I survived! It was a blast! And today I'm very sore! :)
The only pics I have of the day are the ones shared on Facebook due to not being allowed to carry a camera, so as I describe the day, look back at the pics.
The day began with a bumpy ride up into the mountains near Dalat. There were five of us total from our hostel (me, Luke, Bill, Greg, and Izzy) but combined with another hostel group, there were 12 of us. The guide explained some basic techniques and had us do some practice abseilling before trekking to our first of four walls. I went first (because why not?), listened closely to the guides instructions "Jump!" "Lean back" etc, safely made it down the wall, and then gave a big thumbs up to the group waiting at the top. There was a beautiful waterfall near the bottom, so we enjoyed some swimming and a picnic lunch after the 2nd dry wall run.
Lunch was followed by some all natural watersliding. One slide was solo and the 2nd was with a partner which the guides called the "sexy slide"....hahaha!
Watersliding led us to the first wet wall. The wet walls proved to be significantly more difficult (as one would imagine) but definitely more thrilling! You can see the picture on Facebook of me abseiling down that one. The rope wasn't long enough so at one point we were told to "STOP" and then "JUMP BACK" and "LET GO"! It was probably a 5 meter fall from there into the water.
But that was nothing compared to the cliff jumping part of the day! We trekked to the cliff where we had two options, a 7 meter jump and an 11 meter jump. Everyone immediately feels nervous, I think, even the tough guys because while everyone mentally wanted to do the 11 meter jump, the issue was getting enough of a running start to clear the rock and jungle plants jutting out of side. I did the 7 meter jump (no clearance issues there) with hesitation but then knew I needed to do the 11 meter. I'd be so mad at myself if I didn't, right? I trekked back to the top with Izzy who was also determined to do the big jump. Of course once we got back to the top, we were freaking out again. After letting a handful of people go before me, I finally just took the running start and JUMPED! It was terrifying and awesome!
After the cliff jumping, the last abseiling wall called the "Washing Machine" was a piece of cake. It's called the washing machine because you abseil for only a few meters then hang as you lower youself into a waterfall (there's a pic of this on Facebook also). The waterfall pushes and spins you around until you hit the stream of water and are pushed to an area to climb out. Refreshing!
The trek back to the van was a bit brutal, especially since it started raining but BEAUTIFUL. Couldn't have asked for a better adventure!
Now I'm proper sore, so instead of a cycling tour today, I think I'm going to opt for some motorbiking and a short trek.
Until next time....cheers!
Kelly
The only pics I have of the day are the ones shared on Facebook due to not being allowed to carry a camera, so as I describe the day, look back at the pics.
The day began with a bumpy ride up into the mountains near Dalat. There were five of us total from our hostel (me, Luke, Bill, Greg, and Izzy) but combined with another hostel group, there were 12 of us. The guide explained some basic techniques and had us do some practice abseilling before trekking to our first of four walls. I went first (because why not?), listened closely to the guides instructions "Jump!" "Lean back" etc, safely made it down the wall, and then gave a big thumbs up to the group waiting at the top. There was a beautiful waterfall near the bottom, so we enjoyed some swimming and a picnic lunch after the 2nd dry wall run.
Lunch was followed by some all natural watersliding. One slide was solo and the 2nd was with a partner which the guides called the "sexy slide"....hahaha!
Watersliding led us to the first wet wall. The wet walls proved to be significantly more difficult (as one would imagine) but definitely more thrilling! You can see the picture on Facebook of me abseiling down that one. The rope wasn't long enough so at one point we were told to "STOP" and then "JUMP BACK" and "LET GO"! It was probably a 5 meter fall from there into the water.
But that was nothing compared to the cliff jumping part of the day! We trekked to the cliff where we had two options, a 7 meter jump and an 11 meter jump. Everyone immediately feels nervous, I think, even the tough guys because while everyone mentally wanted to do the 11 meter jump, the issue was getting enough of a running start to clear the rock and jungle plants jutting out of side. I did the 7 meter jump (no clearance issues there) with hesitation but then knew I needed to do the 11 meter. I'd be so mad at myself if I didn't, right? I trekked back to the top with Izzy who was also determined to do the big jump. Of course once we got back to the top, we were freaking out again. After letting a handful of people go before me, I finally just took the running start and JUMPED! It was terrifying and awesome!
After the cliff jumping, the last abseiling wall called the "Washing Machine" was a piece of cake. It's called the washing machine because you abseil for only a few meters then hang as you lower youself into a waterfall (there's a pic of this on Facebook also). The waterfall pushes and spins you around until you hit the stream of water and are pushed to an area to climb out. Refreshing!
The trek back to the van was a bit brutal, especially since it started raining but BEAUTIFUL. Couldn't have asked for a better adventure!
Now I'm proper sore, so instead of a cycling tour today, I think I'm going to opt for some motorbiking and a short trek.
Until next time....cheers!
Kelly
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