The 11 of 2011 – Tree Adventures
When I sat down at the beginning of the year and thought about what I wanted on my list of 11 things to do in 2011 one activity that HAD to be on the list was Tree Adventures. I’d been keen to do it for a few years, but being pregnant usually got in the way 😉 So 2011 was the year that I was finally going to give it a go.
I knew it would be fun, what I didn’t realize was how much of a physical workout it is! Boy of boy, my upper body sure got a workout.
For those of you who are not familiar with Tree Adventures. It is an outdoor adventure course set in Woodhill Forest, West Auckland. The nine courses range from being 3 metres off the ground and a whopping 14 metres! Each course ends in a flying fox descent back to terra firma (and that was my favorite part, I love jumping off stuff!)
I had booked a day and time a week in advance for James and I, they book up pretty quickly (and we had to organise a babysitter, so having an allotted time is a huge advantage for us) and we rocked up to the course at 9.30am Sunday morning. They open at 9.30am, so we were the first people in the park and it also meant we could amble along at our own pace. (Believe me this place gets busy!)
James .. Tree Monkey Extroidinaire
After being kitted out with a harness and helmet, you are just a safety briefing and a practice course run through away from the “real thing”.
James does not like heights (big time), so we decided to do courses 1-4 with the option of going on to do the rest of the course if James got used to not having both feet on the ground. Well, I just have to give huge props to my husband, because you could have confused him with spiderman or even tarzan the way he swung through those trees!
James aka "The Monkey Man"
James and I seem to have differing views of what is scary. I hated any type of wobbling platform or rope that I was supposed to navigate, but loved the pulleys, swings and flying foxes. He on the other hand hated (with a passion) anything that involved him trusting in anything other than his own arms. Although he does have pretty good arms 😉
The first four courses are designed for kids, so the guide ropes are actually quite low, which makes it harder for adults to navigate. Thankfully I’m pretty short so it wasn’t too bad, even so I had problems on course two because the wires you put your feet on where so far apart, man kids must have long legs these days!
See how my smile is much broader with two feet on land!
So to wrap it up .. James and I had a brilliant time. Scary, tiring, exhilerating and exhausting, but something we definitely cant wait to do again! I think that course nine will have to go on my bucket list .. it looked beyond extreme! James mumbled something like “over my dead body” or was it “no chance in hell” when I asked if he wanted to do it. And .. I think he actually meant it! 😉
I will finish up with a few tips for those of you who are thinking of venturing out to the forest to give it a go.
- Try and get in early, especially if you want to do courses 5-8, they get really busy and you will end up spending a lot of time waiting on platforms for the people in front of you.
- Take food and water .. there are no facilities for you to purchase any.
- Take hand sanitizer .. the portaloos are kind of ick!
- Take a camera with a huge zoom lens if you plan on taking pics from the ground .. they are really high up.
- I tucked my camera into my gym top so that I could take pics while on the course, so dont think you have to leave your camera in the car.
Oh and if your wondering .. yes James decided to do courses 5-8. Course 7 however took forever (because it was so busy), so we ended up coming home after doing three of the four courses available because by that time we were starving!
What goes up, must come down .. with a thump!
My highlight of the day? There are two.
The first was seeing James conquer is fear of heights. My heart just about burst with pride. The second was actually completing what I set out to do, believe me there was a time on course two I was ready for someone to come and rescue me and to sit happily on the forest floor and watch, but I did it and I’m proud of me!
Till next time (go and give it a go!)
