As a visitor to New Zealand, you may find yourself jumping (willingly) out of a plane or off a bridge. With a nature guide leading the way, you’ll probably see those cute little penguins. But if you’re anything like me, you’ll want the whole combo – adventure, fun and anature experience. Rotorua Canopy Tours provide all three.
Check-in takes place at the Canopy Tour base in the Rotorua’s city centre. Everyone gets an iPad to type in important details, including medical conditions and curiously enough, if you have a fear of heights. I’m impressed. This is such an efficient way to gather essential details for the guides, before the tour actually begins.
First, we’re taken by tour van to an original nature forest in the Department of Conservation park.It’s chilly in the forest so everyone’s dressed warmly. During our first few metres stroll into the forest, Shane and Scott discuss the different tree species – many of them Rimu’s (NZ Red Pine).
We arrive at the first platform, surrounded by the forest canopy and the purest oxygen.
Our guides Shane and Scott are meticulous in explaining every aspect of the equipment we’re about to use, but it’s also a fun exercise. Group interaction is encouraged and being able to have fun with fellow travellers really does promote trust and friendship. I like that the tour party is a comfortable size with a mere 10 people, Based on my weight, I’m fitted with a harness and given the Smile-of-Bravery award.
Ok folks, here we go…lights, camera, action!!
As well as an educational walk in the forest, this tour provides the adrenaline rush with zip lines between trees. It’s such a cool concept to get people a little out of their comfort zone and to provide awareness of nature’s challenges especially when it comes to conservation.
I’m stunned to hear that each day, 70,000 birds are killed in New Zealand by stoats, rats and ferrets. Each day! So the conservation philosophy of the Canopy Tours project is to use traps to combat some of this carnage and give New Zealand birds, especially endemic species, a chance to survive.
There are 6 zip lines and two bridges to cross during the journey, which generally takes about 3 hours. The longest zip line is an enormous 220 metres. This map should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect:
This experience is close to flying like a bird, held by a steel rope through the forest canopy. Naturally, there’s a lot of shrieking going on, but in a happy way and hopefully you’ll come away with a heightened awareness of New Zealand’s precious native birdlife. Plus you’ll get to be a kid for a while.
Happy travelling!
