The Gibbon Experience was set up with interest in preservation; employing local people with interest in keeping the natural forestation and wildlife of the Bokeo forest intact. Rather than trek through the jungle, the Gibbon Experience ziplines through it.
This post is a bit of a long one, so if you don't want to read it all, just watch this video to get an idea of how amazing it was. Otherwise, read the post and come back to it!
From the orientation room, our groups were divided off into those doing the two or three day experience and shuttled off in songthaews to our relevant starting positions. Beside Luke and Will, we met the others in our convoy - all Canadian.
Joined by another group at the destination, our total was around fourteen. We were given our harness, a can of beer and set off on our way. After a short trek we got our first taste of a zipline. A very small one across a river... before starting a solid hour and a half trekking through the jungle. Not easy.
We got to our first real zipline; everyone was teeming with excitement - and probably for some a little fear.
... for a quick zipline through the jungle canopy ...
The day continued like this for the next few hours, with a quick stop for lunch (a sandwich/baguette - typical food in Laos) along the way.
By around 3pm we had our final zipline for the day - into the treehouse!
This was our accommodation for the night. Situated high up on a massive tree, this treehouse is the ultimate children's dream - some forty metres above the ground!
Shortly after arriving and settling in at the treehouse, our two guides for the day said their farewells and ziplined away. Everyone kinda looked at each other like "uhhh ... what's going on?". They didn't leave with any instruction, just left - granted their English left a little to be desired.
A few hours later, people started ziplining back up to the treehouse - our food had arrived! As it turns out, there is a base camp about five minutes away where those helping run the Gibbon Experience lived and prepared the meals.
After dinner, which finished by about 5:30pm with plenty of daylight still left, one of the guys from the group started asking about where they were staying and if they had alcohol. The three of us (him, his girlfriend and I) ended up strapping ourselves back into our harnesses and following this local guy to their camp where we bought a bottle of Laos rice whiskey; not exactly the finest drop I've had that's for sure!
Back at camp, we shared a few shots and played cards into the night. Everyone in the group was very friendly and great to talk to, and got along very well.
We retired for the night, sleeping under mosquito nets that reminded me more of a children's blanket fort than mosquito nets. The sounds you could hear from the surrounding jungle were beautiful.
The next morning, we continued with a few more ziplines before breakfast, leaving the treehouse at about 6:30am!
We came back, had breakfast and finished the day with a few more ziplines (one of which was the longest at about 600m!) and trek back to the road to be picked up.
Overall this was one of the best two days I have had while traveling. It was worth every single cent of the ~$250aud I paid; truly an incredible experience I will remember forever.
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