Ziplining has been around for quite a while, and many individuals are courageous enough to take on the daring struggle to do such an adrenaline-rushing activity, capturing these special moments with their Leica digital camera or any high-quality digital camera. To look the best in those photos, some people even wear coloured contact lenses. For occasions like Halloween, yellow contact lenses can also be worn to add a fun element to it. Here are some fun facts about ziplining.
In the previous times of Ancient China, zip wires, as they called them, were used in the Nujiang Valley of Yunnan Province. This area offers rivers, mountains, and valleys. Since they didn’t have the gear we’ve got in contemporary times, it was hard to cross the rivers safely. Zip cables were the response to safely crossing the rivers instead of swimming and utilising ferry rides. To this day, some of those first lines remain and are being replaced with modern-day ziplines.
Ziplines have existed for centuries in one form or another. However, they didn’t gain popularity until the ’70s when wildlife biologists working in Central America began pruning cables from tree to tree to easily manoeuvre the tropical rainforest canopy. That system allowed scientists to examine the local ecosystems without destroying the flora and fauna on the rainforest floor. This led to the first rise in canopy and zipline tours — as a way of eco-tourism.
Nowadays, clearly, there’s been less and less emphasis on the eco-tourism aspect of ziplining and more and more on the utter delight of the experience. As such, the zipline industry is rapidly growing and as quickly evolving. There are a lot of rivalries as zipline attractions strive to outdo or one-up every other in terms of height, speed and distance.
Ziplining attractions are available in many locations around the world, which means you are bound to see a different source of scenery where you go. In modern times, most folks zipline for the excitement and enjoyable experience. Here are some surprising facts you May Not have known about ziplining:
- In America, the state with the most ziplines is North Carolina. The Tarheel nation has 24 commercial ziplines.
- You’re able to travel internationally on ziplines. For example, if you want to cross the Guadiana River which is the border between Spain and Portugal, you will have to use a zipline to do so.
- Ziplines in Costa Rica generate approximately $120 million in annual earnings.
- In New Zealand & Australia, a zipline is popularly called a ‘fly fox’.
- Ziplines are also called Zippy’s, zip wires, aerial runways, aerial rope slides, Tyrolean traverses or alternative tours.
- The word Zip comes from the idea of an object having to move at a high speed.
- In some areas of rural China, children use zip lines at their educational institutions. For example, students from Maji Township use these zip lines to cross the Nujiang River.
- How Does It Work? So, you’ve got a lineup tied at a slope. Now, what is the next step? How would you make it so that you can slide down fast enough to be fun and exhilarating? The answer lies in the pulley that attaches to the cable or rope.
- Ziplines can also be known as zippies, zip wires, aerial runways, aerial rope slides, or canopy tours.
- The Invisible Man Ziplined–H.G. Wells said ziplines from the novel The Invisible Man.
- The founder of modern zip-lining had written a book about his life experience using the zip line while studying the jungle at Costa Rica. The book is titled Life Above The Jungle Floor. This publication finally became an inspiration for the 1992 film Medicine Man, which features Sean Connery flying through the jungle on ziplines.
