WildPlay Parks has Adventure
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Recently, my husband and I spent a day at WildPlay Element Parks. Just south of Nanaimo, the park offers four outdoor adventure activities: TreeGO, Bungy Jump, King Swing and the Canyon Zip.
We started out on TreeGO, an aerial adventure course suspended between platforms built around trees. In a harness equipped with a pulley and two lanyards attached to carabineers, we learnt how to use this equipment properly and safely through demonstration training. Starting at about 8’ off the ground, we managed fairly easy obstacles like bridges, tightropes and the occasional zip line. As we progressed through the course it got higher and harder with climbing walls and rope swings. At 53’ off the ground, we were facing the swinging stirrups and a set of very challenging swinging logs! It took us two hours to complete the course and when we finished, we felt a huge sense of pride and accomplishment
Empowered by our experience on TreeGO, Tim convinced me that I could Bungy Jump. Before I knew it, we were on the bridge – 140’ above the Nanaimo River - and getting prepped physically and mentally for the jump. Under “Bungy Master” Steve’s guidance, I jumped! I still find it difficult to explain the feeling and the exhilaration of the jump. I closed my eyes initially and felt the drop in slow motion. Then, I could feel the cord pick me up by the ankles for the gentle bounces and swings. A truly amazing experience, I felt like a new person afterward – able to face any fear or challenge!
It wasn’t until we were strapped in for a tandem King Swing that I found out that this was the fastest ride on Vancouver Island! With our legs dangling over the edge of the bridge, my stomach started to churn in anticipation. As the cable tightened, we were told to lean forward for the countdown. The initial drop – a 90-foot free-fall at 140 km/hr down into the canyon - totally took my breath away and the rush of adrenaline gave me goose bumps! And then, all I could think of was how beautiful it was to experience the swinging motion through the canyon with Tim, so I kissed him midair!
What a day and what great memories we have from sharing this together! We didn’t have time to do the Canyon Zip this time, but we’ll definitely go back!
To check out WildPlay Parks go to http://www.wildplayparks.com/
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