January

4 Mudbath in Essex

It’s a gloopy start to the year. Take a wide, shallow river surrounded by acres of silty ooze, add a start line on one side, a finish line on the other and 200 slightly unhinged competitors. Bingo — you have the Maldon Mud Race (www.maldonmudrace.com ). No more room to take part, but it’s a great (if slightly sadistic) spectator sport, so join the throng to watch from Promenade Park at 11.30am. Tip: wear old clothes.

8 Sounds of the Sahara

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Mali has the most exciting music in Africa, and the Festival of the Desert is its showcase: hundreds of mainly local musicians play day and night in the remote dunes 40 miles outside Timbuktu, watched by thousands of locals, desert nomads and a smattering of western tourists. It runs until January 10. Wild Frontiers (020 7736 3968, www.wildfrontiers.co.uk ) has a 15-day trip, leaving on December 29, from £2,635pp; the operator can also arrange flights.

20 A new era in Washington

It’s going to be huge. Up to 4m people are expected to turn out to watch Barack Obama being sworn in as the 44th president of the United States: it’ll be a set-piece occasion like no other, with a hell of a party after the formal stuff. Hotels in DC are already booked solid, but you can still be part of it by commuting in for the big day: Jetset (0845 025 7757, www.jetset-holidays.co.uk ) has four nights from January 17 in Annapolis, Baltimore or Richmond (all less than an hour from DC) from £619pp, including flights and car hire.

26 New Year in Hong Kong

The year of the ox will be welcomed in with a colossal night-time parade around Tsim Sha Tsui East: there will be dozens of floats, thousands of musicians, dance troupes, clowns and a few zillion bangers. Travelmood (0800 840 8305, www.travelmood.com ) has a three-night short break covering the festivities for £599pp, including flights.

February

2 Butterflies in Mexico

One of the great wildlife migrations reaches its climax, with up to 600m monarch butterflies gathering in a few pockets of forest in the province of Michoacan. Tree branches have been known to break under the butterflies’ weight. Naturetrek (01962 733051, www.naturetrek.co.uk ) has an expert-guided tour that reaches the El Rosario butterfly reserve on February 2. The nine-day trip costs £1,995pp, full-board, including flights.

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