50 things to do before you die

Last night BBC TV showed a programme entitled 50 Things to do before you die. Several were things I certainly intend avoiding, for a variety of reasons. Climbing Everest for instance, mostly because I am not fit enough, and never likely to be, but also because the mountain has been spoiled by the debris of so many visitors.



It was interesting that many of these things to do were concerned with wildlife. Nothing really cultural - like reading a book, seeing the Mona Lisa, or seeing a film. And several of the the things listed I have been fortunate enough to do: see tigers in the wild, trek through a rainforest, visit a paradise island, see gorillas in the wild, fly over an active volcano, all of which were in the list. I can also think of a few more things considerably more exhilarating than some of those listed: SCUBA diving on a coral reef for one, I would prefer any day to Disney World.



But the interesting point of the list is that so many of the experiences relate to wildlife. That is another reason why supporting the work of the World Land Trust is so important. In Patagonia you can go whale watching, and have Right Whales a few feet away. In Ecuador you can trek through elfin forest and rainforest. In Belize you can trek through the forest in search of the elusive Jaguar, and then relax on the Barrier Reef. And Danjugan really is a paradise island. You can keep bungee jumping, paragliding, riding a Harley Davidson, and playing golf -- it's wildlife every time for me.



Here are my 25 things to do before you die, that come with a personal recommendation for 15, and 10 that I'’ve yet to do, but would like to (not in any particular order). I could easily come up with a few dozen more. Do any readers have other suggestions? Please email me at jab*AT*worldlandtrust.org (replace *at* with the symbol @ in your email address field.)



Things to do before you die – personal recommendation:

1. See a tiger in the wild
2. See an active volcano
3. Visit a large seabird colony in the breeding season
4. Visit a bat cave with thousands of bats
5. See Mountain Gorillas in the wild
6. See Whales close to
7. Spend a night in a desert
8. Climb on a glacier
9. SCUBA dive on the Belize Barrier Reef
10. Hear gibbons calling in the wild
11. See the game parks of East Africa
12. Go spotlighting for owls in South Africa
13. Look for Salamanders in the Appalachians
14. Visit a flamingo colony
15. See giant redwoods

Still to do:

16. See a Jaguar in the wild
17. Visit the Australian Barrier Reef
18. See a giant ant eater in the wild
19. Visit the Kimberlies in Australia
20. Visit the Galapagos islands
21. See a Maned wolf in the Wild
22. Visit the Cape when the flowers are blooming
23. See a wild yak
24. See Rafflesia growing in the wild
25. See lemurs in the wild in Madagascar