MORE and more young people are setting off on the backpacking trail - an adventure in itself - and on the way having a go at high-risk activities.

And it would be a dud society where there was never any adventure or where risks were somehow outlawed.

But there is a greater danger, when adventure is somehow bought off the shelf, a kind of pre-packaged thrill on sale like any other commodity.

Doing this bypasses the mistakes, the mishaps the near misses that have always taught those that search the far horizons how to survive.

So, before you set off, learn some of the tricks of the trade. Learn how to get out of a fix, even if it is just a minor one, such as knowing how to change a tyre in the Australian outback.

You need to be able to rely on yourself to have a real adventure. So go, have your adventure, revel in it, enjoy it. But take time to learn a bit about what you want to do.