Forest Flying

While we were in the rainforest, we did one of the coolest activities we’ve ever done: forest flying. We hiked to the top of a ridge above a very tropical valley. Then we glided down a 900ft cable to a platform that was suspended about 90 feet high in a tree. Once we got to the platform we transferred all our harness equipment to a second cable line and glided another 500 feet down the valley, to the place we started our hike from.

Gliding was incredibly fun and a bit scary. At times we were over 100 feet above the forest floor, and the trees we brushed past were home countless lethal reptiles and insects. Our gliding equipment included a brake that allowed us to slow up and look at the wildlife in the treetops. The most impressive wildlife we saw was a colony of 4,000 bats. The cable passed within several feet of tree limbs that were lined with bats.

We enjoyed getting to meet Dave and Dona, the people who own the property we were on and run the forest flying business. Dave and Donna live mostly off the land, so as we hiked through the forest, they showed us what they eat. One of the most impressive things about forest flying is that Dave actually put the cable up. Because no helicopters would fly low enough to install the cable from above, Dave actually did it by himself, from the ground. He did it by shooting weighted arrows (with fishing-line attached) over the treetops, and then pulling the cable up. It took over a year. Amazing!