Waiting for Neopatrick Zip Line Report
Sep 28th, 2009, 11:25 AM
#1
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Waiting for Neopatrick Zip Line Report
We were supposed to get a report yesterday...or read about it in the newspapers!
Just checked the online Maui News; no articles of zip line accidents. How'd it go?
Just checked the online Maui News; no articles of zip line accidents. How'd it go?
Sep 28th, 2009, 01:19 PM
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Wow. It was great.
First of all, I was hesitant to schedule it in advance in case of heavy rain or something (they go regardless and there are no refunds), so last Friday I drove up to the north shore of BI -- it's just beyond the cute little towns of Hawi and Kapaau. I thought maybe they'd have a single opening in the afternoon I could join, but no -- they were booked solid. But the guy said they had two single openings on Saturday. One for the first tour at 8 and one for the last tour at 2. Clearly the first tour is the one to do as you're the first out in the rainforest, it's cooler, less chance of rain, and the birds are all still out. So I did it. Then I realized to check in by 7:30 AM I'd have to get up at 5:30 to allow for the hour and a half (they said) drive up there.
5:30 came especially early on Saturday, but I showered, dressed, ate my cereal and I was off. It was still dark, sun just starting to come up. Well the drive up the coast with the top down as the sun was rising over the mountains was really spectacular! I arrived in just over an hour -- way ahead of schedule. They take 10 people at a time with two guides. Our group was me, a father and son duo from Australia, and a group of locals from Hilo all about 18 or 20 years old five guys and two girls. It was a fun group.
You spend the first 45 minutes or so riding an ATV on a bumpy old road from a long gone sugar plantation up the mountains to the edge of the Kohalo forest. There are 8 ziplines, each one longer, faster, and more fun that the previous one. It gives you a chance to learn how to steer, how to relax, and how to "stop" at the end, though the guide really does that for you. A couple pass waterfalls that you can snap a picture of in mid air. The last two are really WOWs. High up with views out to the coast and past a waterfall, over a huge gorge. The last one you literally jump off a ciff to start. There is a short walk between each line and before the last two there is a nice hut with fresh fruit and pastry snacks and juices. It overlooks a gorgeous ginger surrounded waterfall into a pretty lagoon.
Finally you ride back down the mountain. The whole adventure is 4 hours. It was simply wonderful, well run, great guides who entertain (the last one across always does some sort of cartwheels in mid air).
This is the first zipline on the Big Island and has only been in existence for 9 months. Most of the kids of Hilo have done others on other islands,but all said this was the best. They are already building two more lines -- major ones to add to the track (or maybe eliminate a couple of the other shorter ones).
It cost $165 including all taxes. Not cheap, but money well spend in my book. I read a funny discussion on Trip Advisor about it, with a couple of loonies ranting about the horrible impact on nature. HUH? There is almost no impact on this land which has overgrown again from its days as a plantation a century ago. Trees are rarely cut down for any of it, and the cables hardly provide any negative impact on nature! I suppose those same people are even more opposed to having any hiking trails anywhere in the worls, as creating trails does far more "damage" to the environment than this does.
Anyway, here is the link to the operation. I highly recommend it.
http://www.bigislandecoadventures.com/
First of all, I was hesitant to schedule it in advance in case of heavy rain or something (they go regardless and there are no refunds), so last Friday I drove up to the north shore of BI -- it's just beyond the cute little towns of Hawi and Kapaau. I thought maybe they'd have a single opening in the afternoon I could join, but no -- they were booked solid. But the guy said they had two single openings on Saturday. One for the first tour at 8 and one for the last tour at 2. Clearly the first tour is the one to do as you're the first out in the rainforest, it's cooler, less chance of rain, and the birds are all still out. So I did it. Then I realized to check in by 7:30 AM I'd have to get up at 5:30 to allow for the hour and a half (they said) drive up there.
5:30 came especially early on Saturday, but I showered, dressed, ate my cereal and I was off. It was still dark, sun just starting to come up. Well the drive up the coast with the top down as the sun was rising over the mountains was really spectacular! I arrived in just over an hour -- way ahead of schedule. They take 10 people at a time with two guides. Our group was me, a father and son duo from Australia, and a group of locals from Hilo all about 18 or 20 years old five guys and two girls. It was a fun group.
You spend the first 45 minutes or so riding an ATV on a bumpy old road from a long gone sugar plantation up the mountains to the edge of the Kohalo forest. There are 8 ziplines, each one longer, faster, and more fun that the previous one. It gives you a chance to learn how to steer, how to relax, and how to "stop" at the end, though the guide really does that for you. A couple pass waterfalls that you can snap a picture of in mid air. The last two are really WOWs. High up with views out to the coast and past a waterfall, over a huge gorge. The last one you literally jump off a ciff to start. There is a short walk between each line and before the last two there is a nice hut with fresh fruit and pastry snacks and juices. It overlooks a gorgeous ginger surrounded waterfall into a pretty lagoon.
