Category Archives: Bucket List

Bucket List Week 4 – Scuba and Sky Diving

A Bucket list can consist of anything, from big events to tiny things that you had never even considered doing before. It can be something as little as trying every flavour of ice cream, to a big event such as completing a marathon. Here at Penguin we believe in travelling the world, visiting fantastic landmarks and enjoying the great sights of the different traditions and cultures worldwide. We’re not saying you have to travel to be happy, but for those of you who love travelling and are looking for some stunning locations and activities to tick off your bucket list, we can give you some ideas.

Skydiving

[penguin]skydive blog

An exhilarating feat, not for the faint hearted. Skydiving sessions happen everywhere in the world, depending on where you live or where you would like to dive. Normally divers on their first go will be accompanied by a professional, who chooses to open up the parachute at the right moment. The freefall portion of the skydive is the most exhilarating, the idea of rushing towards certain death, followed by the relief of the parachute opening – the rush of adrenaline you feel when this happens is often one of the major appealing points of diving.

Plus you get a great view of the surrounding area as you drift back down to safety, so for a truly inspirational view, why not try skydiving in Hawaii, where you can see the whole island laid out in front of you as you fall?

Great Barrier Reef – Australia

 

[penguin]scuba blog

Famous for being the world’s largest coral reef, with over 3,000 individual reef systems and coral cays, and with a range of diving experiences available depending on your level of diving skill, you can see the great barrier reef up close, no matter how much experience you have with diving!

 

Plus with accommodation suitable for families, couples and singles, the Great Barrier Reef is a great spot to visit for everyone! If you’re in Australia for a week or two, you can also hire a car in Townsville in order to see the local sites, after enjoying the fantastical views of the Great Barrier Reef.

New experiences can be found anywhere, from the ends of the earth to your back garden. Why not look at the rest of our bucket list collection, if you are putting together an ideal bucket list of your own and would like some great inspiration from the best locations worldwide.

Penguin Bucket List Week 3 – Pig Island

Whether you are a fan of piglets, boars or just like animals in generals, today Penguin has an ideal Bucket list item for you. Pig Island in the Caribbean is a tiny little island where feral pigs live and breed in peace. This iconic island is full of pigs of all shapes, sizes and colours, and although the pigs are feral, they are pretty content with having human visitors.

Officially known as Big Major Cay, it is said that the pigs were originally dropped off by a group of sailors who wanted to eventually return and cook them, but in the end this apparently never happened. The pigs somehow managed to survive by scavenging, and now live happily while being fed by the islands tourists and nearby locals.

Making a Splash

As the island is surrounded by clear waters, most of the pigs learn to swim from a very young age, and even small piglets can be seen swimming easily around the coast. Many of the pigs are even strong enough swimmers that they are quite contented to swim alongside people.

They have even been known to swim out to approaching boats to greet newcomers, and to sniff out for a snack or two. With nothing else to do but lay around snoozing all day and catching the sun’s rays, these pigs certainly live the high life.

Not Camera Shy

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The pigs are quite content to sit around, and don’t mind tourists taking a photo or two, they are even perfectly happy to swim alongside a camera, or behind it. There are a variety of tours available which will take you directly to Pig Island, and a variety of different natural wonders around, and are available at different times during Summer and Winter.

Take time out of your busy schedule to visit these lovely little porkers, and snap a shot as they bask and swim in the clear waters of the Bahamas by hiring a car in the Bahamas.

One Pig Happy Family

The island is said to be home to around 20 pigs and piglets of varying sizes and markings, and as well as feral pigs, there have also been sightings of a few stray cats and goats located on the island too. There are a number of freshwater springs on the island, and the pigs make a happy living scavenging food from locals of nearby islands, and being fed by tourists.

Did you want to create your own Bucket List? Why not have a look at ours for some inspiration!

Penguin’s Bucket List – Week 2

Do you have a bucket list? We don’t quite yet, but we’re working on it! A bucket list is a great way to collate all the places you want to see before you ‘kick the bucket’ as it were. Some things are better to do and see on your own, whereas others are great in a group of friends. If one or more of you want to go somewhere and see something or do something special before it is too late, only one thing is stopping you; You! Well you and finances, but everybody has those problems.

