3 fun ways to burn off those Christmas calories

How good is Christmas pudding? And what about that leftover ham, devoured on Boxing Day between two slabs of fresh white bread? And who could forget the obligatory cheese platter to help wash down all that white wine.

If (like me) you’ve over-indulged a little over the silly season, why not work it off in style. Here’s five unique ways to get the legs moving, set your heart racing and help work off that extra serving of pavlova:

Dance the tango in Argentina
After learning a few basic tango moves, you’ll be working up a sweat on the streets of Buenos Aires in no time. For Argentinians, tango is in their blood. It is part of their history and you can see it happening in tango salons, nightclubs and the spontaneous dance sessions that break out in the streets. The beauty of the tango is that it burns off excess calories, while also improving your posture and balance. And the best part is you will feel confident, sexy and ready for adventure before your trip is through! But be warned, you might need to shop for more clothes after toning up that body!

Test your skills by visiting the vibrant barrio of La Boca, and its most famous street - El Caminito. Named after a celebrated tango song, it is home to colourful buildings of red, blue, yellow, and green lined with cobblestone paths. From the shop walls, to the street paintings, to the people themselves El Caminito is one great big piece of art.

Jump with the Masai Mara
You’ve probably seen footage of brightly dressed Masai Mara warriors standing in a circle, jumping high into the air while other members of the group sing and chant.  It might look like fun and games, but this age-old tradition is actually a battle of manhood, strength and agility.

The Masai Mara are Kenya’s most well-known ethnic tribe, with about 350,000-453,000 living there today. They have a reputation as fierce warriors, and their culture revolves mostly around cattle.

Eunoto is a coming of age ceremony, which can involve ten or more days of singing, dancing and ritual. Here, you will see young men performing the aigus, which you might know better as the jumping dance.  The Masai men all form a circle, and one or two will stand in the middle and start jumping, never letting their heels touch the ground. The other members of the tribe chant loudly, raising the pitch of their voice based on the height of the jump.

The Masai are warm, funny people who will gladly engage you in a jumping competition. But be warned, very few people can match them and you might hear the chanting of the tribe drop to dangerously low levels!

Take a swim in Antarctic waters
Yes, you heard right. While taking a dip in most Antarctic waters would kill you, there’s one place where you can actually pop on your swimming trunks and dive right in. It’s called Deception Island…and once you’ve taken the plunge you might understand why!

Deception Island is part of the South Shetland Island chain. It is actually the remains of a volcano which collapsed, creating a water-filled caldera in the middle. It is one of the largest natural harbours in the world and is protected from passing icebergs.

So while you can freeze to death anywhere else in Antarctic waters, Deception Island is somewhat tolerable because of the geothermal heat from the volcano. It’s not real swimming, more like taking a dip in a narrow strip of water along the beach. And the water temperature varies from blistering hot to icy cold. Are you game?

If you'd like to try your hand at any of these trips, why not look through all itineraries for Argentina, Kenya and Antarctica.

And if you've got some other calorie-burning ideas for Gecko's travellers, why not leave them in the comments section below or head to twitter and Facebook!

SALE

Beat the back to work blues, with our Change of Scenery sale. From 23 December to 31 January 2012 you can get 15% off all Gecko's tours! Escape today!

SUBSCRIBE AND WIN!

Simply subscribe to our monthly eNews and you'll go in the running to win an iPad2! Visit the website to subscribe today!

• Tweet