photo essay by Paige Diller, CCI-Greenheart Travel High School Abroad Student in New Zealand

My last post explained the New Zealand adventure hiking and rafting. Included are the photos from one particular course that I did, that was terrifying, but I’m so proud of myself that I did it. You had to climb up a ladder, then continue up a tree (with pegs in it), to about… 30 meters in the air. Once you get to the top, you have to stand on the top of the pole, which had a diameter a little smaller than the length of my foot (and I wear a size 6).

You don’t have anything to hold on to while you’re up there, other than your own harness ropes. Once I finally got both feet on the top, my legs were shaking like crazy. From there, I had to jump a few feet into the air and catch a bar, like a trapeze act. It was unbelievably scary. But I did it! It was awesome. I was also the first person to do it, so it was a special honor.