We met for breakfast at the lakeside cafe. I had already had first breakfast; we met at 9:30, and that is too late for me to break my fast. But a second breakfast would conveniently fill me up so I would manage the trip without getting hungry five meters from the entrance. And it was good to see the ladies! There were seven of us. Sharon would lead it. She sometimes works for Miles, leading trips, so she knew what she was doing, whatever we would choose.
We had all been told to bring tandem pulleys, so ziplines were in order. Plenty of those down there! And we chose the route of one of the commercial trips. I had tried that when it was new. We started with the steps followed by the catwalk. Then we went down the incline, and to the corkscrew. I hadn’t done that in years!
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| Catwalk |
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| Corkscrew |
After the corkscrew we hit the remains of a bridge that now functioned as a balance beam with a safety line. And then we got to the first zipline. A big one! And it was at a funny angle so you had to get onto it from what was known as the diving board; a beam sticking out into the void. It felt very exposed.
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| Beam |
When I pushed off I rather hesitantly started trundling towards the other side. I got about halfway. I had to grab the wire and pull myself along. That was ok; I made it to the other side. Everybody else just zipped across.
At the next zipline, there was space to take a run-up. I did that! It didn’t help. It was starting to become clear my pulley is a bit stiff. But that’s ok. I can pull myself across on the wire. And I am at no risk whatsoever to go too fast and crash into something on the other side.
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| Zipping |
There is one zipline on that route that is known for being slow. It has a rope rigged next to it for pulling yourself in. But I only got halfway! I couldn’t reach the rope from there. Someone managed to flick it, though, and then I could pull myself across.
We also came across a commercial group. We let them pass. It was actually quite fun to see them zip along. And Sharon knew the trip leaders.
After the last zipline we were almost back at the incline. We tried to do a group picture by the cart. Sharon took it with a tripod, her phone on timer, and a torch. The first time she hurried over to our side and fell down a hole. The second time she obscured me. Third time was lucky! And then we headed back up and out.
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| The group pic with Sharon (far left) vanishing into a hole |
It had been a lovely trip! Even with my slow pulley. I think the others had a bit more of the intended experience. But that’s ok! I am hardly a speed freak. And it was nice to see all the ladies. But I didn’t go to the pub with them. I had to go home, pack for my trip, feed Chris’ cat, and spend a last evening with my own!
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| Additional group pic (with Sharon) by the entrance |
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