This is a guest post series on Must Hike Must Eat. To learn more and submit your first time story, read You Never Forget Your First Time.
Website: Deb’s World
Two Sentence Bio About You: I’m Debbie – an Australian 50+ midlife blogger who loves life, travel and having adventures. Reader, cyclist, ex-prison teacher, young retiree, runner Rotarian and brand new Grandma who loves a good cup of tea when not being WonderWomanDebz. Life’s too short not to smile 🙂
My First Time on a Zip Wire
I’ll just start by saying that I am scared of heights; I hate steep cliffs and being too close to the edge; swinging bridges terrify me and yet I managed to cross something scary off my bucket list this year.
I have to say that I’m not averse to adventurous pursuits – I have abseiled; trekked up to Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal- across swinging bridges that scared the hell out of me; I’ve trekked in the jungles of Papua New Guinea on the Kokoda Track; cycled in Europe and Australia; skied in the Italian Alps and travelled on my own. I’ve hiked and camped in the Australian Outback staying with an Aboriginal community. I’ve travelled the world with my husband and family and I love a challenge.
Last time I was at The Eden Project, in Cornwall UK, back in 2013, I looked up and saw people on a zip wire, whizzing above us all, across and over the top of the biomes. I commented to my daughter that it was something I just couldn’t ever see myself doing. I’m scared of heights and being out of my comfort zone due mainly to a tragic bus accident I was involved in while on a school excursion in another country, when I was just a teenager. I just couldn’t imagine putting myself in that situation.
For some reason when I visited again, 5 years later with my husband, I decided I wanted to try to do it. And I did!
By the way, the Skywire at the Eden Project just happens to be the longest zip line in England measuring 660 meters (2,165 ft).
I was determined to give it a try and to face my fears. I put my trust in the Hangloose staff who were very accomplished and confident, and also in their equipment. I listened to the instructions and did what I was told. I also hired a case for my phone which was mounted onto my helmet so I could video my ride! What a great way to capture my amazing feat.
It all started with me paying 25 pounds for the experience and queuing up with the next batch of 6 intrepid adventurers. My daughter had given me a Mother’s Day card with 25 pound cash in it, so I thought I’d use it wisely! My husband wisely disappeared after seeing me enter the room to be kitted out. (He was worried that if he was nearby I’d wimp out).
I had to put on a covering outfit with a harness which was adjusted to fit me, goggles and helmet and then waited nervously to be taken by bus to the highest point. We were given another briefing and then shown where we would be attached to the wire and fly back down, superman style!
It all sounded OK up until the moment I was up there, 100 metres above the ground, right on the edge of a cliff looking down!
It was a bit windy and some of the others had to have an extra piece added to their harness to slow them down. Because I was one of the smallest in the group I didn’t need this. I suddenly realised I was the oldest person in the group and one of only 2 women! I let most of the others go first and watched the preparations carefully.
The hardest part was getting into the starting position as it required lying face down in a sort of push up position. I then had to bend my legs and raise my feet onto the bar attached to my harness behind me – it was very difficult, especially with nerves kicking in. I then had to lift my arms from the security of the starting position and put them out to the sides like wings. Once I was in position I was counted down and I remember asking if I was allowed to scream. The instructor was so comforting and supportive and gave me permission to scream all the way and said he wanted to hear me! Just before I launched he started my video and I was off.
It’s claimed to be the closest thing to flying – 660 metres at approximately 60mph (100km per hour) in about 45 seconds!
It was awesome!!!!!
At the end of the flight, I was pulled up with a thud as the automatic braking kicked in, it was quite a teeth shattering finish!
What exactly is a Zip Wire?
Wikipedia explains a Zip Wire as: A zip-line (or zip line, zipline, Sypline, zip wire, aerial runway, aerial ropeslide, death slide, flying fox, or, in South Africa, foefie slide) consists of a pulley suspended on a cable, usually made of stainless steel, mounted on a slope. It is designed to enable a user propelled by gravity to travel from the top to the bottom of the inclined cable by holding on to, or attaching to, the freely moving pulley. Zip-lines come in many forms, most often used as a means of entertainment.
The Skywire at The Eden Project is suitable for anyone over 8 years of age, who weighs between 40 and 120kgs.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip-line
I would highly recommend flying on this Zip Wire and was buzzing for hours afterwards. I was so proud of myself I had to share my feat with everybody back home in Australia. Some of my friends were asking – who is this woman and where has the real Debbie gone?
I felt so brave and accomplished and surprisingly calm too.
Have you been on a zip wire before?
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This is a guest post series on Must Hike Must Eat. To learn more and submit your first time story, read You Never Forget Your First Time. You do not have to have a blog to participate and any topic is welcome!
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