A New Zealand-first zipline canopy tour through virgin native forest will open for business on the Mamaku Plateau near Rotorua. Rotorua Canopy Tours will take visitors deep into the New Zealand bush on an incredible journey from forest floor to canopy via a network of walking trails, treetop platforms, ziplines and canopy swing-bridges. Source: Breaking Travel News
Otherwise known as flying foxes, zipline participants will literally fly from platform to platform through the majestic forest canopy. The 1.2km tour features six ziplines, two swing bridges and 10 treetop platforms.
With two guides accompanying small groups of up to 10 people, the three-hour experience is described as “a personal encounter with nature mixing the thrill and excitement of the treetop experience with forest observation and environmental appreciation”.
Rotorua Canopy Tours director James Fitzgerald says the tour is a safe eco-friendly experience that will have broad appeal. It is suitable for children from six years upwards and anyone with average physical ability.
“Many of our customers will have never walked in forest like this full of giant, centuries old native trees, let alone explored it at heights of 22 metres above the forest floor, where the views are simply breathtaking,” he said.
Fitzgerald considers it a miracle to have found a pristine wilderness that has survived the native logging industry of past centuries – and all within 10 minutes of the tourist resort town of Rotorua.
The company has a concession from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) to operate on the publicly owned conservation estate.
