Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah

Photo: Courtesy of Florida EcoSafaris

Published in FirstMonday magazine July 2009

Sometimes ecotourism means camping out in the jungles of Madagascar. Other times, it’s whale watching in Indonesia. Today, as I glide through lush forests at speeds up to 25 miles per hour, ecotourism equals ziplining in Osceola County.

And I’m enjoying every minute of it — even though it’s a seriously windy day in St. Cloud, and Mother Nature is threatening to drench me and my trusty Canon. As I climb the tower to the first “zip” at Florida EcoSafaris at Forever Florida, a 4,700-acre wildlife conservation haven, the guide explains I’m about to propel along seven ziplines, perch atop nine aerial observation platforms and clamor across two sky bridges. Plus, I’ll be passing through nine beautifully preserved ecosystems.

Let me be upfront with this: I’m a fan of almost any activity requiring a waiver and helmet. Even so, many types — from 8-year-olds to grandmothers — have found this thrill ride enjoyable. As long as they are not afraid of heights, like the New Yorker next to me on the platform. After looking around for a good 30 seconds, the man — who could double for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — scurried back down the 50-foot platform.

I, on the other hand, have no hesitation as I hurl myself off the launch pad. Between the “whees” and “wahooies,” I take in deep whiffs of jasmine and sounds of nearby owls. The surrounding lush and rugged landscape, however, is hard to focus on while I’m whizzing through the treetop canopies. I hear that a lucky few have spotted bald eagles and black bears.

Stewards of Nature

The sport of sailing through the air while tethered to a high-tension cable was made popular in Costa Rica a decade ago. Today, the high-adrenaline excursion is offered throughout the United States. What sets Florida EcoSafaris apart is this: The $350,000 project is the first of its kind in the state and the only zipline developed for flat land in the world.

Still, it begs the question: Does Central Florida need yet another attraction? Maybe not, but if it’s of the ecotourism breed, my vote is yes.

Conservation is, in fact, Forever Florida’s raison d’être. The owners, Dr. William and Margaret Broussard, lost their son to Hodgkin’s disease nearly 20 years ago. The last wish of the 29-year-old — a wildlife ecologist and biologist — was that they protect the surrounding ecosystems. In turn, the couple painstakingly amassed the Forever Florida property, parcel by parcel, from the more than 500 people who had snatched it up during the 1960s and 1970s.

Now, with 4,700 acres, they have a significant focus on minimal disruption to the environment, and the whole zipline system was built and is maintained with that focus in mind. Not coincidentally, 30 percent of top-line revenues from Florida EcoSafaris’ offerings (Zipline Safari, Coach Safari and Horseback Safaris) is donated to the conservation effort.

“Our guests make a significant positive impact on protecting Florida’s wilderness just by visiting,” says Ken Wilshire, of Florida EcoSafaris. “When they come back to see us again, they know that this special place is larger and better protected because of them.”

Natural Beauty

By early afternoon, the sky is a foreboding gray. The breeze is rustling through the branches of 500-year-old cypress trees. Clouds are bloated with the promise of rain. It’s my cue to hit the road.

First, though, we have to make it back to the safari buggy, a swamp mobile made of recycled car parts. And, as if the zipline weren’t cool enough, we trot down a section of the Florida Trail, one of eight national historic pathways running from South Florida to the Panhandle. At this point, visitors can choose to tootle around the animal education area, where they get an up-close look at a puma, alligators and other animals.

The ride back offers plenty of sights. To the right: the largest herd of Spanish Colonial cattle in the state, a critically endangered breed that the Broussards are committed to protecting. To the left: bromeliads above and neon-green duckweed crowding the ponds below.

These wide-open spaces are completely untouched and exactly what they were intended to be. If ever there were a place begging you to savor the tonic of nature, this is it. No doubt, ziplines have come a long way since my dad built one off our South Carolina treehouse in the early 1980s. But the thrill of gliding through the trees is exactly the same.

If you go:

Zipline Safari, part of Florida EcoSafaris at Forever Florida (4755 N. Kenansville Rd., St. Cloud), is open daily. The cost for the Zipline tour is $85 per person, which includes guides, equipment and a 2.5-hour canopy tour on a network of cables (some up to 750 feet long). Call (407) 957-9794 or visit www.foreverflorida.com.