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Vorgestellt im Inflight Magazin ‘ Going Places’ von Malaysia Airlines im October 2002/2003
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LANGKAWI’S TARZAN ADVENTURE(English)
By  DAVID BOWDEN

 “We haven’t had anyone weighing 100 kilos yet so it will be a good test for the system,” Jürgen Zimmerer, exclaimed just as I was struggling to get into the climbing equipment that lay around me on the rainforest floor at the base of Gunung Raya the highest peak on the Malaysian resort island of Langkawi.

Great, I thought, “I’ve always wanted to be a guinea pig especially when it involves adventurous and potentially dangerous pursuits.”

            I am a bit slow when it comes to understanding specific design details so it was difficult for me to fully understand what was in store when I made my booking after an enthusiastic pitch from the guys at the recreation counter of Mutiara Burau Bay Resort where I’d been relaxing on the beach for several days. 

Finding words to describe the adventure was near impossible for the staff as well.  Maybe it was a language thing.  One of the guys started mimicking animal like actions and after an impromptu round of charades I blurted out, “Tarzan” and received an enthusiastic smile and response from the recreation guy.

Being one who is always keen to meet his perfect Jane in the wilds of the Malaysian rainforest I headed off on Jürgen’s adventure.  Jürgen operates one of only two rainforest canopy adventure trails in the world. 

On the journey there, he elaborated a little more with references to air trekking, aerial canopy discovery and rainforest canopy adventure, to describe his new baby.

            Jürgen said it involved abseiling, rappelling, climbing, jungle trekking and gliding high above the ground on a cable system resembling a flying fox.

            There’s one other system like the Langkawi circuit and it’s located in the rainforests of Costa Rica.  Because of the potential danger of being suspended 30 metres above the rainforest floor Jürgen places the highest importance upon safety, equipment maintenance and instruction.

            From the base of Gunung Raya we headed up the mountain but fortunately only a few hundred metres in altitude.  Jürgen bounded up the trail while I preferred a leisurely pace so that I could appreciate all that the rainforest had to offer (that’s my story and I am sticking to it!). 

Part of the journey was on a series of steps that leads to the summit.  As I recollect, we left the main trail at step 770 but there were another 4,000 for those who like a little bit of punishment.

A base camp has been established in the forest where the equipment is stored and a timber platform ten metres off the ground indicated one of the stations along the trail.

Gearing up took some time and anyone familiar with abseiling will appreciate the use of carabineers, harnesses and ropes.  As we equipped ourselves, Jürgen explained all the safety devices including waist and shoulder harnesses.

After suspending ourselves from a test rope we were ready to hit the wires.  This meant more mountain climbing and then up two ladders to our first platform.  From here, two sturdy wires were tightly suspended down to another tree 30 metres away.

I’ve got to admit the scene in front of me looked a little scary as the journey forward required traversing the ropes suspended ten metres above the ground.  This is where I was reminded that that no one of my portly proportions had attempted the run.  “Great”, I thought as I had visions of becoming impaled by the sturdy trunk that supported the wire at the other end.

Jürgen attached a device with two wheels onto one of the wires and another cord onto the other wire.  The device was designed to propel me along the wire using gravity while the other was for pulling along to the end should I stop before reaching the tree.

It all looked a piece of cake and soon Jürgen’s son and assistant, Ashraff raced along the wire.  Now it was my turn and it was at this stage I thought of those weight reduction classes.

“Okay, go,” yelled Jürgen.  I’m sure he sensed a little reluctance on my part and his gentle nudge soon had me screaming along the wire through the rainforest.  It all passed quickly and all I had time to think of was what sort of impression I would make on the immovable object at the end of the wire.  It all turned out to be a non-event as my journey ceased some metres from the tree and I slowly winched myself onto the platform.  There were lots of exclamations of “whow, fantastic, great etc” as all members of the group arrived onto the platform.

From here we did one more glide, inched over a small abyss, scaled down rocky slopes and abseiled down a short cliff.

All this was developing skills and overcoming any apprehensions anyone may have had before attempting the last run.  We also had a chance to take in the scenic beauty of the rainforest and the distant views of the Langkawi coastline.

The last run was an exhilarating 125 metres glide into the top of a 30 metres high rainforest mammoth.  What a buzz!  I’m not sure what speed we developed but my wheeled device was too hot to handle.  Now I was starting to feel like Tarzan.

So here we were hanging on to a few branches admiring the view and looking for that liana to swing out of the tree like in the movies.  Our excitement subsided upon learning that the only way out was to drop 30 metres to the forest floor via a rappelling rope.  The descent proved to be quite simple once one adjusted to the idea of just dropping from the safety of the branch into open space.

The Langkawi rainforest canopy adventure will appeal to those who love extreme sports, as once you start; there are few opportunities to withdraw gracefully.  The trip takes about four hours and costs around $60.  It’s also perfect for those who want to do something beyond the ordinary and no special skills are required as Jürgen explains how to handle the equipment. 

It offers a fantastic adrenaline rush and it pushed me to physical extremes that I thought had been lost in the dark recesses of my brain.(GOING PLACES,October 2002)
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