Tara Canyon Zipline!

Brad here again! 

Zoe on the Zipline! 

Today we left our private, quiet, and relaxing Airbnb near Kolasin and headed west towards Durmitor National Park. The drive was a little less than 80km, but actually took almost 2 hours due to the roads and terrain; lots of switchbacks, and some narrow passes where only one car can fit on the road.  Thankfully we only encountered a handful of other vehicles on the road. 

Amazing views on the drive from Kolasin to Zabljak

We were also stopped for several minutes while a local crew removed a downed tree from the road. Thankfully we were not on any kind of schedule, so we took our time. 

A small delay while a local tree crew clears the road

Our home for the next few days is another standalone house just outside the town of Zabljak, which has some serious Banff vibes to it; it's a smallish town with a market, gas station, a few restaurants, and beautiful mountain views. We arrived a little after noon, found a spot on a patio, and enjoyed some delicious thin-crust pizza. 

After lunch we checked into our Airbnb, unloaded our bags, relaxed for a bit... 

... And then convinced Leslie to get back in the car and head to one of the local ziplines that traverse the Tara River Canyon - the second deepest canyon in the world and the deepest in Europe, at 1,333m deep. :) 

Our ziplines over the Tara River Canyon

We opted for the "extreme" zipline - aka the Tara Green - which is 1050m in length. After arriving and paying for our tickets, we boarded a rickety old bus and were driven to the departure area, where we were outfitted with harnesses and helmets. Rosie was right at the edge of the weight limit, so we weren't initially sure she would be allowed to do it without a guide, but they said it was fine. 

Rosie and Brad all set to get airborne

During our safety briefing they explained that if we didn't make it all the way to the far platform, we should grab onto the zip line (to prevent ourselves from going backwards), and then wait for them to slide out a trolley that we could grab to be pulled to the finish line. We made sure Rosie was clear on the process since she was most likely to need it. Sure enough, she came to a stop a little short of the landing platform, but grabbed the line exactly as trained, grabbed the trolley like a pro, and was pulled onto the landing platform in short order. 

 

After Rosie and I got across, Zoe and Leslie followed shortly after. It was difficult to see them leaving the launch area (being ~1km away!), but we could definitely tell because the shrieks started almost immediately :)  Although Zoe says they were shrieks of excitement, not terror.  I'm not sure about Leslie. 

Probably the scariest part of the entire experience was the trip back up to the launch area (and parking) in the van. We were loaded into an old truck, with Zoe perched on the centre console in the front seat, and my driver's side door held closed with a rope since the latch was no longer working. 

Rope door lock. Safety first! 

After the zip line we strolled out onto the bridge that crosses the canyon to watch a few other brave zipliners, and take in the view. I'll be honest, it was so high up that looking down made my knees a little wobbly!

Tomorrow we are heading into Durmitor National Park where we are hoping to have an epic hike. Until then, here's another photo of the magnificent view we have from our Airbnb! 

What a view!