray Skies, Blue Ice and Panorama of the Week: Antarctica Zodiac Ride)

(Related tour: Quest for the Antarctic Circle)

Getting There

G Adventures runs a number of departures encompassing a wide range of departure dates and activities to cater to different tastes. We’re thrilled at the prospect of showing you this big blue planet of ours — check out our small group trips here.