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Published: February 19th 2010
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Today we revisited the volcano Haleakala, this time for a ziplining tour through the lush upcountry. The two guides were your typical fun-loving "if we make them laugh they'll tip us more" types -- the best kind to have! They got us all set up in our harnesses, and after the guys all readjusted their "boys", we set off on a short hike to the first zipline station.
The first zipline was a short one, designed to just get our feet wet, so to speak. Watching my fearless husband leap off the platform, I thought to myself, "This looks easy enough." I tiptoed up to the edge of the deck and gingerly stepped off... zipping (sort of slowly) along to the other side where the guide was waiting to break my fall should I not catch on to the whole "stopping" part. My feet hit the platform and I realized I was going faster than I thought I was! A couple of stumbling steps and a steadying hand from the guide and we were off to our second zipline.
The rest of the ziplines got longer and faster with each station. The guides, who do this every day and
therefore need to find a way to entertain themselves, had perfected the art of striking funny poses as they zipped across. The younger one had also perfected the art of charming the ladies with his wavy golden locks that any woman would be jealous of. By the end of the tour, I thought the only two single ladies in the group were going to have to fight over him... he certainly flirted with them both equally. My bet was on the 50-year old, but alas... he walked back to the van hand-in-hand with the younger one.
When we got to the last and longest zipline, they asked for a volunteer who wanted to go first. The guide hooked up the unsuspecting lady, and pointed out that there was no platform at the other end, but not to worry, the other guide would be there to catch her. The other guide, however, was nowhere to be seen. He assured her that he was just getting the van, and by the time she got over there, he would be there. She took off and flew across the valley, probably the whole time wondering where the heck the guide was. Just as
she reached the lowest point in the line, the guide appeared out of nowhere, reached up to grab her legs, and then fell backwards in a feigned "she kicked me over" bit. She continued zooming along the line (which was, of course, the plan all along), traveling all the way up the other side of the zipline and then all the way back down and up the other side again.
The goal on that zipline was to go fast enough and far enough to touch the white plastic bubble at the top of the zipline on the other side of the valley. In the video, you can see Kevin reaching for the bubble, but not quite making it. The only person that could do it was the guide.
The photos in this blog entry are not so exciting, you have to watch the video for the good stuff!
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