The Highlights

Maui is a place that has a unique mixture of natural beauty, history, and adventure. If you are like me and enjoy the great outdoors Northshore Zipline Canopy Tours is an exciting way to spend your time.  Nestled in the Northshore of Haiku on the historic Camp Maui Marine Base, this zip line is more than just a thrill ride, but a time machine into the past. You’ll experience the excitement of climbing up tree platforms and crossing land jungle bridges while zipping through lush forest canopies on what was once a world war II marine corps training facility.

Arrival

At the beginning of your journey, you will be greeted by your tour guides. During this time you will be asked to go into the main office and check in with your party. Feel free to grab some water or have a seat either inside our outdoors while your group finishes registering. Once everyone is registered you will be placed with a group that you will remain with for all 7 lines of the course. Don’t worry about being separated from the people in your party. Northshore does a great job of ensuring that you are able to stick with the people that you came with.

Getting Fitted

After the groups have been assigned, you and your group will be lined up outside. Your guide will place you in front of three rows of harnesses ranging in size. Depending on your specific body type, you will stand behind a specific row of harnesses, ensuring that you are strapped in with the one best suited for your individual safety. Your guides will assist you with getting strapped in securely to your harnesses ensuring you have the best safety and support possible.  Once your harnesses are on, you will be fitted with the appropriate size gloves and helmets. If you have a GoPro with a helmet attachment, this is a great time to set it up. A helmet attachment isn’t required if you want to use a recording device, as long as you have one that you can secure to your wrist or another part of your body, you are good to go.

History and Safety

Once everyone in your group has been properly fitted with safety gear, your guide will escort you towards the historic memorability exhibit within an old airplane hanger. It is here, that your guides will introduce themselves to you and tell you a bit about the history of the Camp Maui Marine Base. Inside the hangar, you will find old jeeps and military vehicles from World War II, memorabilia from the time, as well as a preserved copy of a New York Times article celebrating the US victory at Iwo Jima.

Safety Lesson

After the introductions are made, your guides will lead you down a jungle path towards the training area. In this are, the guides will show you how to properly attach your selves to the zip line. Fortunately, it is not a complicated process, and the entire session only takes a few moments and is actually chalked full of humor. The main takeaways are that your guides will help you break and stop, provided you keep your knees tucked in at the end of the ride. Be nice, don’t kick your guides. Other than that there is mention of how to initiate your zip line traversal safely. Once the safety lesson is complete. it’s time to keep zipping through the trees!

The Initiation

The first zip line of the course is just a warm-up. Being only about 6 feet off the ground, it is the line most closest to the ground. Although close the ground it is still around 200 feet long making it a great way to warm up the nerves and get your adrenaline pumping. As someone who had never ziplined before, I had a blast from the very start. After everyone in your group completes the first line, you will travel across a swinging tree bridge that leads to the second line. The second line is not as long as the first, being only half as long, but it is higher of the ground. This line is designed for a more thrilling experience to ensure that you are slowly acclimated to higher and higher altitudes. By now you should be feeling exhilarated and excited about the remaining five lines. If for any reason you are not enjoying yourself after the first two lines, Northshore is kind enough to give you a full refund any time before you take the third zip line.

The Real Thrill

Congratulations, you’ve made it past the first two lines. Now the real fun can begin. After the second line, you will cross another swinging bridge. This one is longer than the first and leads to what was most likely once a lookout tower. Once you reach the tower, you will climb up the ladder to the top. The height of this zip line is about 40 feet off the ground and the line itself is an impressive 680 Feet long! If you are adventurous this line is long enough for you to flip upside, spin, and glide like a bird across it. The next line is about 300 feet long and is a tree platform to platform line giving you a small break to prepare for what comes next one. During this time your guide may give you more insight into the history of the base, and the Hawaiin Islands. The fifth zip line is not only one of the highest and longest, but also the fastest! Once you reach the base of the tree platform you will climb a shaky tree ladder to reach the top. don’t worry, you are secured the entire time and will not fall. From the height of this platform, you can literally see the forest from the trees. If you have any fancy tricks you want to try this is the line to do it on, as you zip across the grass plains at around 40 Miles Per Hour!

Photo Op

The last two zip lines are where memories are made. A photographer provided by NorthShore will be on site to take photos of you as you zoom across lines 6 and 7. Line 6 is another fantastic tree platform zip, except with a twist… literally. As you zip downwards for the first time towards the ground, your guide will spin you around providing you with an additional level of excitement. Once everyone is on the ground, you can request a group photo or one with just your friends and family. The 7th and final zip line is the longest, and also, surprisingly refreshing. The line is over 900 feet long and gives you and the photography a chance to capture one last fantastic live action shot. As you come to the end of this final line, you are greeted with a refreshing spritz of cool water from the sprinklers, allowing you to cool down as the adventure winds down.

Finally, if you wanna get a taste of the experience before you go, check out our YouTube video HERE!