We have a slightly adventurous streak amongst the women in our family so on our last family vacay we decided that all the girls were going zip lining!!!
I had done short stints, like a few meters, my sister and Aunt have done the treetop zip lines in Knysna, but my mom had NEVER ziplined. Anyway, she was in, we had convinced her. My daughter was keen but decided to use those funds towards getting her hair done so she missed out on the fun.
All excited and ready to go
First up you sign an indemnity in case you get injured or die, check - we all survived.
Next get weighed-in at the office. Shock horror that scale must be wrong, surely I don’t weight that much!!! (The scale was correct - lock down has been brutal)
Then, get fitted with all your gear - hairnet, helmet, harness, no accessories - check!
Followed by a short drive to the top of the cliff for the ride of our lives.
The boardwalk is like walking the plank and gets your heart racing before you’ve even been hooked up. We decided that my sister, Jade would go first, then my Mom and then my Aunt with me going last - camera man duties catching the take off!
I kinda missed the pump music to create a bit of vibe at the top, and I told the guy so. It was very quiet and serene, but with the adrenaline pumping we needed some more atmosphere.
Go Jade!!
Go mom!!!
Go Aunty Debbie!!!
Oh and me!!
The thing that makes this ZIPLINE crazy special is that you basically jump off a cliff about a Km away from the finish below at De Poort, which is a rocky gulley that all the locals swim in.
The heavy duty steel cable was carried / rolled out by hand along the cliff side trail (see St. Blaize Hiking Trail along the cliffs of Mossel Bay (South Africa))
The views are stunning. The waves crash against the ragged rocks below as you get to see a unique view of the cliff sides. It’s quiet other than the sound of the cable, sliding through the giant leather glove and you hang there wishing this moment could be frozen in time, because it just flies by way too fast.
And the next thing you know you’re arriving at the bottom, grabbing the rope and being pulled towards the platform.
My aunt had the ride of her life and got absolutely SOAKED by a wave as she got close to De Poort. Ha!
The rest of us arrived without any such fun, but all loved the whole experience.
If you get the opportunity to try something new it’s always a good idea to give it a go! What’s holding you back? What’s around you that you could try? We have made a point of not missing out and experiencing everything around us. And why not?
Visit ZIPLINE Mossel Bay if you’re ever in the area. They were super professional and made it an awesome experience.
https://mosselbayzipline.co.za/What shall we do next?
All photos my own