The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Enjoy

Related Photos

  • Denna Duyck, of Independence, Mo., lands on a platform after a trip through Ozark tree tops. She and three friends took a zipline tour this month. Globe/Dave Woods

    061410 Branson zip 1.jpg

  • A rider waves to a photographer while take a tour with Branson Zipline Canopy Tour. Courtesy/Branson Zipline

    zipline4.jpg

  • The Branson Zipline Canopy Tour offers canopy tours through several areas in the Branson area. Courtesy/Branson Zipline

    canopyBridge.jpg

  • A rider stretches full out as he rides between stops on the Branson Zipline Canopy Tour. Courtesy/Branson Zipline

    half-way-across-zipline.jpg

  • A rider holds on with both hands as she takes a tour through the trees on the Branson Zipline Canopy Tour. Courtesy/Branson Zipline

    ziping.jpg

  • Dave Woods poses before riding the Branson Zipline in Walnut Shade, Mo. Globe/Dave Woods

    061510 Zipline 2.jpg

Discussion

June 18, 2010

Zipline offers bird's-eye view of Ozarks

By Dave Woods New media and marketing manager

WALNUT SHADE, Mo. — Denna Duyck didn’t know what to expect when she and three of her friends signed up to take a the Branson Zipline Canopy Tour.

“It goes so fast,” the 36-year-old said after her first zip through the tree tops. “I was just glad to get my feet back on the other end. When you get up on the top it looks really high. I was scared I was going to hit the other end, but the guide yelled ‘pick your feet up,’ and it was fine. It was really scary, but fun, too.”

Although a little shaken after her first zip, Anissia Manuleleua, 39, said she enjoyed the experience, too.

“I was spinning around so much I couldn’t hear what the guide was telling me,” she said. “Maybe it was because of my screaming so loud. It was just blind faith that the guide would catch me. I just said to myself, ‘I’m not letting go.’”

Manuleleua said that she will remember the afternoon the longtime friends spent 100 feet off the ground.

“Some of our friends and spouses are like, ‘I can’t believe you are doing that,’” Manuleleua said. “My friends know I’m afraid of heights and they won’t believe I did this.”

Jared Easdon, who guides tours at Branson Zipline, said Duyck and Manuleleua’s reaction is typical of first-time zipline riders.

“It’s probably one of the funnest things people will ever do in their lives,” the 19-year-old said. “It’s easily the biggest adventure some of the people who come  here will ever have.”

A bird’s-eye view

For a little more than a month, Branson Zipline and Canopy Tours staff have treated visitors to the thrill of zipping through the Ozarks’ tree tops suspended from a 3/4 inch metal cable at speeds up to 35 miles per hour.

Branson’s newest thrill ride sets off Highway 65 seven miles north of Branson, 2339 Highway 65, in the Wolfe Creek Preserve. The attraction offers several zipline tour options and a bird’s-eye view of Ozarks wildlife, forest and topography. Each tour is led by a pair of certified guides who instruct, inform and entertain guests along the way.

Another zipline guide, Mike Jaris, 19, said it isn’t only the ladies who get a little scared when stepping off a platform more than 100 feet above the ground.

“We get big guys who stand up here and say ‘Oh that’s going to be easy.’ Then they come flying in at the other end and need a second or two to recover and to collect themselves,” he said. “Then, they are fine.”

Easdon said the zipline experience elicits a is a combination of emotions: thrills and happiness.

“It’s a mixture of extremes going on when you are flying," he said.

The fun of ziplining around Ozark canopy isn’t reserved only for guests, the guides enjoy the experience, too. For guides Kyle Todd, 21, and Julie Brinkley, 22, it’s a dream job.

“I think the best part is being in the beauty of the Ozark Mountains,” Todd said. “I love being in the trees. We have guides who know a lot about the forest and the wildlife and the local history. People learn something and don’t even know it. It’s great to melt into the hills for a couple of hours.”

Brinkley said she agreed.

“You don’t have the opportunity to do this every day,” she said. “We had an 84-year-old grandmother come here with her grandkids and do the Blue Streak Line. She loved every bit of it and showed no fear, whatsoever. It’s a really fun experience you will remember. It’s exciting, even for us guides who do it every day. It’s really amazing.”



Want to go?

Go to www.bransonzipline.com or call 800-712-4654 for tour information, tour prices and reservations.

~ Ozarks Xplorer Canopy Tour: A 2.5 hour trip through the Wolfe Mountain canopy.

~ Flying Prospector Canopy Tour: A 1.5 hour version of the Ozarks Xplorer Canopy Tour.

~ The Blue Streak Fast Line: The fastest of the zipline experiences. Riders fly through the canopy on a 1,025 foot zipline line at 35 mph.

~ Combination and night tours are available.

Source: www.bransonzipline.com

Text Only
Enjoy
Facebook
Poll

The Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and that physical education become a core subject. Do you think schools should adopt that program?

Yes.
No.
     View Results
Parade
Magazine
Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
NDN Video
Officials: Truck Hit Bridge Before Collapse Sheriff: No Sign Killing of 2 Kids Was Planned Obama Defends Drone Strikes, With Limits Raw: Jurors Deadlock on Jodi Arias Penalty Boy Scouts Decision "First Step" Say Activists Raw: Utah Teen Arrested in Death of His Brothers Closer Look at Okla. School Where Children Died Two Suspects in Murder Known to London Police Boy Scouts Mom Supports Gay Inclusiveness "Be Ready": NOAA Warns of Busy Hurricane Season SeaWorld: Penguins Are Coolest Thing in Florida Obama Renews Call to Close Gitmo Obama Offers Drone Strike Defense Raw: Heckler Interrupts Obama on Guantanamo A Slice of Apple History Up for Grabs