These travel writers have had a terrible time in their absence

Not every trip goes according to plan. Some may show moments of shock and awe. Here are some times Freight The group has had terrible experiences.

Scuba diving, Cyprus

I’m not sure when the shock started.I think I heard my own breathing sometime. It was a blur that took minutes but probably only seconds to resolve. All I know is that it turned me from a self-confident person into someone who can’t keep my head underwater.

I have been able to swim since I was a child because my parents took me to swim lessons on Saturdays. I wasn’t going to win any Olympic medals, but I was qualified.

But that all changed on a family holiday in Cyprus. My sister and I decided to go scuba diving for the first time and it scarred me for life. The instructions seemed rushed, the material was heavy, and all I could think about was getting the dreaded ‘bend’. I started panicking and it got worse. The instructors seemed interested only in the ones happily swimming among the shoals of fish, but all I could hear was my own anxious breathing.

Eventually someone noticed I was having trouble and I was flagged back up. I was relieved it was over but hated every moment of it. – Alan Granville, travel reporter

A snowstorm in Niseko, Japan

The coldest I’ve ever experienced was at a Japanese ski resort in Hokkaido. I was a seasoned skier in NZ at the time, but I had never felt the absolutely bone-chilling wind from Siberia blowing fresh powder across northern Japan. It is what makes it a haven for skiers and snowboarders – the powder days there are unreal.

But one day of skiing, the temperature dropped to -17C and no amount of thermal gear could protect me from that cold. I think I managed one run that morning, but on the next trip to the gondola, the air thickened, visibility dropped rapidly and I suddenly felt completely alone on the mountain, freezing to the core and unable to see my hand in front of me. my face I’ve been in whiteouts on ski slopes before, and they’re scary no matter where you are, when all you see ahead is a blanket of white, no visible details, no sudden falls or warning. Add to that the coldness of the cliff, with my neck warm and a full face ski mask on, I could feel the shock setting in. I wasn’t in the back country, but this was unfamiliar mountains and plains.

I don’t quite remember how I got back—the cold seems to have frozen not only my face, but my memory, but I got off safely, and spent the rest of the day in my hotel snug in front of the fire. – Juliette Sivertsen, Acting Chief News Director – Travel

Road trip in Jordan

We were traveling around Jordan and had a driver company to take us from the capital city of Amman to the ancient city of Petra, the Mars-like desert of Wadi Rum. The Dead Sea.

Living in Dubai at the time, the main road had seven lanes in each direction and I was used to white-knuckle taxi rides. But Jordan was something else – the only rule seemed to be no rules.

One particular driver had a habit of crossing the center line to pass other cars on the highway. The only problem was, he often neglected to return to the right side. At one point, as we approached a blind corner, he pointed to the left lane, indicating the area. As a chronic people pleaser, I tried to contain my shock for most of the ride, but couldn’t help but let out a strangled “argghhh” when another car appeared, forcing us back to our rightful place.

We survived – but from then on I had a preference for countries with trains. – Siobhan Downes, Senior Travel Correspondent

Open water snorkeling, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

I have a love-hate relationship with the ocean. There’s nothing better than splashing in the waves, but that’s as far as I can go without feeling chest-deep discomfort.

It was a day trip exploring the Great Barrier Reef that awakened my fear of open water. It was quick and easy to get into the reef from the pontoon from the main beach. I followed our group along a set of guide ropes before carving my own path through the water and embarking on an underwater adventure.

I was so engrossed in looking down the reef system in search of colorful marine life, I didn’t realize I was drifting too far from the safety of the pontoon. I eventually drowned, being alone in open water I had no way of staying comfortably afloat.

Panic set in, and though I was able to pull back comfortably, it was a terrible splash back onto dry land. I spent the rest of the day exploring the pontoon. – Stephen Heard, Travel Publishing Co-ordinator.

Canyoning, Abel Tasman National Park

I scared myself before I got up. As I watched a video online of the canyoning adventure I was about to embark on, a deep sense of awe settled in my chest as I watched people gleefully plunging off waterfalls and into murky pools – in some cases doing it backwards or two. on board.

I told myself that if I just stopped worrying and did as I was told, everything would be fine, but in a group with three guys who had been down the canyon many times before, I quickly began to feel out of my depth. I wondered how I could keep up as I ran through the woods to keep up with them on the way to the canyon – especially as we waded into waist-deep water that took my breath away.

The first descent – an abseil from a short rock face – went well, limp legs aside, but the second was awful. Jumping back into the pool as the man before me had done, my arms were outstretched and I hit the water so hard that his shoulder dislocated. At first I didn’t understand what was happening, I wondered why I couldn’t move my right arm when I tried to get out of the pool.

Seeing my shoulder pointing in the wrong direction as the guide took off and unzipped my wet suit made me sick to my stomach, but the pain didn’t start until he took me out of the canyon. .

As we waited for what seemed like an eternity for the rescue helicopter, pulling on my arm, I felt a pain unlike anything I had ever experienced. And as the paramedic and I rushed to the chopper, it got louder as my arm slammed into his body.

Fortunately, the hospital was only a short flight away and the doctor put the shoulder back in place, providing quick relief. Ever since then I have been telling myself that one day I will give canyoning another shot. But, to be honest, I’m not sure I can summon the courage.

What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever experienced while traveling? Let us know in the comments or email us at travel@stuff.co.nz.