Inside_the_Coliseum_(8085639142)The Coliseum in Rome

Originally known as the Flavian Ampitheatre, visit this fantastic building, one of the last remaining relics of a brilliant and bloodthirsty race. Its 80 arches entrances make way to a staggering 55,000 spectators, who were seated higher or lower in the Coliseum according to their station. A number of historic events happened in the Coliseum, one of the most famous being the gladiator fights.

Presently, two thirds of the original Coliseum have been destroyed, but what remains is a stunning reminder of both the artistic beauty of the Romans, and their strange, cruel attitudes towards the ‘sport and entertainment’ of the times. The Coliseum is located in the heart of Piazza del Colosseo, and is open from 9am until varying closing times throughout the year. 

 

Look after an Elephant

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Like taking care of a bigger, louder horse! This experience is not to be missed as it is a chance to see these majestic beasts up close. Take care of an elephant for a whole day in the Elephant Nature Park located just near the city of Chiang May in Thailand.

The experience lasts a whole day, starting from 8am where you will be picked up from your hotel to go to the Elephant Park and then ending at around 5pm where you will return to Chiang Mai city.

You’ll need a spare pair of clothes and a towel, as you’ll get up close and personal when you get to bathe the elephants! You will also feed the elephants and get to spend some real quality time with them. The park provides a buffet lunch for its elephant carers, so you won’t go hungry!

Our bucket list is beginning to shape up nicely! For help on car hire to get to where you need to go, why not contact us? Stuck for ideas? Why not have a look at our Bucket List?

Penguin’s Bucket List – Things to do and see before you die

By definition a bucket list is a list made by people – mostly when you reach your midlife crisis – who want to do certain things or visit certain places before they die. The phrase ‘bucket list’ takes inspiration from the saying ‘to kick the bucket’ because your bucket list wants to be complete before you ‘kick the bucket’. These lists can comprise of anything; see a long lost loved one, travel the world, even spend a day doing absolutely nothing. It all depends on the individual. However most people worldwide have a list of places they would like to see before they died. Other people want to make a bucket list, but aren’t quite sure what to put on there. Why don’t we help? With a collection of truly magnificent, memorable and beautiful places that you should really visit before you die.

Zhangye’s Colourful Rock Formations

zanghye-danxia-formationsKnown as the Zhangye Danxia, these mountains consist of over 24 million years worth of laying down different mineral deposits. The creation of these landforms is something so perfect, so beautiful, that only nature could have done it by accident. Over time the layers of mineral deposit were compressed into rock, and then undulations were caused by the collision of the Eurasian and Indo-Australian tectonic plates, resulting in the stunning landforms we see today. These collisions made by the same two tectonic plates would also create the Himalayan Mountains.

The contrasting layers of different mineral rock make the formations look as if bright white lines have been painted across the landscape. Considering that these fantastic mountains were once just sand blowing in the wind, the Zhangye Danxia formations serve as a great representation of the magic of time.

The National Park where these formations are located is about an hour’s drive from the city of Zhangye, and although no tour buses or coaches normally go there, it is easy to hire a car and drive to see these fantastic formations for yourself!

The Mysterious Moai Statues of Easter Island
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These statues were thought to be a monument to the seafaring skills of ancient Polynesian peoples, however little to none oral or written history has survived regarding the Moai statues. They were painstakingly carved and sculpted, then moved to the location in which they now stand, by the ancient people of Rapa Nui. Each head averages around 4 metres in height and weighs a staggering 14 tons.

The statues are situated in a nearly unbroken line around the island, and a further 600 more have recently been discovered in a quarry, all in various stages of completion. The overwhelming sense of mystery that accompanies this island is what makes Easter Island a frequent subject among historians. Nobody quite knows why the Moai statues exist or their relevance to ancient culture, but the stalwart design and eerie frequency of these statues makes Easter Island a must see on bucket lists worldwide.

Want to create your own Bucket List?

We will be focusing on ‘places to visit before you die’ throughout the coming months, so why not check back regularly for ideas?