Looking for something different to do with the kids this Mother's Day? Rotorua's Canopy Tour will give the whole family an adrenalin-filled experience to remember, writes Annemarie Quill
When asked if I wanted to do the Rotorua Canopy tour for a Mother's Day article in the school holidays, I did not know fully - or at all - what the experience entailed. When I happily agreed, I had in my head it was a leisurely walk through the forest admiring the changing autumnal leaves and the wildlife, ambling gently to the sound of tui.
Wrong.
Hurtling past the tui at 40km/hour, 22 metres high above the trees down a 220m zipline, I thought, "well I wasn't expecting that''.
Ranked on TripAdvisor as New Zealand's number one outdoor activity, the Canopy Tour is set in a fairy tale native forest in the Southern Mamaku Ranges with 1000-year-old trees that pre dates human arrival in New Zealand.
With a special concession from DoC, the company has built a 1.2km network of ziplines, swingbridges, walking trails and treetop platforms.
It took more than four years of planning for founders, Otago University mates James Fitzgerald and Andrew Blackford to get the business off the ground. Both shared a love of the outdoors and had a vision not just for adventure tourism, but to create a sanctuary for native wildlife and tell tourists and visitors the story of the New Zealand bush.
Rotorua Canopy Tours directs more than 5 per cent of its revenue back into restoring its 500ha Dansey Rd Scenic Reserve base. This involves an extensive and expensive trapping programme to get rid of predators like possums, rats and wild cats but the payback is the return of birds to the forest including robins, kereru, tomtit, tui, bellbirds, whiteheads, kaka and fantails.
And they get up so close that you can feed them by hand.
The tours are a maximum of 10, with no children under 6. Two experienced guides accompany each group. It was a beautiful sunny day, but cool under the trees so we were glad we brought an extra layer.
The banter from our guides Luke and Alex put everyone at ease and as we made the walk through the forest up to the first platform there was lots of laughter. The company prides itself on safety and the guides are reassuring and professional, running through extensive safety rules and checks as we stand on the first platform.
Jack Quill balancing on the swing bridge. Photo/supplied
Eight-year-old Poppy expresses some desire to turn back and go home, and I was just about to say "Don't worry, Poppy, I will take you" and leg it back down the track away from the six ziplines that awaited. But the guides were so reassuring to Poppy that shortly she was stepping off the platform and speeding through the air. Which left me jelly-legged, but with no option but to follow. I made the step of faith too, eyes shut and screaming, much to the mirth of the kids and guide awaiting at the other platform.
It was a scary-yet-exhilarating ride and everyone's confidence was boosted after the first zipline and swingbridge was completed. I didn't quite reach the kids' stage of going hands free, backwards and even upside down at one point, but I did start to open my eyes. And what a sight. The tour is the perfect combination of adventure, but also allows you to drink in the beauty of the forest, native plants and birds. The guides are knowledgeable about all the wildlife.
On one platform before the longest zipline you are up in the sky next to the magnificent trunk of a 1000-year-old rimu tree and putting one's hands on it feels a special, almost spiritual, moment.
The tour includes a conservation trail where guides also walk you along the traps and explain the company's conservation efforts. I realise how little I know about the mammoth efforts required to conserve our native wildlife and eradicate pests.
We ended the tour exhilarated and happy and the kids announced it was the best thing that they had ever done in New Zealand. Praise indeed. The next day you also are emailed photos which the guides take during the tour, all free for you to download, which is a good service as you tend to forget to take photos when you are whizzing through the air.
The Quill family walking on the swing bridge. Photo/supplied
At $139 per adult and $95 per child (or $419 for a family of two adults, two children) it is not inexpensive, but it is good to know that your money not only buys you an unforgettable memory but you are also contributing to restoring the magical forest.
The company's dream is to restore the eco-system to the one Captain James Cook discovered on arrival to New Zealand 300 years ago - full of deafening bird chorus.
By taking the tour you not only can make the dream happen, but have one hell of a ride on the way that will stay with you long after your heartbeat slows back to normal. *Annemarie Quill and family were hosted by Rotorua Canopy Tours.
www.canopytours.co.nz or free phone 0800226679. Price includes: Courtesy pick up from any central Rotorua accommodation (if required); free photos; all safety equipment; and additional clothing such as jackets, gloves and warm hats.
