ABSTRACT
An expedition is an organised journey with a purpose. This purpose can be exploration, achieving a particular aim such as reaching the summit of a mountain, scientific research, surveying for minerals or a test of endurance. In the nineteenth century expeditions consisted of rugged Victorians seeking to map and claim some remote piece of land for their Crown and country. In the twentieth century expeditions increasingly had a scientific purpose, but in the populous world of the twenty-first century personal development and cultural exchange are becoming the predominant reasons for travel. Exploration and adventure travel are now big business. While some groups still raise their own funds for independent travel, large charitable and commercial organisations send thousands of young people overseas each year. With specialist tour companies now offering vacations to remote places, the boundary between an expedition and a leisure trip is becoming blurred. North Americans recognise this and call what we are describing in this book “wilderness medicine”.
