Mr. Verne, I presuma? [Campaign]

So, as a great fan of Jules Verne's books, I have been thinking of starting a campaign with some innovation from "Around the world in 80 days".

Well, it won't be exactly like that but just the idea that rather than fighting demons, undead, dire kittens and kobolds to save the world or advance in a guild or something, they would have the goal of getting to some point (propably some high mountain in dangerous are on the other side of the continent or something...) and back alive, facing all those dangers and adventures that the travel brings with it and fighting the henchmen of competitors. I know that none of them has played such a campaign before, so, about time.

So, I am open to suggestions on what kind of stuff I could include there. I can include next to any normal one-shot adventure (such as rescuing a town from kobolds) but I would also like to add something a bit less common in the very traditional fantasy (to which they have gotten used to).

I am not going to make an eberron game but I could have some influences from there in the world theme.


Now, some I have already thought of:
-Corrupted law enforcers
-Monster attacks
-Passing through deserts (I can imagine a wide range of creatures lurking under the sand)
-Passing through mountains (Some traditional fantasy here too, so dangerous passage, wolves, climbing, etc. and then again, other chance is to go under the mountains... Nothing unusual here but again, can include anything)
-Henchmen of the competitors
-Bandits
-Pirates
-Zeppelin hi-jackers

But most of those are pretty normal. Though bandits can be made interesting (there are as many kinds of them as there are bandits), they are still always bandits. I am specifically interested in fresh ideas of what kind of things to add.

One convention I have used in similar campaigns is this:
In the course of the 'race' the PCs hear rumor that their destination is also the home of an Artifact of some good or evil means.
The verification of this info can be a mini-adventure unto itself. Moreover it might add a moral complication for some of the PCs. Perhaps along with the rumor it is said that whoever moves the artifact from its home calls down a terrible curse in some-such land. What if people from some-such land catch ear about this race?
Anyhow, have fun