We completed this tour on 14th September and it was awesome! We opted for the 'Big Island 7 Line Adventure Tour 2.5 hours.'
We arrived early and because we were travelling from one hotel in Kona to an AirBNB in Hilo, the lady at the desk let us park our car around the back which was super nice! (It had all our luggage and belongings in it)
Once we were inside we were set up and completed the liability waiver in a matter of minutes, it's all done on iPads so it's super quick and easy! I was worried I wouldn't be allowed to take my camera or GoPro with me but they said you can take anything with a strap, and even give you a bumbag to take your phone and other small personal belongings if you are paranoid about leaving them behind! They also have head straps, chest straps and wrist straps for GoPro available to buy and some of their helmets have GoPro mounts as well which is pretty cool!
Once we were all signed in we were introduced to our guides, Charles and Jack! We met Charles first and he was super friendly, helpful and really funny! Jack came along second and was just as friendly and funny! We knew we were in for a good day with these guys!
The tour starts after your a fitted into your gear and loaded into a van! We were lucky enough to sit up front so we got to chat to the driver (not one of the guides) and Charles for the duration of the trip. They were great to talk to and really took an interest in our conversation, you could see they enjoyed chatting to people and weren't just doing it for part of their job!
Once we were at the starting point we all had a quick safety briefing and instructional intro, it was brief but covered everything we needed to know! Then we were off... well, after doing a very small, practice zipline first!
The zip lines start off small and gradually get longer and faster as you go. The course is set up so you always have awesome views from the platforms, even if the first few lines are low to the ground! Between each line is a short walk and during these walks the guides give information on the area and native wildlife and plants. They take the time to explain things and even let you taste some fruit like the smaller banana's that are grown in Hawaii, which taste completely different to banana's in Australia! The course is also set out so you can't see any of the other line from the start or finish of each line, meaning the course doesn't interfere with the natural beauty of the area, which is a really nice touch from the company!
Also, at each starting platform there was a sign with a native Hawaiian word on it, and the guides took the time to explain the word, it's pronunciation and it's meeting to us. I wasn't expecting all this extra stuff so it was a really nice surprise!
The last two zip lines are absolutely brilliant and have some draw dropping views along the way! One you zip line over a big canyon with a river and another over a 250ft waterfall, breath taking!
Sadly our tour had to come to an end with a drive back to the office! What an awesome time we had and I would highly recommend this to anyone who is visiting Hilo area!
Thank you to Charles and Jack for making our time all the better by being absolutely legends, you guys are brilliant and we had loads of fun!