As I stood on a narrow platform high up in the trees, I thought to myself, ‘why did I sign up for this?!’
‘I can’t do it!’ I shouted down. ‘Yes, you can!’ shouted back our safety advisor Lucy as she looked up at me from the woodland floor. ‘You can do it!’ encouraged Wasim and my sister Tanzeela as they watched me whilst standing precariously in the tree tops.
We had signed up for the Go Ape Tree Top Adventure at Black Park in Buckinghamshire. The course is comprised of five sections each involving an ascent up a narrow and shaky rope ladder and ending with a speedy descent down a zip wire with various obstacles to test your balance and agility in between, all whilst being suspended high up in the trees.
Reading the reviews online and watching videos on YouTube hadn’t helped my nerves. One lady described how she had cried hysterically at the first rope ladder. ‘What was I getting myself in to?’
Following the safety briefing (in which I paid upmost attention), the group was led to section one, a practice run. This looked straightforward enough – a small rope ladder to climb up to get to the first platform, then a short walk across a rope wire, ending with a tiny zip wire. Lucy observed us all carefully ensuring we were correctly harnessed at all times.
‘What happens if someone can’t complete an obstacle?’ I asked Lucy, as we made our way to the next section. She advised me that unless a participant completes section two they won’t be allowed to continue. And section two, in the face of the Tarzan Swing is where I found myself panicking.
I couldn’t get my head around the fact that I was being expected to launch myself off a high platform from a tall tree only to plummet into a vertical rope net. The thought of not being able to continue brought a sense of despair. If I didn’t complete this course I knew I’d go home feeling a failure and as though I’d let my siblings, cousins and husband down (most of whom were a lot younger than me!)
‘Just sit down. You won’t feel a thing,’ Lucy encouraged. Okay, I couldn’t launch myself off a platform at this height but I could however, sit down. Before I knew it I was being propelled into the rope net and she was right, I didn’t feel a thing!
Each section got progressively more challenging as the obstacles became longer and higher, further testing our balance and nerve. The highest point of the course was 10 metres, a staggering 32 feet off the ground!
After completing the Tarzan Swing successfully, I looked forward to the zip wires at the end of each section. Our group of eight encouraged each other on as we struggled to climb up nets or lost our footing on the hoops.
As we completed each section, it gave me the confidence to keep going with the knowledge that if I’d come this far I could keep going. I realised that I didn’t fear the height as much as I feared the thought of losing balance and falling. I also learnt that my upper body strength is weak as I struggled to climb up the net.
As I lay in an armchair exhausted, bruised but with adrenalin coursing through my body, I felt a great sense of achievement and elation. It had been a great experience and sharing it with the family had made it especially memorable as we talked and laughed about it for hours later.
Live Learn Love, Now 
I didn’t know you were that scared. 😀
Maybe because you were speeding ahead 😉