Not as Scary as it Looks

It was his idea to go zip lining.  I didn't really know what it was.  When he first mentioned it I was thinking it was something like bungee jumping and I said no way.  I've been sky diving before but I honestly don't know if I can ever do anything like that ever again.   It was that scary. 

We made reservations with Sky-Line Eco Adventures, Maui.  It got good reviews on Trip Advisor and it was only a few miles from our hotel.  The office is located in a strip mall.  We had to sign the pre-requisite form that I didn't actually read but I'm assuming said something like if you die or become seriously injured it's not our fault and you can't sue us.  We were all given cool water bottles which I thought was a nice touch. 

We were handed helmets as we piled into a van and took an extremely bumpy ride to the zip-line site.  So bumpy I was launched into the air a few times and bounced my head off the top of the van.  That only happened once.  Now I know why they gave us helmets for the drive. There were 2 cool guides and they were both cracking jokes the whole time.  After we got out of the van we were lead over to a covered area where we were given our gear.  We had to put on these heavy duty vinyl straps and told to clip our water bottle to it.  We each got this pretty heavy silver thing that turned out to be the piece of metal that holds us to the zip- line.  They set out  a giant rubber-maid bin for us to place our belongings in and it was locked with a padlock for safe keeping.  They also provided fanny packs if you had items you wanted to carry while zip-lining.  Our DLSR camera went around our neck and it wasn't a problem while zip-lining. 



We walked to the first of 8 lines.  I was really nervous.  I had the same kind of out of body experience that I had when I went sky diving where I knew I was there and that I was doing it but didn't really believe it and was kind of wishing I could back out.  By that time there are no refunds. I wasn't wasting my money so there was no turning back.  The guide explained where to put our hands and told us step by step what to do.  One by one each person zipped across.  Mj went before me.  He wasn't scared at all.  I went dead last getting more and more nervous as it got closer to my turn.  When it was my turn oddly enough I still didn't really believe I was about to jump off even as he grabbed the silver thing from me and started to hook me up.  Basically, you walk down a set of stairs to nowhere and when your feet leave the ground you are zip-lining through the air.  That's it.


Half way through we stopped for a snack that they provided and there was a bathroom stop.  They gave us a chance to take pictures and took pictures for us.  There was some hiking in between each jump site but nothing too crazy.  The whole thing took about 4 hours.  I read way too many reviews.    So many people complained about the red dirt and how it stained so I was all worried about ruining my clothes but it really wasn't that bad at all.   I brought my old set of tennis shoes that I didn't care about and they turned red but not as bad as people made it seem. Unless you fell down and rolled around in the dirt none of it gets on your clothes.  I like all this adventure stuff but I'm kind of a girly girl.  I think I was more worried about my clothes then flying through the air on a metal wire.


As we went along the lines got longer and longer and I wasn't afraid anymore.  If you start to twist then you turn your wrist into the direction that you are twisting to straighten up.  My first landing was a little rough but after that I learned to keep my feet in front of my body and got better.   It was so much fun!  I just had to trust those guys that they knew what they were doing when they hooked me up and it was fine.  There was always one person to send you off and another person at the other end to slow you down and catch you.  They were very reassuring.  The views were spectacular.  I really tried to look around and take in everything in on each zip.  They told everyone that we had to jump off backwards at the second to last zip.  We didn't really HAVE to but everyone did.  Our guide said we really lucked out on the weather too.  It was clear but with just enough cloud cover so that the sun wasn't blazing down on us the whole time.


After that we shared a meal at a place in the same strip mall.  We stopped at our favorite grocery store again to get something light to eat for dinner.  I realized that we had been there every single day sometimes twice in a day since our arrival.  There was still time for the pool and it was happy hour so we changed, ordered drinks and spent a few hours there.  That night we tried to watch a movie but fell asleep on it.

We really needed our sleep that night because the next day we were going to Hana.  And the road to Hana starts ridiculoulsy early.

The Road to Hana

18 comments

  1. I am the hugest scardy cat but i've been thinking about wanting to take on this adventure! Looks awesome!

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  2. You are so awesome for doing this, wow! I don't think I could do it being the big baby I am. I am so impressed with you :)

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  3. I would love to go zip lining! It looks like an amazing experience. And even me, the person who is not athletically inclined in the least, can totally enjoy this without hurting herself! Love it. Love the pictures too.

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  4. that looks awesome but a little scary too eeek. i'm a big baby haha. but I would love to try it if I could get over my fear!
    -- jackie @ jade and oak

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  5. I'm going to go ahead and say that it is as scary as it looks, but my experience was different. We didn't have anything to really hang on to, and we had to wear on one hand a mitt that we held lightly against the cable to work as a brake (as in you squeeze harder to slow down) I squeezed too hard and got stuck! I was dangling 150 feet up there and had to pull myself along to the next platform! Even typing about it makes my palms sweat. I was traumatized. I kind of want to go again at a place like where you went for a little bit of redemption. :)

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  6. Looks like so much fun and the scenery was gorgeous.

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  7. Looking good! I could never do that - too afraid of heights.

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  8. Looks like a fantastic time, definitely put it on my to do list.

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  9. I love your series of the trip! Looks like this was a blast, and I would have been worried about my clothes too - but glad it didn't end up being as bad as the reviews said! Sometimes they can be so misleading!

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  10. Those photo's are the bomb! Looks like a perfect outdoors event for me and the hubs!

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  11. I loved zip lining. I went when I went to Costa Rica. We started out at a short length and height to get accostumed to it then we went higher and longer. We even went over falls. It was great. I went upside down on one run. It was so beautiful to go thru the rainforest.

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  12. those pictures look great. so lush. i went ziplining in costa rica...ahh the memories.

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  13. This looks like so much fun! And quite a distance, too. I didn't expect that. I'd love to go zip lining one day :) In the second to last picture, it looks like you're zip lining up hill, lol. Love your vacation recaps!

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  14. oh my goodness, zip lining really scared me. you're much braver than I!

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  15. Hi!!! I'm your newest follower!

    My husband and i went ziplining on our honeymoon in Punta Cana and it was AMAZING!

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  16. I've never been ziplining I am just so scared of falling or something but you guys definitely made it look good and so not scary. I am living vicariously through you :)

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  17. Ziplining is so much fun! I have been several times and would love to go again. The last time we went was in Mexico and my mom and sister chickened out and I still laugh at them about that. Y'all were so adventurous!

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