Riding on almost all of the zip lines on the Big Island in the past few years has been quite thrilling and this past weekend I was invited to go zip-lining with one of the islands newer operations the Kohala Ziplines.
The headquarters is located in historic North Kohala at 54-3676 Akoni Pule Hwy, Kapaau, HI 96755
We were scheduled for a 9:00 am tour that began at their base located in North Kohala. We signed release waivers and geared up there at the base.
The guides help gear us up
The operation itself is run by the well known local company Hawaii Forest & Trail, and after we geared up, we jumped in one of their six-wheeled Pinzgauers and took off for about a 20 minute journey down the North Kohala Highway until we turned off onto some land that used to be owned by King Kamehameha himself.
Our ride for the day provided by Hawaii Forest & Trail
We arrived at the Zip Lines and walked over a suspension bridge to the first zip line.
Just one of a few suspension bridges on the course
Our guides gave us an overview of how the dual zipline harness system works.
Our guide tells us how the zip lines work... and most importantly... how to stop!
This is the first Zip Line I have ever been on that the pulleys were attached to two ziplines one above the other.
You're literally attached to two ziplines for added safety
These Ziplines also had like a plastic type of coating over them which made them really quiet and a smooth ride… when they get a little wet… the ziplines go even faster!
Zipping down a Kohala Zipline
The Zipline “Canopy Tour” as it’s often referred to, has 9 ziplines in all and they call the first two… “Flight School” because if you get too scared or are not able to handle the requirements needed to be on the ziplines… they have a short little “Zipline of Shame” as my friend coined it before the third zipline where folks can bail on the rest of the trip.
"Flight School" the first two ziplines on the course are 220 feet and 230 feet respectively
About half way through the course you come across this area of suspension bridges and an inclined suspended bridge that are quite unique.
Entering Ewok Village
You are constantly strapped into ziplines whether it’s the pulley system or just the grappling clips.
Some folks even chose to walk backwards for added excitment on some of the bridges
They were calling this course a “Challenge Course” as you yourself have to do the braking by sliding your hands gently against the ziplines by gloves provided by the company.
There is an emergency brake in place at the end of each zipline for those that forget to brake
About three fourths the way through the course, they provided us with some light snacks that consisted of Macadamia Nuts and Granola Bars and then we took off for the last few zip lines.
The final zipline was this side-by-side zipline where you can race your friends down a steep run that is nearly a quarter mile long!
The final zipline is a side by side zipline
I myself think the ziplining part was the easy part… the scarier part for me was doing the rappeling down a couple of the towers like this final tower at the end of the course.
This is the tallest platform we had to rappel from and that was at the end of the course
I really had a great time and I’d like to thank the folks at Hawaii Forest & Trail for inviting me and an old high school friend to check them out.
Hawaii Forest & Trail brings you the Kohala Ziplines
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