Try Adrena Line Ziplines for an adventure tour

by Keith and Heather Nicol       

With the good weather holding we decided to try the Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours on Wednesday, July 29. Adrena Line Zip Tours are located in Sooke which is about a 40 minute drive from Victoria.  We had booked for the noon zip tour and were joined by a family of 4 from Alberta and 3 women who went to the same grade school together in Victoria. These tours are very popular and you need to book ahead if you hope to go on the day and time you want to. For instance, we booked the day before and we had only 2 options – noon and 1:30 pm. After the mandatory waiver signing, we got into our harnesses and helmets. Unlike Wild Play which we had done 2 days prior where we were self guided, at Adrena Line Zip Tours you must let the guides clip and unclip you. This is in large part because the zip lines are much longer and faster and you are up to 100 feet above the forest floor.

Adrena Ziplines zips you between the trees

 The tour starts with a test zip on a short zip line that is close to the ground so that everyone knows what to do and then we boarded a large ATV type vehicle that brought us to the top of the course. Overall they have 7 more zip lines that range in length from 200 to 1000 feet long and you travel at speeds up to 65 kilometers per hour! The ziplines are generally in the trees and Jeremy Wilson the owner told us that they are the only zip line operation on Vancouver Island that uses the trees themselves for the platforms. So you get to see what life is like 90 feet above the forest floor. Jeremy also told us that this facility was one of the first in Canada and that they have been operating and growing for the last 9 years.  He told us that where as 9 years ago many people thought of zip lines as something only for daring risk takers, now most people see it as a fun, exciting way to spend time with friends and family. 

Heather on the suspension bridge

     Our guides, Susan and Terran really added to the tour by providing some interpretative information about the area and the vegetation as well as demonstrating some of the more interesting ways to zip—upside down, spread eagle and so forth. In addition to views of the tall trees we also had impressive vistas of the snow capped mountains of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington from some platforms. Adrena Line Zipline Adventure Tours offers an exhilarating product and it is a fine way to spend a couple of hours on a sunny summer afternoon. For more information see: http://adrenalinezip.com/

Ziplining is a fun activity to do with family and friends