Written by: SuperUser Account
3/14/2009 5:30 PM

Event:	Treetop Forest Adventure
Date / Time:	Saturday, 14 March 2009, 9.30 am – 1 pm
Venue:	Bedok Reservoir Park
Photos:	Click here and here!

All-wired to nature by CHRISTINE TJAHJADI

What do you need to prepare before going on one hell of a ride, i.e. swinging from trees to trees and conquering a series of breathtaking aerial obstacles, say at five meters above the ground? Safety equipment such as a helmet and a harness are a must, but most importantly, you will need your stamina, adventurous spirit, and lots of guts!

Pre-activity group pose

On a bright, sunny Saturday morning on 14 March, IPA invited thirty thrill seekers to bravely take the exhilarating (yet fun!) challenges and feel the adrenalin rush (and bliss!) in IPA’s first-ever Treetop Forest Adventure at Bedok Reservoir Park. Their tasks today were to complete The Grand Course, prepared by the Forest Adventure, which had 32 different stages including four zip lines (flying foxes) across the water. Divided into four teams, participants needed to descend from the trees to the forest floor on a zip line at the end of each section (the other end of the reservoir). These adventurers had evidently gone beyond their limits and successfully broken their most probably biggest fear, the fear of height.

All of the IPA’s Treetop Forest Adventurers gathered at Bedok Reservoir Park at about 9.30 a.m. Then, they were split into two groups. Each group had to first receive the 30-minute safety briefings and crash trainings from the instructors before they could start the course of tree top challenges comprising ladders, bridges, swings, nets, trapezes and zip lines. Later on, they had to move unaccompanied from tree to tree and completed all the challenges five meters above ground.

Their crash trainings prior the adventures included small exercises to climb the rope ladder, cross the rope bridge, cling and slide across the steel cable and practice the landings. After completing these trainings, all the participants were expected to climb up to the first tiny tree house-type platform, the point where the set of the challenges begun. From there, they had to complete all the challenges in Section 1, 2, 3 and 4 before they could go back to the finish base and call it for a day.

Let’s let the pictures tell the story for now:

Challenges in Section 1:

1. Zip Slide
2. Nets
3. Amazon Bridge
4. Flying fox to the second section

Challenges in Section 2:

1. Trapeze
2. Jungle’s Crossing
3. Grandpa’s Crossing
4. Flying fox to the third section

Challenges in Section 3:

1. Sleeping Stones
2. Log Swing
3. Rope Passage
4. Rail Trace
5. Goat Crossing
6. Tunnel Crossing
7. Zig Zag Bridge
8. Flying fox to the fourth section

Challenges in Section 4:

1. Half Trapeze
2. Amazon Bridge
3. Nets
4. Tibetan Bridge
5. Bosun’s Chair
6. Flying fox to the final exit

The calmness of the park was broken by the high-pitched shrill of the pulleys zipping across the steel cable and some participants’ "Aaaahh" screams as they descended on the zip line. Some of the participants let out a loud scream as the butterflies in their stomachs were replaced with exhilaration while some stayed incredibly cool and even managed to pose for pictures as they glided the wires to the end of the reservoir. By the time they finished all the challenges and flying through the treetops, some of the participants looked exhausted but they all looked contented. Their faces clearly showed a new sense of strength and accomplishment.

Simply breathtaking!

At about one p.m., the first batch already finished completing all the four challenges. While waiting for the food to come and the some participants from the second batch to finish their adventures, the treetop adventurers got the chance to get to know the other participants and had long chats. They seemed like already known for so long and had formed teamwork bonding after only three hours on top of the trees.

Lunch in the company of nature

Not long, finally the long-awaited lunch came. We all gathered at the pavilion near to the waterfront and had a tasty Indonesian lunch together, Nasi Ayam Penyet, eaten in a very Indonesian way, with hands. Then, we had our final photo session together followed by the closing remarks from IPA’s President, Johannes Wijaya and few updates on IPA membership programs and upcoming events from IPA’s Johnny Wijaya and Yohans Gozal before we called the adventure off.

One final group picture

What do you think about IPA’s Treetop Adventure today?
"Fun and very positive. I got to try something new and overcame my fear. The place was nice, all the equipments were safe and the activity was well-organized. Everything was run pretty on time. The most important thing is that we made new friends."
"So much fun!"
"Interesting and fun!"

Photos by Yohans Gozal and Johannes Wijaya

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