How long could you make £1,000 last? How long could you make £1,000 last if you were on holiday? I guess that depends on where you go – it’s a lot easier to get rid of a grand in Vegas than it is to blow your budget in Budapest.

That’s the challenge MoneySupermarket has set for us travel bloggers through its A Grand Adventure competition – the twist, though, is that you also have to have an ‘epic’ adventure while you’re out there.

My first shot at exercising frugality while feeling epic had me renewing my car insurance while holed up in an Eastern European youth hostel…but I think that idea may have missed the point a little.

And so I decided on Australia.

And surfing.

Surfing in Australia.

Then I remembered that this had already been done by Geoff MoneySupermarket, who surfed an A-Frame on an inflatable alligator. So it was back to the brochures.

And then it hit me, instead of plain old surfing – which I’m rubbish at anyway, not to mention that I suffer from a severe shark allergy – how about jungle surfing?

So, what’s this jungle surfing all about?

Jungle surfing is basically the practice of being launched down a zipline, hundreds of feet above the ground in the rainforest canopy. Possibly the best place to do this is Cape Tribulation, which sits in one of the world’s oldest rainforests (the same one that’s used in I’m a Celebrity…but don’t let that deter you) in North Queensland, about a three-hour drive north of Cairns.

It’s a remarkable way to see some of the world’s oldest wildlife and there’s views right out to the Great Barrier Reef - not to mention the buzz you get from zipping through the canopy.

(This is also a great place to set off from to see the Barrier Reef, it’s only an hour away by boat and is not overrun with snorkel-sporting swimmers)

How do I make my money last?

For the true jungle adventurer camping is the only option and at just $15 a night, PK’s Jungle Village can’t be beaten. And, if you’re feeling really frugal, you could make every meal time a bush tucker trial…or maybe not.

When you get there the humidity will be around 90% and the wildlife will feel just as at home in your tent as it does in the tree tops – you’ll literally be snug as a bug – but this, and the fact that you’re bedding down beneath the stars of the southern hemisphere, will make every night a grand adventure.

Photo Credit: WanderingtheWorld (www.LostManProject.com) Photo Credit: stevendepolo cc