Maui Vacation – Day 3

Once again we arose at 6:00am. This time we had a more leisurely time. We had breakfast in our room before setting out once again for Haleakala. We had reserved a ziplining tour through zipline.com. We had driven past our meeting place the day before, so we were pretty sure we could get there.

We stopped at Java Jazz for coffee for Chris and were on our way. The Monday morning traffic was heavier than it had been the day before, but most of it was heading into Lahaina, not away from it as we were.

We made it to Aventure Eco-Tours well ahead of our 9:00 check-in time. We killed time until then and then signed away our right to any sort of recourse should we become injured or killed on our morning’s outing. Fortunately, we would have no need to regret those waivers.

There were only four of us on the tour – us and a couple name Lowrie and Preethi. They were from – wait for it – California. In fact, from Mountain View. It was their first time zip lining and Preethi was pretty nervous.

There were some pretty big differences between this zip line tour and the one Chris and I went on in Whistler 3 years before:

• The harnesses had no shoulder straps. We wouldn’t be flipping upside down on this tour. 
• The launch platforms in Whistler had steps that gradually put tension on the line. Here, there was either a sheer drop or a steep ramp. 
• Whistler’s lines had an elaborate braking system that slowed us down and brought us to the platform. Here, there were just solid Hawaiian guides to coach us and grab hold of us as we reached the entry ramp on the landing platform. On a few of the lines, there was a simple friction brake. 

We quickly adjusted to the differences. We had five zip crossings and a cable bridge right out of “Indiana Jones.” The last line was long and steep and had a bizarre and nerve-wracking ending. Instead of landing on a platform, we zipped right past it, coasted back out over the ravine, and then coasted back over the platform. There one of the guides grabbed a foot or two to bring us to a stop. Then he rolled a ladder under us. We climbed to the top of the ladder where he unhooked us. The worst part for me was the ladder. I hate shaky ladders.

After the tour, we bought a CD of photos and a hoodie from the tour company. We took another trip to the top of Haleakala and then drove back to our hotel, arriving around 2:30. We ate sandwiches for lunch and then headed to the pool. Unfortunately, there was a heavy mist falling. It made for a lovely bright rainbow clearly visible from our room, but it chased us indoors after about 45 minutes.