UK's Adventure Travel Film Festival Coming to NOC in May

And now for something completely different: NOC's Nantahala River campus is the new East Coast home for the UK's Adventure Travel Film Festival. The festival will feature sixteen films from Friday May 5 to mid-afternoon on Sunday May 6, including the cult-favorite Mondo Enduro by festival host and promoter Austin Vince. This film details the Mondo Enduro motorcycle expedition that aspired to take the longest route around the world in the shortest amount of time possible.

A complete list of films can be found here at NOC's official event page . Vince's wife, fellow motorcycle adventurer and author Lois Pryce will be cohosting. Don't worry--there's plenty of human powered adventures too. Watch the trailer:

The official 2012 NOC Adventure Travel Film Festival trailer. Take a look!

Besides being bona fide adventure travel stars in their own right, Austin and Lois provide the festival with its trademark quirkiness, independence and authenticity. These two have their own ideas of what's interesting and adventurous, and this is often much less glamorous and perhaps more real than mainstream AdTrav media.

So, mark your calendars for May 4-6. Weekend passes are only$50 and there's plenty of lodging/camping in the area (NOC's Basecamp would be the ideal place to crash that weekend). NOC will provide live music and entertainment to boot.

National Geographic Adventure Chooses NOC for One of "25 Best New Trips"

National Geographic ADVENTURE’s November issue touts Nantahala Outdoor Center’s (NOC) 2010 Bolivia expedition as one of the “25 Best New Trips for 2010.” The August expedition—a joint effort with nonprofit Medicforce—aims to bring first aid training and medical attention to remote riverside communities only accessible by running seven days of class IV-V whitewater on the Tuichi River.

The list includes extraordinary adventures across the globe such as biking through Pacific jungles, trekking into the Arctic Circle and snorkeling with humpback whales in Tonga. According to the list’s introduction, “travelers want their dollars to do more—for others, for the planet, for themselves… [h]ere are 25 brand-new adventures, all of them just right for right now.” NGA labeled the expedition a “difference maker” trip, noting its objectives: delivering medical supplies, conducting basic physical exams and relaying information about common health threats.

Jono Bryant, director of Adventure Travel and Wilderness Medicine at NOC commented, “I’m elated that National Geographic ADVENTURE recognized this trip. It is sure to be challenging, but the rewards will be significant. This is a proper expedition that will have positive outcomes for people who live out of reach of traditional medical care. The trip is a totally new concept that has huge potential worldwide. I’m thankful that NOC continues to push the boundaries of whitewater by providing these new and exciting opportunities.”

About NOC’s Boaters without Border Expedition to Bolivia
The Bolivia expedition is the first trip for Boaters Without Borders (BWB)—a new series of unique, expedition-based trips conceived by NOC in association with medical relief charity MedicForce, combining NOC's whitewater expertise with volunteerism in remote riverside communities. Teams of kayakers, medical professionals and expert raft guides will travel to areas of remote jungle only accessible by rivers, training locals to treat basic medical conditions and recognize more serious ones. These individuals are then provided with a comprehensive first-aid kit and interpretative material.

The initial expedition to Bolivia explores the rarely visited whitewater of the Rio Tuichi, in northern Bolivia. This river flows through Madidi National Park, part of one of the largest tracts of protected land in the world. The 21-day adventure begins in La Paz and travels through the upper Amazon basin, with stops in remote villages to deliver medical relief in the form of supplies and sustainable education.