Well today was a boatload of fun. I went on a canopy tour (zipline) with Hidden Canopy Tours in Rotorura. The trip was both fun and educational as the goal of the company is to (i) provide you with a mega awesome zip line experience and (ii) teach you about the importance of preserving New Zealand’s old growth forest.
I was picked up right at 8:15 by fellow countryman, Chase, who was born in Ontario, but now lives and works in Rotorura. By 8:30, we were at the office meeting the other three joining me on the tour (Karen, Mike and Terry). We were fitted with gear and were in the van with our two guides, Chase and Harry, by 8:45 headed for the Dansey Road Scenic Reserve.
Now we were the first group of the day so once we arrived, we found the birds were out in full force since no human had arrived to disturb them. All around us we could hear chirps and calls and squawks. And while the birds were cool, the forest was something else. We were surrounded by mammoth, and I do mean mammoth reach for the stars kind of trees. The dense growth and height of the trees blocked out most of the sun and sky. It was incredible to see.
So after walking a few minutes in the forest, Harry gave us a bit of a crash course in the nature around us identifying old growth trees (some upwards of 500 years old), various ferns (New Zealand has over 200 varieties) and of course, the myriad of birds that were flitting around us.
After we learned a bit about our surroundings we set off through the dense forest to our first zipline, which would take us a quick 70 meters from one platform to the next. The hike took about 15 minutes (all told we ended up hiking about 1.2 km) mostly uphill and had us climbing some hand built staircases.
Once we reached the first platform, (where we were greeted by a North Island Robin sitting on one our cables), we were given an in depth safety briefing before our harness was double hooked to the line (in case one failed) and then … crouch down in a seated position, step off and weeeeeeeee … I’m flying. Unfortunately, this one was quite short so I was at the other side in no time.
Now once we arrived at the other side, we found that we had to hike across a very bouncy 50 meter swing bridge. Fortunately, we were hooked to an overhead line as we crossed and there were cable railings to hand on to. I was last to go so I think I get the better end of the bargain as there was no one behind me causing the bridge to swing more than it already was.
And one across the bridge, I found that the second platform was even shorter than the first platform at just 40 meters. I was across before I could blink.
Platform number 3 was the bird spotting platform, but sadly we did not spot any birds. This platform was also a tad short at 49 meters, but we were now high, high above the smaller trees in the forest.
Now platform number 4 actually delivered the birds that we were looking for. Once on the platform we came face to face with a kererū, which is apparently not that common to spot. The bird seemed to enjoy our company because it hung around as we set up to take on the longest zipline of the course at 220 meters.
So the boys gave us very specific instructions about how to approach this zipline. They told us the best way to take on this zipline is to step backwards onto the stairs of the platform and then push off backwards so you have a spectacular view of the trees (including the mammoth tree on which the platform was built) as you pass them by. Now I have to admit that it was a blast to push off backwards, but walking down the stairs backwards at 70 meters above the ground was a little nerve wracking. However, once in the air, the scenery was absolutely fabulous. In fact, I really wanted to go back and have a redo on this part of the course.
From here, we climbed down and did some more walking through the forest learning about the conservation efforts of the Hidden Canopy Trust, including setting traps for predators such as possum, rats and the stoat. The Trust has been incredibly successful in reducing the population of predators and in a span of a few years has been able to reverse some for the damage to the forest caused by possum and other predators. (We saw a picture and the difference in a 5 year span was remarkable with the forest regrowing where damage had been done.)
So with some information imparted to us, we hiked on and eventually reached the fifth zipline, a 170 meter trip through the trees, which turned out to be incredibly exhilarating. We even caught the trip through the trees on video and it really illustrates what it was like to fly along through the canopy.
Now to reach the last platform, we had to walk across another swinging bridge. This one was only 15 meters long, but it is called the “no hands bridge”, because there are no railings (although your harness is attached to a wire over your head). Once you reach the midpoint of the bridge, the guys instructed us to stop turn sideways and lean out off the bridge. Picture time! Harry then yanked on the on the wire overhead and you pop back onto the bridge. And three steps later you are on the platform. A little hair raising, but damn it was fun.
The final zipline was just 70 meters and quite frankly left us wanting more. The ziplining and visit to the forest had been absolutely incredible.
So after the last platform, we hiked back out the amazing forest and returned to Rotorua. I ended up having some lunch before picking up my luggage from my hotel and walking the half a dozen blocks to the bus station where I caught the bus back to Auckland. Tomorrow, I am off on a small group sightseeing tour of the area followed by a boat trip around the Auckland harbor.
