Go BIG Goes Global: Pineapples, Walls, Rain Forests, and More!
First, a big thank you to everyone who helped get the Go BIG or Go Home blog to the #1 ranking in the “Reader’s Choice” category of Travel Blogs for Families on Babble.com! We’ve fallen slightly to the #2 position, which isn’t as BIG a position as we would like. We would appreciate your vote if you haven’t yet had a chance to show your love with a click on the thumbs-up icon!
Erica in front of the World's Largest Pineapple!
There are a few reasons why the “Go BIG” family doesn’t do a lot of international travel. So we leave the finding of the BIG stuff to helpful guest contributors, and live vicariously through them!
Like Erica and Cassi, the enthusiastic bloggers at Nonstop World Travel. They get to explore far and wide, free from the burden of having to locate rectangular chicken nuggets for crabby youngsters. Sigh.
In this month’s guest post, these insatiable travelers tell us about the BIG things they’ve seen in some intriguingly remote locales.
Where we went, and who was coerced into going:
We’ve gone to a few of the biggest and baddest places around the globe, but our favorites would definitely be…
● The world’s largest Pineapple in Nambour, Australia,
● The Great Wall of China — the world’s largest man-made structure
● The Amazon — the world’s largest rain forest and highest flux river
● El Gigante — Easter Island’s and the world’s largest Moai
No coercing was necessary; although, the Pineapple may have gotten cut if it hadn’t been en route down the coast of Australia. Thankfully, we got to thoroughly enjoy the giant tropical fruit.
WHY did you go there, exactly?
If there’s an opportunity to travel, we’ll take it. The idea of traveling to the Amazon was co-opted from a cousin who ended up backing out on the adventure, and the Great Wall was an add-on to a wonderfully free grad school trip to a conference in Suzhou.
We also have a serious love for the quirky corners of the world, so Easter Island had been on the short list for a while. When we found the time to head down to South America, there was no resisting temptation. Next thing we knew, we were face to face with El Gigante and the rest of the Moai. Similarly, when we found the world’s largest pineapple as a spec on Australia’s map, we had to pay it a visit.
Okay, what was so cool about it?
The Amazon was a living reminder that our world is larger, more diverse, and more alive than we can fathom. It was a very cool and very humbling place to live for a few days.
The Great Wall and El Gigante, on the other hand, were testaments to the power of collective action and the responsibility we all share in shaping our landscape. Chances are, if you build something and build it big in this world, it will sit there for a long time to come.
With all that in mind, the pineapple was a much needed reminder that often, the best way to contribute to the world around you is to lighten the mood and enjoy yourself. That’s why we spent most of our time on Easter Island taking hilarious pictures with our Moai friends rather than reading up on the history.
How it rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = snoozefest, 10 = add to your bucket list)
● Pineapple – 6
● Great Wall – 7
● Amazon – 9
● El Gigante – 9
A little background info about the place:
The giant pineapple is in its early 40s and sits adjacent to the Thrill Hill Theme Park in Nambour, Queensland on the way from Cairns to Sydney. Unlike some of the big roadside attractions, the pineapple is hollow, and you’re welcome to walk around inside.
Contrary to the popularized notion, the Great Wall of China is not visible from the moon, but it is mighty large (about 3,800 miles of stone). The wall was built in several pieces at different times in order to protect the Chinese Empire from attack.
NOT visible from space.
The Amazon speaks for itself. It’s one big bad dose of mother earth, and it’s well worth a visit.
El Gigante lies on the side of a mountain quarry in Easter Island, partially carved from the earth. He dwarfs the hundreds of Moais standing watch over the rest of the island. The beauty of visiting Easter Island and El Gigante lies in the unique experience of simultaneously exploring history, frolicking amongst the most curious of human creations, and enjoying the nature of one of the most beautiful islands in the world.
Just found out the Easter Island is part of Chile...who knew?
How exciting! I would love to go to Easter Island, the Amazon, and the Great Wall. They seem like incredible places. Sadly, I too am burdened with finding the closest McDonalds and ball fields on trips these days! Maybe if I tell the guys we’re going to Chile, they’ll think Chili’s and we can have an international adventure!
I find it pretty amazing that none of these spots have a McDonalds nearby…well maybe the pineapple. Someday we’ll be dealing with little rascals of our own, and we can read about your international jaunts.
Awesome post. What amazing places to visit.
Agreed. Special thanks to the Go Big or Go Home family for allowing us to guest post on their wonderful blog!
This is awesome! Now that we’re in your boat, finding chicken nuggets, reading this made me miss traveling the world. Someday we’ll get back to it. Sigh……and these would be great destinations (minus the pineapple).
The pineapple’s pretty close to some amazing beaches, so I wouldn’t rule it out just yet 😉