The one you have all been waiting for.... the "Gibbon Experience"
We are currently in Luang Prabang (laos) which means we emerged safe and sound from the jungle a couple of days ago. It was more than a little ironic that we spent Cath's birthday up a tree but we both agree that it was not only unique but a fantastic experience.
We arrived in Laos at Houei Xai (one horse town) from Chaing Khong Thailand on 25th and departed to the Bokeo Nature reserve the next day. There was 12 of us on the trip, which was quite a big group by Gibbon Experience standards. There was another australian couple, a few Canadians, Brits and a German. Everybody was really cool and we still see everybody around in Luang Prabang.
The journey out there...
We piled in the Land cruiser at about 9 in the morning for the ride out to the area near the tree houses. Depending on road conditions this would either involve a 3 or 7 hour hike. The group who had returned the day before we left had hiked out (7-9hrs) so we were prepared but hoping that the recent sunshine boded well for the chances of getting the car a bit closer. After about 2hr on the road (12 pers + driver...1 land cruiser) we stopped at a stall by the side of the road for a quick break and for the driver to find out about road conditions. This break dragged on and we started getting frustrated, at one point asking the driver the reason for the wait...after all, we could clearly see that the road appeared to continue on just fine. Shortly after we piled back in and to our surprise immebiately left the main drag, turning ontl a dirt track and driving directly into the river! We had not even considered that this could be the way... You will have to check out the pictures to believe. The river was about 30-40 meters across, within 10meters the water was halfway up the windscreen and I was reaching for the back door handle as we felt the car start to drift down in a relatively strong current. Before I had tinme to direct an emergency evacuation we were struggling to climb out of the river on the opposite bank (this turned out to be impossible so the driver conducted a river u turn and reversed up the bank). Everybody waslooking around laughing unable to believe that we got accross. The rest of the drive in was just as interesting with the most extreme 4wd ing that I have ever seen. The driver was awsome! A couple of times we had to get out and push but it still sure beat walking.
Zipping in
When we walked the last hour into where the tree houses we came across a different group who were already there. They looked exhausted and informed us that they had arrived the night before after walking for 10 hrs arriving at 10pm! After being handed harnesses and told how to fasten our rollers and safety line onto the cables (in Lao), we hooked up and 'zipped' into the first treehouse. This was a 3 level afaire and was to sleep 6 of our group. We organised ourselves into a group of 2 (the other australian couple ), a group of 4 (cath, myself, Neil and Tom) and teh other 6. There were 3 different treehouses to sleep the diferent groups. We were really happy with the guys we ended up with and have been hanging out with Tom since. The rest of the day we sent zipping around the different cables (about 12-14 in total) which had an average length of between 400 - 1000m. They went across valleys sometimes 100s of meters high. What a rush! Cath took to it like a natural and was woo hooing her way around. Our tree house was amazing with the best view out of the lot, looking out 200 degrees over surrounding hills and valleys. We hung out in our new home for the rest of the evening (no zipping at night), our dinner was delivered to the treehouse and there was a gas bottle, kettle, tea cofee etc. The next morning we were woken up be the sound of Gibbons calling out in the surrounding forrest, although we couldnt see them the sounds were beautiful.A guide with breakfast and loads of fresh fruit before we zipped on our way. We went for a walk through the jungle during the day which turned out to be much better thasn our trekking experience in Chaing Mai. The next evening and day were more of the same, absolutely beautiful, exhilarating and a fantastic experience. While we were celebrating Cath's b day in treehouse 3, the Australian couple in treehouse 2 took the opportunity to get engaged! what a way to do it :)
Almost forgot....they have a baby Asiatic Black bear called Suzie, who likes nothing better than tyo play and suck / bite your arms! soooo cute.
On the last night there was a fair bit of rain and we resigned ourselves to walking out, well worth it considering how much fun we had. We ended up walking for bout 4 hrs (up some pretty big hills) before to our surprise we heard the roar of the Land Cruiser heading down the track. Everybody would have run out of water with many kms to go so it was just as well. Some people were pretty excited to be getting a lift. Although welcome, Cath and I were doing well and would have been sure to make it out on foot relatively comfortably.
We had very high expectations going into the Gibbon Experience and were in no way dissapointed. Best experience to date!
I will post some photos and give a brief explanation about each one.
Slow boat to Luang Prabang.
The slow boat was packed with tourists unfortunately which gave the whole experience the feeling of a school excursion. After we got over this however, the scenery was amazing and it was an enjoyable 2 days down river with a 1 night stop at Pak Beng. Pack Beng was pretty laid back and is a very small town used as a hub for products from the hill tribes to be transported down the river. Now through a stroke of very good fortune they have 100-150 tourists staying there almost every night on their way down river! there is still no electricity past 11pm though...
Louang Prabang is beautiful and has a great feel about it. There is heaps to do so i cant sit on the internet all day - will tell you all about it before we leave if we get the chance. Next stop up the Nam Ou River to Muang Khua via Nong Khiaw to the border of Vietnam in the north.
I have uploaded a few photos, unfortunately not the best ones. Will try to upload more soon that give you a better idea of the zip lines and the treehouses themselves.
More thumbnails ...
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