Admit it. You've always wanted to be an astronaut. If you have, then you can blast off for the adventure of a lifetime at Space Camp Academy in Huntsville, Alabama. On your week-long mission — should you chose it — you'll experience four Gs of force of a blast off, feel what it's like to walk on the moon and even experience a simulated tumble in space. If that's not enough, there's also a space museum, a Mars-themed climbing wall, an Imax theatre, a rocket park filled with various NASA artefacts, and a full-scale space shuttle prototype.
Want to really go wild on your next holiday? Then why not go on the ultimate safari and learn to become a game ranger in South Africa's Kruger National Park? Home to more than 60 different species of mammals, including lion, leopard, elephant, white rhino, wild dog and cheetah, Kruger is the ideal location to experience the wild, untamed nature of the African bush firsthand. The 28-day ranger course covers a variety of topics from ecotourism and four-by-four driving to bush navigation and animal tracking. Shorter courses are also available.
If you've always wanted to experience life as a cowboy (or cowgirl) then round-up a few friends and take a ride to Drowsy Water Ranch near Granby in Colorado. During the day, you can go riding, help pen and sort the cattle, learn to throw a lasso or even take part in a full-blown cattle drive. Come night, after a hearty home-cooked dinner you can enjoy a camp fire sing-along under a swathe of twinkling stars before catching some well-earned Zs. The ranch offers a variety of packages including a Cowgirls Only Week for women who want to play and be pampered — now that deserves a "Yee-ha!"
Do you have a story you want to tell, but don't know where to start? Then unleash your creative spirit on a unique writing retreat in Bali. Surrounded by palm trees and rice paddies in the mountain town of Ubud, the cultural and artistic centre of Bali, your words will soon begin to flow. Starting each day with a yoga class to clear your mind, you'll then be guided through the creative writing process by Walkley award-winning journalist and Australian author Sarah Armstrong and her partner Alan Close, a poet, novelist and former columnist for Good Weekend magazine. The intensive creative writing sessions are then followed by improvisation classes, led by Kathryn Riding, one of Australia's leading voice improvisation teachers, to help you gain confidence in your creative expression.
Whether you dream of being the next winner of MasterChef or simply want to impress your friends at your next dinner party, there's no better way to perfect your culinary skills than by taking a cooking class. For those with a leaning towards Italy, Cooking in Umbria, based in the historic Hotel Villa San Donnino in the hills just outside the walled town of Città di Castello, offers a delicious week-long hands-on program. Under the tutelage of well-known Italian chef Claudio Covelli, you'll spend your mornings learning how to whip-up the perfect pasta sauce and then taste-test the fruits of you labour over a long, languid lunch. Bellissimo!
Wannabe shutterbugs won't want to miss Artic Color's photographic expedition. Run by renowned British landscape and Northern Lights photographer Patricia Cowern, this three-day tour will allow you to get behind the lens of your camera and take those dream shots you only see in magazines. From the small Swedish town of Porjus, 64km north of the Arctic Circle, Patricia hosts small groups of photographers — both beginners as well as advanced — who want to experience and capture the contradictory moods of nature. From the colourful hues of autumn to nature's magnificent light show, the Aurora Borealis, you'll be tutored on the finer points of nature photography.
If you'd rather hang 10, than hang out in an office cubicle, perhaps you'll find the life of a surfer more to your liking. With almost 50,000km of unspoilt coastline, Australia is one of the best destinations to learn to surf. As part of the week-long Samundra combined surfing and yoga retreat, you'll stay in the luxurious Byron Bay Manor; a resort-style holiday house with a chilled surfer vibe located in New South Wales. Each morning, you'll begin with a yoga session before taking to the beach for surf instruction. While you may not emerge from the water as Australia's next Layne Beachley, at least you can say you too have surfed on the shores of this amazing country.