Finally you ride back down the mountain. The whole adventure is 4 hours. It was simply wonderful, well run, great guides who entertain (the last one across always does some sort of cartwheels in mid air).
This is the first zipline on the Big Island and has only been in existence for 9 months. Most of the kids of Hilo have done others on other islands,but all said this was the best. They are already building two more lines -- major ones to add to the track (or maybe eliminate a couple of the other shorter ones).
It cost $165 including all taxes. Not cheap, but money well spend in my book. I read a funny discussion on Trip Advisor about it, with a couple of loonies ranting about the horrible impact on nature. HUH? There is almost no impact on this land which has overgrown again from its days as a plantation a century ago. Trees are rarely cut down for any of it, and the cables hardly provide any negative impact on nature! I suppose those same people are even more opposed to having any hiking trails anywhere in the worls, as creating trails does far more "damage" to the environment than this does.
Anyway, here is the link to the operation. I highly recommend it.
http://www.bigislandecoadventures.com/
Sep 28th, 2009, 03:48 PM
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I bungey jumped off the famous bridge in New Zealand. That WAS brave. This is nothing. Really, the guides make it very easy and it is incredibly safe. The first ones are really easy and get you ready for the others.
Sep 28th, 2009, 04:22 PM
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perhaps you should some quality time with my friend Armin and hug a cloud!!!
http://www.hangglidingmaui.com/index.html
http://www.hangglidingmaui.com/index.html
Sep 28th, 2009, 06:54 PM
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JohnD, I sense the negative outlook in your question. The answer is probably about 7 minutes total. And that time might be a bit high. If you prefer adventures where the whole thing is about you alone on the ziplines then you probably wouldn't enjoy it. The group becomes a close knit group. We each learn what they other's characteristics are and cheer for each person as they do each line. Clearly at each zipline there are 12 people doing the actual run (including the first guide who goes to the other end to "catch" you, and the other guide who sends you off).
So clearly you are only doing 1/12 of the actual ziplining time and that doesn't include the walks between, getting there and getting back, and all the rest. Watching each other is ALMOST half the fun of the trip.
So clearly you are only doing 1/12 of the actual ziplining time and that doesn't include the walks between, getting there and getting back, and all the rest. Watching each other is ALMOST half the fun of the trip.
Sep 29th, 2009, 03:10 AM
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Reply to <blue>NeoPatrick</black>,
Mahalo for the honest reply, negativity was not intended
. Just seeking an objective measure of this newly emerging experience in this case 
, though length of zipline, height from ground, diversity of terrain, could be additional parameters if one wished to rank and compare zip line experiences, for example if you had to choose between zipline options, which operator and what location would it be 
.
Mahalo for the honest reply, negativity was not intended
. Just seeking an objective measure of this newly emerging experience in this case , though length of zipline, height from ground, diversity of terrain, could be additional parameters if one wished to rank and compare zip line experiences, for example if you had to choose between zipline options, which operator and what location would it be .
Sep 29th, 2009, 07:28 AM
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Neo...
Sounds fantastic! I just had my first zipline experience earlier this month when I visited a friend in Idaho...it was exhilirating to say the least!
Your experience sounds a bit more exotic than mine, I didn't zip through a rain forest, but a regular forest over a beautiful lake...it did make me want to do another one...maybe Hawaii is calling my name for a new adventure!
Sounds fantastic! I just had my first zipline experience earlier this month when I visited a friend in Idaho...it was exhilirating to say the least!
Your experience sounds a bit more exotic than mine, I didn't zip through a rain forest, but a regular forest over a beautiful lake...it did make me want to do another one...maybe Hawaii is calling my name for a new adventure!
Sep 29th, 2009, 07:37 AM
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Glad you're having a fun time Neo. That zipline sounds like just so much fun. Maybe something for my next trip. I'm due for Hawaii before too much more time passes...I used to go every year for a time.
Oct 4th, 2009, 11:20 AM
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On my first trip to Costa Rica in 2008, I zipped w/ abt 12-14 in our group! Zowwwwwwiiiieeee,... it was fantastic! I loved it and I'd do it aggggaaaiiinnn 
)) Sure it was scarrie at first,... you bet!!! than after a few zips you waNT TO start perfecting your tecknic,... you trade cameras w/ people infront/back of you, etc. We went after lunch (all this was at our hotel/grounds),...and we came back in time for a shower and dinner! So, it took a few hours,... maybe about 11-14 zips. Yesssssss, I'd do it aaaaa gggaaaaiinnn! I was 69 years old and just celebrated my 70th this year! "Life's to good not to dress cute and zip over a rainforest"!!!
)) Sure it was scarrie at first,... you bet!!! than after a few zips you waNT TO start perfecting your tecknic,... you trade cameras w/ people infront/back of you, etc. We went after lunch (all this was at our hotel/grounds),...and we came back in time for a shower and dinner! So, it took a few hours,... maybe about 11-14 zips. Yesssssss, I'd do it aaaaa gggaaaaiinnn! I was 69 years old and just celebrated my 70th this year! "Life's to good not to dress cute and zip over a rainforest"!!!
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