ABSTRACT
Perhaps as a reaction to the artificiality of modern life, there is increasing interest in the role that time spent in nature can play in improving health, quality of life, individual well-being and even happiness (e.g. MacKerron & Mourato, 2013; Smith et al., 2013; Thompson Coon et al., 2011). The traveller may experience ‘a total merging of self and environment’ (Ittelson, Franck & O’Hanlon, 1976), allowing them to discover who they are and their place in the world, in a form of self-actualisation (Hall, 2002; Laing & Crouch, 2011) or existential authenticity (Wang, 1999). The visceral quality of these nature-based experiences, involving potential or real risks, appear to lead some travellers to challenge themselves, transcend self-imposed boundaries, achieve goals or to be receptive to new identities (Laing & Frost, 2014; Robledo & Batle, 2015).
